FanPost

STOP CHASING STARS AND LET’S BUILD OUR OWN

Every year it’s the same thing. The Redskins chase all the other teams stars and. This year seems to be no different, at least among the hog’s haven viewers. I have heard the Redskins to be interested in several high profile free agents. Julian Peterson, Antrel Rolle, Karlos Dansby, Darren Sproles are the most notable ones. However we have been down this road before. How many times have we acquired a bunch or high profile free agents and then watch them not live up to their contracts.

How many seasons have we had a huge free agent class but we couldn’t translate that into wins.If you don't know well here is a link to our free agent classes for this past decade. You can track our free agent success stories and our numerous busts.

http://www.redskins.com/gen/articles/Free_Agency__Redskins_Usually_Aggressive_5464.jsp

We only had two playoff seasons this past decade so it’s not like you had a long count. What stood out to me was the 2006 free agency class. We were coming fresh of off a playoff season. We add Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archuleta, Antwan Randel El, and Andre Carter to this playoff team. With that offseason I (along with the entire Redskins community) know I had my sights on the Superbowl. Instead I watched as the Redskins plummeted to a 5-11 record.

We chased other team’s stars so much that the focus has been taken off of building our own. The Denver broncos used our 4th round pick in 2006 to draft Brandon Marshall. We have to start looking at the draft much harder if we want to build a winning franchise. The draft is where the Redskins need to go to find the real stars, not free agency. The Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Ravens, Packers, and Eagles primarily look to the draft as their main method to finding their future stars. This is the reason that each year all of these teams remain consistently competitive in the NFL and we don't.

The problem with acquiring these high profile free agents is that a lot of times they can be heading into the downside of their careers. They’re normally about 28 and have already peaked in terms of potential. Free Agent pickups like London Fletcher are extremely rare. It took us several tries just to get him right. How many more busts do we have to sign before we realize that this isn’t the best course of action? Free agency is great for getting players who can hold a position until you draft a player who can fill it for the long haul. It is also good for getting that occasion star player who may be able to take your organization to the next level (Drew Brees, Darren Shaper, and Reggie White). Many Skins fans have free agency all wrong. And if you don't believe me watch this video from NFL network on the top ten free agent acquisition of all time and count the number of time a redskins made the list. The commentators bring this up as well several times throughout the video.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-free-agency/09000d5d816b9f1b/Top-10-free-agents-all-time

I just don't want to see another over priced free agent the skins roster. It represents more if the same. It proves what Clinton Portis said about players who came into the Redskins locker room were more concerned about the money than actually winning. I want to see the redskins draft their stars, the way the past champions have done it. Free agency will start soon and I will see how this new coaching staff handles things. Will they be overwhelmed the size of Snyder’s deep pockets? Or will they rise to the occasion and spend wisely? Only time will tell.