[sportscurmudgeon]

First of all, please remember that when Lavar Arrinigton signed his deal with Danny Boy - the one that is in dispute and arbitratin as we speak - one of the things he wanted and got from Danny Boy was that Lavar would have some input into what defensive players would stay and which ones might be brought here. So if Lavar is negative about Smoot, that is not good news.

Secondly, why is Smoot saying "$14M and not a penny less" any more wrong than the Redskins saying "$10M and not a penny more"? This is negotiation and the free agent market will decide which side is correct. If Amoot goes out and gets $14M from another team, then HE was correct about his value and Danny Boy was wrong. On the other hand, if all he can get is an offer of $8M from other teams, then Danny Boy was right and Smoot was wrong and maybe Smoot will sign here if the Skins have not used up that cap money elsehwere. All of this is posturing now.

I will say one thing about the Redskins contract negotiations. They do spend lavish amounts of money on signing bonuses and contracts for players on other teams (Sanders, Trotter, Brunell, Coles, Morton) but they seem to get caught with less than deep pociets when it comes to some of their own players (Bailey, possibly Smoot, possbily Pierce, B. Mitchell, S. Barber).