His teams have gone through three full-time head coaches and one interim head coach. His teams have employed myriad offensive and defensive philosophies. His teams have started nine quarterbacks and drafted two passers in the first round. And his teams have two playoff wins under his watch.

Yet, Sports Illustrated ranked Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder as the fifth-best owner in the NFL.

No, really, they did.

If the bottom line in the NFL is winning, ranking Snyder fifth is mind boggling. Since 2000, the Redskins have had records of 8-8, 8-8, 7-9, 5-11, 6-10, 10-6 and 5-11. In 1999, Snyder was the owner but took over so late in the offseason, his camp didn’t play a big hand in building that playoff team.

According to a press release by SI, Michael Silver ranked the owners "taking into account many factors –- business savvy, devotion to league growth, aggressive pursuit of winning with one overriding consideration: If you're a fan of the team in question, do you want this person making the big decisions?"

Silver's top five: Robert Kraft (New England), Jerry Jones (Dallas), Jerry Richardson (Carolina), The Glazer Family (Tampa Bay) and Snyder. I agree with Kraft and his family as No. 1. The Patriots are the model franchise in the league. I'm not as sure about Richardson, Glazer and Snyder. I would have put Indianapolis' Jim Irsay –- because of the Colts' success -- and Pittsburgh's Dan Rooney –- because of the Steelers' consistency -- in the top five.

Silver's bottom five: Wayne Weaver (Jacksonville), William Clay Ford (Detroit), Ralph Wilson (Buffalo), Tom Benson (New Orleans) and Mike Brown (Cincinnati). Can’t argue with any of those five although I would have made room for Minnesota’s Zygi Wilf and Arizona’s Bill Bidwell.

Here’s how I think Snyder stacks up in the four areas Silver took into account:

Business savvy: You don’t become a zillionaire by not having smart business sense. Snyder did that ... but not in football. As for his acumen within the NFL, he’s done plenty of things to maximize income at FedEx Field and by securing sponsorship deals with several major corporations.

Devotion to league growth: Snyder is part of a group exploring ways to help the league grow in the digital world ... yet FedEx Field is the ONLY stadium in the NFL without wireless internet access in the press box.

Aggressive pursuit of winning: No question, Snyder pursues free agents with gusto and is willing to spend any amount of money on coaches or free agents (but not necessarily free agents on his roster). It’s just what he pursues in his lust for winning that gets him in trouble.

Do you want this person making the big decisions?: Judging by my e-mail inbox the last six months, Redskins fans like Snyder's money but they don't want him making the decisions. You folks want a general manager, if not somebody with a different title but with similar power.

Of Snyder, Silver writes that the owner will get it right "eventually." That day might come when Snyder follows the lead of Baltimore Orioles owner/asbestos expert Peter Angelos and hires an experienced hand to run the front office.

Other Redskins notes

* The Redskins will open training camp on Friday, July 27. The camp will no longer be "built by Home Depot." Remax is on as the new sponsor, which will give their executives inside-the-ropes VIP credentials to eat stale peanuts, drink warm Diet Coke and get an up close and personal view ... to the Redskins stretching in 90-degree heat.

* Between July 27 and Aug. 14, the Redskins will have five two-a-days. They will have 16 practices and one scrimmage before opening the preseason at Tennessee.

Last week, USA Today published its annual NFL Salary Database, a plethora of information about each team's payroll, each player's base salary and bonuses and rankings of the highest-paid players at each position.

Your Washington Redskins had a 2006 payroll of $110,340,460 -- sixth-highest in the league.

What the Redskins got, of course, was five victories for those paychecks. At least Indianapolis, which led the league with more than $131 million in player salaries, got its money's worth by winning the Super Bowl.

The payroll is higher than the salary cap because the Redskins' big-ticket free agent signings had their signing bonuses paid to them in full last year but for cap purposes, it was spread out over the next few years.

The Redskins didn't have a player ranked in the top 25 overall. New England's Richard Seymour led the way with $24,691,160, followed by New Orleans' Drew Brees ($22 million).

Some interesting Redskins items from the database:

* From 2005 to 2006, the Redskins' payroll jumped from $66,108,761 to $110,340,460 and the average salary went from $665,250 to $904,730. The '05 team reached the second round of the playoffs. In 2004, the payroll was $117,962,286 -- the team went 6-10.

