Better to have had you than not
Today's must reading is Anthony Brown's piece on LaVar Arrington over at Hog Heaven. LaVar granted a long interview to the New York Daily News and Anthony puts it in context for Redskins fans.
Go read it and come back here for my thoughts. I'll wait...
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As reference material, Curly R has covered LaVar in detail here and here. Everything referenced here is linked in one or both of these pieces.
I am unhappy LaVar was not a career Redskin. The tailspin that happened and the way it ended are very unfortunate and ultimately I blame LaVar and his agent.
It is true that under Steve Spurrier defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis (2003) and George Edwards (2004) used LaVar the way he should be used: as a freelancer and spy, give him a guideline and let him feel the play. True that he overpursues at times and attack dogs can be fooled with motion and play action but that's what LaVar was: a hitter. He is out there to change the game with the two or three brutal hits he makes per game and not to be exactly where you want him to be on every play in case the play comes to him. Ask Troy Aikman about that one.
Come 2004 he had the famous contract dispute and everything about LaVar's time in Washington after that moment is open to speculation. What I believe happened was this:
The Redskins were 'open' to that 6.5 million dollar 2006 roster bonus that was in contention but ultimately LaVar's agent Carl Poston could not make it happen. The contract deadline came and whereas I am certain the team plays the game of giving agents and players minimal time to review contracts before the deadline I do not assume this was nefarious on the part of the team and in fact assume this is a normal practice as a way of ensuring the agreement reached is the agreement signed and that once the team and player have an agreement in place there can be no last second demands by the player as in, well they went for 12 mil, let's wait until deadline and squeeze another two mil out of them.
For whatever reason the agent was unwilling or unable to communicate the fact that the roster bonus was not in the contract to LaVar, perhaps even being trapped by circumstance (a white lie, a backslap after too much vino, a miscommunicated email, a promise to get it done, who knows) into insisting it was the team's fault in that same way that a child can convince a parent the teacher is out to get him until the parent talks to the teacher and realizes the child is just looking for a way not to do better.
As lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery and I discussed at the time of this dispute, Dan Snyder would have no reason to play these games with LaVar. As Anthony points out in his piece LaVar was the first player drafted by the Dan Snyder Redskins and Dan and LaVar were known to be close and often photographed together. They were as close as a player and owner are going to get.
Plus, Dan pays premium for his players so for him to respond to these allegations as he did, that there was no bonus in the final negotiation and that the team would fight the allegation to the end indicates to me that Dan believed he was in the right and had nothing to fear from arbitration or an investigation.
While this was a current issue in the news the Redskins were getting ready to play the 2004 season with new head coach Joe Gibbs and new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. I believe less that Gregg did not like LaVar's freelancing ways than I believe LaVar got bad advice from his agent on how to conduct himself for the 2004 season and subsequently lost the trust of Gregg Williams.
LaVar's base salary for that season was 3.5 million dollars and I believe LaVar's agent convinced him that if he was not going to get that promised 6.5 million legitimately he would take as much as he could by gaming the system and playing up the injury. Washington Post newspaper accounts from that time reported that team doctors could never find anything seriously wrong with LaVar's knee but week after week he was in too much pain to go. I think he sandbagged three quarters of that season as a way to get even with the team for ripping him off.
So LaVar acted in bad faith, the team or at least the coaches must have known it and kept it in house and just said fine, have a seat. And Gregg Williams built a top three defense essentially without LaVar.
As we later found out from the results of the investigation, not only was the team not liable for the money but the agent Carl Poston was found to have obstructed the investigation and made false statements. As a result he was suspended for two years from representing players in the league.
Come 2005 I think LaVar was ready to forgive and forget and move on but the team had already moved on without him. I do believe that Gregg Williams is shallow and capable of holding a grudge but this is football, he has to field a team every week and once you reveal that you are not a team player you are a leper in this league. The very same thing is happening with Brandon Lloyd right now.
He was benched most of the season and played at the end as prep for the team getting rid of him. He bought his way out of his Redskins contract and the rest is history.
As evidence that the Redskins repudicated LaVar and not his type of player, what were Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry known for coming out of college as high first round draft choices? They were known for hitting, moreso than covering or knowing schemes.
