Washington Redskins Coach Jim Zorn Is Leading a Double Life

Much has been made of Washington’s woes in the first quarter of 2009.

Redskins head coach Jim Zorn entered the season on the hot seat, mostly due to a late-season collapse in 2008 and the reputation of team owner Daniel Snyder.

Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell entered the season on the hot seat, mostly due to his lackluster win-loss record and lack of production in the touchdown passing department. He also is in the last season of his contract, a rarity for an NFL starter, no matter how tenable their position is.

Thus far, the team is 2-2 with a consistently inconsistent offense. Though the defense has had its own woes, the offense takes the brunt of the blame by putting up few points against supposedly bad teams.

However, that’s not the whole story. For the Redskins, it’s a tale of two halves.

The Redskins have only scored one touchdown in the first half of any of their four games this season, and that was by injured punter Hunter Smith on a fake field goal. Leaving that gimmick play out, the team has been outscored 50 to six in the first half this season.

Take a moment to consider that disparity; 50 to six.

How can any team outscored by such a large margin in the first half have any wins to their credit, let alone half their games?

That’s because it doesn’t stay that way in the second half. The Redskins have in fact become of the NFL’s most dynamic second-half teams, besting their opponents by a 43-15 margin in the game’s last two quarters.

What gives? How can a team that performs so poorly in one half be so consistently good in the second half?

It could simply be that Zorn, who also calls all the offensive signals, is simply a master of halftime adjustments. But if this trend were to continue, he would have to be the all-time god of locker-room tweaks and pep talks.

No, it’s really that the team seems to completely abandon what it attempts to do in the first half for something completely different in the second.

The Redskins are dying to be a West Coast team. When defacto GM Vinny Cerato and Snyder tapped Zorn as offensive coordinator and then head coach (when everyone up to and including Vince Lombardi turned them down), they announced the team was henceforth to run the West Coast offense.

Zorn, hired to be a West Coast coordinator, tries to run the West Coast in the first half of every game. And fails miserably.

Why is this?

Because Zorn knows what we know: the Redskins are not a West Coast team. Campbell isn’t a great fit at the position, but that’s the least of the team’s concerns. Only 60 percent of the offensive line is NFL-quality, but that 60 percent includes big road-graders, built for power running. The best receivers on the team are speedsters, the type who are capable of achieving separation and who are good with the ball in the open field.

When the team tries to run the West Coast offense in the first half—a rhythm, timing passing game that opens up rushing lanes—it looks awful. It really does. The first-half edition of the Washington Redskins looks absolutely atrocious this season. They have miscommunications, bad reads, no one is open, and so on and so forth.

When Zorn checks into the locker room during halftime (listening to all the boos when he’s at home), he feels that hot seat when he drops down in frustration. Above all, Zorn is a football coach, and he knows that all that really matters is winning the game.

So when the Redskins take the field in the second half, what do you see? Power running, including significantly more Clinton Portis carries in the second half than the first. And vertical passing—check out Santana Moss’ second-half production versus the first half, and how many long touchdown receptions he’s grabbed this year.

This is the Joe Gibbs/Al Saunders offense, and that’s what this team was built for. Power running by Portis puts the strong safety up near the line of scrimmage. That means when you send Santana Moss long, Antwaan Randle El medium, and Chris Cooley short, one of the three will land one-on-one coverage—and few teams can cover all three adequately for more than a couple of seconds.

And it works, to the tune of early tripling up their opponents in the second half.

Zorn is leading a double life: spending one half doing what he’s been ordered to, and one half doing what he should do.

Maybe if he had the freedom to do the latter, the team might actually look good for all four quarters.

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Washington Redskins Never Wanted Jim Zorn At All

Cue up the funeral march.

No matter who says or does what from here on out…remember this as the beginning of the end of the Jim Zorn era.

The Redskins today hired West Coast Offense guru Sherman Lewis as an “offensive consultant” less than 48 hours after the team’s narrow victory against the bumbling Buccaneers.

Redskins de facto GM Vinny Cerato stressed that Lewis is “another set of eyes” and “Jim welcomed the idea if it was the right guy” and “Jim still calls the plays.”

It doesn’t take a genius to read the subtext here: the hire was made by Vinny Cerato and (because it was Cerato) by owner Daniel Snyder. Zorn clearly did not initiate this and, no matter how much of a lap dog Zorn has been during his Redskins tenure, no doubt he was unhappy about it.

