The loss more painful now?

[syphy]

I know it's a touchy subject, and may even have been discussed at length, but I'm new and didn't find it in past threads...so here goes...


How much bigger is the loss of Stephen Davis now that Mr. gibbs is back?

I grew up with The Diesel running the ball and celebrated Big Steve as the second coming only to have him torn away from me by Spurrier because "he didn't fit the system" well excuse me, when you have Stephen Davis, make your system work for him, but I digress, that's another thread.

How big is that trade now? Big Steve epitomizes Mr Gibbs offense of the past. Beat them about the head and face with your Big Back, then go for the big play, maybe throw a little, nifty, evasive guy in every once in a while to shake em up, then beat them about the head and face with Big Back some more.

I guess my question is, would Mr Gibbs' job be a lot easier coming into this season if Big Steve was still with us? Or should we be thankful that we can start anew with maybe a new Big Back who might not suffer so many ankle/knee injuries?

Whatcha think?




personally, I'm a huge fan of Big Steve, love seeing him run, and wish we still had him.

[TexSkin]

No problem syphy..this has been discussed like crazy here. I agree with you that he would have been great in Gibbs hands but oh well. He aint coming back so we just have to look forward. Thats how I feel anyway.

[SkinsCT]

I think losing 48 was a huge loss for us, not only for the 2004 season but also last year. I don't care what kind of system you run, having a big back who can get 75-100 yards a game and keep moving the chains is a huge advantage. Now, with Gibbs bringing back his offensive philosophy of establishing the run first, not having Davis is a setback. I know I feel like if we had him still in the fold I would feel much more confident about our record next season. It would also allow us to focus on other aspects of our roster in the off-season.

[syphy]

I'm with you SkinsCT, couldn't agree more actually.

Only thing I would worry about is his staying power, which motivated me to start the thread.

Would we be better off (granted, waxing nostalgic at this point) with Big Steve, who has missed a lot of time over the last couple of seasons with nagging ankles etc, or is it a blessing in disguise where we can get a fresh start with a fresh back under the 2nd Gibbs era?

I guess, I'm just seeking other people opinions because I'm stll disappointed in his release, and would love to see him here still, there's a lot of miles on that mule at this point and would we better served by going for new talent?

Theres also the possibility, however remote, that Carolina may give him up, Foster did very well for them this year. Could we, should we try to get him back if it's a viable option?


Just trying to achieve closure, I'm STILL in the whatif phase hehe


and thanks for the patience guys, since it's apparently been beat to death :)

[dj_stouty]

Well...Davis wasn't "traded". He was released b/c his salary would hit the club to the tune of over 11 million.

The NFL is a business and that's the way business goes. No one should have thought Davis would be around after he restructed his contract a few years ago leaving the salary of his last year at 11 million.

This happens to every team...and we have to get used to it in this Free Agency/Salary Cap era of football.

[syphy]

forgive me if I'm wrong stouty, but hadn't the Skins just signed him to a new 9year deal the year before? Was it that poorly structured that he was going to make 11 mill right off the top?

If so, that's some real piss poor manuevering by the front office

[JoeDaSchmoe]

Well, I don't know about how many years the deal had left, but he had hit a big year that would take a huge chunk out of the cap. If we still had him, he'd be a perfect Gibbs-style back, but then we might not have Coles, Thomas, etc, and we might not have a shot at getting someone like Jevon Kearse.

And also, welcome to the site, Syphy. Hope ya stick around, we always like getting new members.

[dj_stouty]

First off, Welcome aboard, syphy!

I don't think it was the beginning of a 6 year deal. If I recall it was the last or 2nd to last year of the restructured deal. I'm drawing a blank to the specifics...

Even if we had restructured with Davis, he was not going to stick around for much less than what he thought was owed to him. We had already mortaged the future with him the first time we restructured with him...so doing it again probably would have only bought us a year or two more.

I think every action made in the last two years has ultimately led to the arrival of Joe Gibbs...so I'm hard pressed to say I'd change anything for fear that we wouldn't have gotten him.