* The two biggest bargains (only two bargains?) were Chris Cooley ($429,180) and Kedric Golston ($340,575).

* The biggest rip-off list is a long one: Adam Archuleta ($5,587,310), Mark Brunell ($4,004,291), John Hall ($1,504,510), Brandon Lloyd ($5,503,410), David Patten ($2,339,620) and, just for giggles, T.J. Duckett ($663,000).

* Also, Andre Carter ($5,590,280), Antwaan Randle El ($5,587,310) and Carlos Rogers ($8,302,090) had big signing bonuses put into their checking accounts in 2006.

* In all, 28 Redskins pocketed more than $1 million in base salary and related bonuses in 2006. The Colts had 20.

-- Ryan O'Halloran

Our very own Ryan O'Halloran will be on the John Thompson Show with Brian Mitchell today at 2 p.m. to talk about all things Redskins. Tune in to SportsTalk 980-AM to check it out.

The folks at BetUS.com sent out another list of odds for the upcoming NFL season and it doesn't look good for the Redskins.

Here are some odds, according to BetUS ...

The Redskins win the Super Bowl: 45-1

Clinton Portis charged with fighting pit bulls: 50-1

Portis rushes for 1,200-plus yards: 1-20

The Redskins make the playoffs: 4-1

Joe Gibbs retires: 30-1.

The Redskins have also been installed as a three-point favorite over Miami in Week 1, which basically means the oddsmaker sees the game as even since home-field advantage in the NFL is universally worth three points.

* Don’t completely rule out the chances of Lance Briggs coming to the Redskins. ... as a free agent in 2008.

Briggs and the Chicago Bears (as expected) did not come to terms on a new contract yesterday, the final day teams can sign their franchise players to new deals. Briggs has vowed to hold out until Week 10, thus forfeiting a majority of his $7.2 million salary.

Briggs wants a deal in line with New England's Adalius Thomas and Miami's Joey Porter, each of whom got $20 million guaranteed to switch teams. Those players are sack threats; Briggs is more of a coverage linebacker. Additionally, Chicago is already paying big money to one linebacker (Brian Urlacher).

The Redskins and Bears had talks -- those just weren't "rumors" as Redskins LB coach Kirk Olivadotti said at minicamp -- earlier this year about Briggs. If Rocky McIntosh doesn't impress or The Danny wants to make a splash next offseason, he could make a run at Briggs to play outside linebacker.

* Expect the Patriots and cornerback Asante Samuel to come to terms after the season. Unlike the Bears, who feel they can live without Briggs (note the new deal they gave CB Nathan Vasher while not taking care of Briggs), New England covets Samuel's services and wants him in the fold long-term. But it will cost the Patriots more than they're used to paying.

The benchmark for corners is the eight-year, $80 million windfall that Nate Clements got from San Francisco. Samuel wants his payday but the guess here is that he’ll take slightly less to stay with a winning team. It would behoove Samuel to report to training camp and make nice with the Patriots because New England can franchise him again in 2008.

* I actually agree with agent Drew Rosenhaus on the franchise tag. It should be eliminated. It was invented, supposedly, as a good thing for the players. Instead, it has turned into a stop-gap for a team to control a disgruntled player who has played out his contract and simply wants to test the open market.

Samuel would have no problem getting a huge contract on the open market because No. 1-caliber cover corners are a rare commodity. Briggs would probably find there wouldn't be as many suitors for him at the price he was asking. Still, it would give him the chance to get a deal he feel he has earned.

* The Redskins are becoming one of several NFL teams to offer four-year contracts to their second-day draft picks. Dallas Sartz and Tyler Ecker signed four-year deals. Sartz' contract includes language in the final year that will increase his salary if he’s playing a big role on the team (like starting). The signing bonus Sartz received ($185,000) is also larger than the one he would have received had he signed a three-year contract. The theory on moving to four-year deals: With so many starters making so much money, it's cheaper to pay a fourth-year player who is still working on his rookie contract. And it protects the team from the player becoming a restricted free agent and signing a big deal with other team that they would have to match.

