Sally J.'s latest is spot on

[Spence]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

What matters is that you simply believe what you want to believe. Snyder could die today, we could go 1-15 for the next 10 years and you'd probably still say "Well Snyder is the one making the personnel decisions." And whatever you think of Cerrato (and Scott Campbell and Morocco Brown) what do you think they've been doing their adult lives? Do you think they were plucked from playing the piano at Nordstrom's?

No, I'm pretty sure I would not decide that a corpse is making the personnel decisions for the Washington Redskins. Yes, I'm pretty sure of that. As for Vinny Cerrato, Scott Campbell and Morocco Brown, I don't know what they've been doing their entire adult lives, but I know what they have not been doing: Building Super Bowl champions. And by the way, I believe what the facts tell me to believe.

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

It's divided into two opposing camps. One camp that is frustrated at the .455 winning percentage, wants to win the Super Bowl, accepts that as a franchise we have made mistakes, realizes that we have also made wise decisions, recognizes that perception is not always reality, understands that past ownership had its "flaws", realizes this ownership isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and doesn't assume what this ownership group does and what other owners do...the other camp believes what they want to believe

You're right, perception is not always reality. You know what IS reality? Reality. And the reality is a .455 losing percentage. Reality is losing to the Lions and then having a coach tell the public that the team is improving. Reality is watching every team in the NFC East win a division championship, except the Redskins, since Dan Snyder started making decisions. Reality is cutting Brian Mitchell so the team could rent 9-toe Deion Sanders for one season. That is the savage, inevitable, remorseless reality.

I certainly accept that past ownership has its flaws. Past ownership hired Norv Tuner and continued to employ him for years after it was abundantly clear that he was a poor head coach and a godawful talent evaluator. If Dan Snyder has made one good decision it was firing Norv Turner, though he did it at the wrong time and in the wrong way. Desmond Howard, Tom Carter, Heath Shuler, Michael Westbrook and Andre Johnson were all drafted in the first round by past ownership. It was past ownership that brought that fat, lazy pantload Dana Stubblefield to Washington. Past ownership screwed up plenty from 1992-1998.

None of that excuses Dan Snyder for what he has done. And none of that erases the three Super Bowls past ownership did win before it went senile and couldn't tell its ass from its elbow.