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One other comment from Anthony's piece, on NFL contracts. It's naive at best and disingenuous at worst for LaVar to complain about Dan Snyder's way of signing player to contracts. LaVar complains that Redskins contracts are not representative of how much a player will make because they are 'backloaded,' meaning the big money salary years come at the end of the contract when the team is less likely to keep the player at those higher salaries.
Earth to LaVar, this is the way of NFL contracts everywhere, not just in Washington. Rarely if ever will a star player see the end of his biggest contract without getting cut or some kind of renegotiation.
This is the way everybody likes it. When was the last time you heard about a star player in the league signing a deal that paid him a huge bonus and then veteran minimums annually?
Agents get to take 'six years 30 million' to the press, to cocktail parties and to the NFLPA picnic. Players get a large chunk of it, six to ten million dollars in the Redskins Standard Format Contract I'm citing here, up front for their pockets. In theory as the contract wears on these larger salaries in later years are to make the player happy in his wallet since the player will only get one (the original signing bonus) or two (a midpoint roster bonus) giant payments and we all know the players are all about money.
Everybody knows these big money players will either renegotiate or get cut.
One example LaVar uses about current Redskins is Clinton Portis, saying
Perhaps when Clinton foreshadowed that 2007 may be his last season he was acknowledging that his cap number rising from 4 million dollars this year to 8.8 million dollars next season likely will not be acceptable to the team.
The first time I remember realizing that franchise type contracts were written never to be fulfilled was when Terry Allen signed a four year 14.8 million dollar contract with the Redskins in 1997 after setting a team rushing record in 1996 so even though I understand LaVar's point and intent, that the Redskins are not the money machine they are cracked up to be, this is in no way an indictment of the team, but rather of the system itself, this is how every team operates.
Thanks Anthony, this is a great piece.
Today's must reading is Anthony Brown's piece on LaVar Arrington over at Hog Heaven. LaVar granted a long interview to the New York Daily News and Anthony puts it in context for Redskins fans.
Go read it and come back here for my thoughts. I'll wait...
=====
As reference material, Curly R has covered LaVar in detail here and here. Everything referenced here is linked in one or both of these pieces.
I am unhappy LaVar was not a career Redskin. The tailspin that happened and the way it ended are very unfortunate and ultimately I blame LaVar and his agent.
It is true that under Steve Spurrier defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis (2003) and George Edwards (2004) used LaVar the way he should be used: as a freelancer and spy, give him a guideline and let him feel the play. True that he overpursues at times and attack dogs can be fooled with motion and play action but that's what LaVar was: a hitter. He is out there to change the game with the two or three brutal hits he makes per game and not to be exactly where you want him to be on every play in case the play comes to him. Ask Troy Aikman about that one.
Come 2004 he had the famous contract dispute and everything about LaVar's time in Washington after that moment is open to speculation. What I believe happened was this:
The Redskins were 'open' to that 6.5 million dollar 2006 roster bonus that was in contention but ultimately LaVar's agent Carl Poston could not make it happen. The contract deadline came and whereas I am certain the team plays the game of giving agents and players minimal time to review contracts before the deadline I do not assume this was nefarious on the part of the team and in fact assume this is a normal practice as a way of ensuring the agreement reached is the agreement signed and that once the team and player have an agreement in place there can be no last second demands by the player as in, well they went for 12 mil, let's wait until deadline and squeeze another two mil out of them.
For whatever reason the agent was unwilling or unable to communicate the fact that the roster bonus was not in the contract to LaVar, perhaps even being trapped by circumstance (a white lie, a backslap after too much vino, a miscommunicated email, a promise to get it done, who knows) into insisting it was the team's fault in that same way that a child can convince a parent the teacher is out to get him until the parent talks to the teacher and realizes the child is just looking for a way not to do better.
As lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery and I discussed at the time of this dispute, Dan Snyder would have no reason to play these games with LaVar. As Anthony points out in his piece LaVar was the first player drafted by the Dan Snyder Redskins and Dan and LaVar were known to be close and often photographed together. They were as close as a player and owner are going to get.
Plus, Dan pays premium for his players so for him to respond to these allegations as he did, that there was no bonus in the final negotiation and that the team would fight the allegation to the end indicates to me that Dan believed he was in the right and had nothing to fear from arbitration or an investigation.
