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D1g1tal j1m
11-12-2009, 06:23 PM
Yahoo on Bailey and reunion in Washington (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091111/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_redskins_champ___smoot)


Years later, Redskins fans still pine for Bailey
AP

By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer Joseph White, Ap Sports Writer – Wed Nov 11, 6:16 pm ET

ASHBURN, Va. – Having reached his sixth season in the Mile High City, Champ Bailey has now played for the Denver Broncos longer than he did for the Washington Redskins.

But he's still very much missed.

"I'm not going to lie," the eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback said in a conference call with Washington reporters. "Everywhere I go outside of Denver, the only thing I get: 'I wish you were still with the Redskins.' That's all I get. Even in this city, there's Redskins fans everywhere.

"I know the fan base is bigger, stadium's bigger, a lot more tradition, but I still love being a Bronco."

It was in 2004 that Bailey left the wackiness of Washington for the relative stability of Denver, and he'll return for the first time when the Broncos visit the Redskins on Sunday.

"It was crazy when I left" he said when talking about the Redskins, and the craziness that continues to this day makes it easy to contrast his new franchise with his old one.

"You kind of know what to expect every day," Bailey said. "That's a good thing. When I left there, it was a swinging door. When I got here, it wasn't like that."

Bailey was traded in a rare superstar-for-superstar swap that's a source of debate to this day. With negotiations going nowhere for a new contract, owner Dan Snyder sent the best cornerback in the game and a second-round draft pick to the Broncos for running back Clinton Portis. Portis has since piled up the yards and is within striking distance of the Redskins all-time rushing record, but was he worth both a shutdown cornerback and a high draft pick?

Bailey laughed when asked which team got the better of the trade, then gave a diplomatic answer.

"Honestly," he said, "I think they got what they wanted, and the Broncos got what they wanted. We're both still playing at a high level."

Interestingly, Bailey and Portis haven't met on the field since the trade. Bailey missed the team's meeting in Denver in 2005 with a hamstring injury, and Portis probably won't play Sunday after suffering a concussion in last week's loss to Atlanta.

"It's funny how things happen," Bailey said. "At least he got to play at his old place, and I get to play at mine."

Bailey will also get a chance to see longtime close friend Fred Smoot. It seems ages ago that Bailey and Smoot were supposed to be the tandem that would rule the Redskins secondary for a decade.

Bailey was a first-round pick in 1999, and Smoot came along as a second-rounder in 2001. The Redskins ranked sixth in passing defense in 2001 and fifth in 2002.

"You can start building something special right there," Bailey said, "because good cornerbacks are hard to find and they had two good ones. I didn't understand why we couldn't keep us together."

Smoot left after the 2004 season but returned after two seasons with Minnesota. He's now a bit player in the Redskins defense, getting a handful of plays a game. He was once one of the team's most media-friendly players, but he rarely grants interviews these days and agreed to talk this week only because the subject was his old Broncos buddy.

"I do miss playing with him," Smoot said. "Those were some of my golden years of playing. At the time, I don't think a lot of people realized, me and him had one of the best young tandems out there. I think if it wasn't for Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor, both of us could have got a little Pro Bowl action then, but we weren't winning at the time and the Eagles were dominating."

But when it came time for Bailey to get a new contract, the usually free-spending Snyder decided this was one time he wasn't going to foot the bill. Bailey worked out a seven-year, $63 million deal with the Broncos, and the trade was on.

"I was all for going back there, but it didn't work out that way," Bailey said. "Financially it did me good because I got what I wanted as far as my contract. I came to a good franchise. That worked out great. I was going to a place that was real stable for a number of years."

While the stability has been nice, the trade hasn't brought Bailey much postseason success. The Redskins and Broncos have each won only one playoff game since the trade. This year, however, Denver is off to a 6-2 start under new coach Josh McDaniels, giving Bailey a chance to rub it in with Smoot, whose Redskins are 2-6 and have lost four straight.

"We're going to talk about what team's up and what team's down," Smoot said. "Right now, he's at me."

HORSEPOWER 56
11-12-2009, 09:31 PM
How funny! Half the time, Broncos fans (not this one) want Portis back... :rolleyes:

CrazyHorse
11-12-2009, 09:39 PM
How funny! Half the time, Broncos fans (not this one) want Portis back... :rolleyes:

Claymore

Dirk
11-13-2009, 04:41 AM
Meh....we got the better of the trade IMO. Portis and his dressing up and stuff vs. Bailey and his mature leadership, yeah..we got the better of that deal.

Although I loved Portis while he was in Denver!

claymore
11-13-2009, 08:51 AM
Claymore

In a heart beat. Champ has been a good CB, but I think Portis would have won allot more games for us.

TXBRONC
11-13-2009, 09:03 AM
In a heart beat. Champ has been a good CB, but I think Portis would have won allot more games for us.

Ok Clay if you don't stop hating on Champ I'm going come down to El Paso and kick the shit out of you. :D (I'm kidding.)

Seriously though I think the trade was a very good for the Broncos overall. I liked Portis as player but honestly I don't know if would have won us more games. And now in my opinion he's on the downside of his career where is Champ is still a very good corner.

claymore
11-13-2009, 09:14 AM
Ok Clay if you don't stop hating on Champ I'm going come down to El Paso and kick the shit out of you. :D (I'm kidding.)

Seriously though I think the trade was a very good for the Broncos overall. I liked Portis as player but honestly I don't know if would have won us more games. And now in my opinion he's on the downside of his career where is Champ is still a very good corner.

If we would have had Nolan at the time of the trade I could get behind it. But I dont think one bright spot Cornerback ever made a difference on our team. Yes he got a few int's but he hasnt scored very many TD's.

All opposing teams had to do was throw at lenny walls, DW or whatever other scrub DB we had. So If we had a scrub CB in Bailey's spot, it wouldnt have hurt any worse.

Couple that with the fact he isnt a leader (silent leader LOL).... It doesnt really matter.

But.... Missing 5 TD days from Portis does hurt. We never really recovered.

Ravage!!!
11-13-2009, 12:11 PM
I see what Clay is saying. I was on board for the trade because I HONESTLY could not stand Portis... thought he was a total dick. But, he probably would have made a much larget impact for THIS particular team.

Although... at the time of the trade... I listened to interviews with three coaches... Parcells, Belicheck, and Herm Edwards. They were all asked if they would have made that trade and all three of them yes "yes, absolutely." Without question. Finding a prime CB is SOOO much harder to find/get than a RB.

Which is true. Although the RBs we have had haven't been Portis quality... he missed a lot of time to injury. ALthough they weren't prime, was there a HUGE difference in their production? Not a huge difference.

But looking BACk.. I'm both ways. I don't miss Portis himself, but I miss having a quality back.