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Meet the New Boss
A Philosophical Shift
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Adding so many players via the draft was most unusual for a front office legendary for luring established stars to Washington with big-money contracts.
"We've all learned a lot from mistakes of the past that we've made," Cerrato said. "We have a good feel for what fits the Redskins, what does well for the Redskins, and what helps us win games. The type of people we need, and the type of things we need to do, we have a pretty good understanding of that. The biggest thing you need is good people. What we have found is that good people win."
"Good people, in tough times, bring you out of tough times. They don't allow the tough times to continue. When you're in crisis situations, or when you're in three- or four-game losing streaks, good people bring you out of that. Joe kind of got us going in the right direction, he got us stabilized and settled, and I want us to keep going in the right direction."
To understand how much money Snyder and Cerrato have spent on players, the best figures come from the NFL Management Council, which tracks "committed cash," the amount franchises pay players each season. Unlike salary cap figures, committed cash includes all bonuses and incentives. The figures are distributed to teams and the NFL Players Association. They were obtained through league sources.
After their annual restructuring of cap-heavy contracts last spring, the Redskins were No. 1 in the league in spending, in terms of committed cash, at $747 million since 2000, which includes the season under Schottenheimer. The Indianapolis Colts were second at $710 million and the Baltimore Ravens ($708 million), Dallas Cowboys ($700 million) and New England Patriots ($694 million) completed the top five. Indianapolis, Baltimore and New England each have won at least one Super Bowl during that span.
In dead salary cap space, the term for money still allocated to players no longer on the team, the Redskins were first since 2000 at $83 million, according to the records. Washington was followed by the 49ers and Denver Broncos ($80 million), Tennessee Titans ($78 million) and Oakland Raiders ($75 million).
"This stuff right here, these numbers, this is the NFL's version of 'Moneyball,' " said a high-ranking official after reviewing the spreadsheets from the management council, referring to the school of thought popular in baseball that the careful cultivation of cheaper, undervalued players rather than high-priced veterans is the best and most cost-effective route to success. "This is how you grade the managers. This is how you evaluate the guys paid to do the evaluating. The numbers don't lie."
Cerrato and other Redskins officials acknowledge the team erred in signing so many older free agents in 2000 -- Mark Carrier, Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith -- and there are more recent moves they regret. Adam Archuleta was one of the biggest free agent busts in league history in the 2006 season after signing the largest contract for a safety. He was traded after the season to the Bears for a late-round draft pick. In February, the Redskins released wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, for whom they traded two draft picks to the 49ers to acquire before the 2006 season and gave $10 million guaranteed.
There are conflicting views about whether Gibbs attempted to adjust the front-office structure after the team went 5-11 in the 2006 season. Gibbs said last night that he "had a great working relationship with Cerrato," and said that he never considered replacing him. But two NFL sources said the team made preliminary overtures to at least one executive with another team to work with or above Cerrato.
"At different times, we talked about things to strengthen that department, and at times we made moves to strengthen that department, but it was always Vinny's" position, Gibbs said. "All I ever was was a part of the process . . . of trying to strengthen the whole football program. I would not get off into, 'We went looking for some person to come in here.' That's just not the case."
Thus far, Cerrato's first solo draft has not provided much benefit. Thomas and Kelly are off to shaky starts, and angered Zorn for their poor conditioning at the beginning of training camp. They fell behind while recovering from injuries and are not expected to contribute early in the season. Kelly's lingering knee problem was such a concern that Zorn considered putting him on injured reserve, which would have ended his season.
All 10 of the draft picks this spring made the 53-man roster, though veteran punter Derrick Frost said he was cut so that sixth-round pick Durant Brooks could make the team because "when you've got a draft that isn't starting to look so good, you're going to do whatever you can to make it look as good as possible."
