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Mr. Snyder - Your Rude Awakening is STILL Calling...

Boone

The Commissioner
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Below is a blog I wrote on another website - 13 years ago. Sadly, it remains timely...


I've been a Daniel Snyder supporter/apologist for a long time. In actuality, I'd characterize it less as support than grudging belief that ultimately his heart and money were in the right place. In other words, not believing Snyder was Satan incarnate = support. I based my support on a couple of things:

Snyder was a lifelong Redskins fan. I knew about his Pat Fischer crush, his belt buckle. All of that. How could he not be a kindred (albeit it RICH kindred) brother?

Snyder's coaching choices were flawed, but it wasn't his fault. He inherited Norv. Shottenheimer wasn't willing to scale back his role so Snyder cut him loose 'for the good of the organization' and besides the coach with his 'my way or the highway' mentality didn't have the buy-in of the players. Snyder's 'Spurrier Experiment' was a disaster, but lets be fair, at the time Spurrier was the toast of college coaching, the 'next big thing', and an exciting potentially franchise-turning choice. And Snyder amazingly, incredibly did something we thought we'd never see, he brought our beloved revered Gibbs back. So all the chaos and multiple changes were forgiven. He'd learned the importance of bringing in a class, proven winner. Right?

Sure Snyder was rich beyond rich - most NFL observers even claimed he was interested in simply buying his way into a Super Bowl appearance, wasn't actually interested in building something meaningful long-term. But to my eyes, he was an owner who'd bust the bank to bring in talent. Sure, he'd overspent at times on free agents, meanwhile seeming inexpicably to let budding stars depart for what seemed like peanuts. But that was likely based on his coaches preferences, and ultimately, unlike many other team owners, he seemed willing to spend whatever it took to put a winning team together. Who could fault an owner for a willingness to spend at any cost?

I find myself viewing things more cynically of late. And Mr. Snyder, when the homers start falling by the wayside, its time to pay attention. What you've done as a Redskin owner - it hasn't worked. We're not winning. We're not getting better. Gibbs II is beginning to look like a disaster. This franchise has not been resurrected. The team built to win now is losing now. Generations of Redskins fan are turning into self-loathing cannibals. Turn on your radio stations, read your own messageboard, its falling apart, and its going to get ugly soon. Fans can only take so much. Ultimately you are a CEO. Your stock just fell for the gazillionth straight quarter Mr. Snyder. The natives are restless. And they deserve better. The bucks, and there are a lot of them, they stop with you.

What you've given us - no matter how hard you've tried - it isn't enough. Its not nearly enough. And I'll tell you another secret - I'm done buying Redskins tickets, making trips up from NC, buying jerseys, gear for my son, I'm done with all of it until I start seeing something meaningful from the team I've followed and loved since I was a 7 year old in Alexandria. I had a belt buckle too. I'm just beginning to forget why it was so appealing. Thats a sad sad thing. And at some point, I have to ask, what is Daniel Snyder going to do to bring my beloved Redskins back? Because you are not getting the job done sir. The only thing thats kept the Washington Redskins from being the Detroit Lions or the Arizona Cardinals all these years was the fan's undying belief that we were somehow genetically different from those types of perennially pathetic teams. I think we're on the verge of losing that pride and arrogant hopefulness.

What are you going to do Mr. Snyder, to turn this franchise around?
 
Barring his death, or selling the team, what can he do?

Answer: Not much.

Those that hate the man will find fault in anything he does. Unless the team wins.
Hire a "qualified" GM? Sure. But if that GM doesn't get positive results, he will immediately be lumped into "just another mistake", in a long line.
And everyone will have their own criteria as to what defines "positive results".
Most were over the moon happy when the drunk got hired. "Finally", was the initial cheer. "Just another mistake" is what it is now.

Al Davis said it best. "Just win baby".
How best to make that happen is anyone's guess.
 
Barring his death, or selling the team, what can he do?

Answer: Not much.

Those that hate the man will find fault in anything he does. Unless the team wins.
Hire a "qualified" GM? Sure. But if that GM doesn't get positive results, he will immediately be lumped into "just another mistake", in a long line.
And everyone will have their own criteria as to what defines "positive results".
Most were over the moon happy when the drunk got hired. "Finally", was the initial cheer. "Just another mistake" is what it is now.

