November 8, 2008

Yes Virginia, There Is a Sanity Clause

By now it's nearly old news. The Redskins made another acquisition of a (relatively) big-name free agent by signing cornerback DeAngelo Hall for the remainder of the season. He bolsters an already deep secondary, albeit one that has struggled with injuries this season, namely the lingering ailments that Shawn Springs has had to deal with.

Hall is the second big pickup this season, joining Jason Taylor as the signature additions in Vinny Cerrato's inaugural season as The Man.

Despite some sentiments to the contrary, this is another shrewd move by a front office that seems to be doing everything it can to erase memories of past follies. Bruce Smith. Deion Sanders. Irving Fryar. Mark Carrier. Jeff George. Adam Archuleta.

Need I say more?

The aforementioned Mr. Cerrato has been much criticized in the past, and rightfully so, for signing over the hill players with little or nothing left in their tanks. So many, in fact, that for a while there the Gold in Burgundy and Gold almost surely referred to the watch given to so many retirees to commemorate their years of valuable service. It must have. The names on Vinny C.'s list hardly did more than sign on the dotted line, then stand up and thank those assembled for the party thrown in their honor.

They certainly didn't play any good football.

Of late that seems to have changed. It began with the 2008 draft, in which an almost unheard-of ten players were selected -- all of whom eventually made the team. It continued when our new Executive Vice President of Football Operations (read Snyderian for GM) lured the disgruntled Jason Taylor away from his longtime Miami home to replace the injured Philip Daniels. And the streak stays intact with the presence of Hall.

Just where the heck is Cerrato anyway, and who or what have they done with his body?

When the Dan's good friend came to work for the 49'ers from Notre Dame, he began to craft a reputation as a good but not great talent scout. He was never confused for a wunderkind, but he made the same good decisions for George Seifert's teams that he had for Lou Holtz's. Then he was hired by Snyder.

That was when the trouble started.

In retrospect he probably was neither more nor less culpable than his billionaire boss for the laundry list of busts who came to finish out the string here. His firing by then head coach Marty Schottenheimer in 2001 was as much about clashing personalities as poor decision-making. At the end of the day, however, he was and is the face of the Redskins' management. For good or ill, any players who don't produce are laid on his doorstep. The grumbles of the fervent fans swelled to a roar as one after another high-priced former star was contracted to lead the franchise back to glory, only to fall woefully short of anything but collecting hefty paychecks.

It was widely believed that he held his job more to keep the owner company and occasionally golf with him than for his football acumen.

For a long time, that appeared to be accurate.

Now, not so much.

A football executive is a job description. Whether it is general manager, director of scouting, director of player personnel, or his current title...it's a position. As such, like nearly all high level roles, there is a learning curve to deal with. In fairness to Vinny, he had to adjust on the fly much like anyone else in his shoes would have had to. Whether he did so with speed and alacrity or mind-numbing slowness is a subject of considerable debate. He has learned, however. This season's moves alone prove that much.

I am not alone in hoping that he continues to do so. The Redskins will no doubt reap wonderful rewards should the man come to one day be mentioned in the same breath as Bobby Beathard and Charlie Casserly as far as team building goes.

Carry on, Vinny C. Carry on.

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