Vision Quest: Coles is a goner. Or not. Or maybe so?

Wow.

I was getting ready to go to bed on Sunday night. I had the day off today and was looking forward to sleeping in on President’s day, but then around 1:00 I checked some email and the Washington Post on the web for any late breaking Redskin news and BAM!! Coles leaving DC? Where did this come from? I was floored,

I was just checking onto the site to see if there was news about resigning Pierce or Samuels. I was getting together a storyline on my article this week about giving up for the team. I was going to title it something snappy like Real Redskins Resign and talk about Ramsey, Wynn, and Jansen and how they gave up for the team in an effort to make us better over the next couple of years. Tuesday was the first day of cuts, and the NFL combine is this week. Lots of changes in the air, but this was not the news I expected.

Laveranues Coles, our leading receiver for the last two years, the person we gave up a number one draft choice and a 14 million dollar signing bonus two years ago for, is now departing the Redskins. Apparently the redskins will release Coles as part of a negotiated settlement in the near future. To lessen the cap hit Coles and the Redskins will probably null and void his contract and Coles will give back a portion of his contract. But it is over, the Coles era in DC has ended only two years after it started.

In hindsight it shouldn’t be all that surprising. Coles was signed as a restricted free agent only two years ago but it was a much different Redskin team then. We were in the second year of the pass happy Spurrier regime and Coles was going to be the wide receiver lead the way. And he did. In his first year here he posted 82 catches for 1,204 yards and 6 touchdowns, all team highs. He was everything that he promised to be and won over many Redskin fans for his grit and determination.

However Spurrier quit the next off-season and as Redskin fans rejoiced at the return of Joe Gibbs and his run first offense Coles quietly stewed. He obviously was not happy with the possibility of learning a third offensive scheme in three years. Couple that with the fact that he closed out the last year in pain and was still in pain from his toe and it is obvious that he must have been depressed at the turn of events.

Then the season started and Coles stopped talking to the media. But so did a few Redskin players like Taylor and others. Some postulated that perhaps Coles was upset over the conservative play calling and the weak armed play of Mark Brunell. However no one knew because Coles did not speak out….not once. You have to admire that. He could of called out his coach, he could have refused to play, he could of demanded to be traded.

But he didn’t do any of that. He simply laced up his shoes and went out there and did what he was asked to do. Run over the middle, catch 2-yard screens, block for the run, he did it. Then after the season he expressed his desire to leave, not publicly but to the coach and administration. He is even willing to return part of his bonus to leave. He wants out bad and in my opinion he is doing it the right way.

However I think he is being rash and undeniably short sighted at the same time. 90 catches, even short routes, are still an indication on how much Gibbs and company ran the offense through him. Gibbs and Bugel both stated after the season they would be opening it up more after the season. Is it worth that much to Coles (possibly 6 million dollars) to not give one more year a chance?

However this may not be a case of offensive philosophy and more a case of rehab on Coles’ toe. After the 2003 season the Redskins wanted him to get surgery on the stress fracture on his big toe. Coles opted out, citing concerns for his career and chose rest. However during the 2004 season the toe turned arthritic as well. Some cortisone shots at the end of the season helped out a little, but Coles was not the same person he was when we signed him.

After the season Coles still refused to explore the surgery option. Joseph White of the AP reported today that even though the Redskins wanted Coles to do the surgery, Coles is still refusing. This could be why the release talks are happening. Why pay Coles the money he is going to make if he refuses to keep himself healthy? Apparently Coles is worried about career implications but the boys in the front office should be worried about that as well.

So the question on every Redskin’s mind is “Can this be repaired?” Well I don’t think it is too far out. Gibbs has said today that the story that the Redskins are going to release him is untrue; he also said that Cole’s future with the team is up in the air. I haven’t seen more indecision over an untimely end since Hamlet.

Coles probably needs to bone up and get this surgery. The Redskins Front Office has just as much riding on Coles career as Coles does right now. If Coles career ended abruptly because of a botched surgery the Redskins would have an immediate 9 million dollar hit. I don’t think the Redskins can trade Coles because of the aforementioned cap hit. And if Coles does not want to do the surgery and does not want to be a Redskin then where does this leave us?