There was one more, much more interesting quote from Cerato during the press conference. Did you catch it?

The entire quote reads as thus: “(Lewis) is another set of eyes, and he’s been involved with this offense since Bill Walsh started running it. And he and Jim both had experience with Holmgren, so Sherm knows the terminology.”

Did you see it that time?

“…he and Jim both had experience with Holmgren…”

One of the most discussed aspects of Jim Zorn’s place on the hot seat this season is the quintet of Super Bowl-winning coaches sitting on the sidelines.

Former Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Holmgren is among the list which also includes Bill Cowher, Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan, and John Gruden.

Let’s say you were Snyder and Cerato, and nearly two years ago for reasons past understanding you decided that you wanted to run a West Coast Offense. Then let’s say you looked at the available coaches that year and found no one you liked for that particular offense.

Then let’s say you knew that a certain proponent of the West Coast Offense was going to be retiring the next year from his current job, taking a year off, and would be available in two seasons.

Who do you hire?

While this certainly is a conspiracy theory worthy of Oliver Stone, let’s consider this for a moment.

Converting from the vertical offense of Joe Gibbs would take a minimum of two years. The first year would be up and down, the second year would show progress. But it wouldn’t be until the third year that the team would get somewhere.

The Redskins are in the second year of Jim Zorn, who, for all intents and purposes, has installed the Mike Holmgren offense in Washington. Starting quarterback Jason Campbell has been well-schooled in the offense by a guy whose only qualification prior to his hire in Washington was as a quarterback tutor.

The team drafted two receivers and a tight end specifically for this offense, knowing full well that it isn’t until a receiver’s third year in the NFL that they break out. Beyond that, they’ve drafted and spent the vast majority of their money on defense, assembling what is definitely among the most talented (if underperforming) defenses in the league.

The team has resisted investing much into the offense. After disappointing rookie seasons for draftees Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas, who both proved to be immature and not prepared, the team didn’t sign any veteran insurance. Washington also released RT Jon Jansen, a high-priced lineman, and had only mediocrity to replace him.

Campbell also is in the final year of his contract, a rarity for an NFL starter who is expected to have a bright future. At the very least, the team would have been expected to give him a one-year extension so as not to make him a lame duck going into the season.

One other little-known fact is that the team still has much of its coaching staff from the Gibbs days, replacing only the high-priced coordinators. Even the offensive staff features three holdovers from the Gibbs era: offensive line coach Joe Bugel, wide receivers coach Stan Hixon and quality control coach Bill Khayat. The defensive staff is virtually identical.

When coaching staffs are replaced, there is virtually always a bit of payouts on the guaranteed contracts. While Snyder certainly isn’t hesitant to spent money, he may not have wanted to dole out money for a potemkin coaching staff.

All of this is a long way of saying that the team has completely ignored the “today” of the offense, and invested purely in the “tomorrow”. Does this sound like the Vinny Cerato and Daniel Snyder we’ve all come to know and love over the years?

With a packed 92,000 seat stadium that has a season-ticket waiting list a mile long and a team that hasn’t had a local television blackout since 1967, the fans and sponsors weren’t going anywhere.

With the money and the fan base relatively secure; could the team have decided to essentially spend two years transitioning to the West Coast Offense with an interim head coach?

The short answer is: yes.

Think back on the strangeness of Zorn’s hire nearly two years ago.

The guy was supposed to be former defensive boss Gregg Williams. He was shown the door.

Then the guy was supposed to be Jim Fassel. Remember, this is the same Jim Fassel who had been passed over for virtually every head coaching job for the last several years, including losing out the Stanford job to someone with no big-time experience.

Fassel actually gave Zorn’s name to Snyder and Cerato. While they strung Fassel along, the dynamic duo then interviewed Zorn and immediately declared him the offensive coordinator, even without a deal with Fassel.

So no matter what, the team had now bought itself the Mike Holmgren offense.

Eventually, the Fassel deal fell through, and the team spent two weeks screwing around before finally naming Zorn the head coach. Clearly, no other coach in the league could either (a) bring the Seattle offense or (b) agree to take on a partially completed coaching staff.

Remember, too, all the other hires Snyder has made up until now. All had previous head coaching experience: Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, and Joe Gibbs. Throw Zorn’s name into that mix, and then pick out which of the four don’t fit with the other three.

Maybe the 2008 head coach search won’t complete itself until 2010.

This is certainly a weird and patently bizarre theory. But would we really expect anything less from Snyder and Cerato?