Al Davis said it best. "Just win baby".
How best to make that happen is anyone's guess.

Of course your last point is true. The problem is, he is neither capable of putting together a winning franchise team, or is unwilling to do so.

McCloughan was a risky hire from the outset. The Redskins were literally the only team in the NFL willing to roll the dice that the 3rd time for McCloughan would be the charm. Snyder gets a little credit for being willing to take a risk. But McCloughan was never close to being our GM. Snyder always had his insurance policy and control in the form of sycophant, glad-hander Bruce Allen.

What seems clear is that Snyder is absolutely unwilling to bring in a true football guy, give him unfettered absolute control and get out of his way. So he does what it is his nature to do. He hands it all over to a guy who he knows will never go against his wishes. He hires a guy who will do what he is told and only what he is told. Allen is his 'shadow government'. Essentially, there is no difference between Snyder pulling all the strings, and Allen doing it for him. It's all a deception. We've had one marginally independent head coach in 20+ years - and that's only because Snyder didn't have the balls to try and pull his usual routine with Joe Gibbs. Even Gibbs couldn't get the job done in the environment Snyder has created.

The criteria for 'positive results' isn't fixed. It isn't static. It starts with winning more often than you lose - in multiple seasons. It progresses to consistent appearances in the playoffs. And it ends with championships and Super Bowl appearances. Fans would be overjoyed if we were able to accomplish even the first level of that progression.

The best fans have been able to hope for during Snyder's tenure is the rare fluke wildcard appearance and 1 and done in the playoffs, followed by years of the usual failures.

There are no more excuses Ax. If Snyder gave a shit about this team, the fans, and even his own legacy, he would start over. Hire the best football mind out there and let that individual rebuild the entire org from the ground up. He might even remove himself physically from Redskins Park. He'd do that and he'd do it now.

But he hasn't done that. And he won't do that. Truth be told, he may not even be convinced that there is anything wrong in Ashburn.
 
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The truth?

He made too much too fast in life.

He never had to go through the trials and tribulations in life that Cooke did during the Depression to give him the maturity and judgment to manage people and large businesses.
 
He purchased the team 5 years after the Salary Cap was implemented, yet he thought he could still just buy championships.
He is one of the worst owners in professional sports.
 
God, don't start with the Cooke myths again.

Joe Jackson Gibbs made everyone around him look good. Including Cooke, and Beathard.
He got lucky with Gibbs. Hell, he hit the friggin powerball with Gibbs. He ran Beathard out of town when the power struggle between him and Gibbs fired up.
And then, this great owner rolled snake eyes with Norval. But the team had recent trophies to stare at, so he was forgiven. Our long drought started with Cooke. He built the POS FedEx field. He was a racist/anti-Semite. Treated women like store bought blow up dolls. Talked down to everyone that wasn't in his income bracket. He was the rich prick of his day. If cellphone cameras and recorders existed then, he'd have been forced to sell the team, due to his racism, and anti-Semitism. But the team won, and everyone turned a blind eye. Today, he's revered for 10yrs of Gibbs. Which is his only good years that he was part of. He inherited George Allen.

But please, don't think for a minute I'm in love with Snyder. I'm just stating the FACT, that winning cures everything.
Yes, he has failed to produce winning results here. Maybe, like Abe Pollin, he's just unlucky. I don't know. But he's no worse than Jerry Jones. No more controlling. And no more of an asshole. And if we were currently in the Cowboys position this weekend, all the chatter going on would be, unheard.
 
Ax, the truth is that Beathard begat Gibbs and once a coach becomes that successful he often takes on more personnel responsibility or leaves.

Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh all came to dominate personnel after Super Bowl success. And if not, they left to take jobs elsewhere.

That goes with the territory.

But Cooke, Jones, Kraft and other successful owners have a lot of the same traits in common. Most struggled early in life and their careers and didn't achieve success until after failing.

That means something.

Also in re Cooke you can forgive an 80 year old man in declining health from allowing his son to keep Norv and Charley after they should have been let go.

But he did properly assess the team's front office and coaches in 1980 and set the team on course for future success and away from Pardee and the ‘Allen' influences of trading picks for older vets and instead drafting and developing talent under Beathard.

The fact remains he chose the right guy. Sized up the candidates, looked em in the eye and made a decision.

