Redskins Pay Price For Moves

Redskins associate head coach Al Saunders, left, isn't seeing eye-to-eye with players such as wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, right. (By John Mcdonnell, Left, And Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)

Like Carter, he spent long stretches of last Sunday's 36-22 loss to Indianapolis watching from the sideline.

While the Redskins went after a big-name safety in Archuleta, they signed journeyman Kenny Wright for a veteran-minimum salary as the team's third cornerback.

Wright has been victimized since injuries forced him into a starting role. Meantime, Clark and cornerback Walt Harris are having strong seasons with other teams.

The Redskins outspent every other team in the league in free agency last winter by signing Carter, Archuleta, Lloyd and Randle El to nearly identical contracts worth at least $10 million and up to $30 million apiece over six years. It followed the big-spending pattern set by the franchise in recent years, one that runs counter to that set by successful NFL teams such as Pittsburgh, New England and Philadelphia, which build through the draft and use free agency to supplement their homegrown stars.

"The draft has to be the foundation of your team," said Bobby Beathard, the architect of Washington's Super Bowl clubs as general manager, who declined to speak specifically about the Redskins and only shared his general thoughts about how to assemble a successful team. "Free agency can be very dangerous, and you can't approach it like a kid in a candy store; you have to find a way to show restraint.

"It can be a very destructive force if you don't have self-discipline, and a lot of the time you can end up with somebody else's problems. Eventually, it will catch up to you and disrupt your team. All it takes is one or two mistakes, and you've screwed everything up."

Gibbs Gives Up Calling Shots

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Washington's big-spending approach on players was nothing new this past offseason, but the decision to lure Saunders from the Chiefs in January caught many by surprise.

Saunders's hiring was a significant concession by Gibbs, and a considerable gamble as well. Gibbs's legacy was at stake, and it was inconceivable for many around the league to imagine him no longer designing the game plan, calling plays, retaining authority over every detail of the offense.

But Saunders and Gibbs share a mentor, former San Diego head coach Don Coryell, and value the same core offensive principles. They also have known each other for 36 years. When Gibbs flew to Saunders's house to woo him, he emphasized that he would become more like a CEO this season and would be less involved with the offense. In one long evening, they ironed out the arrangement that is paying Saunders $2 million a year to be the Redskins' associate head coach.

"Of all the things they did, that was the most shocking thing to me," said one NFC personnel executive whose team has faced the Redskins numerous times in recent years. "You had to be surprised, because at one time Joe Gibbs was the genius. And there's no doubt that you can still be successful in this league playing Joe Gibbs football. [Heck], they were doing it last year."

Washington's offense had made strides in 2005, with Moss and Portis each setting franchise yardage records. Saunders offered the possibility of an even more explosive offense, Gibbs surmised.

Saunders began teaching his 700-page playbook in the offseason. The coaches used almost none of the new plays in preseason games, however, saying they did not want to reveal too much to opponents. But by doing so they also eliminated the ability for the starters to work through the playbook in game situations.