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The N + 1 Theory Of Player Personnel and How The Redskins Have Failed

Much has been said on this board about the problems with the Washington Redskins this season.

Some blame the team’s struggles on the team’s head coach, Jim Zorn. Others want to blame starting quarterback Jason Campbell. Still others discuss owner Daniel Snyder, former head coach Joe Gibbs, defensive coordinator Greg Blache, and Mother Nature.

The fact of the matter is that all of you are right. And all of you are wrong.

Football is the ultimate team sport; meaning it takes a team to make things work and a team to stop things from working.

Though NFL personnel may not discuss it like this, one of the fundamental tenants of player personnel in professional sports is the “N + 1 theory.” The idea here is you figure the number of players on the field at any one position at any time, then you add one. This is how many starters you will need at that position to make it through a season.

For instance, you have one middle linebacker, so you will want to prepare with two of them. Two guards; so you’ll need three of those.

Obviously, you won’t have all of them on the field at once. However, injuries happen, and the second you have to significantly adjust what you’re doing to accommodate, it limits the number of plays you can call and makes you predictable.

Additionally, of course a coach will adjust his game based on the personnel on the field. Little adjustments are made all the time. However, if a coach has to significantly alter his playbook to accommodate for the deficiencies of his backup, that’s a problem.

Remember as well that we’re looking for players who are capable of starting, and this does not include solid role players such as Rock Cartwright and Todd Yoder, who may serve a single purpose on the roster such as special teams (Cartwright) or blocking TE (Yoder).

A final caveat is this doesn’t apply to quarterbacks, as major changes are made every time a quarterback enters and exits a lineup. Kickers and punters are exempted. The running back position has made a fundamental shift in the last few years as well; given that teams use rushers for various different purposes, most teams carry three legit backs these days.

So, without further ado, let’s apply this theory to the Washington Redskins, and throw Redskins de facto GM Vinny Cerato under the bus.

Running Back – Three Needed
One of the most solid positions on the team. All-World RB Clinton Portis is an offense in and of himself; he runs inside and out, blocks, catches passes, and occasionally (ugh) chucks the ball. Ladell Betts is a solid if unspectacular inside rusher, and Marcus Mason has shown potential as a change of pace back.
N + 1 grade: B+

Fullback – (N + 1 = 2)
Mike Sellers is an above-average fullback in the league. The fact that he has absolutely no backup on the active roster is very disturbing. What happens if he gets hurt on the first play of a game where power running is called for?
N + 1 grade: F

Wide Receivers – (N + 1 = 3)
Santana Moss is a solid No. 1, though falls short of elite receivers like Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald. Antwaan Randle El should be a third receiver/role player, but has often been pushed up to No. 2 or even No. 1 when Moss is shut down. The team has no legit No. 2 receiver. While Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas have shown flashes, they are still all potential and no actual. It’s a hard position to grade. While there are two second round picks at the spot, the team didn’t invest in any veteran experience as an insurance policy, either.
N + 1 verdict: C

Tight End – (N + 1 = 2)
Chris Cooley has quietly become one of the best tight ends in the league. Fred Davis is an unproven backup, though that comes largely with lack of opportunity. He’s shown flashes of becoming a solid player, and not many teams have a second round tight end as a backup.
N + 1 verdict: B-

Offensive Tackle – (N + 1 = 3)
The team only has one legitimate starter at offensive tackle: Chris Samuels. Stephon Heyer has continually been mediocre and wouldn’t have made some teams at the fourth or even fifth spot. Mike Williams showed little through injuries during camp, and D’Anthony Batiste is a journeyman.
N + 1 verdict: F

Offensive Guard – (N + 1 = 3)
The first two are very solid; Randy Thomas (who is out for the year) and Derrick Dockery. The team invested a third round pick in Chad Rinehart, who had yet to play a game before starting against the Lions. While he didn’t particularly shine in his opener, like with Fred Davis, not many teams have invested a third round pick in a backup. However, unlike Fred Davis, you have to wonder how much the coaching staff thinks of Rinehart if he hadn’t logged a single snap in 16 games in 2008.
N + 1 verdict: C

Center – (N + 1 = 2)
Casey Rabach is entrenched as the starter. Will Montgomery is the top backup center and, based on his play at center in the preseason and guard in both periods, is a borderline player at best. Edwin Williams is a rookie free agent who impressed, but given his lack of ability to play a second position, you wonder if he wouldn’t be better off on the practice squad.
N + 1 verdict: C-

