Portis and the Cap 101

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

The problem with the Yankees analogy is that they outspend their opponents by a 10-1 margin in many instances - the Redskins cannot. Additionally, football is a sport that requires much more personnel continuity than baseball. Continuity and stability are key to developing a "team character and identity." You need a solid core of veterans to bring the newbies along; you can't just throw a bunch of potential pro-bowlers together and hope they gel.


We have been in the top 10 for the past five years in terms of talent, but we consistently underachieve. Why? Because we have no stability. Players come and go, coaches come and go, but our inability to reach the playoffs remains. We have two and three year plans, but we never reach the phase of actually succeeding, we are constantly "rebuilding."

The idea of putting together a bunch of stars, "winning it all," and then rebuilding is tempting, but it just doesn't work in the salary cap era. Perhaps Dan Snyder will eventually prove me, and all his detractors wrong, but until then I point to 2000, 2002, and 2003 as examples of how that philosophy doesn't work. I will also look at the Eagles and Patriots and show you consistently good teams that have good cap situations.

The only great team that was built up only to be destroyed were the 2000 Ravens. No other team has duplicated that.