|
Bailey is a great corner, no doubts about it. But I think he's being a little disingenuous when he says that he never wanted to go anywhere else. I think the fact that his agent never came up with a counter proposal showed that they wanted to test the free agent market. So in that regard they forced the Redskins hands. But I can't fault him for going out and getting as much bonus money as he can, that's his right. Guess that's the first guy that Snyder got outbidded for, although I'm positive that if Snyder really wanted to keep Bailey he would be here.
Smoot and Springs aren't Bailey, but Springs is a top-tier corner when he's healthy and he's healthy right now. There is a drop off, but Springs has had some success and really thrived before Holmgren came aboard and changed the tone of that defense. Cornerback is still a position of strength for us, and the back seven is actually better this year than they were a year ago. Sean Taylor is a serious upgrade at free safety, especially considering Bowen was basically playing out of position lately. Add in our starter last year is now a backup and you get instant depth at safety, another plus.
There's no doubt that I'm going to miss Bailey and I think he made some good points about the Front Office. In particular the statement he made about not being one of "their" guys. There's no doubt in my mind that our FO has placed a higher level of importance on acquiring free agents rather than keeping and cultivating the guys we've drafted. Some mistakes have been made, hopefully with Gibbs in charge fewer guys will be allowed to slip through the cracks, not just guys like Brad Johnson and Stephen Davis, but Kenard Lang, Shawn Barber, Derrick Smith, N.D. Kalu and other solid but not quite spectacular performers. I really think Gibbs is moving in that direction, establishing an identity for us again, giving these guys a reason to be proud of the team and really wanting to belong.
|