Defensive End – (N + 1 = 3)
Phillip Daniels, Andre Carter, Renaldo Wynn, and Jeremy Jarmon. While there’s not a terribly sufficient backup pass-rusher for Carter, that’s a pretty decent foursome.
N + 1 verdict: B+

Defensive Tackle – (N + 1 = 3)
Cornellius Griffin and, of course, nine-figure wonder Albert Haynesworth. The team went with Anthony Montgomery and Kendric Golston as rotating starters last year, and while neither was a world-beater, both are decent players.
N + 1 verdict: A

Stronside Outside Linebacker – (N + 1 = 2)
While normally we would consider the outside linebackers together, this spot has been designed for a hybrid pass rusher, specifically first round pick Brian Orakpo. The other outside linebacker Rocky Macintosh couldn’t play this position and Orakpo couldn’t play on the weak side. Converted end Chris Wilson backs up Orakpo, and he picked up his game significantly as he progressed through the preseason.
N + 1 verdict: B+

Middle/Weakside Linebacker – (N + 1 = 3)
These two spots are fairly different, but not terribly. Both require making good reads, quick feet, and good tackling. London Fletcher and Rocky Macintosh are both good starters, and both are backed up by H.B. Blades, whose skills are a cross between the two. Blades also has significant starting experience, filling in for Marcus Washington last season.
N + 1 verdict: A

Cornerback – (N + 1 = 3)
DeAngelo Hall, Fred Smoot, and Carlos Rogers are all considered starters. The level of play is the same no matter which of the two are on the field.
N + 1 verdict: A

Safety – (N + 1 = 3)
Like at cornerback, the team has three solid starters; even though Chris Horton had hit a sophomore slump.
N + 1 verdict: A-

Analysis
The team received low grades for its depth at fullback, offensive tackle, offensive guard, and center. The team also had a season-ending injury at guard when Randy Thomas went down in Week Two, further exacerbating the situation.

Cerato and his staff clearly did not build the team very well, completely neglecting all of the offensive blocking spots.

When you’re wondering why the team is inept in the red zone, is inconsistent running the ball, and you see Jason Campbell’s passing being forced, remember that the team has several fundamental flaws up front.

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Who’s To Blame In Washington?

This one was supposed to be easy. This one was supposed to make the team 2-1 and be a tune up for Dallas, New Orleans and San Diego further down the slate.

It wasn’t supposed to go like this.

When the Washington Redskins lost to the Detroit Lions this afternoon, it marked the beginning of the end of not only the 2009 season, but the Jim Zorn era in Washington.

Is this Jim Zorn’s fault? Is it Jason Campbell’s?

No. Well, not really.

It all starts at the top.

Flashback to January 2008

When Coach Gibbs decided to return to the Redskins in 2004 after a 12 year layoff, the Hall of Fame coach had one goal in mind: to bring the team back to its winning ways, and put them in the perennial hunt for the Super Bowl championship.

Gibbs resigned after four mediocre and difficult seasons, but with two trips to the playoffs under his belt.

When Gibbs left, he left the following:

Defensive Coordinator/Head Coach in Waiting Gregg Williams.
Williams signed on with the team after a failed stint in Buffalo with the idea of learning how to be a Head Coach from the best in Gibbs. Williams worked a thousand hours a week, was incredibly aggressive, and continues to be one of the best defensive minds in football.

Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Al Saunders (and his 700 page playbook).
Saunders had the most complicated system in the NFL when he was with the Redskins. In fact, he brought in his own backup quarterback in Todd Collins to help teach Washington’s young starter Jason Campbell how to run the system.

Collins claimed at the time that it took two full seasons before a player became comfortable with the offense. He backed it up, taking over for the injured Campbell late in the 2007 season and leading the team to the playoffs despite deteriorating arm strength and mobility. Collins showed the world just a glimpse of what Washington would be capable of once the entire 700 pages were in.

The best all-around RB in the league and an offensive line built to run.
Clinton Portis can run, catch, block, and play all three downs with no question. While there were and are better pure runners in the league, there are very few that can do everything at an all-star level.

The offensive line featured five huge, strong, and gritty blockers who may not have been the most athletic, but they consistently bulldozed their way downfield and were solid if unspectacular pass-blockers as well.