Maybe back where we started. There is one part of the Washington Post story that sounds particularly true to me. Here is the quote:

"Sometimes it seemed like he missed Spurrier," a top Redskins player, who joined the club last season, said yesterday. "I love Laveranues because he's a warrior. No one plays harder. But if he doesn't want to be here, then it's best to find another team."

This sounds like Clinton Portis to me. And if this is indicative of the feeling of other core Redskins than the Redskins should release Coles after negotiating a refund on at least half of his remaining signing bonus. Coles will make it up in free agency and be happier. The skins can then get a free agent WR and perhaps Mike Williams at #9 in the draft and start over. This may be an opportunity for Jacobs, Thrash, and maybe even McCants now have chances to work hard and crack the starting lineup. Or at least some playing time.

We have been spoiled as Redskin fans in the last few off seasons. This one may be the winter of our discontent. We are not making over an entire roster nor are we signing huge contracts with free agents. We may not even draft at #9 but may trade down. Redskin one is not going to be rolling down the tarmac as much. And we face the possibility of losing Fred Smoot, possibly Chris Samuels, and now more likely Laveranues Coles. No one wants to lose these players but it may be necessary to get to the final result, a team willing to play hard for Gibbs fourth Lombardi trophy.

Parting is such sweet sorrow but it may be all we are left with.

Vision Quest: A Smoot Point

I love Fred Smoot. I do. And it wasn’t always this way. As you know Deion Sanders supplanted Darrell Green in the starting lineup but the year afterward Deion left town and Green made it very clear he wanted to start. However Fred Smoot, being drafted in the early second round, started ahead of him after the final pre-season game. So I had to forgive him for replacing my idol. I also was a little leery of his recent marijuana possession and his propensity to talk too much. We had just gotten rid of Deion and I didn’t want another one. So Smoot had to win me over.

And he did. Sure he talked to the media a lot, but he was always self effacing and never once ripped his fellow teammates. He was undersized but gave up his body almost every play. He would get hurt but battle through the pain to play in games where the Redskins were long ago eliminated from playoff contention. He took on some of the toughest receivers and won the battle more then he lost. He was never very fast but seemed to be in the right place at the right time more often then not.

Last year though he really won my heart. After Bailey left he paired with Springs and showed us what true teammates can do in coverage. Smoot was one of the cornerstones of our defense. He seemed to be shaken up every other tackle but always walked back to the huddle and reported for duty. He played with heart, he played with guts, and he played like Redskin players should play.

So it is with a sad heart I say that perhaps it is time to let Smoot go.

I had been hopeful that Gibbs, the redskin front office, Daniel Snyder, Smoot and his agent could have gotten an extension deal in place by the end of last season. All the right ingredients were there to do it. The Redskins had 4 million in cap space free last year, Smoot wanted to be a Redskin forever, the defense was flourishing, and Gibbs named Smoot a “core” Redskin. So why didn’t it get done? That is a question I have been asking myself for awhile.

I think at the beginning of the season the Redskin front office, including Gibbs and Snyder, were a little unsure whether Smoot was a long term answer at CB. But about half way through the season I think they had their answer. However by that point Smoot was in the middle of the season and contract talks never go well within the season. As the season went on, the extension talks continued to stall, and Smoot suffered through another losing, non playoff season. After all this I still think it could have been done, however a snake named Champ Bailey reared his ugly head.

Bitter over his failed attempts at getting a lucrative contract with the Redskins, Champ poisoned the well with his “friend” Smoot. No one on the Redskin team took Champ Bailey’s departure harder then Fred Smoot. Bailey and Smoot were friends from Day 1 of Smoot’s career. Did you notice that at the end of the season, when Smoots mood turned sour, that he always seemed to mention “Champ said this” and “Champ left too, maybe I will”? Obviously Bailey is doing his best Iago, pouring poison into Smoot's ear for his own purpose.

What is Bailey’s motivation? Perhaps that Smoot will join him in Denver? Perhaps it is pure revenge against the organization the franchised him and traded him? Who knows? The problem is that Bailey’s advice and counsel is disingenuous and dangerous for Smoot. The Washington Redskins offered the same contract to Smoot that Springs signed last year. At best Springs and Smoot are equal corner backs. But in my mind Springs is the #1 corner and Smoot the #2. This is a genuine offer for a #2 corner and anything more would be an insult to Springs. Apparently Smoot turned down the contract with a $10 million signing bonus and is demanding something in the neighborhood of 14 million dollar signing bonus. That is #1 corner money.

