The anti-Ted Thompson approach

Others in the NFL scoff at the money the Washington Redskins spend in free agency year after year, questioning the wisdom in continually investing in players who have had success in other systems.

But Washington coach Joe Gibbs remains committed to building his team through free agency and said the risks are actually fewer than in the draft.

"We feel like we've been really successful," Gibbs said. "For me, any way that you can add a player, I don't care if it's a trade, the draft, free agency, I want to be aggressive. Free agency is a place where you make fewer mistakes because you're not trying to project somebody from a college environment to the pros. You've got somebody that has already played up here and been successful. You can really kind of analyze how they'll fit into a system."

Pretty much the polar opposite of Ted Thompson's approach/philosophy on free agency. I thought this was an interesting perspective from a coach who's won three Super Bowls.

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Originally Posted by K-town

Free agency is a place where you make fewer mistakes because you're not trying to project somebody from a college environment to the pros. You've got somebody that has already played up here and been successful. You can really kind of analyze how they'll fit into a system."[/i]

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While this is a true enough statment, it completely ignores the economic side of the equation. If you have to overpay, is it still a good deal?

In Washington, the answer has been no in previous years.

By Washington's philosophy, had the salary cap not gone up ten million dollars, how successful would the philosophy of aggressively signing FAs have been. They got bailed out big-time and will find themselves in cap hell again in the not-too-distant future. Do you see any cap hell looming for TT? With his way of doing things he will always have the cash to pay who he wants.

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Originally Posted by MJZiggy

By Washington's philosophy, had the salary cap not gone up ten million dollars, how successful would the philosophy of aggressively signing FAs have been. They got bailed out big-time and will find themselves in cap hell again in the not-too-distant future. Do you see any cap hell looming for TT? With his way of doing things he will always have the cash to pay who he wants.

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A good indication of that, though not totally all his doing, is where Seattle was at this year. Even if the cap had not gone up so much, they were not in horrible shape for a Super Bowl participant, according to a chart I saw last season..

those quotes also ignore Gibbs was successful long before the salary cap days and hasn't done anything too impressive since he's been in washington especially considering the level of talent that he has there.

There is a thing called "good cap management." If you manage the cap good, like Sherman did, you will be fine in the long run. If have the money, spend it. Don't just sit there bitching about how this rookie or that rookie is going to be the next great players, and just sign a bunch of backups only to cut them in training camp.

THe ultimate goal of the NFL is to win. And to win, you need good players. If you have the money to pay a good player, then pay him.

well, I guess it depends how you look at it. To the owners, it is to make money. How do you make money you ask? You have a successful franchise over a long period of time. How does one accomplish this?

They draft and hope to hit on some players. They build a pretty good team through their own players signed to rookie or low level contracts. Once they're a pretty good team, they spend some money on high level players to put them over the top. This is how teams win over a period of time.

Gibb's philosophy is also shaped by Dan Snyder's willingness to gamble and overspend. If the Redskins were a MLB team they would pay a hefty luxury tax the way the Yankees do every year. Snyder is one of those owners that will throw money at the team to bring in big name free agents, generate interest, and hopefully wins on the field.

Snyder wants immediate success and he gives Gibbs the green light and the green to court free agents. He's the owner. Gibbs obliges him. Most GMs would love to be in that position.