I always thought it was taboo to quietly hope the Skins tanked this season in the hope of a higher draft pick. That was the case until I tuned in to ESPN 980’s Monday Morning Quarterback show where NFL Hall of Famer, Sonny Jurgensen said and I quote “The Redskins need to start thinking strategically about the draft and not win themselves out of a high draft pick” Sonny Jorgensen has forgotten more about pro football than most of us know so if he is thinking this now I don’t feel so bad about it. The Redskins are 3-8 and major change is coming. Since it is likely many of the current decisions makers will be replaced Dan Snyder, as the only remaining decision maker needs to step up and make the transition as smooth as possible to give the incoming regime a head start on the 2010 season.

1.       Rally hard for an uncapped year – Dan Snyder is a lot of things but broke is not one of them. The Redskins can right the ship much faster with an uncapped year.  I’m am not advocating he go on another crazy spending spree (we’ve seen how that works) but I would certainly recommend a heavy dose of drafting offensive lineman along with one or two proven free agent offensive lineman to stabilize that group. This is the biggest area of need for the Skins and the Skins need both starters and quality depth. Snyder along with guys like Jerry Jones and other new owners do not like revenue sharing as it allows bad owners to reap the benefits of the profitable owner’s work.

2.       Get everyone on film – The Redskins need to play everyone and get them on film so the new general manager and coaching staff has something to evaluate.

3.       Stop wasting time on people who will not be Redskins after this season – The time for sentimentality is over. This team is not good enough to hold on to guys just because they are good guys. Redskin football is about winning and someone has to make the tough decisions even with guys we’ve come to love. The bottom line is the Redskins charge for admission so this is business. Some of us want a high return for the investment we make so if you are happy with losing may I suggest another franchise.

4.        Snyder closes his office at Redskin Park – He has tried for 10 years to have an integral part in building a championship franchise. The results speak volumes so the best thing Snyder can do for the new regime is to remove himself from the equation. Hard to spend 800 million dollars and fire yourself but if Snyder truly loves his Redskins as he claims then this is addition by subtraction.  

Bottom line is Snyder can help the Skins have a fighting chance in the 2010 season if he makes the right moves right now.  We can only hope that he is quietly talking to NFL experts and studying how the winning franchises have gone about their business. There are some great role models out there like the Patriots, Colts, Eagles and even the Ravens so let us hope Snyder is making the right moves to give his team a chance in 2010.