Interest in Rogers is proof that Dan Snyder will never learn

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder watches warm ups before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on August 21, 2010. UPI/Alexis C. Glenn

When Shaun Rogers wants to play, he’s a fine player. He’s versatile in that he can play in either the 4-3 or 3-4 and in the right situation, the 31-year-old would be a good fit as a stopgap for one or two years.

The problem with Rogers is that he’s lazy and someone will be willing to overpay for his services. So naturally Dan Snyder is interested.

Two days after the Browns released him, Rogers was already at Redskins Park meeting with team officials. It makes sense that Snyder and Co. would be intrigued by a player like Rogers, who has a questionable attitude and is unwilling to practice. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes, because of the Browns’ inability to get him on the practice field during the week (in addition to other injuries along the defensive line), coaches had to devise schemes that used as few lineman as possible because that’s how they practiced during the week.

Does this sound like a player that most teams would want to add? Again, if a team was able to sign him to a reasonable contract, then you could do worse than having Shaun Rogers in a defensive line rotation. A team like the Patriots could handle him because he’d shut up and play for the opportunity to win a ring (just like Corey Dillon did in ’04).

But when has Snyder ever signed a free agent to a reasonable contract? In case anyone needs a reminder, the Skins still employ Albert Haynesworth – the same Albert Haynesworth who stole $100 million and who has been a total malcontent since arriving in D.C. Why would Washington want to replace one headache with another?

Redskin fans will argue that Snyder doesn’t run the team anymore – Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan do. But Snyder clearly still sets the tone. A mere hours before the Skins got the beating of a lifetime by the Eagles on national television, the front office signed Donovan McNabb to a five-year extension worth $70 million. Are we to believe that Shanahan was at the forefront of that deal? The same Shanahan who benched McNabb for Rex Grossman late in the year? No? It was GM Bruce Allen? So the GM signed a quarterback to a new deal even though his head coach was unsure whether or not he could run his offense? That…doesn’t…sound…

I know, I know – if they cut McNabb then they only owe him $3.75 million. The bottom line is that the timing of it all reeked of Snyder. There are many problems with the Redskins owner but the biggest issue holding the team back is his unwillingness to rebuild. He says he’s allowing the football minds in his front office to run the show and yet the team is still making questionable decisions. The Packers and Steelers reached the Super Bowl because they’re two teams that draft incredibly well. When was the last time the Redskins had a great draft? Try never under Snyder. His belief is that if you throw enough money at free agents, eventually you’ll buy a Super Bowl. The NFL is a copycat league but instead of trying to copy the success that the Packers, Steelers and Patriots have had, Snyder refuses to do things the right way.

What the Skins need to do is shed their overpriced, past-their-prime talent and rebuild through the draft for the next three years. But they won’t because Snyder has no concept of long-term plans. Maybe things will be different now that Shanahan is in charge and I’ll eat crow in a couple of years. But even having interest in a player like Rogers is like adding a new verse to a very old, familiar tune when it comes to this team.

Follow the Scores Report editors on Twitter @clevelandteams and @bullzeyedotcom.

Super Bowl standings: top 10 teams

The Super Bowl has been played since the 1966 season, so while NFL championships before that are not irrelevant, many records are based on the “Super Bowl era.” And while some teams have a great track record in Super Bowls (49ers), there are others that have awful records (Vikings, Bills). Here is a list of the Top 10 teams record-wise (based primarily on wins) in the Super Bowl era…..

1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0)—The 49ers are undefeated in Super Bowl history, and when you have guys like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and Steve Young leading the way, it’s easy to see how that happens. But these teams were deep on both offense and defense, and were coached by Bill Walsh and George Seifert. What might be even more remarkable is that the Niners have scored 188 points while giving up 89 in those five games, a 99-point differential. Truly, ahem, super.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1)—The Steelers are looking to become the first team to win six Super Bowls this Sunday in Tampa against the Cardinals and the second one in the Ben Roethlisberger era. They are already one of the NFL’s premier franchises, but more is always better when it comes to championships.

3. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)—The Cowboys have a rich history of winning, but in today’s what-have-you-done-for-me-lately NFL, all anyone remembers is that they haven’t won a playoff game since 1996, and that dysfunction follows them around like tabloids following QB Tony Romo.

4. Green Bay Packers (3-1)—You might immediately think of Brett Favre, but he is only 1-1 in Super Bowls. The other two were Super Bowls I and II, when Bart Starr was the Packers’ QB and the coach was the legendary Vince Lombardi.

5. New York Giants (3-1)—The Giants climbed up a few notches with that improbable upset of the Patriots last season. Bill Parcells has two of the wins, one with Phil Simms at the helm and the other with Jeff Hostetler—and both with one of the greatest defensive players in history, Lawrence Taylor, terrorizing the other teams’ quarterbacks.

6. Oakland/LA Raiders (3-2)—It’s been about a quarter century since the Raiders won a Super Bowl, or around the same time Al Davis started to lose his marbles.

7. Washington Redskins (3-2)—The Redskins lost to Miami in Super Bowl 7, 14-7, to cap Miami’s (and the NFL’s only) perfect season, and have had mixed results since then, last appearing in 1991 when they beat Buffalo. Hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since their last Super Bowl, but Dan Snyder makes Al Davis type decisions at times, so the drought could be long.

8. New England Patriots (3-3)—Have the Patriots have lost as many Super Bowls as they’ve won? Yes, when you realize the first two losses were to the mighty ’85 Bears, and to the unstoppable Favre/Holmgren Packers in ’96.

9. Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (2-1)—You would think Peyton Manning should have more than one Super Bowl appearance, but that very fact was the big knock on him until he got his ring two years ago.

10. Miami Dolphins (2-3)—It’s been 25 years since the D-men have been in the big game, but mark my words…with Bill Parcells at the helm, this team will get back there within a few years, maybe even next year.

Source: Pro Football Reference

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