* The fact LaRon Landry hasn't signed yet shouldn't be a big concern. Only two first round picks -- San Francisco OT Joe Staley (No. 28 overall) and Chicago tight end Greg Olsen (No. 31) -- have signed. The last Redskins first-round pick to hold out was QB Patrick Ramsey in 2002.

-- Ryan O'Halloran

Stopped by the Barnes & Noble in Reston on Monday afternoon to pick up one of the most valuable resources for a "stats guy" like myself: The 2007 Pro Football Prospectus, the brilliant statistical book spearheaded by Aaron Schatz and the folks at footballoutsiders.com.

I don’t use this book for fantasy football, but its data -- the book is 515 pages this year -- provides statistical evidence with which to prove theories and pursue story angles.

Each team is thoroughly dissected; Here are five interesting Redskins-related nuggets about their 2006 train wreck:

* The Redskins defense was the seventh-worst on third down since 1996. A complicated formula was used to back up the theory. But let's face facts: The Redskins were wretched on third down last year.

* The offense led the league in first-half runs (53 percent) and were seventh overall in first-down runs (59 percent). This was interesting and surprised me. It shoots down the theory amongst some inside and outside the organization that the Redskins didn't play "Joe Gibbs Football." They tried. But when a defense can't stop anybody, Al Saunders has no choice but to try and pass more often.

* Showing how good the offensive line's pass protection was, the Redskins used "max protection" (when the blockers outnumbered the rushers by at least two, such as seven blockers for five rushers) on only nine percent of the pass plays. And still the Redskins allowed only 19 sacks.

* Tight end Chris Cooley was first at his position in yards after catch (7.4 yards).

* And my personal favorite: The defense forced a turnover once every 17.2 drives -- the first time in the seven years PFP kept drive stats that a defense forced a turnover less often than once every 13 drives.

File this away: PFP projects 8.2 wins for the Redskins this season.

PFW: Redskins will go 7-9

I also picked up Pro Football Weekly’s season preview. It has the Redskins finishing 7-9 and third in the NFC East, ahead of the New York Giants. PFW picks Philadelphia to win the division and Dallas to make it as a wild card and New England to beat New Orleans in the Super Bowl.

Mike McMahon has a job

Remember the 2005 season finale at Philadelphia when Mike McMahon looked like the most wretched quarterback in recent NFL memory? He was 16 of 31 that day -- a 31-20 Redskins win that clinched a playoff spot -- with two interceptions and plenty of near-picks. Well, ol' Mike has resurfaced ... with Toronto of the Canuck Football League. Replacing injured starter Michael Bishop, McMahon was on the losing end of a 48-15 beating by Calgary last weekend. He began with five straight misfires and didn’t complete his first pass until late in the second quarter. Once a bad quarterback, always a bad quarterback.

I bring this story up as a way to talk about Bishop, the best college football player I covered while a student at Kansas State in the late 1990s. Bishop was the runner-up to Ricky Williams for the 1998 Heisman Trophy and spent a year with New England before a guy named Tom Brady beat him out for the No. 3 job. Bishop has bounced around the Arena and Canuck Leagues ever since.

Zac’s a fullback?

Old friend Zac Keasey, who made the Redskins' 53-man roster as a linebacker for a few weeks in 2006, was recently listed as a fullback with the 49ers in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Open practice schedule

The open Redskins practices the first few days of camp are: Friday 5 p.m., Saturday 4:30 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m. and Tuesday (July 31) 4 p.m.

The Redskins open camp on Friday, the first of eight consecutive days of practice followed by the scrimmage at Baltimore.

Here is my official roster projection -- who will be on the 53-man roster for the Week 1 game against Miami.

I urge you to send your projections to rohalloran@washingtontimes.com and any Redskins questions to skinsmailbag@washingtontimes.com.

We'll start answering the questions next week.