When Snyder said he did the same thing in 2008 we ended up with Jim Zorn as the coach. He ‘blew us away in the interview' was what Vinny and Dan both said.

And don't forget that Cooke owned the Lakers, built the Forum, and it was under his watch the team traded for Kareem and the pick that became Magic Johnson.

That Lakers dynasty wasn't all Jerry Buss 🙂
 
God, don't start with the Cooke myths again.

Joe Jackson Gibbs made everyone around him look good. Including Cooke, and Beathard.
He got lucky with Gibbs. Hell, he hit the friggin powerball with Gibbs. He ran Beathard out of town when the power struggle between him and Gibbs fired up.
And then, this great owner rolled snake eyes with Norval. But the team had recent trophies to stare at, so he was forgiven. Our long drought started with Cooke. He built the POS FedEx field. He was a racist/anti-Semite. Treated women like store bought blow up dolls. Talked down to everyone that wasn't in his income bracket. He was the rich prick of his day. If cellphone cameras and recorders existed then, he'd have been forced to sell the team, due to his racism, and anti-Semitism. But the team won, and everyone turned a blind eye. Today, he's revered for 10yrs of Gibbs. Which is his only good years that he was part of. He inherited George Allen.

But please, don't think for a minute I'm in love with Snyder. I'm just stating the FACT, that winning cures everything.
Yes, he has failed to produce winning results here. Maybe, like Abe Pollin, he's just unlucky. I don't know. But he's no worse than Jerry Jones. No more controlling. And no more of an asshole. And if we were currently in the Cowboys position this weekend, all the chatter going on would be, unheard.
So far in the tally books, Jerry Jones is a better owner than Snyder ever has been....and from this life long Redskins fan, that's a bitter pill to swallow but it's the truth.
 
Jerruh does have a couple Lombardi's and tickles the Paloffs more than Danny Boy and his pipes.
 
God, don't start with the Cooke myths again.

Joe Jackson Gibbs made everyone around him look good. Including Cooke, and Beathard.
He got lucky with Gibbs. Hell, he hit the friggin powerball with Gibbs. He ran Beathard out of town when the power struggle between him and Gibbs fired up.
And then, this great owner rolled snake eyes with Norval. But the team had recent trophies to stare at, so he was forgiven. Our long drought started with Cooke. He built the POS FedEx field. He was a racist/anti-Semite. Treated women like store bought blow up dolls. Talked down to everyone that wasn't in his income bracket. He was the rich prick of his day. If cellphone cameras and recorders existed then, he'd have been forced to sell the team, due to his racism, and anti-Semitism. But the team won, and everyone turned a blind eye. Today, he's revered for 10yrs of Gibbs. Which is his only good years that he was part of. He inherited George Allen.

Sorry, but you really don't have a clue
 
So far in the tally books, Jerry Jones is a better owner than Snyder ever has been....and from this life long Redskins fan, that's a bitter pill to swallow but it's the truth.
That's why I say, if he can be lucky, so can Snyder.
Jerruh does have a couple Lombardi's and tickles the Paloffs more than Danny Boy and his pipes.
Jimmy Johnson, when he had his lucky streak, won them SB's. Not Jerry. Who was lucky to have him, and then fired him.
Sorry, but you really don't have a clue
Sure I do.

What I don't have is an eternal, personal vendetta.
Justified, or not.
 
That's why I say, if he can be lucky, so can Snyder.

Jimmy Johnson, when he had his lucky streak, won them SB's. Not Jerry. Who was lucky to have him, and then fired him.

Sure I do.

What I don't have is an eternal, personal vendetta.
Justified, or not.

Jimmy Johnson bumbled into his Super Bowls. The Pukes had restocked their roster just a couple of years before free agency kicked in with young players. They had a team built by the old rules in the early era of free agency. Being able to keep that team together for a few years allowed them to dominate. Conversely, the Skins had the old 92 Super Bowl roster going into free agency and no one that was up on how to assemble a roster with the new rules. The Skins got caught with an old assed roster and never recovered.

And no, it's clear by your post that you have no idea who Mr Cooke was.
 
Jimmy Johnson bumbled into his Super Bowls. The Pukes had restocked their roster just a couple of years before free agency kicked in with young players. They had a team built by the old rules in the early era of free agency. Being able to keep that team together for a few years allowed them to dominate. Conversely, the Skins had the old 92 Super Bowl roster going into free agency and no one that was up on how to assemble a roster with the new rules. The Skins got caught with an old assed roster and never recovered.

