Throw Money from the (Gravy) Train: An 11-Year History of the Washington Redskins

So, here I am watching Bloomberg Television today and they're talking about how the Washington Redskins were destroyed by the Philadelphia Eagles 59-21 at home on Monday Night Football after Donovan McNabb signed a $78 million, $40 million guaranteed. That makes it a business story and earns its way onto FIN TRUTH.

What I did not find out until later, from Lindsay Czarniak of local news WRC-TV4, is that the Redskins can release McNabb at the end of the season at a cost of $3.75 million. Brandon Lloyd, who did nothing for the Redskins but catch 8 passes in 2 years for $8 million and maybe one touchdown....earned $4 million a year for 4 catches (on average). So, signing McNabb to $3.75 million, a contract already on the table, and "putting to bed" the controversial benching in Detroit, was another great way of throwing money at a problem. Right? Wrong.

As usual, Snyder's idea was the typical businessman solution. Only, football is a game and throwing money at a problem will not solve the actual problem, which is that the Redskins no longer want Donovan McNabb and McNabb probably doesn't want to play for the Redskins after this season. This leaves the Redskins with no decent quarterback prospects for next season. They are basically in the dark on the quarterback position...except for this year. It's definitely Donovan this year.

So, what happened? Well, some coach--Kyle or Mike Shanahan, or both--decided to bench TEAM LEADER and a very good two-minute drill quarterback with 2 minutes left in Detroit and the Redskins down by 6 points. Everybody thinks it's stupid and those who are not sure realize it is when backup Rex Grossman fumbles the ball and it's returned by the Detroit Lions for a touchdown to lose the game. The Redskins might have lost anyway, but it would not have been because of a stupid, emotional decision.

Before, the locker room was not divided at all. Now it's clear the coaching staff was arrogant and/or egotistical in taking out McNabb and humiliating him--the TEAM LEADER. So, it's still not really divided. Right? Wrong.

Bring in Albert Haynesworth, the antagonist who is not a leader but a troublemaker. Sure, everyone was behind Donovan but, now that the coaches acted like the jerks Haynesworth accused them of being, Haynesworth might have some players wondering...players like DeAngelo Hall for starters. "Hey, maybe Albert's right...maybe these guys are just jerks. Look how they treated Donovan." So, during the Bye week, players start wondering if the coaches can be trusted--Is Donovan going to stay with the Redskins beyond this year? If not, what does that mean about next year? Do I have to play for this coach next year? Who will be the quarterback? Some players may stick with the coaches...like Chris Cooley. Others might be in the Haynesworth camp. Then, there's the Donovan camp--he's still the team leader, right?

The point is, there's a game coming up against the Philadelphia Eagles. They just beat the Indianapolis Colts in an authoritative fashion. This is a division game and the Eagles are playing for first place. The Redskins, however, are playing for a second place tie, one game behind first place, a 3-0 division record and a huge step toward a playoff birth--at home on Monday Night Football. They're all competitors; they know what's at stake.

Enter Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, marketing "guru" who has never played a down of real football in his life but whose philosophy, again, is to throw money at a problem to fix it. What Snyder doesn't really understand, because he's a sports fan and not a wise man, is that Winning the Game cures the problem.

If Snyder wants to throw money at Donovan McNabb, take him and his wife out to an elaborate dinner and some ridiculously overpriced steak house; talk about what's going on one-on-one; and, if Donovan wants to leave at the end of the year, that's okay, too. Just let him know he's appreciated and respected as a player and a person.

But, that's not the way Snyder does it. For the past 11 years, Daniel Snyder has thrown money at a problem, just certain he knows the answer. As Michael Wilbon wrote Tuesday in the Washington Post, names like Deion Sanders, Adam Archuleta, Dana Stubblefield (actuall, I think he was before Snyder's time), Bruce Smith (who could barely make a sack before he earned the overall sack record), Brandon Lloyd (now the top NFL receiver with Denver), Antwaan Randle-El, Albert "malcontent" Haynesworth, Jeff George (who pissed off future Super Bowl quarterback Brad Johnson) and the list goes on with Mark Brunell, etc., etc.

Will guys like Snyder ever learn that these athletes who are worth their weight don't care about money--they care about championships. They have plenty of money. Those who don't care about championships but care about money come to the Redskins.

Take, for example, LeBron James. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Daniel Gilbert, who made a fortune with Quicken Loans, wanted to become an NBA owner and bring the Cleveland Cavaliers to a championship. He got LeBron James and, in the NBA, that can just about do it. Only, even LeBron still needed one or two players more to complete the goal. So, when his contract was up and Gilbert threw all the money in the world at LeBron, he chose the Miami Heat. Why? Because he knew he could win a championship with the Miami Heat. Why do you think everyone wants to play for Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers? Then, the question is: Is this player good enough to play for us? Not, how much can we give this guy to play for us.

LeBron James chose a potential NBA Championship ring over money, and that's the right choice. That's the noble choice. It showed character. What does Gilbert do? He tries to disgrace James by saying James turned against the city of Cleveland. Gilbert, of course, was acting like a spoiled loser, showed no character at all and just could not understand that throwing money at LeBron could not actually keep him in Cleveland.

Gilbert and Snyder are cut from the same cloth. Money will get them anything they want...until it doesn't. And, how do they react?

Well, back to the McNabb soap opera. After two weeks of waiting to see how Donovan and the Washington Redskins respond following the McNabb benching, the Redskins announce--unexpectedly--that Donovan McNabb has extended his contract for 5 years, $78 million, really $40 million, blah, blah, blah...and we walk into the stadium under the assumption that this contract means he's our quarterback ("we" meaning the fans).

Only, the team shows up as if they just don't want to be there. The first quarter, this fired up Philadelphia team walks onto the field and pounds another team that gave almost no effort, no fight, no physical football that we saw in first eight games. This was a team that did not feel like playing on Monday Night Football against a division opponent. Would they have been ready to play without this huge contract announcement? Perhaps.

But one thing we must now assume is that the players knew the entire contract announcement was all bullshit. They mush have known that all this means is that McNabb will play in Washington for at least the remainder of this season. That's it. For all we know, Snyder and McNabb agreed to this in an effort to put everything behind them. So now, the team must wonder--Is this the last season here for Donovan? Is Albert right about this organization? Is this the same old crap we've seen here for 11 years? Am I just playing for lousy organization with a horrible owner who tries to buy players and market it for his own "sport" rather than focusing solely on winning championships? And, all this time, a game is about to start against an extremely talented and physical division opponent.

The Redskins were not ready. The team gave a lackluster effort. The season looks over.

And, all this, because Snyder just can't help but interfere in the only way he knows how to interfere--money and marketing. Only, the fans want a championship; the players want a championship--except for Haynesworth who wants off of this team and the same is probably true of TEAM LEADER Donovan McNabb.

So, the season is probably over. As I said before, WINNING is what cures team chemistry problems in the NFL and not money. In fact, money causes team chemistry problems if it does anything at all. Ever see New England overpay players based on getting benched or in the hopes they will perform.

If the Redskins beat Tennessee this weekend, then perhaps all is not lost for the season. If they lose a close one, at least they have a shot. However, another blowout loss and this team has stopped playing for Mike Shanahan and, as usual, for marketing "guru" Dan Snyder.