A young quarterback with all the tools and two years in the same system.
Jason Campbell is strong, agile, smart, and cool under pressure. He’s got great character and leads by example. Those are the tangibles and intangibles. Campbell also had begun to pick up the incredibly complicated offensive system and showed good signs of improvement before he was hurt.

With the running game and the consistency on the offensive line, his third year in Saunders’ system was his chance to break out and take his place among the great NFL QB’s.

A deep and talented defense.
While the defense did have its holes (no dominant pass-rusher and the gaping void left by the death of Sean Taylor), it was among the deeper and overall talented units in the league. Williams had honed a system of accountability, aggressiveness, and intelligence that permeated across the entire group.

The team was only a couple of players away and had one of the better coaching staffs in the league. Gibbs had realized his goal; he had brought the team to the precipice of greatness.

So what happened?

Enter Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerato.

When Gibbs left the team, his stated reasons of health and lack of family time made sense, but for some reason felt completely hollow.

Given how quickly Snyder re-inserted himself into the day-to-day operations of the team, you had the feeling that he had been held at bay by Gibbs for the last four years and Gibbs was simply tired of constantly explaining himself to his inexperienced boss.

Williams, Saunders Fired

First, there was that strange coaching search. Everyone inside and outside the beltway was surprised that no press release was issued regarding Williams’ promotion minutes after Gibbs’ resignation.

Williams was interviewed four times over the course of a few days. By the third, fans began to sense something was amiss; it was clear that Snyder and Cerato had spent most every day of the last four years with Williams; why the need for the multiple interviews?

It was then announced that Williams had been fired. Not simply passed over for the Head Coach position, but fired.

Passing on Williams was strange enough, but usually it would be up to the new head man to decide who should stay and who should go. You can probably count on one hand how often an owner has fired an individual coach over the last several years.

The Redskins, of course, not only fired Williams but promptly followed that up by firing Saunders as well.

There were never any official reasons given for the firings, and never even an unofficial one for Saunders. Snyder, however, let it be known through his hatchet-man/stooge/puppet/overall lackey Karl Swanson (official title: Vice President) that Williams had somehow degraded Gibbs in one of his interviews, therefore he had been passed over.

(Williams’ response: “I’m rubber, you’re glue. Whatever you say, bounces off of me and sticks back to you”)

Team Announces West Coast Offense

Shortly after the two play-callers were let go (but the rest of the staff was not), Snyder and Cerato announced that the team would be featuring a West Coast offense in 2008.

Really guys?

Saunders’ offense featured a power running game which was used to set up a read-heavy vertical passing game with speedy receivers who gain yards after the catch.

A traditional West Coast offense features athletic offensive linemen, a pass-catching running back, big receivers who go over the middle, and a quarterback schooled in timing and footwork.

On paper, this made no sense.

In reality, it made even less. How could a team announce an offensive system with (a) incorrect personnel, (b) no Head Coach, (c) no Offensive Coordinator?

Then things got even weirder, as one of those three were resolved.

Zorn Hired, the First Time

Jim Zorn was named Offensive Coordinator in mid-January 2008.

Never mind that the team had no Head Coach, and never mind that the Head Coach typically picks the systems that he wants to install and hired the coaches he needs to make that happen.

Snyder and Cerato had no business interviewing, let alone hiring, an offensive coordinator. Cerato had never coached in the NFL and Snyder hadn’t ever coached a down of pee-wee flag football. But these two now had themselves an offensive coordinator.

Two Weeks Pass…

The team seemed poised to name retread Jim Fassel (he who had recently been passed over for the Stanford job) head coach, but somewhere along the line that all fell apart. Fassel eventually would find his way to the UFL.

No real reports were issued during this period of confusion. Coaches were supposedly brought in and out with the usual suspects rumors to have floated through the Snyder compound in Potomac (where Snyder reportedly once billed former Ravens owner Art Modell for lunch), but none were ever confirmed.

And the Head Coach is…ZORN!

Zorn was eventually named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins.

At the press conference, a tired Joe Gibbs stepped to the podium to offer his endorsement and congratulations to Zorn, but even the affable Gibbs failed to summon a smile. He simply looked tired and disappointed.

Cerato and Snyder lavished praise on Zorn, saying how he was the right guy all along and speaking volumes about his offensive mind and how he was an oft-overlooked diamond in the rough.

No one bought it, and the perennial winner of the Most Exciting Team in March award went underground for the next several months, avoiding even their routine Washington Post puff pieces. We’ve all seen the results since.