Does anyone out there really believe that Smoot would be a #1 corner for ANY NFL team? I just don’t believe that any team is willing to pony up that kind of money for Smoot. At least no team willing to win. So Smoot will test the free agent market and probably find out that the contract the Redskins offered was pretty good. Problem is we will have moved on.

The Redskins have a history of moving early and fast in free agency. I don’t the Redskins will wait to find a replacement for Smoot, nor should they. I know many Redskin fans point to Harris as a reliable corner option, however I don’t. I think he is an excellent 3rd corner and starting him will be a major strain on our defense. We need to sign Smoot’s replacement early to avoid the desperation that will come later if Smoot goes to another team.

But I retain a little hope. I hope that Fred will wake up and realize that the Redskins are his home. We took a chance on Smoot when he fell out of the first round because of your drug violations. We embraced him even though he supplanted a Redskin hero. We called out Smoot’s name after every tackle and interception at Fed Ex. And we want to pay him, and pay him well.

There are few players who play their entire career with one team in the NFL. They prefer to chase the money around the league hoping from team to team. Athletes need to remember that there is value at staying with one franchise, especially if you are being paid fair wages. Look at Teddy Bruschi in New England. That man will never have to buy a dinner in Boston again. And Tom Brady is talking about a contract extension but has already said he will not seek Manning type money, which he would deserve. Brady and Bruschi will live as Demi-Gods in Massachusetts for the rest of their lives.

Fred, sign the contract and stay at home. Don’t move your family for what will be a very small raise. Otherwise we will let you go and re-tool. Just like Champ. We will find another Shawn Springs and go on to build on our great defense. And although you may be temporarily richer you won’t be appreciated or loved as much as you are here.

Fred….you can come home again; we just don’t want you to leave in then first place.

Vision Quest: Washington should look to New England for their off season game plan

It’s been the same thing ever since the Salary Cap was initiated. Every Super Bowl winner’s success story is almost immediately made into a blue print to success. The cascading accolades and 5 minute Sportscenter montage pieces celebrate not only the athletes but the front office and owners “sense of direction”.

The only problem is that the paths to the Super Bowl are as myriad as the colors of Joe Theisman’s leg. There were San Francisco and Dallas, they mortgaged their futures to win now and suffered the consequences later on. We have had Denver and Green Bay who built themselves around a great quarterback. Baltimore & Tampa Bay built themselves around killer defenses and a punishing ground game. And of course there were the St. Louis Rams who drafted speed first, all else second.

But the New England Patriots are different. Really they are. They have a great quarterback in Tom Brady, a great defense led by Teddy Bruschi, a punishing runner in Corey Dillon, and a burner in Deion Branch. They played balanced football, running and passing equally well. They made all the good coaching moves and kept a team together winning 3 of 4 Super Bowls. No one can argue this is a team and organization worthy of the title “Dynasty”.

(On a side note to all you Cowboy fans out there. Don’t waste your time pointing to the average margin of victory in Super Bowls as a true measurement of Dynasty. Give it a rest. If that is a testament to anything it is a testament to the parity of the NFL. Your “dynasty” came just after the institution of the Salary Cap, which started just prior to the 1994 season. The full ramifications were not really known for almost 5 years after it started. In the late 90’s is when we heard about Cap Casualties and Cap hell. That makes what New England did this year way more impressive then your glory days. Live with it Cowboy fans, or perhaps you can just become Patriot fans, you band wagon wannabees. But I digress.)

So what does this have to do with the Redskins? Well it is my opinion that the Redskins are in the best position to actually follow the New England Blueprint and mirror their success. There needs to be some adjustment and some luck but it can be done.

