In football as in life, it’s always
best to deal from a position of strength. The corollary is likewise
true: it’s never best to deal from a position of weakness. But as
bad as that may be, it’s always worse to deal from a position of
weakness that is contrived, which is why the Washington Redskins’
stupefying trade for the rights to presumably draft Baylor
quarterback Robert Griffin III is so, well, stupefying.
The Redskins, like much of the NFL
frankly, wanted an upgrade at quarterback. Believing that Griffin is
the next coming of fill-in-the-blank, the Redskins over exaggerated
their need to the point where they made a deal unlike anything the
NFL has seen since Mike Ditka traded away every one of his draft
picks in order to obtain Ricky Williams. Does anyone remember how
that worked out?
When desperation meets stupidity, bad
things often happen to a franchise.
You could analyze the trade in every
conceivable way but keeping it simple illustrates how completely dumb
Redskins owner Dan Snyder really is. It’s something we’ve known
for years but still appreciate the occasional reminder.
If you believe, as most likely do, that
RGIII is a better quarterback prospect then Sam Bradford, the St.
Louis Rams’ quarterback, then the case could have and should have
been made that the Rams should have held on to the pick and traded
Bradford, a fine prospect with some significant but not RGIII-caliber
market value.
But the Rams, knowing that good is good
enough at quarterback in the NFL, felt it was far better to stand pat
with the quarterback already in the fold and work from a position of
strength by picking the pocket of the addle-brained Snyder. It kept
them from having to perform the more complicated calculus of building
around RGIII, who would have arrived with the same sort of
limitations that (along with injuries) plagued Bradford last season,
namely a flimsy supporting cast.
As it is, the Rams now have 5 first
round picks in the next 3 drafts, courtesy of the Redskins. Even for
teams with mediocre drafting ability, those kinds of odds bode well
for creating massive improvement, particularly when compared to the
work the Redskins will have to do without the benefit of decent draft
choices in the next several years.
Just watch how much better Bradford
suddenly will get with blue chip talent around him.
I’m sure that Snyder mollified
himself with the bromide that if RGIII is who they think he is, the
first round picks he gave up will be late in the first round anyway
and hence less valuable. Could be, but let’s remember, they’re
still first round picks, which always trumps them being second round
picks.
The Redskins end up with RGIII
(presumably) and now will have to overpay in the free agent market
over the next few years if they are to have any hope in creating a
credible support system for their new asset. And let’s just be
charitable and say that under Snyder, the Redskins have participated
in the free agent market with disastrous results. If we were being
unvarnished, we’d point out that the reason Snyder is so
disrespected as an owner has everything to do with the ridiculous
bets he’s made in free agency. Another column for another day, I
suppose.
On most days the malfunctioning of
Snyder’s stupidity alarm would be the top story in the NFL. Right
now, though, it’s competing with storylines involving a handful of
other quarterbacks, such as Matt Flynn, Peyton Manning and perhaps
Tim Tebow for adequate air time. That’s because teams like the
Browns, who made a spirited push for the draft’s second pick, are
impacted by all the other machinations involving quarterbacks,
including the bonehead move the Redskins just made.
All this demonstrates once again that
left tackles are prized and speedy wide receivers are coveted,
quarterbacks are still the most important assets in the NFL. But
even as the most prized, their value has a limit.
When Browns’ general manager Tom
Heckert decided not to pull the trigger on giving up both of this
year’s first round picks in order to be able to draft Griffin, it
served as a reminder that the only way to cultivate the most
important asset in the NFL, you have to surround him with adequate
weapons. As important as the quarterback is, he’s not so important
as to sacrifice the rest of the offense.
It means, too, that Heckert likely
reached the same conclusion of McCoy that St. Louis reached of
Bradford. Good often is good enough.
It’s amazing, really, how good or bad
a quarterback can be based on the players around him. McCoy hasn’t
yet sold himself to Heckert, Mike Holmgren or head coach Pat Shurmur.
But it’s pretty clear that McCoy’s done enough to keep Heckert
from having to deal from a position of complete weakness in trying to
craft an acceptable trade for the Rams. Limits do get drawn and
Heckert, far better than someone like Snyder, understands that
constructing a good team has much in common with completing a 1000
piece jig saw puzzle then it does in finding one corner piece.
Heckert, in just two seasons, has
demonstrated that his ability to draft good, solid football players
eclipses any other who’s held a similar role with the Browns in the
last 12 years, at least. Granted, it’s not a high bar he’s had
to scale, but he’s scaled it nonetheless.
The fact that Heckert set a reasonable
price to trade up for RGIII and then wisely got out when Snyder went
all in is reason enough to continue to trust that Heckert is doing
the right things for this franchise now and for the next several
years to come.
Heckert is correct, for example, when
he underscores the simple fact that free agency is no way to build
and sustain a football team. There are gaps that can and should get
filled but it’s rarely done by overpaying for a superstar.
Yet if Heckert had made that trade, he
would have been forced to dip deeply perhaps in the free agency pool
to get Griffin a viable supporting cast. It wouldn’t have been a
one and done dip in that pool, either, but a sustained effort for the
next few seasons in order to bridge the gap created by surrendering
so many draft picks in the first place. That gets expensive fast and
hasn't proved to be successful for any team, including those
aforementioned Redskins.
This is what brings it all back around
to Snyder. The NFL has watched in both horror and amusement as
Snyder has run the Redskins franchise in the ground for a variety of
reasons, including one imprudent free agent acquisition after
another.
Indeed the case could be made that the
Redskins were so desperate to get Griffin because of all the
personnel screw ups they’ve made in the last several years. Yet
here they go again, seemingly covering up one mistake while
simultaneously opening up new holes.
It reminds me of when the Texas Rangers
and owner Tom Hicks signed Alex Rodriguez to a contract worth in
excess of $250 million. Unencumbered by a salary cap, Hicks went all
in and then spent what he didn't have without even stopping to
consider two important points. Rodriguez couldn’t play all 9
positions at once and it takes even more money to surround Rodriguez
with enough talent to actually win a World Series. Hicks more than
demonstrated that an endless bankroll does indeed have an end.
It’s not an accident that the Rangers
got better after they unloaded Rodriguez on the Yankees. And it
won’t be an accident when Snyder wakes up some time in the next few
years and realizes that he was a tad impetuous when he mortgaged his
team’s future for one player. That will probably come when his
fortune dwindles and he's forced to sell the team like a junior Art
Modell.
RGIII has every chance to be a very
special player in the NFL. But there isn’t a scenario where it
would have made sense for the Browns to match the Redskins’ offer
or, God forbid, better it for the Heisman Trophy winner. The Browns
are far more likely to get better faster without Griffin then with
him, at least at the price he would have cost both directly and
indirectly.