A Letter to Redskins Nation

We of the Redskins nation buy all of our own hype every year. Every year we spend hours upon hours discussing why this year is the year, why last year couldn’t possibly have been the year, and start booking our trips to the Super Bowl during training camp in July.

Given this comedy of errors, we’re the ones to blame for the team perennially failing to meet our expectations. Snyder and Cerato can’t even conduct a decent coaching search; how can we believe that they could possibly run a team? How can fans continue to buy tickets and jerseys for this mess?

FedEx Field is a shrine to expanding Snyder’s vast fortunes, not to a commitment to excellence.

Until that changes, it doesn’t matter who is the head coach, who calls the plays, what the system is, or who the quarterback is.

Dan Snyder, it’s time to step up and take some accountability. This is YOUR fault.

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Even Sonny Doesn’t Like Zorn’s Play-Calling

As a Redskins head coach, you know it’s gotten bad when you’re publicly called out by Sonny Jurgensen.

Jurgensen, for those of you who may live under a rock, is the Hall-of-Fame quarterback most synonymous with the burgundy and gold. He’s been part of the inner circle of owner Daniel Snyder since the diminutive billionaire purchased the team and still calls all the games on the radio with long-time partner Sam Huff.

But even Jurgensen has become frustrated with Zorn’s erratic play-calling, and the two had an altercation in the locker room after the game. Jurgensen, playing the part of reporter, didn’t bother to ask Zorn a question, but came out swinging:

(Quotes courtesy of D.C. Sports Blog on WashingtonPost.com)

“Third down, I’m the quarterback, and you call the halfback throwing the ball for me, I’m calling timeout or calling an audible,” Jurgensen said. “I’m not letting the halfback throw it. That’s what you pay me for.”

“Well then, I would have to take you out of the game,” Zorn retorted. “As soon as you called timeout, I’d say what’s wrong with my play, because…”

“It didn’t work!” Jurgensen interjected.

Zorn paused.

“No, but I called it to work. Alright?” said Zorn. “We called it to work. It didn’t work. There were a lot of plays out there that didn’t work. And I’d take you out of the game. Sorry, Sonny.”

Wow.

First of all, without examining the merits of the argument, good for Zorn. He’s the coach, he calls the plays and the buck stops with him. He shouldn’t allow that sort of questioning from either a Hall-of-Famer or some guy off the street. And he certainly doesn’t have to take that from a reporter in the locker room, even if his name is Sonny Jurgensen.

But that doesn’t make Jurgensen wrong. That play didn’t work, and while that’s a poor example of Zorn’s poor play-calling, Zorn does need to step it up in that department.

Two weeks into the season, there’s been a variety of strange play-calls, usually coming in the red zone with Zorn trying to stretch the field behind the line of scrimmage, pinning his ball carriers to the sideline before they try to run toward the end zone.

Against the New York Giants, Zorn and the Redskins faced a second and goal from around the five. Zorn called a wide receiver screen, which in and of itself isn’t a bad play. However, this particular screen involved a fake and a long QB drop back while the line pulled to the side. This gave the Giants time to adjust before Moss could even turn upfield, and the play wound up losing yards.

Late in the game against the Rams, Zorn faced fourth down twice in the red zone. Conventional wisdom called for a Suisham field goal both occasions, followed by a long kickoff and letting the defense do their job with a five-point lead.

On the first attempt, Zorn called a Portis run to the left; it could have been an off-tackle or an option for Portis, but it was definitely outside the guards. The blocking held up and Portis made the first down.

This was a good call, and not just because Portis converted. It was ballsy, no doubt, but if it worked, it gave the Redskins a chance to take a two-score lead. If not, it used some clock and then pinned the Rams deep in their own territory.

Facing fourth down again four plays later, Zorn again went for it, and again ran it to the left, this time with a shorter field. Not surprisingly, the Rams saw the play developing in exactly the same way. Portis’ first hole wasn’t open, so he tried to stretch further left. But with the short field, the Rams were able to play closer to the line of scrimmage and shut it down.

Zorn had been running to the left for most of the game. Sparing us the discussion of how wise it was to go for it on two consecutive fourth downs, had he have called a play-action to the left with a bootleg option pass to the right and sent Cooley across the line of scrimmage from the left side, he would have found acres of real estate open on the right as the entire Rams defense fired to the left off the snap.

To give Zorn his due, his red zone play calling was very limited due to a paper-thin right side of the line. However there are plenty of teams in the NFL who have won Super Bowls with less.

