| Authored by Randolph Charlotin - 2nd October, 2008 - 2:08 pm
 OK, I’ll admit it. For a while I didn’t like the Washington Redskins. It was about how they did business. They thought a franchise could buy success. I didn’t like that approach. I like teams built up from within over time.
I didn’t always dislike the ‘Skins. I was very happy for the 1991 team that beat down the Buffalo Bills. Quarterback Mark Rypien connecting with receivers Art Monk, Gary Clark, and Ricky Sanders. The backfield duo of Ernest Byner and Ricky Irvins were a great power/speed combination. And the defense led by defensive end Charles Mann and cornerback Darrell Green was formidable.
Why did my opinion of the franchise change? It started when Daniel Snyder became owner 10 years ago. I’ll admit, I judged the book by the cover. He looked like a nerd with those glasses. But that’s not why I didn’t like him.
What rubbed me the wrong way Snyder trying to be the face of the franchise. He was at every press conference, every team function, on the sidelines, in the owner’s box, always on camera. But what was worse was he never turned down a microphone.
Maybe the motivation for Snyder started when he watched the rivalry between the Redskins and the hated Dallas Cowboys as a kid. Now, as the Redskins owner, Snyder was compelled to throw himself into the middle of the rivalry the only way he could. It wasn’t enough for the teams to compete on the field, but Snyder tried to win off the field as well.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones from the moment he bought the Cowboys made himself ubiquitous. He had no shame being on the sideline or even in the coaching offices and even draft room, giving his input. And, of course, he always had something to say whenever the media was around.
As a Redskins fan, maybe Snyder was annoyed by Jones. So as Washington’s owner, he wasn’t going to just sit idly by and let Jones hog the spotlight. Snyder did something about it and that was to be the league’s latest in-your-face owner.
That didn’t go over well. If he found Jones annoying, what made Snyder think others would be cool with him blabbing all over the place? Thankfully Snyder faded into the background recently, making the Redskins easier to swallow.
But I still didn’t like the teams they constructed year after year. Washington was always a big spender during free agency. It was a given that they would be one of the most active teams in the free agent market. To me, it was like trying to buy a championship.
They thought by signing the best players the Redskins would become a great team. Need a quarterback? Sign Brad Johnson. The defense is weak against the run? Lure linebackers Jesse Armstead and Jeremiah Trotter from divisional rivals. Pass rush not what it should be? See if defensive end Bruce Smith has anything left in the tank. Offensive line not what it should be? Get guard Randy Thomas on board.
Much to my satisfaction, most of the quick fixes didn’t work. In Snyder’s first year, Washington reached the playoffs. The next five years all were non-winning seasons. The ‘Skins slipped to 8-8 in 2000 and 2001 before they backslid down to 7-9 and 5-11.
It was also enjoyable watching the annual train wrecks because they kept on bringing in high profile coaches to turn the team around. I thought Marty Schottenheimer got a raw deal in 2001. The long time coach had the team headed in the right direction after a 0-5 start. Under Schottenheimer’s direction, the Redskins won their next five games and went 8-3 after the 0-fer start.
Somehow it wasn’t enough. The way Washington discarded the venerable Schottenheimer wasn’t right. Then to replace Marty with Steve Spurrier, a college coach with a gimmick offense and no NFL experience, that move further soured me.
So you can imagine the amount of glee it brought me as Spurrier and his pass-happy ways quickly crashed and burned.
I thought Snyder bringing back the legendary Joe Gibbs in ‘04 was another high profile hire doomed to fail. I also thought more seasons of Washington’s inability to turn it around would tickle me some more.
But around that time Snyder stepped out of the spotlight. With Gibbs as the coach, Snyder knew not to get in the way.
Even though Gibbs managed just six wins, the front office made their best move in years: They didn’t can the coach. Instead of making a snap decision when they didn’t get immediate results, they gave Gibbs a chance to develop the team.
And resting the itchy trigger finger paid off as the ‘Skins reversed their record to 10-6 and a playoff birth.
The turnaround was good to see, especially watching the homegrown talent make big contributions. H-back Chris Cooley and safety Sean Taylor became impact players. They traded for running back Clinton Portis in 2004, but Ladell Betts, a 2002 second rounder considered an afterthought at the time, powered the ground game as Portis missed eight games in 2006.
’06 was just a 5-11 season, but the youthful building blocks were being set in place. That showed the following year as Washington, inspired by the unexpected death of Taylor, willed their way into the playoffs.
This season, the take it slow, build from within direction the ‘Skins took while led by Gibbs is taking the next step. The quarterback of the future Gibbs hand-picked in 2005, Jason Campbell, is flourishing. And Campbell is doing so under the direction of new head coach Jim Zorn, the hired offensive coordinator who was promoted when the team couldn’t secure the services of a big name coach.
Right now Washington feels great about themselves after going into Dallas and upsetting a Cowboys team many felt was the best team in the league. It’s an interesting contrast between teams. Dallas is loaded with free agent prima donnas and a Hollywood quarterback while the Redskins are more homegrown with an unknown as the coach.
Now this is a Redskins team I can like.
For more from Randolph Charlotin, check out his blog at http://www.newenglandpatriotsnews.com/randolphc/weblog/. He can be contacted at lordrc@netzero.net. |