OFFENSE (25)

5 Casey Bramlet (he beats out Todd Collins)
8 Mark Brunell
11 Mike Espy (survives since the team didn't sign Keenan McCardell)
17 Jason Campbell
26 Clinton Portis
31 Rock Cartwright
45 Mike Sellers
46 Ladell Betts
47 Chris Cooley
48 Derrick Blaylock
60 Chris Samuels
61 Casey Rabach
62 Mike Pucillo
68 Ross Tucker
69 Jason Fabini
71 Todd Wade
72 Taylor Whitley
76 Jon Jansen
77 Randy Thomas
82 Antwaan Randle El
83 James Thrash
85 Brandon Lloyd
87 Todd Yoder
88 Tyler Ecker
89 Santana Moss

DEFENSE (25)

20 Pierson Prioleau
21 Sean Taylor
22 Carlos Rogers
23 Omar Stoutmire
24 Shawn Springs
27 Fred Smoot
30 LaRon Landry
35 Jerametrius Butler
37 Reed Doughty
38 David Macklin
50 Khary Campbell
52 Rocky McIntosh
53 Marcus Washington
54 H.B. Blades
59 London Fletcher
64 Kedric Golston
73 Ryan Boschetti
92 Demetric Evans
93 Phillip Daniels
94 Anthony Montgomery
95 Joe Salave’a
96 Cornelius Griffin
97 Renaldo Wynn
98 Lemar Marshall
99 Andre Carter

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

4 Derrick Frost
6 Shaun Suisham
67 Ethan Albright

Give Simeon a shot. That's what the pass-rushless Redskins should do. Bring Simeon Rice, released by Tampa Bay on Thursday after he failed a physical, to Redskin Park for their own physical. Wine and dine one of the game's dominant pass rushers of the past decade. If Rice doesn't pass the physical, he should still feel the love from Dan Snyder's credit cards so that if/when he's cleared to play again, the Redskins will be at the top of his list.

While his future running mate LaRon Landry began a contract holdout in Louisiana, oft-troubled safety Sean Taylor was the first player to hit the field for the start of training camp yesterday afternoon at Redskin Park. That has to be welcome news for coach Joe Gibbs and Co., who can never be too sure of Taylor's state of mind.

Seventh-round draft choice Tyler Ecker is not known as a great receiver, but the tight end from Michigan grabbed a pass over the middle at his shoetops in the midst of three defenders. With a job behind starter Chris Cooley and blocker Todd Yoder very much for grabs, Ecker made a nice first impression.

Through two interview sessions with various Washington Redskins following practice yesterday and today, I've been amused with the theory that the team -- led by coach Joe Gibbs -- had a "Super Bowl or Bust" mantra last training camp.

Nothing could be more inaccurate. Sure, the Redskins thought they had a realistic chance to make a deep playoff run but examples of over-the-top bravado were rare. It's been funny to see players give puzzling looks as if to say, "We thought we would be good, but we weren't publicly talking about the Super Bowl."

The only player who intimated the Super Bowl talk last year was quarterback Mark Brunell, on the first day of camp.

Back then, Brunell said: "We expect good things, and anything short of going all the way, honestly, would be a disappointment. That's the mind-set of every team now in training camp, but we need to be better than last year, and I expect us to be better."

Not exactly earth-shattering stuff, but the interesting thing was that Brunell brought the subject up himself. He wasn't responding to a question about the Super Bowl.

The next day, Gibbs immediately downplayed Brunell's comments.

So how does that turn into a familiar line of questioning, particularly by media members who aren't regulars at Redskin Park? It's because these people thought the Redskins had a chance to reach the Super Bowl last year and naturally, they think the players felt the same way. (Personally, I had them going 10-6 and reaching the playoffs, but not the Super Bowl). Hopefully the, "You had Super Bowl or bust expectations last year, what about this year ..." questions will end by tomorrow.

* In this morning two-hour practice, right guard Randy Thomas (sore knee) sat out again and rookies Tyler Ecker (groin) and H.B. Blades (cramps) did not complete the practice.

Recent reports from Atlanta are saying that the Falcons may have an interest in acquiring quarterback Mark Brunell. The Falcons are in disarray at the QB position after Michael Vick's indictment on federal dogfighting charges and subsequent go-home-not-to-training-camp mandate from commissioner/NFL super cop Roger Goodell.

Part of me - the part that thinks Brunell's days as a starting quarterback are done - finds this comical. But for the sake of debate, here's why I think the Redskins should and shouldn't listen to Atlanta. (And my money is on nothing happening).

