Redskins and the cap

[TheBritishRam]

I read before free agency started that the Redskins were in the bottom 5 for cap room with around $8 million. So how have they managed to sign Haynesworth, Dockery and Hall to big contracts with less cap room than the rams??

Does anyone know how this is possible??

[majorram]

mate I really don't know, they do this every year..............

steve

[jkramsfan]

I read that the Redskins are excluded from all cap rules,just kidding but it sure does seem like it,same thing every year but at the end of the season the story remains the same they are home watching like everyone else who doesn't make the playoffs or gets booted early.

[Slug]

The reason is the simple fact that 'CASH > CAP'. Our front office is stellar at cap manipulation. Contracts get back-loaded, tons of the money is tied up in incentives and bonuses. Contracts get restructured (advancing salary money in cash to players, but taking it out of their contract numbers) down the line before there is a real impact on our cap. Every year people like to laugh and say that we'll be in "cap hell", our guys just chuckle and say "Watch this". Our front office is very creative with the contracts. Hell, even the Haynesworth deal is "100 million" only on the surface...after the big 41 mil guaranteed, most of the rest of that is spread out over the life of the contract and laden with performance and workout clauses. There's little chance he sees that full amount. This guy does a good job of explaining the basics of Washington's Capology.

Funnier still - after the release of Jason Taylor, I think we're further under the cap now than when free agency started. You might not have seen the last signing in D.C. this year yet.

[general counsel]

The point is that they are constantly borrowing against their future and they are not afraid of the cash risks (which are independent of cap risks) associated with those decisions. It looks sexy, but has it worked? No.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Slug]

We're actually mostly pleased with it this off season. We as fans know that the way to build lasting success into a franchise, isn't in free agency. Our front office doesn't quite seem to get that quite yet. What they /do/ finally get, is that we need to get younger..to stop giving huge FA contracts to players who are over 35, and on the downside of their career or to mediocre players who simply had a flash-in-the-pan good season (See Lloyd, Archuleta). Hall, Dockery, Haynesworth..all sub-30 guys in their primes with demonstrable talent. In my opinion at least that's a step in the right direction. If they are going to continue to spend big in free agency, at least I hope they keep doing it on guys like that as opposed to the old way.

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they now don't do anything silly like trade away the rest of our picks before the draft.

[RAMarkable]

We're actually mostly pleased with it this off season. We as fans know that the way to build lasting success into a franchise, isn't in free agency. Our front office doesn't quite seem to get that quite yet. What they /do/ finally get, is that we need to get younger..to stop giving huge FA contracts to players who are over 35, and on the downside of their career or to mediocre players who simply had a flash-in-the-pan good season (See Lloyd, Archuleta). Hall, Dockery, Haynesworth..all sub-30 guys in their primes with demonstrable talent. In my opinion at least that's a step in the right direction. If they are going to continue to spend big in free agency, at least I hope they keep doing it on guys like that as opposed to the old way.

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they now don't do anything silly like trade away the rest of our picks before the draft.

Good points all, Slug. My question to you concerns DeAngelo Hall. Do you have any idea why Zombie Al would sign him to a big mega contract and then unceremoniously cut the guy half way thru last season? Was Hall just playing poorly or did he have some issues we are unaware of?

WHAT SAY YE?

[Slug]

Good points all, Slug. My question to you concerns DeAngelo Hall. Do you have any idea why Zombie Al would sign him to a big mega contract and then unceremoniously cut the guy half way thru last season? Was Hall just playing poorly or did he have some issues we are unaware of?

WHAT SAY YE?

That's a tough one, and unfortunately many of the real reasons are locked up in the unknowable mind of Al Davis. I'll do my best though. Hall's release from Oakland was a result of a couple different influences.

Hall's skill set didn't quite fit into the defenses utilized by Oakland's secondary. Hall has always been most comfortable with, and most effective in, schemes that allow his to anticipate routes and primarily play the ball (this is why you get the "feast or famine" feeling with him..in his element he's either getting burned for a big TD play or he's returning a pick, with little variations in between). Unfortunately the Raiders scheme was primarily designed around press coverage on the player and lots of bump&go play. Square peg, meet sort of kinda rectangle hole. He shouldn't have been placed in that D in the first place.

After the 2-6 record that the Raiders trudged through to start the season, Al Davis phoned it in. He started immediately looking ahead to '09. Hall was the begining of a roster shake-up that, in Davis' mind, was going to give Oakland that fresh start. A sort of mental reboot. First went Kiffin, then went Hall. There was also talk at the time of releasing Javon Walker. In addition to the shake-up, they were looking to free up cash in anticipation of forthcoming '09 contract signings (including the pressing need to be able to resign the coveted Nmandi Asomugha).

Still, the release didn't seem to make a ton of sense. Some sources reported that it was a performance issue, while Hall himself says that Davis confided in him that that wasn't the case. Other players on the team were just as confused. Gibril Wilson commented, “I’ve never been in a situation where you cut one of the best players. That’s strange to me. It’s almost like we’re throwing in the towel.”

Whatever the actual reason, the simple fact is that Hall didn't fit into Oakland's defensive scheme. Washington however, runs a scheme that allows him to play the ball and rely on deeper safety help. It shows too. In just 8 games with us he was able to creep up quickly to second on the interceptions list. As for his old character issues, we'll all just hope those stayed in Atlanta. He seems happier here. He grew up in Virginia, went to Tech, and is now playing for what was his favorite team growing up. If he can keep performing in our system like he did after we picked him up last season, he'll be worth every penny.

[jerseyramsfan]

Hehe... I've got a buddy who's a Skins fan. I always tease him with it were old Rams go to die.....