The Pittsburgh Steelers might have more Lombardy Trophies than any other team, but when it comes to offseason championships no team can compete with the résumé of the Washington Redskins.

And with the 2009 free agency period just having begun on Friday morning, the Redskins are well on their way to another offseason title.

Minutes after the free agency period began the Redskins announced that they had come to terms on a long-term contract with free agent cornerback Deangelo Hall.

A few hours later Washington agreed to a contract with Albert Haynesworth, widely considered the prize of this year’s free agent class. The prodigious defensive tackle, who has been named to the last two pro bowls, inked a seven-year deal worth $100 million. 
 
But $154 million in new contracts wasn’t all that team-owner Daniel Snyder had in mind for the inaugural day of free agency. Snyder and Vinny Ceratto, the Redskins’ Executive Vice President of Football Operations, turned their attention to offensive huddle after sun had fallen on Friday.

Derrick Dockery, a six-year veteran who spent the first four-years of his career in Washington before leaving in free agency two years ago, agreed to rejoin the team that drafted him. Dockery’s contract is a five-year agreement that will pay the left guard a little over $26 million.

All three of the players the Redskins threw monopoly money at on Friday are going to play integral roles for the team this fall. Haynesworth and Hall will both start on a defense that ranked fourth in the NFL last year. Dockery will start at left guard in place of recently departed veteran Pete Kendall.

Snyder’s free-spending ways have been the topic of conversations around water coolers all over the country over the past few days. More people are skeptical of the team’s transactions than supportive. They’re equating the signings to the poor Snyder-endorsed acquisitions of years ago. But here’s why the cynics are wrong.

Bringing these guys to town can’t be compared to netting Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders or Jeff George at the end of their careers. Unlike Mark Carrier, their gas tanks aren’t on empty, and unlike Adam Archuletta they aren’t going to be asked to play in a scheme that doesn’t suit their talents.

Haynesworth is 27-years-old and entering the prime of his career. Hall is only 25 and Dockery is just 28. The only question mark with Haynesworth is whether or not you can get 16-games out of him. That question can be asked about any of the 53 players the Redskins will suit up next season.

Hall struggled in Oakland during the first-half of 2008 after signing a mega-contract at this time last year. But the Virginia-native, who played his college ball in Blacksburg, re-emerged as a game-changing defender upon arriving in DC at midseason. Dockery has made 93 consecutive starts. He’s also never missed a game.

Haynesworth is a run-stuffing machine who specializes in drawing double-teams and pressuring the quarter back. He gets the kind of penetration from the middle of the defensive line that offensive coordinators lose sleep trying to game-plan against.

No defender was as dominant or valuable to a defense as Haynesworth was to the Tennessee Titans a season ago. His presence in the middle of the Redskins’ defensive front-four isn’t just going to strengthen the team’s run defense. It’s going to make the Washington’s entire defense better.

A healthy Haynesworth will mean more one-on-one pass rushing opportunities for Washington’s defensive ends. It should also mean less time in coverage for the team’s cornerbacks, who played well last season despite the fact that the Redskins pressured passers about as well as Charles Barkley swings a golf club.

There’s always a risk when you spend as much money as the Redskins did. Nobody disputes that. But you can’t compare this offseason’s spending spree to the free agency splurges of the past.

All three of the team’s recent additions are in their prime. More importantly all three were added to upgrade positions that needed bolstering.