Dead Money
April-22nd-2005, 02:31 PM
Don't these guys in San Fran understand that we feel the same way about Nolan as they do about Cerrato?????
LINK (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/11460389.htm)
Staging mockery of a draft
Compiled by John Ryan
Mercury News
Two things are becoming clear during this draft week:
1) Don't play poker with Mike Nolan.
2) Do play poker with Vinny ``Dead Money'' Cerrato.
The Washington Redskins president -- and the man who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his role in destroying the 49ers -- has spent the week confirming for the world what longtime 49ers fans have known for years: He doesn't get this draft thing.
(That should have been apparent with consecutive first picks of J.J. Stokes, Israel Ifeanyi, Jim Druckenmiller and R.W. McQuarters, but then Redskins owner Dan Snyder isn't such a quick learner.)
The week in Washington:
• Tuesday, the Redskins deny a Washington Post report that they're talking with the Raiders about trading the No. 9 pick for Phillip Buchanon. ``We are not trading that pick,'' Cerrato says in a team-prepared statement.
• Coach Joe Gibbs says the Redskins would indeed consider trading the pick. Cerrato says the team's P.R. staff misquoted him and that he always intended to trade it.
• Washington trades next year's first- and fourth-round picks and this year's third-rounder to get the No. 25 pick from Denver, a move that's drawing uproarious laughter around the NFL. ``The chart that everybody uses in this league to value things, we value that pick at about 750 points,'' Gibbs says. ``And what we gave for it was somewhere around 715.''
(We suspect that 715 rating will go up a little bit when Denver is using Washington's top-10 pick in 2006.)
• Smoke signals from ESPN.com hint that the Redskins are looking at Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell at No. 25. Word gets out that Gibbs visited Campbell, after which Gibbs says of current starter Patrick Ramsey, ``He's our starting quarterback. He's somebody we're counting on being the guy that takes us to the promised land.''
• Cerrato says the team is looking to trade down, not up: ``We're looking to acquire picks rather than give them up. We're looking at adding a number of players and not just one guy.''
• FoxSports.com reports that the Redskins are offering the ninth and 25th picks in hopes of moving up for Braylon Edwards, but those two picks probably wouldn't be enough. And the Redskins would be hard-pressed to sweeten the deal because A) they gave away next year's first-rounder; and B) this year's No. 1s are their only first-day picks. Snyder says the team ``absolutely'' would consider moving up.
• Meanwhile, safety Sean Taylor and receiver Santana Moss skipped mini-camp in contract disputes, receiver Laveranues Coles forced his way out of town and put Washington in a huge salary-cap bind, and star linebacker LaVar Arrington ripped the team for its response to his injury.
But at least the Redskins can look at the bright side: If they don't know what they're doing, how can anyone else?
LINK (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/11460389.htm)
Staging mockery of a draft
Compiled by John Ryan
Mercury News
Two things are becoming clear during this draft week:
1) Don't play poker with Mike Nolan.
2) Do play poker with Vinny ``Dead Money'' Cerrato.
The Washington Redskins president -- and the man who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his role in destroying the 49ers -- has spent the week confirming for the world what longtime 49ers fans have known for years: He doesn't get this draft thing.
(That should have been apparent with consecutive first picks of J.J. Stokes, Israel Ifeanyi, Jim Druckenmiller and R.W. McQuarters, but then Redskins owner Dan Snyder isn't such a quick learner.)
The week in Washington:
• Tuesday, the Redskins deny a Washington Post report that they're talking with the Raiders about trading the No. 9 pick for Phillip Buchanon. ``We are not trading that pick,'' Cerrato says in a team-prepared statement.
• Coach Joe Gibbs says the Redskins would indeed consider trading the pick. Cerrato says the team's P.R. staff misquoted him and that he always intended to trade it.
• Washington trades next year's first- and fourth-round picks and this year's third-rounder to get the No. 25 pick from Denver, a move that's drawing uproarious laughter around the NFL. ``The chart that everybody uses in this league to value things, we value that pick at about 750 points,'' Gibbs says. ``And what we gave for it was somewhere around 715.''
(We suspect that 715 rating will go up a little bit when Denver is using Washington's top-10 pick in 2006.)
• Smoke signals from ESPN.com hint that the Redskins are looking at Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell at No. 25. Word gets out that Gibbs visited Campbell, after which Gibbs says of current starter Patrick Ramsey, ``He's our starting quarterback. He's somebody we're counting on being the guy that takes us to the promised land.''
• Cerrato says the team is looking to trade down, not up: ``We're looking to acquire picks rather than give them up. We're looking at adding a number of players and not just one guy.''
• FoxSports.com reports that the Redskins are offering the ninth and 25th picks in hopes of moving up for Braylon Edwards, but those two picks probably wouldn't be enough. And the Redskins would be hard-pressed to sweeten the deal because A) they gave away next year's first-rounder; and B) this year's No. 1s are their only first-day picks. Snyder says the team ``absolutely'' would consider moving up.
• Meanwhile, safety Sean Taylor and receiver Santana Moss skipped mini-camp in contract disputes, receiver Laveranues Coles forced his way out of town and put Washington in a huge salary-cap bind, and star linebacker LaVar Arrington ripped the team for its response to his injury.
But at least the Redskins can look at the bright side: If they don't know what they're doing, how can anyone else?