Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Mark Carrier, Chad Morton, Brandon Lloyd, Antwan Randle El, and Albert Haynesworth are the ghosts of Redskins free agent past. The Dan Snyder era in Washington failure. The 2010 offseason, all of 4 days in, thus far represents real change that was promised in Washington when Vinny Cerrato was fired, and Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan brought in to turn around the franchise.
Bruce Allen, in an interview with Peter King, described the offseason philosophy of the Redskins in a nutshell “"Free agency isn't a day, and it's not a weekend. We think free agency runs 'til the first day of training camp, let's see who you have a couple of months from now, not just who you have after a couple of days. What difference does it make when you sign them, if they help you”
Music to the ears of Redskins fans. No March press conference the first day of free agency to show off a new shiny overpaid star (Julius Peppers anyone?). No unwarranted optimism, no big signing bonuses, no new jersey’s to buy. Just silence.
By now, the front office plan should be obvious. Reading the list of players who will be visiting Redskins Park over the next week, and the guys who have come in for visits, and in the case of Hicks signed, its obvious what the overall plan is.
Shanahan/Allen are trying to bring in solid veterans that can fill gaps short term to avoid epic disasters of 2009. Guys who are pros and know how to prepare/play in the NFL.
What they are trying to avoid is having the 2009 situation where several positions were not manned by NFL caliber starters.
The contract Hicks signed is for 3 years. I am guessing Pashos and Clifton were offered similar lengths, as will Parker and other visitors.
It will give the front office 3 drafts, 2010, 2011 and 2012, to stock up on young talent, have them slowly work their way into the starting lineup and have the team ready to be competitive by 2012.
Lets face it, 2010 isn't going to be a good year, but there is no way Shanahan is going to allow himself to be embarrassed the way Zorn was in 2009. Bringing in solid vets to help field a competitive team while young guys learn is the best approach to set the team up for the next decade