If you’re the head coach and you want people’s respect, you need to find ways to win the game, no matter what the situation.

Otherwise, if you’re in Washington, Sonny’s gonna call you out.

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BREAKING NEWS: Redskins OL Randy Thomas Likely Out For Season

According to the Washington Post, Redskins OL Randy Thomas is likely gone for the season. The Post reported that the team will comment on Thomas’ status on Monday, when he is expected to undergo an MRI.

The loss of their starting right guard is a huge blow for a team with huge expectations. Center/guard Will Montgomery, who has played in 13 NFL games, finished the game in place of Thomas Sunday against St. Louis. The team selected Chad Rinehart in the third round in the 2008 draft, but he has yet to see any regular season action.

If Thomas does miss the remainder of the season, this will mark the second time in three years. Thomas tore his left triceps in 2007, almost exactly two years ago to the day. While he remained on the roster for much of the season, he only played one more game before being placed on injured reserve in December of that year.

Pete Kendall, who was the team’s starting left guard last season, remains a free agent. It is not known whether or not the team will contact him or any other available player.

The team did not draft any offensive linemen in 2009.

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Redskins: Left Back in NFC East Without Right Tackle

2009 is supposed to be the year that Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn step up and take their places among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks and playcallers, respectively.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, it won’t be. But not for the reasons you might think.

No one should panic after one game, least of all often jilted Redskins fans. In 2008 the Giants wiped the Redskins all over the Meadowlands before the team reeled off a fairly impressive winning streak.

So don’t panic when the team drops another one to the Giants, and even looks a little better doing it.

But you might want to grab a seat and a paper bag for this one: the team’s best right tackle, Stephon Heyer, can’t play in the NFC East. And neither can the guys behind him.

The team either loves Heyer, hates drafting offensive linemen, and/or somehow thinks that Coach Bugel can coach up just about any guy off the street to block Osi Umenyiora.

No disrespect to Coach Bugel, who has coached up some of the best offensive linemen to grace the professional gridiron, but a group of aging linemen supplemented and backed up by other team’s castoffs just ain’t gonna cut it.

Pure math reveals the team’s flaw in building the offensive line. Five of the team’s 22 positions on the field are offensive linemen, or 23 percent of your starters. Based on this, each team should be drafting one or two offensive linemen every season.

Washington has only taking two offensive linemen in the draft in the last five years. Only one remains on the team and none of them start.

This had led us to Stephon Heyer. Heyer has won the right tackle job a few times now and in the last two years in the absence of Jon Jansen, who was hurt in 2008 and stuck in Detroit this season. Heyer isn’t the best man for the job; he’s simply the best man for the job currently on Washington’s roster.

Heyer has consistently been beat one on one by the superior defensive ends of the NFC East. On one particular key play last week in New York, Heyer faced off against Umenyiora on third and goal later in the game. Umenyiora had to take three steps forward to reach the same spot that Heyer needed to reach with one step backward.

Umenyiora won.

Okay, no problem, happens to everyone. Heyer, consistently slow off the snap, compensated by pushing Umenyiora off slightly to the right and away from the quarterback, which is what you do in that situation. The little shove gives Heyer a beat to reset and recover, again needing to shift slightly to the right before Umenyiora beats him to the edge.
Umenyiora won again.

Result: Campbell rushed the pass, no touchdown.

This play, a pretty good example of Heyer’s abilities show two things. One: he’s been taught very well. He’s got his technique down. Two: He’s too slow to pass block in the NFL.

And the team knows it.

On another play against the Giants, it was another obvious passing down from the middle of the field. The left side of the line, coupled with center Casey Rabach, set up one-on-one blocks. Guard Randy Thomas shot immediately off the line and way to the right. Seeing a gaping hole in the A-gap, the Giants shot a safety straight up the middle and straight into Campbell before he got a chance to even set up and pass.

Result: another Hunter Smith punt.

Compensating for Heyer isn’t the answer, either. The team will either be susceptible to the safety or middle linebacker blitz, or have to keep Heyer covered with a tight end on virtually any longer passing touchdowns.

Is this how the Redskins should be using Chris Cooley? If not, to send Cooley on passing routes, they will need a double tight end formation with Yoder assisting Heyer on his blocks, taking another potential receiver off the field.

Because of the lack of investment in the line, the team doesn’t have much of a choice in-house. They could promote Mike Williams, but the former first round choice hasn’t made it all the way back. He was injured a bit in training camp, and was a bit slow and stiff in the limited reps he received.