[PennSkinsFan]

Davis is a dead issue for me. He is gone, he has been gone now for one full season, no use it discussing it anymore. Plus, with the onset of the new Gibbs Era, I am excited as hell as to what is to come. Gibbs will get a back that will work in his system, that is for sure.

[3CardMonte]

He would have never restructured his Skins contract to what he made in carolina. I think its better the way it worked out all things considered

3Card

[TexSkin]

love the sig btw 3CardMonte

[RedskinRyan]

its a heartbreak, although im choosing to be optimistic in that this is our oppurtunity to find a new, young back that will be our workhorse for years.

[Redvan]

JoeDaSchmoe wrote:

If we still had him, he'd be a perfect Gibbs-style back, but then we might not have Coles, Thomas, etc, and we might not have a shot at getting someone like Jevon Kearse.

Very, very true. I can't get upset about Davis, heck I was even happy when New England shut him down in the Superbowl.

In his latter days as a Skin, he was hurt quite a bit, fumbled too much and of course was costing too much.

I love the fact that he provided a way to acquire such talent as Coles and Hall.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

the way i see it---you have to give something to get something and we wouldnt have coach gibbs, coles, thomas, hall.....if #48 was still here. i wish he was here still but i'd rather be in the shape we're in right now.----

[REALRICK]

Without question there has been a learning curve for Snyder and company. I mean signing Stephen Davis to a $100 million dollar contract in the same year that Bruce Smith signs a $25 million contract in the same year that Lavar is drafted and then signed to some kind of record deal in the same year that Jeff George is signed and on and on and on.

Snyder took over, had plenty of money, was a rich kid and felt he could come in a buy a title. He has learned that his fanatasy players and fantasy coaches don't equal true life.

Now its up to Joe Gibbs to put things back together again even though we still owe Bruce Smith money and Lavar has signed a 4 Trillion dollar contract. Dumb things in the past don't always equal dumb things in the future. We are almost back on track and by next year there shouldn't be any left over baggage from the past mistakes, or at least very, very little.

[joethefan]

Hey guys, it's a biiter pill we have to swallow and learn to move forward....yea I do feel your sentiments...but too me he just seemed like he fumbles too much for me... I didn't know whether it was focus or coaching....but we gotta move on.....

[Texas Skin]

Sure it's fun to think what if and stuff, and we all hated to see Davis go but I'm over it and ready to move on and stop dreading on what happened during the Spurier era. Who would I rather have under Skins contract Gibbs or Davis, I would take Gibbs everytime. So I'm estatic about the possiblities and looking forward to the future not the past.

:D

[truant]

i don't miss him.

he's a good fit in carolina, we'll get ours.

[LuvSkins17]

I miss him but hey. He's happy. He is back home in the Carolina's. The Skins was a platform for him. He was a forth round pic that paid his dues and was a team player. He played FB for us when Larry Bowie went down for the season. I used to get pissed when he was playing FB and Hicks was running for TD's from 5 yards out after Allen did all the hard work. He took the starting role from fan favored Skip Hicks after Terry Allen was released.

The man has done well. Good luck to him. He better beware next season though. Hell, we kept him from getting 100 yards against us during the season after he talked smack after the preseason game. We didn't even have a D Line. Next season it won't be the same situation.

[skinsfan44]

Originally posted by dj_stouty
Well...Davis wasn't "traded". He was released b/c his salary would hit the club to the tune of over 11 million.

The NFL is a business and that's the way business goes. No one should have thought Davis would be around after he restructed his contract a few years ago leaving the salary of his last year at 11 million.

This happens to every team...and we have to get used to it in this Free Agency/Salary Cap era of football.

Couldn't agree more, dj.

If Davis was still here to play for Gibbs, one thing that Gibbs will not stand for is fumbling.

And we all know that Davis is famous for fumbling the ball at the worst times (ie after getting a 1st down, near the goalline).

Do you think Davis would last long if that happened under Gibbs?

I don't think so, but it is a mute point.

Davis is gone, and that's that.