Redskins and Cowboys to Fight Cap Penalties

Imagine you're driving home one day in your car and you decide to turn right on a red light. Next thing you know, you see police lights in your rear view mirror.

"Something wrong officer?" you ask.

"You turned right on red."

"I'm sorry, is that illegal?"

"Well technically no," he answers. "But both the police and the neighborhood think it should be, so we are now ticketing people who do it. Oh, and don't challenge it in court, I'd rather this just went away. Have a good day."

Does that sound fair to you? Me neither, but it does to Roger Goodell and 30 other NFL teams. The NFL has taken $36 million from the Redskins and $10 million from Dallas in cap room over the next two years and both teams are now challenging this ruling. The issue is over player contracts given during the 2010 NFL season. The NFL has accused both teams of "overloading" contracts, meaning the contracts offered a large amount of money during that specific year in order to entice free agents to sign with them. Usually the league salary cap prevents these kind of things from happening, but the 2010 season was uncapped. Essentially the Redskins and Cowboys found a one year loophole and exploited it which seems to have ticked the league off.

The Redskins and Dallas are challenging, however, that according to the rules, they did nothing wrong. The league may not like it, but there was no rule or salary cap in place to prevent it. What is especially baffling about the league's decision is the fact that the league must approve all contracts. So the contracts were seen by the league, approved, and are now being deemed illegal. If they had a problem with the contracts, they never should have been approved in the first place.

So why are only the Redskins and Cowboys being punished for not following a rule that was not in the books? Good question. Somehow the other 30 teams knew not to overload contracts even though it wasn't against the rules. So let me get this straight, a bunch of teams decided amongst themselves that, although there was no salary cap, they were not going to offer top-heavy contracts...isn't that collusion? How could 30 teams know not to break an unwritten rule? I have a hard time believing 30 different teams all individually decided not to take advantage of an uncapped year, and if they all made an agreement with each other that is a SERIOUS issue. Essentially they all agreed to keep player salaries low, something the players' association should be concerned with.

Roger Goodell held a press conference today during the owner's meetings and talked about the importance of increasing the league's transparency to fans. When asked about this dispute, however, Goodell would not comment past an ambiguous statement released earlier. I guess transparency only applies to teams Goodell likes since everyone in DC is still waiting for some kind of explanation. As much as he may want the Redskins and Cowboys to just suck it up and take the penalties, there are too many questions surrounding this issue for that to happen. Why did the league approve these supposedly illegal contracts? Why did 30 teams know not to break this unwritten rule? Why are those teams now so mad? Why did the players' association approve of these punishments despite the implications of collusion among the other teams? With arbitration now looming, commissioner Goodell better brace himself to answer a lot of tough questions he could have avoided had the league treated the Redskins and Cowboys fairly.

Redskins' Bid for a Franchise QB

After all the speculation and the wondering, we finally have an answer as to what the Redskins plan to do about finding a quarterback.  The Redskins traded three first round draft picks and a second round pick to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the 2nd overall pick in this year's draft.  With this pick, the Redskins will be able to draft Robert Griffin III and hopefully obtain the franchise quarterback they have sought since Joe Theismann.  Now instead of wondering who the next Redskins' QB will be, we are left to wonder whether or not he'll be any good.

When analyzing this year's draft class, most NFL scouts will say there are two QBs with franchise level potential.  With Andrew Luck expected to go to Indianapolis with the first overall pick, that leaves RG3 for the Redskins.  Over the past year, RG3 has taken the NFL by storm.  Most knew of Luck, who was projected to go 1st overall last season had he chosen to leave college, but Griffin was not widely known until his Heisman winning season at Baylor.  Griffin threw for 36 TDs and only 6 INTs.  He further impressed teams with his performance at the combine where he ran a 4.41 40-yd dash, a remarkable feat for a QB.  His athleticism and potential are off the charts, but he he still remains an unknown quantity.

A lot has been written about the risks of drafting a quarterback.  Scouting prospects is an inexact science and the Redskins have bet the farm on a player who has never taken a snap in the NFL.  Statistically speaking, it is likely that either Luck or Griffin will be a bust.  Should Griffin suffer a bad injury or just not be built for the NFL game, the Redskins will still be in need of a franchise QB and they'll have to find one without a first round pick until 2015.  This is the type of decision that defines a staff and so Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen have likely bet their careers in DC as well as 4 draft picks on Griffin.  No pressure kid.

