Om Field: Taking Free Agency in Context

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Om only paints half the picture. Om has fallen victim to the same delusions that Vinny Cerrato and Daniel Snyder fall victim to every year - the thinking that making splashes in free agency equates to success in the regular season. every year, fans imagine how a few small changes, a few additions here and there, and we are competing for the Lombardi the following season.... thats not how it works. Thats the same recipe we've followed for years, and it hasnt worked. Yet every year, fans like Om fall into the same trap.

Being "50/50" in free agency is not good enough. 50/50 is a very good record for the draft, but its an utterly horrible one in free agency. When you miss, the effects last YEARS. We're still carrying a 5M cap hit for brandon lloyd for petes sake. Imagine what we could do with an extra 5M now? Looking back and just doing a cursory glance through our past free agent signings and bad extensions to our own players, we'd be sitting around 30M under the cap right now if we had made better moves... while having fewer needs to fill. If you look at Redskins Free Agency in Context, its not a pretty sight. Optomism is one thing, but lets not forget the track record of the men running this team.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

Om only paints half the picture. Om has fallen victim to the same delusions that Vinny Cerrato and Daniel Snyder fall victim to every year - the thinking that making splashes in free agency equates to success in the regular season. every year, fans imagine how a few small changes, a few additions here and there, and we are competing for the Lombardi the following season.... thats not how it works. Thats the same recipe we've followed for years, and it hasnt worked. Yet every year, fans like Om fall into the same trap.

Being "50/50" in free agency is not good enough. 50/50 is a very good record for the draft, but its an utterly horrible one in free agency. When you miss, the effects last YEARS. We're still carrying a 5M cap hit for brandon lloyd for petes sake. Imagine what we could do with an extra 5M now? Looking back and just doing a cursory glance through our past free agent signings and bad extensions to our own players, we'd be sitting around 30M under the cap right now if we had made better moves... while having fewer needs to fill. If you look at Redskins Free Agency in Context, its not a pretty sight. Optomism is one thing, but lets not forget the track record of the men running this team.

But you can't also let this track record be the sole reason behind your opinion on moves that have not happened yet. If a person feels that the front office is going to screw things over and over again, or if they believe any move they make is going to end up in disaster, what's the point of being a fan.

Trust me, I know the bonehead/stupid moves the team has made, however they have also made some good moves (Fletch, Moss, Sellers, Washington, Hall, etc., etc.). I can't let past mistakes automatically make me believe that every single acquisition made by the FO is going to be bust, without looking at the circumstances around it. Also, let's not forget that a lot of these signings, like anything else in the NFL, is about taking chances and risks.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

But you can't also let this track record be the sole reason behind your opinion on moves that have not happened yet. If a person feels that the front office is going to screw things over and over again, or if they believe any move they make is going to end up in disaster, what's the point of being a fan.

Trust me, I know the bonehead/stupid moves the team has made, however they have also made some good moves (Fletch, Moss, Sellers, Washington, Hall, etc., etc.). I can't let past mistakes automatically make me believe that every single acquisition made by the FO is going to be bust, without looking at the circumstances around it. Also, let's not forget that a lot of these signings, like anything else in the NFL, is about taking chances and risks.

Excellent post Ruhskins!