There’s always the free agent market. Veterans Jon Runyan and Langston Walker are currently available, and receiving a fair amount of looks. Runyan also has a fair amount of experience in the NFC East, having played several years for the Eagles. But how long will it take to get them up to speed and ready to take a starting position?

To get to the playoffs from the NFC East, you have to beat teams in the NFC East. Can Heyer lock down Demarcus Ware when Dallas comes to town?

Here’s the worst of it: if Heyer is the team’s fifth best lineman, what happens if one of the other starters get injured?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

2009 Washington Redskins: The August Clip Show

Redskins fans, I wanted to make a post tonight, but the blank page is mocking me.

There’s really nothing new we can talk about. We’ve heard it all before; now we just need to get through cuts and on to the regular season to see who is right.

So I’ve borrowed a page from bad sit-coms everywhere and decided to create my very own clip show.

For those that aren’t television-onically inclined, this is when your favorite TV show rehashes all the good clips from previous episodes, all strung together by some random circumstance that allows all the characters to sit around and reminisce.

I don’t have any random circumstances, and I can’t very well sit around and reminisce with myself (well, I could, but it wouldn’t be very interesting). So I just made a list.

Without further ado, I bring you a brief review of the Top 20 (in my mind, anyway) 2009 storylines to this point:

1.    Everything depends on the right arm and the mind of QB Jason Campbell, including Head Coach Jim Zorn’s job.
2.    QB Todd Collins’ arm isn’t as strong as it was two years ago when he led the team to the playoffs.
3.    QB Colt Brennan may lose his job to an undrafted free agent from Missouri.
4.    Even if Brennan makes the final roster, the team might carry QB Chase Daniel on the practice squad.
5.    RB Ladell Betts’ and RB Rock Cartwright’s jobs may be in jeopardy.
6.    Former Redskins RB John Riggins hates current Redskins RB Clinton Portis for reasons passing understanding.
7.    RB Marcus Mason and RB/KR Dominique Dorsey deserve roster spots.
8.    The offensive line lacks a definitive right tackle and has no depth.
9.    The team needs a big receiver, and 2008 second round picks Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas are anything but locks, while 2009 seventh rounder Marko Mitchell has inserted himself into the mix.
10.    TE Fred Davis has fumbled more this preseason than in his entire college career.
11.    Kickers Shaun Suisham and Dave Rayner are in a dead heat.
12.    Punter Hunter Smith is waaaaay better than any other Redskins punter this decade.
13.    Dorsey may have taken the punt returner job from WR Antwaan Randle El.
14.    We don’t know if Albert Haynesworth is worth $100 million yet, but we do know he is huge (and so does Tom Brady after last week’s hit).
15.    The Redskins appear to be one for one all-time in the Supplemental Draft, as DE Jeremy Jarmon looks every bit as good as advertised.
16.    DE Phillip Daniels’ knee looks just fine after he missed 2008.
17.    LB/DE Brian Orakpo is settling into the NFL just fine, and looks to be an early candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
18.    The team likes it’s starting three CBs so much that Fred Smoot has been working at safety to get on the field more.
19.    S Chris Horton is no one-year wonder, and neither is S Reed Doughty
20.    The Redskins have to open at the Meadowlands again. Why, because it worked out so well last time?

Those are my thoughts, Redskins fans. What have I missed?

Redskins August Roster Review: Part Three of Three

The 2009 Washington Redskins have broken training camp and have played half of their preseason slate. Thus far, the overall team reviews have been mixed. There have been encouraging signs on the defense, the offense has been inconsistent and the special teams have been consistently bad.

Completing the series, I will take a look at various Redskins who have stood out in their own way thus far: those that have been outstanding, those who need to step up their game and those who might be looking for work before Labor Day.

Today: the five Redskins who might be looking for work in a couple of weeks.

Begin Slideshow

Redskins August Roster Review: Part 1 of 3

The 2009 Washington Redskins have broken training camp and have played half of their preseason slate. Thus far, the overall team reviews have been mixed. There have been encouraging signs on the defense, the offense has been inconsistent and the special teams have been consistently bad.

Over the next week, I will take a look at various Redskins who have stood out in their own way thus far: those that have been outstanding, those who need to step up their game and those who might be looking for work before Labor Day.

Today: the five most impressive Redskins in August.

Begin Slideshow

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