Still, this was the right move and the QB mess many teams now find themselves in is evidence of that.  Peyton Manning informed the Redskins early on that he was not interested in coming to DC.  That didn't leave a whole lot of options.  Now that Manning is headed to Denver and Griffin is likely headed here, Seattle, Arizona, Miami, and Cleveland are picking up the scraps.  Seattle signed Matt Flynn who is still somewhat unproven and does not have nearly the upside Griffin has.  Arizona owes Kevin Kolb $7 million for a lack luster 2011 season, and Miami and Cleveland are left wondering who's left to trade for.  The simple fact is that Griffin could be the franchise QB of the Redskins for 10-15 years.  If the Colts had known how good Manning would be, would they have traded 4 picks for him?  Absolutely.  I remember thinking to myself when the Giants traded for Eli Manning how stupid they were.  They were giving up 2 picks plus a QB in Philip Rivers who was just as good if not better.  Boy was I wrong.  The Redskins are not working with the benefit of hindsight, but this is a risk/reward business.  The higher the risk, the higher the reward.  The Redskins saw the guy they wanted and they went for it.  Now all we can do is watch and hope Griffin is the QB we all think he is.

Griffin or Manning?

With free agency and the draft approaching, the Redskins seem poised to finally address the quarterback position. The team has not had a franchise QB since Joe Theisman, a fact that helps explain the franchise's struggles over the past decade. The choice before them is how exactly to address this vital need. Should they pursue Robert Griffin III or Peyton Manning?

Robert Griffin III had an incredible season at Baylor completing 72.4% of his passes for 3,998 yards, 36 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. He managed to edge out Andrew Luck for the Heisman trophy and after an impressive combine there's a lot of hype surrounding him. Drafting a franchise QB goes a long way towards ensuring your team's future success. The only problem is that no one knows exactly how he will do in the NFL. A great college career and combine are great, but there is nothing, no stat or drill or physical attribute, that can guarantee future success in the NFL. So every draft pick comes with a certain amount of risk, but this is especially important in Griffin's case because of how much drafting him is going to cost.

Griffin suddenly looks a little too good and now just about everyone wants him. Getting him is not simply a matter of drafting him, but trading up in order to do so. St. Louis, who has the second pick, knows this and now it is bidding time. Reports say the Rams are looking for four total draft picks, including two first rounders (this year's and next year's). Since the Redskins have the sixth pick, they have more to give than say Miami (eighth pick) or Seattle (12th pick), but less than Cleveland who has both the fourth pick and the 22nd which they obtained from a trade with Atlanta last year. Cleveland could therefore offer them a higher number one than the Redskins and a second number one in this year's draft alone.

Who doesn't know about Peyton Manning? Two years ago no one could foresee any circumstance in which he would ever leave Indianapolis and now everyone assumes he has played his last game for the Colts. At 35 years old, 36 this month, he could potentially give the Redskins 3-4 years of production. He is a known commodity who has had consistent success in the NFL as opposed to the unknown potential of a rookie QB. There is a certain level of risk associate with Manning as well, however. A neck injury kept him out the entire 2011 season and no one knows how good he will be when he does return. Age is also a factor. Most believe that, at best, teams can only expect 3 years of solid production. There's no guarantee that he does not fall apart in his first season or re-aggravate his injury; there's no guarantee he can even play again since he has not played since the 2010 season; and there's no guarantee the Manning we get in DC is anywhere close to the Manning we saw in Indianapolis. Granted, I would take a Manning playing at 60% than a Rex Grossman or John Beck at 100%, but I digress. And, if you do choose Manning, you still have to find the QB of the future. Reports say the Redskins have interest in Texas A&M QB, Ryan Tannehill, and would likely select him at number six if they were unable to trade for Griffin, which is far too high for this second round talent. The Redskins would have no choice, however, since a lot of other teams have expressed interest in selecting him later in the first round.

So, who ya got? Who would you rather see here? What's troubling to me is the fact that I don't think the Redskins have the inside track on either player. I have to believe that if Cleveland wants Griffin, they can get him; they just have more to offer. Manning, on the other hand, can ultimately choose where he wants to go. The amount of money the Redskins are used to throwing around to lure players probably won't work in this case as he could take one look at that offensive line and say "no thanks." Even if he is able to return at 100%, he only has a few years left. The Redskins have to prove that they are ready to win now.

Ultimately, I think this team needs to do whatever it can to get Griffin. While there's no guarantee he will be successful, it hard to see how he could be a bust. His potential is off the charts. Would you rather take a risk on a QB that can give you 15-20 seasons or 1-3? Better to draft someone who can be the future of this team than another short-term rental. While the cost is a bit steep, especially for a team like the Redskins with numerous holes to fill, Griffin could potentially be the next Steve Young given his playing style and capabilities. Plus, if the Redskins do sign Manning, they will still end up using their first round pick on a QB. At that point, you might as well go all in. I just don't like the idea of relying on Manning who can pick and choose where to go. I don't know why he would choose to come here with this team in the shape it's in. Draft Griffin, sign some WRs and lineman through free agency, find a veteran QB to feed to the wolves for the first 8-16 games, then let Griffin take over the team. I certainly hope the Redskins can manage one of the two big names, otherwise it may be another frustrating year with still no end to this frustrating futility in sight.