1.) Stick with and grow the young QB. Right now no one argues that the Mark Brunell trade was a killer for our team. The contract was too long and the signing bonus too large. Ramsey had success the previous year and the 9 game detour retarded his chance to grow this season. When Tom Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe in the 2001 season he was hurt in the playoffs. Drew Bledsoe started and won the 2001 championship game. All of a sudden there were calls to Bench Brady for the Super Bowl and put in Bledsoe. Belichick resisted and all it resulted in was a Super Bowl. I am a little worried about Gibbs “for now” comment about Ramsey being the starter this next season. Like it or not our hopes for a Super Bowl birth before 2007 rest with Patrick Ramsey.

2.) Build through the Draft and sign Key Free Agents, not the other way around. Tom Brady (6th Round), Deion Branch (2nd Round), Teddy Bruschi (3rd Round), Rodney Harrison (UFA), Adam Vinateri (UFA), David Givens (7th Round), Troy Brown (8th Round) were all draftees or undrafted free agents of New England along with a ton of other starters. Notice how a lot of them are low rounders or UFA’s? This is the work of top notch talent evaluators and coaching staff along with front office personnel managing the cap and keeping a “core” group of players. Gibbs has also talked about a “core” group of players to build around. This is the right idea. But with Fred Smoot, Chris Samuels, and Antonio Pierce probably leaving I am not sure it is being practiced. These are not Gibb’s nor the Redskin’s fault in many ways. But they have to find a way to keep all three. This is not to say we don’t play in the market, we are just better about it. Corey Dillon was a good sign for New England, upgrading at a key area just when Antowain Smith hit the wall. We have done pretty well in the past, hitting more then we are missing. It is just some of our misses (Trotter, Brunell, George, Deion) were big ones. We need to limit big splurges and go after more people like Cornelius Griffin and Marcus Washington. The ironic thing is that our previous free spending ways may force us to do just what New England has been doing all along. Now we just have to stop trading away draft picks.

3.) Don’t be afraid to cut expensive problem players and put faith in hungry young players. In 2003 New England released Lawyer Malloy. He was a big part of their Super Bowl win in 2001, but had become a cancer on the team. Malloy signed with the Buffalo Bills and helped orchestrate a drubbing of New England on opening day to the tune of 31-0. However New England recovered, won 14 of 15 games, and then won the Super Bowl. The late move by Belichick was met with criticism at the time but most praise it now. He showed faith in his young players, in particular Rodney Harrison who had two interceptions in the Super Bowl this year, and immediately increased morale in the clubhouse. Gardner and McCants will be the first victims of this change in philosophy, but under-producing veterans could eventually see the axe as well. Renaldo Wynn, John Hall, Chad Morten, Mike Barrow, & Chris Samuels are all paid way more then they produce. Restructure, produce or get out and make way for hungry young position players.

4.) Hire good Assistant coaches. This is where we may actually be ahead of New England next season. After the debacle of Spurrier’s clown troupe he called a coaching staff, it was a welcome sight to see Redskin One going out and getting the best minds in the game along with some of the good ole boys. After a year of real live NFL games Gibbs and Bugel will adjust to the new speed of the NFL. Greg Williams was probably the smartest sign of a defensive coach in the history of our organization. Next year he may lose Smoot and possibly Pierce but perhaps a healthy Phillip Daniels, Lavar Arrington, and Matt Bowen coupled with a smarter, more experienced Sean Taylor can only make us a better defense. New England has lost their Defensive and Offensive coordinator to head coaching jobs. The only good thing about a 6-10 season is that your coaches aren’t immediately candidates for head coaching positions. Usually that is not a good thing at all. In our case though it is.

5.) Develop selfless players and expand team Chemistry. This is probably the simplest sounding idea; but the hardest to produce. If you do the above four steps this should fall in line. However there is no measurement at the Scouting Combine for heart. There is no stat book on courage and determination. There is no price tag on loyalty. New England had guys like Teddy Bruschi turn down guaranteed bigger pay days to stay and build something special. Troy Brown went from being the #1 receiver to a two-way player, playing cornerback and doing it well, without complaining. Tom Brady never gets rattled whether up 30 or down 5 with two minutes to go. Corey Dillon went from malcontent to gritty determined team player. We have a little bit of this, especially on defense. We need a lot more. Redskin One landing on their street to pick them up and sign them might put them on the team but only drafting a player and taking a chance on them builds loyalty. We need to do more of that.

