ExtremeSkins Fan View: Cap Hell Rocks! By Arthur Mills ExtremeSkins.com March 16, 2006 Don't hate us because we're beautiful. No more blank, wondering stares, confused head scratching, frothing emotional outbursts, conspiracy theories or embarrassing, dismissive references to 2000. The Washington Redskins are the central theme of every NFL team message board out there. Here's a message to you all from all ExtremeSkins fans everywhere. It's time to embrace the reality of it all. Simply, we're better than you. That's it. Look no further. We are better than you. We're more fun. It feels better to be us. We've got flair. We're audacious, capricious, bodacious, supercalifragilisticxpalidocious. Are you finally getting it? Yes, yes, I know cap hell was supposed to be upon us. I know that's what you've been told. I feel for you, I really do. As you come to realize we're better than you, a second bit of stark reality must also penetrate. We're smarter than them. Repeat after me. The Washington Redskins are managed, coached and owned by highly professional people who know more about running a football franchise than ALL the unnamed, anonymous sources any reporter has yanked from the broom closet and quoted. Don't take my word for it. Take the following words for it. Brandon Lloyd, Antwaan Randle El, Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, Todd Collins, Christian Fauria. The question you all should be asking isn't, "How is all this possible?" No. The question should be, "How didn't we know this was all possible?" Six years of assurances cap hell was on the way and you still allowed yourself to believe the tripe. Perhaps busting the cap hell myth as it relates to the Washington Redskins is just too painful a thing for media and fans of other teams to do. Like a child coming to the harsh knowledge Santa doesn't exist, the media and opposing teams' fans are struggling desperately to hang on to the fiction that cap hell is on the way for the Redskins despite--literally--YEARS of demonstrated contrary evidence. Here's the best part. You don't have to hate us for what we're doing. You can do it, too. "The thing I want to emphasize is this: We haven't done one thing that anybody else can't do," Joe Gibbs said after the introductory press conference for Andre Carter. "We have certain rules in the league. Here's the cap, here's the numbers, here's what you can spend, so everybody in the league can do what we're doing, it's just that they choose not to, many of them." Deep down, this is really the issue, isn't it? You can do it too and you know it, but, your team doesn't do it, so, you have a hard choice. Hate your team, or hate us. Say you're a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. You always have all those many millions available, which somehow never seem to get spent. All week you're hearing how you have LeCharles Bentley locked up as your free agent masterstroke to solidify your offensive line. You are giddy. You're thrilled. You know this is the guy you need. He fills a need and makes it a strength. You're excited about the prospects of adding such a substantial piece. Then, the Cleveland Browns call, offer a few more bucks to Bentley and Bentley winds up in Cleveland leaving you with nothing more than whimpering excuses that Bentley is from Cleveland and always wanted to play there. Oh, hush. Antwaan Randle El is from Chicago. He's always wanted to play there. Yet he's playing in D.C. Adam Archuleta admits he adores Lovie Smith after years playing for him with St. Louis and wanted to play with him in Chicago. Yet he's playing in D.C. Andre Carter just had to meet the Broncos because his father played there 12 years and he envisioned being the second generation of his family with the team. Yet he's playing in D.C. And it's driving you crazy because you were so excited and thrilled about the prospects of adding a good player your management and owner can't figure out how to land while we get EVERY single player we shoot at. We get to actually live the thrill and giddiness you only get to brush up against. And it's killing you. Did we pay a premium for generally young players entering their prime with years left to play in the NFL? You bet we did. Kind of like when the Eagles lock up their own young players for a premium before they really emerge on the scene and everyone calls that genius. Think of it like that, only, with the component of actually being smart because an expensive 24-year-old promising receiver suddenly becomes a very cheap 26-year-old receiver when he grabs 80 balls. See, we already had good players under contract. Now we have more. As you struggle to find words to describe the coming cap doom heading our way, try to process one final thought. When you have that free agent you need all lined up and you don't get him, well, isn't that really what cap hell feels like? I wouldn't know, because I don't ever have to feel that way. http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=15982 Just reading something like this makes me hate the Skins even more :deadskins:
The Skins fans are delusional. If the salary cap hadn't been increased they wouldn't have been able to sign anyone. What's scary to me is that they signed a bunch of players who are't anything special. No superstars, different makers. Just a bunch of tier 2 free agents who are nice players. But those types of players shouldn't get $100 million.
If they're so much better than all of us, where were they last February? Oh that's right, sitting at home after getting knocked out of the Playoffs.
I'm a Skins fan and I can even say that Art is an egotistical asshole who needs to be taken down a peg.
