Smoke Signals: 'Sammy Baugh was the greatest' edition

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdL6hY-9_e4&hl=en&fs=1]
First off, we lead Smoke Signals today with sad news that DC Pro Sports Report has already reported: the death of Sammy Baugh, the greatest Redskin of all time. Baugh died in Rotan, Texas of kidney failure and pneumonia at the age of 94. Read our previous post on Baugh’s passing to see the many NFL and Redskins records he set and still holds. A solid case can be made that Baugh, a charter member of the NFL Hall of Fame, was not only the greatest player in Redskins history, but one of the greatest NFL players ever, in the same class with Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor and Jerry Rice. 
Jason LaCanfora compares the careers of RB Thomas Jones and RB Clinton Portis and find many similarities in production, but few in terms of hype and money.

THOMAS JONES
2008 – 263 carries for 1,222 yards – 13 TDs
2007 – 310 – 1,119 – 1 TD
2006 – 296 – 1,210 – 6 TDs
2005 – 314 – 1,335 – 9 TDs
2004 – 240 – 948 – 7 TDs
Totals: 1,423 rushes for 5,834 yards and 36 TDs 

CLINTON PORTIS
2008 – 291 – 1,337 – 7 TDs
2007 – 325 – 1,262 – 11 TDs
2006 – 127 – 523 – 7 TDs
2005 – 352 – 1,516 – 11 TDs
2004 – 343 – 1,315 – 5 TDs
Totals: 1,438 rushes for 5,953 yards and 41 TDs
It is Thomas Jones, LaCanfora thinks, who is the better teammate and the far better value for money.

You rarely hear him mentioned in conversations about the best backs in the NFL. There is no hype; he isn’t hanging out with his owner in Vegas or throwing teammates or coaches under the bus on a radio show. He just runs the ball, is tremendously cheaper in terms of dollars and assets required to land him, and has played behind some offensive lines that have not been nearly as highly paid as Washington’s the past five years.

Sure, he’s a couple years older than Portis, but these numbers don’t lie. One guy is treated like he is the star among stars, and the other is just a football player producing virtually identical results without the sideshows.

On March 1, 2004, the Redskins completed the Portis trade, and gave him the new contract. Over his five years here he has pulled in $32.7 million in guaranteed money alone, not including base salaries.

On March 4, 2004, Jones signed with the Chicago Bears for a $3.5 million signing bonus and he earned a total of $8.25 million over three years there, including a Super Bowl appearance. He received a $6 million signing bonus with the Jets in 2007 in a deal that will essentially pay him a max of $13 million between 2007-2009.

So from 2004-2008 Portis pockets about $35.3 million, while Jones earns about $21.2. A $7 million per season back vs. a $4 million back. The key here isn’t the money; it’s te fact that the extra $14 million buys you a few more players.

Jones (Chicago 2004-2006, Jets 2007-present) has played for teams that have a combined 42-36 record the past five years. Portis’s Redskins are 37-41. Just food for thought about the ways in which organizations assess talent and allocate resources.

Do you think the Redskins need to build through the draft? I sure do. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to do much of that any time soon.

The Skins only have four picks in the seven-round draft right now, and only two in the first four rounds. Now, they could make a trade to get a few, which would be unprecedented for them prior to a draft). They may get a very late compensatory pick or two awarded them, but nothing high enough to offset not having a second- or fourth-round pick (a round in which strong organizations routinely find longtime starters).

So the Skins have a first-round pick (probably somewhere in the middle of the pack given their record).

The second-round pick is gone in the Jason Taylor trade (11/2 sacks for a 34-year-old with a $16.5 million contract).

They have a third-round pick.

The fourth-round pick is gone to the playoff bound Jets as part of the 2007 trade for LG Pete Kendall (who turns 36 this spring and is an unrestricted free agent). The Skins failed in the Todd Wade experiment at guard, the QB was getting crushed in the preseason, and so they over-paid bigtime for an aging veteran who had been dangled on the trade market for months (almost the exact same scenario as the Jason Taylor trade).

The Skins have their fifth- and sixth-round picks.

Their seventh-round pick is gone for DE Erasmus James, who was going to clear waivers as he was hurt, Cerrato traded a seventhr-round pick for him anyway, James remained unable to play through most of training camp, was active only a few times and, finally, they cut him a few weeks ago.

Nevertheless, Redskins play-by-play announcer and all-around Snyder butt-boy Larry Michael thinks the Redskins have plenty of talent on the team due to crackerjack work by the front office tandem of Snyderrato! How pitiful is Larry Michael? Read and find out.
Injury news: 
– London Fletcher didn’t practice yesterday, but is likely to play against Philly on Sunday;
– Chris Horton has a good chance of playing;
– Jon Jansen is still tentative and it looks like he probably won’t play Sunday;
– Marcus Washington looks likely for the San Fran game a week from Sunday;
– Cornelius Griffin should be able to play against Philly on Sunday;
– Chris Samuels has begun a long and painful recovery process and hopes to be ready for training camp ’09
Post columnist Sally Jenkins writes Jason Campbell is an enigma. She also writes that he has a “millionaire’s mustache.” I have no idea what she is writing about. 
London Fletcher wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl and he seems pretty steamed about it.
Jim Zorn wants the coaching staff to go back to teaching fundamentals. That usually means the coaching staff thinks the players haven’t mastered anything.
OG Pete Kendall wants to return to the Redskins next season. Wish I could say I want you back, Pete. But I don’t.
Discuss it!