So we are a good way along the road. However, the Redskins have some work to do. Like all good architects Joe Gibbs and staff are getting together and planning and preparing. This is usually our Super Bowl; we are the Kings of Football from February through April. It is time to translate that into a long term vision to bring us back to prominence. Let’s just hope New England doesn’t stand in our way.

Vision Quest: Leave Joe Gibbs Alone

At Monday’s Press Conference Joe Gibbs once again had to answer the question he had answered a million times. Even though his answers have always been the same and always been consistent, the press corp. and talk radio have always asked the same question like nervous parrots. The question “When are you going to leave?” This is the same press corp. who peppered Gibbs about immanent return questions during his 11 year hiatus from our sport. So that is how much the press corp. has changed in 15 plus years. They have learned to replace “come back” to “leave” and that is all they ask.

Why am I so mad about this particular subject? Well you have to understand who I am. I am a life long Redskin fan who grew up in Upstate NY. My Dad was from Detroit and followed the lions and my younger brother eventually became a Giants fan. But I, I just liked football without any particular team in mind. That is until the 1982 season. Michelangelo used to say that his sculptures were always in the marble and he just brought them into the world. I was always a Redskin fan waiting for Gibbs to win my heart.

I was in the 5th grade and in the hospital with a major bone infection. After a long struggle and several scary moments I was finally starting to recover, right before the Super Bowl. I immediately liked, and started to root for the Redskin players without knowing that much about them. Art Monk was a Syracuse graduate and doing well with his new club. Riggins was, well, Riggins. What 5th grade boy could not delight in his rare sense of humor? They showed highlights of his “Ballroom Comedy Show” during the pre game. And there was something about Joe Gibbs. He was 0-5 the year before; many wrote him off as a rookie coach. But now after a strike torn season he was in the Super bowl. I was fighting at the time so I decided to root for the fighters during the bowl.

I don’t need to recap the game for you fans here. Miami got up early and it looked as though my scrappy fighters weren’t going to fight. However back they came, clawing and scratching and, yes, fighting their way back. Then Riggins went off tackle, running 43 yards, dragging Dolphins with him, and sealing the victory. And this humble little man accepting the Lombardi trophy. Last year he almost lost his job before it started. Now he is king of the world.

So maybe I am still that 5th grader screaming “Don’t hurt my Coach!!” Or maybe I am a little insecure at the questioning; hoping Gibbs won’t hear the idea of quitting and decide to take it. Or maybe I am like many Redskin fans, acting like ex-wives who have recently re-married their husbands who left them before, obsessed on when he will leave again. Or maybe I am afraid the answer is “soon”.

Or maybe the press and radio talk show hosts are peddlers of controversies and not actual journalists. Gibbs reiterated in his press conference that he intend to serve out his contract, AT LEAST!!! This is the same thing he has said for the last year. But you would never know it if you read the papers or listened to talk radio. He made a simple joke that his time in football might be short if he doesn’t win games (a joke my 15 year old daughter who HATES football gets) and the Washington Post writes an article about “switching gears’ insinuating Gibbs is giving up on football. Talk radio is calling him greedy and lazy, postulating that not only did he come back for the money but he is wasting time on his NASCAR business while he should be concentrating on football.

I am not for Capital Punishment but how about we ship that radio host to Abu Ghairab for some special photos with the artist known as Lindsey England. This is ridiculous and Coach Gibbs spent 20 minutes saying just that in his press conference. If I see one more report how Gibbs will not serve out his contract then I point to this quote:

“I signed a 5 year contract when I came here. Most people sign a three year contracts, I signed a five year contract. My commitment to the Redskins is I want to do every single thing I can to restore the Redskins to winning football games. And I would say my commitment is a minimum of 5 years.” Joe Gibbs 1-31-05

Enough said. Now let’s talk more about how we are going to get back to winning football games instead of questioning the word of one of the most respected coaches the NFL has ever known.

hailRedskins.com Fan Board

I have been positng on the hailRedskins.com Fan BOard lately and the owenrs have extended to me an offer of becoming a Staff Writer for the board. I have accepted and this last blog post has been posted by them online. I post over there as CNYSkinFan and it is a great community. The site itself has one of the longest running and most active forums on the net and I look forward to posting there often. I will still post here if only for keeping an archive of all my posts.