Then, earlier this offseason, the Redskins and Pats hooked up again, and the results were not pretty for Snyder & Co. Needing a fifth-round pick to settle compensation due the Jets for the [Chad Morton] signing, the Redskins called Foxboro and executed a trade for just such a pick. The only problem was the Redskins never specified which one of the Pats' two fifth-rounders they wanted, and it turned out the fifth-rounder the Pats offered wasn't high enough to secure Morton. So the Redskins had to come back to the table and swap third- round picks with the Pats - who moved up from 81 to 75 in the round - and also give up an additional 2004 fourth-rounder for the Pats' higher fifth-rounder.

Who screwed up at the Redskins offices in the Pats trade? Personnel director Vinny Cerrato? [Daniel Snyder]? Whoever was responsible, the Pats benefited from the Redskins' sloppiness. Now only time will tell if the Pats' hard-ball approach will sour future relations with the Redskins.