While this was a current issue in the news the Redskins were getting ready to play the 2004 season with new head coach Joe Gibbs and new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. I believe less that Gregg did not like LaVar's freelancing ways than I believe LaVar got bad advice from his agent on how to conduct himself for the 2004 season and subsequently lost the trust of Gregg Williams.
LaVar's base salary for that season was 3.5 million dollars and I believe LaVar's agent convinced him that if he was not going to get that promised 6.5 million legitimately he would take as much as he could by gaming the system and playing up the injury. Washington Post newspaper accounts from that time reported that team doctors could never find anything seriously wrong with LaVar's knee but week after week he was in too much pain to go. I think he sandbagged three quarters of that season as a way to get even with the team for ripping him off.
So LaVar acted in bad faith, the team or at least the coaches must have known it and kept it in house and just said fine, have a seat. And Gregg Williams built a top three defense essentially without LaVar.
As we later found out from the results of the investigation, not only was the team not liable for the money but the agent Carl Poston was found to have obstructed the investigation and made false statements. As a result he was suspended for two years from representing players in the league.
Come 2005 I think LaVar was ready to forgive and forget and move on but the team had already moved on without him. I do believe that Gregg Williams is shallow and capable of holding a grudge but this is football, he has to field a team every week and once you reveal that you are not a team player you are a leper in this league. The very same thing is happening with Brandon Lloyd right now.
He was benched most of the season and played at the end as prep for the team getting rid of him. He bought his way out of his Redskins contract and the rest is history.
As evidence that the Redskins repudicated LaVar and not his type of player, what were Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry known for coming out of college as high first round draft choices? They were known for hitting, moreso than covering or knowing schemes.
=====
One other comment from Anthony's piece, on NFL contracts. It's naive at best and disingenuous at worst for LaVar to complain about Dan Snyder's way of signing player to contracts. LaVar complains that Redskins contracts are not representative of how much a player will make because they are 'backloaded,' meaning the big money salary years come at the end of the contract when the team is less likely to keep the player at those higher salaries.
Earth to LaVar, this is the way of NFL contracts everywhere, not just in Washington. Rarely if ever will a star player see the end of his biggest contract without getting cut or some kind of renegotiation.
This is the way everybody likes it. When was the last time you heard about a star player in the league signing a deal that paid him a huge bonus and then veteran minimums annually?
Agents get to take 'six years 30 million' to the press, to cocktail parties and to the NFLPA picnic. Players get a large chunk of it, six to ten million dollars in the Redskins Standard Format Contract I'm citing here, up front for their pockets. In theory as the contract wears on these larger salaries in later years are to make the player happy in his wallet since the player will only get one (the original signing bonus) or two (a midpoint roster bonus) giant payments and we all know the players are all about money.
Everybody knows these big money players will either renegotiate or get cut.
One example LaVar uses about current Redskins is Clinton Portis, saying
both Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels will either be released, or restructure their contracts, before the Redskins pay them the “crazy money” embedded in their deals.The Redskins paid Clinton a 17 million dollar signing bonus on an eight year 50 million dollar contract when he still had two years at an average of 2.5 million coming over from Denver (who would not tear up his contract and give him a new one). In my mind that's stupid money and just like Shawn Spring's current salary cap number of 5 million salary plus 2.5 million prorated signing bonus equals 7.5 million is too high for his services when Clinton's salary number goes higher than it should be he will be persona non grata as well.
Perhaps when Clinton foreshadowed that 2007 may be his last season he was acknowledging that his cap number rising from 4 million dollars this year to 8.8 million dollars next season likely will not be acceptable to the team.
The first time I remember realizing that franchise type contracts were written never to be fulfilled was when Terry Allen signed a four year 14.8 million dollar contract with the Redskins in 1997 after setting a team rushing record in 1996 so even though I understand LaVar's point and intent, that the Redskins are not the money machine they are cracked up to be, this is in no way an indictment of the team, but rather of the system itself, this is how every team operates.
Thanks Anthony, this is a great piece.
LaVar Arrington, with Chris Samuels in the background, from Draft Day 2000 when Dan Snyder flew them on his personal jet from New York to Redskins Stadium to meet the faithful, a time when all things were possible for this team: Joel Richardson / Washington Post from here.
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