Granted, the team needs a GM.  I'm not sure that point if even debatable.  

AA was a bad signing.  But the other guys have a chance to help this team in the very near future.  I also agree with you about building throught the draft but the fact that the team is not going after the big name guys and signing cheaper players that fit their needs is a sign of progress if nothing else.

I would also argue that the pick for Portis was a "waste," as the team needed a RB at the time.  They probably wouldn't have given Bailey the crazy money he got from Denver, so I would make a case against that.  

The other picks though... you're dead on.

I also completely agree about the Redskins mismanagement of draft picks. Perennial winners do so through the draft, and I've spoken at length about that.

The point I was making in the original post was separate from all those criticisms (which are all founded). The knee jerk reaction throughout the league last year was the Redskins went out and signed a bunch of ridiculous contracts and overpaid 4 players at 120M. I think there is some truth to that; anytime you pay a guy 1 penny more than league minimum to be your 4th Safety (Adam Archuleta) than it is clear that you've overpaid. But that is a personnel error.

Contractually the Redskins didn't do anything last year that looks ridiculous given what's happened in this year's market. And, frankly, last year's market wasn't drastically different than this year. The salary cap increased by a mere 7M, or 6.8% increase. Between 2005 and 2006 it went up by 17M -- a 20% increase. Speaking only to the size of the contracts signed in 2006, I really don't think they're nearly as objectionable as I would've felt this time last week. I think it is clear that we had all underestimated the market and the explosion the increased cap would necessarily bring to player contracts.

I would love to have a GM and have said as much countless times. I also want the team to trade down to acquire additional picks, so I think you and I are in vicious agreement about the management, or mismanagement, of our draft resources.

One of the reasons I want us to do a better job drafting is because, though we're horrible at evaluating other team's talent, the Redskins under Gibbs have done a pretty decent job evaluating talent in the draft. When you think of the few picks we have made, they've all panned out pretty well. In 2004 we picked up Sean Taylor in the first round, and he's one of the best players from that draft. Chris Cooley in the 3rd round, in hindsight, was a huge steal. Of the four picks we had, 3 are still on the team -- though admittedly Jim Molinaro might not be by the end of FA.

In 2005 we picked up Carlos Rogers and, while he experienced a sophomore slump (as did the entire D) I think he's still a serviceable starter. I believe he will one day be the #1 receiver of the team for many years, and if that's the case you have to view that pick as a success. We also grabbed Jason Campbell -- admittedly earlier than he should have gone, and giving up draft picks to do so -- but from purely a talent evaluation perspective he was a great pickup at QB in that draft. We need to see more from him this year, but nothing happened in 2006 that indicated him to be a bust or near bust. Nehemiah Broughton is still with the team.

Without a first round pick in 2006 we had little chance to make an immediate or near immediat impact with our draft class. As it happened, our 6th round pick was starting by week 3 and doing a pretty decent job. Kedric Golston was camp fodder or likely career backup material and now he's a starting DT that did surprisingly well on the field. Even Anthony Montgomery produced on field. Rocky McIntosh closed 2006 with 17 tackles in two games and by all indications should be the starter through 16 next year.

I think you've got some very legitimate criticisms of the team there, so don't take any of the above as strong disagreement with anything you said. I find myself nodding to most of it.