Why the Redskins should listen to Atlanta: It would give Washington a rare opportunity to add a draft pick. The Redskins trade them away with alarming regularity. The price would probably be a conditional pick - a higher pick if Brunell plays a lot, a late pick if he is merely Joey Harrington's backup. If Brunell isn't here, Todd Collins moves into the second spot and Casey Bramlet becomes No. 3.

Why the Redskins shouldn't listen to Atlanta: As much as I think Jason Campbell will be a legitimate NFL starter, there's always the chance that he'll: 1. Get hurt; 2. Need to be replaced for a half after throwing a couple careless interceptions. Although Brunell wasn't great as a starter, he probably is one of the better No. 2 quarterbacks in the league. Plus, Collins has attempted only 28 passes since 1998 - who knows how he'll perform when pressed into service?

What the Falcons have to weigh is whether Brunell is fully recovered from his offseason labrum surgery, whether can he slide seamlessly into a new offense in the middle of training camp and whether, quite frankly, does he have anything left in the tank.

What the Redskins have to weigh is whether Gibbs feels comfortable with Collins as the backup quarterback, whether Campbell is far enough along to not need a veteran like Brunell behind him and whether Gibbs can part with the first player he traded for upon returning to the Redskins in 2004.

If the Washington Redskins and LaRon Landry's agent, Joel Segal, were in fact waiting for No. 7 pick Adrian Peterson sign with Minnesota, their wait is over.

Peterson singed a five-year contract with $17 million in guarantees and a possible maximum value of $40.5 million, according to ESPN.

Landry is the sixth pick; the fifth pick is Arizona's Levi Brown, another Segal client who remains unsigned.

The thinking on both sides was that Peterson's deal would set the standard in the NFL slotting system. If Peterson gets $17 million guaranteed and a five-year contract, expect Landry's deal -- when completed -- to be for five years and around $17.5 million guaranteed.

* It's raining hard here at Redskin Park and at 3:15 p.m., Fan Appreciation Day was canceled. The next FAD is Aug. 8. Practice is supposed to start at 4 p.m. but is on hold until the weather clears up. A limited workout should be expected, though, possibly on the turf field.

Chris Samuels, one of only two active Redskins to make the Pro Bowl in a Washington uniform, turned 30 on Saturday.

Samuels is the ninth of Washington's expected starters to reach the big 3-0, and three more -- safety Pierson Prioleau, center Casey Rabach and linebacker Marcus Washington -- will reach that milestone by Halloween. By then, rookie LaRon Landry might well have supplanted Prioleau, but that will still mean half the starters will be in their 30s.

Five of the Redskins' coaches have hit the big 6-0: boss man Joe Gibbs, associate head coach Al Saunders, offensive line coach Joe Bugel, tight ends coach Rennie Simmons and gameplanner Don Breaux. All but Saunders were in Washington during the glory days in the 1980s when the Redskins went to three Super Bowls and won two in just six years.

LaRon Landry has agreed to terms with the Redskins on a five-year deal worth approximately $42 million, $17 million of which is guaranteed.

The sixth pick in April's draft missed his fifth consecutive practice this morning but could arrive at Redskin Park in time to practice this afternoon.

So ends the first holdout of Joe Gibbs' four-year second tenure as the Redskins' coach.

Landry will start camp behind Pierson Prioleau at strong safety but is expected to supplant the veteran sooner rather than later.

A couple of injury items from the morning practice, which lasted a shade under two hours:

Randy Thomas and rookies Tyler Ecker, Dallas Sartz and H.B. Blades sat out. LaRon Landry missed practice while en route to Redskin Park to sign his contract.

Fullback Mike Sellers did not finish the practice after having ice applied to his right knee. He was able to stand with the rest of the offensive players and walked off the field fine, calling it just a bruise.

After practice, receiver Mike Espy had an ice pack on his right knee, and Sean Taylor left the facility with ice on his right ankle and right hand.

Today, I wrote a story on Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers' second season. I included a couple stats from the Pro Football Prospectus.

A few minutes ago, I got off the phone with the PFP's editor, Aaron Schatz, who at my request explained some of Rogers' stats from 2006.

The bottom line: Rogers wasn't as bad as some might think.