Yea, that does pretty much say it all. They can enjoy their offseason highlights all they want, for years now theyve been nothing but ordinary from the months of September to February. If their fan base is satisfied with that, then thats their business. Like it or not, the Patriots have done the majority of the winning for the last half decade, and I cant think of more than one or two offseason signings that drew even marginal interest from the media.
I can't see this team winning more than a game in the playoffs again because they have Mark Brunell who's 35, then Todd "incomplete pass" Collins, and Casey Bramlet. Who's going to be throwing the ball to these 4 receivers anyway? Nobody that great.
Wow, I can't believe the Redskins actually put that on their official site. It's so tacky and tasteless. But any wonder it originates from extremeskins? That entire site has felt like some North Korean re-education camp ever since the Redskins bought it. Every post sounds the same. "Mass media equals evil." "Dear Leader [Dan Snyder] knows what's best." What's even sadder is the fact that they don't have anything to really be all that arrogant about. I mean can one playoff victory in the last 13+ years really be considered a success in anyones mind but the most delusional?
That guy used to post here. Art, I believe his name is. Anyway, let them revel in their annual FA championship. It's as close as they'll get. $5 million a year for Adam Archuleta? That doesn't make you better then anyone. It makes you stupider then everyone.
To be fair they have two. Detroit in 99 and TB this year, and the last coach to get em there with consistency is back at the helm with a top staff. I'm pissed the Skins allow Art to have a column. His attitude is acceptable in the forum where its just talking with people, but they gave the wrong fan a column to represent "our" view. His column had me shaking my head in embarassment for the uneccessary stereotype its going to perpetuate cause the only thing that column is going to get across to anyone is that he's an asshole. I for one do agree with him to an extent, in that too many people are still focused on the 2000 spending spree and quick dismantling of the team in 2001 to give Snyder a bit of credit for what he's doing now, even if its not a proven or even perfect strategy. The fact that Joe Gibbs and staff make the player decisions and Snyder handles the contract situation is the biggest decision and biggest relief in my eyes. Under Gibbs watch they've had a bunch of great pickups who really buy into Gibbs and the team concept. Clinton Portis, Santana as you well know, Marcus Washington, Brunell(even if he was pricy, he still showed when healthy he is a winning QB and had a career year) Corneilus Griffin, Shawn Springs, Joe Salevea, and so on. Done a great job with the draft picks they've had. Carlos Rogers looks to be a solid pro, will be better than Smoot. Dockery is a great run blocker and showed good improvement in the passing game towards the end of the year. Cooley had 70 catches in his 2nd year and is continuing to mature as one of the most consistent intermediate threats in the game. Also, Gibbs had 3 first round picks in his first coaching stint. THREE. He has never been as big on drafting as a lot of coaches, He prefers people who have proven they can work at this level. Yeah, the players they got were paid alot for performance we haven't seen out of them yet. But these are still talented guys who were on untalented squads or in the case of Randle-El, a run dominant offense. Gibbs, Bugel, Saunders, and Williams all coveted these guys. Those 4 are some of the better coaches in the league and some maybe league history. Anyone who says the Redskins are FOOLS for getting these players are flatout saying they know more than a HOF Coach, one of the top 5 line coaches in league history, and 2 masterminds who have had their units in the top 5, if not the top year after year. Yes, the contracts are big. But a great coaching staff flatout wanted these guys. lets at least get em on the field and playing before we claim these guys are going to fail because they make more money than they should.
The only year they didn't go nuts in FA they FINALLY made the playoffs, now they are back to their old tricks adding players they don't need and overspending for them. It will be fun to watch them fall on their face again.
As a Skins faithful, I HATED that story. Bear in mind it was written by a fan site and only "partnered" with the offical team page. It was reactionary from taking all the crap from the national media. We've become targets. Frankly, I wish it never went up as representative as how we felt as fans.
I have read some of the responses, and I'm really impressed with some of the Redskins' fans view on this article. Thumbs up to you guys. I'm glad not all of you feel the same way
I think a lot of Jets fans need to now realize that Dan Snyder and Mike Tannenbaum are acting in cooperation. I said a few days ago that I thought Snyder was showing public interest in Abe as a co-op to get the Jets to sweeten the pot for Ramsey. Now 2 teams are bidding on Abe and we just gave up a 6th for Ramsey instead of a 7th as he was widely regarded as being worth.
well, if cap hell isnt upon them right now, it will dump on them all at oncve soemtime in the next ten years with all these players they are overpaying see: the 49ers, they cant even afford brandon lloyd
