| Let’s play the comparison game. First, name
as many offseason acquisitions of the Washington Redskins as you can. Time’s up.
Did you get Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Mark Carrier, Adrian Murrell, LaVar Arrington and
Chris Samuels? (Deion Sanders is only worth half a point for now, until that longstanding
rumor becomes fact sometime after June 1.)
Now, name as many offseason acquisitions of the Seattle Seahawks as you can.
Reggie Tongue, Robbie Tobeck (who has already suffered a knee injury that should cost
him the 2000 season) and Shaun Alexander. If you got Chris McIntosh, the team’ second
first-round pick, off the top of your head, bully for you.
There aren’t two more contrasting free-agent approaches than those of the Redskins
and the Seahawks. Washington, under the ownership of Daniel Snyder, has snatched up every
big name in sight in order to make a run at the Super Bowl right now. In doing so, the
Redskins have pushed salary-cap issues into future years and locked themselves into
long-term contracts with veterans such as Smith and Carrier who aren’t that far from
the end of the road.
I don’t blame the Redskins for doing this. It’s a shortsighted approach, but
management (read: Snyder) believes that the team has a chance at the Super Bowl this
season. They’re right, and should therefore be applauded for going for it all now,
even with the cap consequences that are certainly in the offing.
But I really like what the Seahawks have done this offseason. Mike Holmgren is taking
much more of a long view in building this team. As a result, he was not very active on the
free-agent market, choosing to be responsible with the cap. Because of the spendthrift
ways of the Seahawks’ former management, Holmgren’s hands have been tied to some
degree.
When Holmgren did dabble in the free-agent market, he did so to bring in quality
players. Tongue is a very good, young safety who should be a building block for the
defense. That’s a move for the long term.
It doesn’t appear as if Holmgren is making all of his moves to win this season.
Instead, he is trying to build a team that will be an upper-echelon contender for several
years. That approach may cost the Seahawks a win or two this season, but it will pay off
in the end. And when Seattle is ready to contend — for the Super Bowl, not just a
wild-card berth — the franchise will have enough salary-cap freedom to make the
free-agent moves designed to put it over the top, as the Redskins have done this season.
Such flexibility is hard to come by in today’s NFL, and it will be very valuable for
Seattle down the line.
Holmgren’s patience was also evident on Draft Day. The Seahawks drafted Alexander
even though they already had Ricky Watters in place. A lot of teams would have drafted for
need there, but Holmgren took a player whose contribution will probably not be huge in his
first season. My hunch is that such patience will be rewarded. Watters has expressed an
interest in mentoring Alexander. That could spur the rookie’s development.
It’s not often that coaches have the security to look at the long view instead of
the immediate. Holmgren does, and he’s taking advantage of that. And while that
approach could very well cost Seattle a playoff berth in 2000, my bet is that it will pay
off in the end in a big way. |