And no, it's clear by your post that you have no idea who Mr Cooke was.
Yeah, I noted that Johnson had quite the lucky streak. Luck, both and bad, can befall anyone.

As for Cooke, I know enough.
 
I watch sports for entertainment value.

Cooke picked the right GM who hired the right coach who then coached up the players to win championships.

That's good enough for me. Cooke may have had his vices but then again name an owner that doesn't.

Jerry Reinsdorf was an SOB. Jerry Buss was no choir boy. Of course you have worse, the Donald Sterlings of the world, etc.

But right now Cooke's move from California to Washington to buy out Edward Bennett Williams and clear out the lingering Allen coaches and players was THE key moment in modern Redskins' history.

You could tell when Edward Bennett Williams bought the Orioles that he wasn't patient enough to build a winner but was a lot like Snyder who wanted the instant gratification of signing free agents and making big trades, many of which were net losers for the franchise.

So, I will think well of Cooke and Leonsis in retrospect because in the end they delivered the results with the Redskins and Caps.

These other guys didn't have a clue and still don't.
 
Ax, you seem to purposely misread what I posted.

My point is Cooke hired BOBBY BEATHARD and allowed Bobby to hire the head coach who ended up being Gibbs.

Otherwise Cooke would have had no idea there even was a Joe Gibbs out there to be hired.

And he was smart enough to admit that to himself.

Snyder doesn't have that sense of awareness. He thinks he and Bruce can get on a plane and watch Griffin play in a college game or two and then trade a generation of draft picks to select him and think all will be well.

That is simply delusional.
 
ummmm...thw whole idea here is to restore Redskin traditions that have been all but buried since 1992. Let's not completely self-destruct!

Here's the thing: Snyder has had his ups and downs...but he's never implemented a vision IMO. He needn't replicate the past, creative thinking/imagination are always in demand. I just haven't seen or heard that from him. An advertising/marketing guy who isn't built by personality, experience or flexibility to be an NFL franchise steward - he doesn't understand his product.

Does it bother anyone else that year on year Redskin land has been the perennial low drama champions of the NFL? Sometimes they come in second or third, but that seems to be the one constant. Look what's hapeening now. The reality is no one knows - but there's so much water under the bridge that it is entirely reasonable to believe that whatever it is...it'll end up eff'd up. That will be his legacy - simply, like many of his previous players/coaches/GMs, he's the wrong guy for the job .
 
Right now I seriously am hoping for hundreds of paper bag wearing fans on opening day.
Unless we hear something positive from Allen or Snyder, I don't see myself changing my opinion here.

Such arrogant bastards.
 
ummmm...thw whole idea here is to restore Redskin traditions that have been all but buried since 1992. Let's not completely self-destruct!

Here's the thing: Snyder has had his ups and downs...but he's never implemented a vision IMO. He needn't replicate the past, creative thinking/imagination are always in demand. I just haven't seen or heard that from him. An advertising/marketing guy who isn't built by personality, experience or flexibility to be an NFL franchise steward - he doesn't understand his product.

Does it bother anyone else that year on year Redskin land has been the perennial low drama champions of the NFL? Sometimes they come in second or third, but that seems to be the one constant. Look what's hapeening now. The reality is no one knows - but there's so much water under the bridge that it is entirely reasonable to believe that whatever it is...it'll end up eff'd up. That will be his legacy - simply, like many of his previous players/coaches/GMs, he's the wrong guy for the job .

I think people want us to back to the way it was all hype sign the hottest coach turn Over 50 percent of the roster every so many years. Bring in and over pay for below average free agents like Adam Archuleta. While I get frustrated and this smith injury hurts us in the short term I think long term it will be a good thing. Not that I like being forced to draft a QB. Sometimes patience is the key to things
 
If Snyder's method helped The Redskins win then he wouldn't be so reviled...bottom line. The fans just want a winner and could care less how it is done. Hail if by some miracle the franchise turned around and The B&G became prominent again the fan base would turn around and forgive him, for finally getting it right. Bottom line everybody loves a winner nobody likes a loser; laugh and the world laughs with you. When you cry you cry alone.
 

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