"It was a fine, reasonable season by a second-year corner," Schatz said. "Not everybody can be Pacman Jones and turn into Superman in two seasons ... The problems for Washington was the amount of injuries, the lack of a pass rush, Shawn Springs' injury and that the third cornerback (Kenny Wright) was terrible and the fourth cornerback (Mike Rumph) made you want to slit your wrists."

Rogers ranked 25th among cornerbacks with 36 "stops," which come from the play-by-play books distributed by each team. A stop is any play that prevents the offense from a successful play - 45 percent of the yards on first down, 60 percent of the yards on second down and 100 percent of the yards on third/fourth down. It refers to tackles, interceptions, passes defended and sacks. It does not include a play, for example, on which Rogers had good coverage on a receiver, forcing the quarterback to intentionally overthrow or throw away.

Rogers' breakdown was 10 running "stops" and 26 passing "stops."

Schatz said Denver cornerback Champ Bailey was first in stops with 53.

Rogers was targeted (thrown at) 103 times, or 25 percent of all opponent's passing plays. That ranked fourth in the league, behind only Fred Thomas, Charles Tillman and Anthony Henry.

"I don't know if that was people picking on him or that on the entire pass defense, he was the only one to stay healthy most of the time and play most of the time," Schatz said.

Schatz added, "He was middle-of-the-road in terms of our success rate stat and a little better on yards per completion (6.9). But Washington had so many problems on defense, particularly on third down, teams didn't need to throw as long downfield."

Compared to the two cornerbacks drafted ahead of him in 2005 - Arizona's Antrel Rolle and Tennessee's Jones, Schatz said Rogers trails slightly. Rolle had 39 stops and was targeted 100 times, allowed 6.3 yards per reception and had one interception; Jones had 36 stops, was targeted 69 times, allowed 5.4 yards per reception and had four interceptions.

Redskins director of sports medicine said moments ago that left tackle Chris Samuels sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee and was scheduled for an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

Samuels went down late in the Redskins' practice this afternoon while engaged with a pass rusher.

On his way out of Redskin Park tonight, Samuels said: "Two guys fell into my leg. ... I think I'm OK. I didn't feel anything pop."

In February, Samuels, 30, had surgery on his left knee. In 2003, he missed three games with a right knee MCL injury.

After yesterday's press conference, had a chance to talk with Joe Gibbs a little about his involvement with trying to get Dale Earnhardt Jr. to join Joe Gibbs Racing.

Earnhardt is leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., at the end of this NASCAR season and was courted by several teams before signing with the Hendrick Motorsports powerhouse.

Gibbs said on Monday he was involved in the recruitment process.

"It was an unusual situation because he's a premier guy," Coach Joe said. "That doesn't happen very often. He was a true free agent.

"I thought Rick [Hendrick] and those guys had the inside track because of the all years Rick spent around the family when [Dale Jr.] was growing up."

Joe Gibbs Racing currently has three cars - No. 20 (Tony Stewart), No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) and No. 18 (J.J. Yeley). Gibbs said expanding to a four-car team - the maximum allowed by NASCAR - was considered. That could still happen if JGR lands Kyle Busch, who was bounced from Hendrick when Earnhardt came aboard.

Gibbs said his team's comments that they weren't interested in Earnhardt because he would bring Budweiser as a sponsor "were taken out of context from me because I'm not against anything. For us, it didn't really fit. We've never had an alcohol and tobacco sponsor and that wasn't going to fit with us."

Reading between the lines, JGR was interested in Earnhardt but not in Budweiser.

Some other morning notes before today's 4 p.m. practice:

* Safety LaRon Landry officially signed his contract and will practice today.

* It will be interesting to see how many guys the Redskins work at left tackle today with Chris Samuels out for a month and if they make a roster move to add an offensive lineman.

* And those of you interested about how we do our jobs, this little story. When Samuels went down yesterday, the view of the media was blocked by a wall of offensive players so nobody really saw how it happened. I wanted to find out: 1. Who was engaged with Samuels? 2. Who got blocked into Samuels? 3. And was it the outside, inside or directly behind his knee? After talking to eight players and two assistant coaches, I was able to glean one additional sentence (later confirmed by Samuels), that he was blocking Demetric Evans, it was a pass play and Joe Salave'a fell into Samuels.