What Now?

Maybe it is time for some philosophical questions about the road the Redskins should take now that playoff hopes are down to a mathematical miracle.

Should the Skins lose their last two games to gain a better draft choice in an effort to do the only thing that is going to get them back to being something other than a sometime contender for a playoff spot?

If Dano was an Idealistic owner he would know by now that the only way to create a winner is by building offensive and defensive lines that can dominate the line of scrimmage. Dano should also have learned that these lines are built through the draft, not free agency. So far only Dano’s existentialism side has appeared. Confusion, not Confucius, rules.

Dano is probably on the right side of the questions about losing the last two games.

Losing is never good!

Losing is a virus that can be very contagious and spread through the entire organization. Once there, it can be very difficult to purge. Ask the people in Detroit. One thing that can be said for Dano’s Redskins, they are not losers. They are a 500 team that stays in the playoff race until late in the season. When they go 5-0 like in 2005 or 4-1 last year in December, they make the playoffs. Of course Joe Gibbs was the coach then and he was Mr. December posting a 46-18 after December 1.

We need to understand the second question: is this really as bad a season as it feels? After all we hired the wrong coach. We should have hired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who wasn’t a yes man that Dano needs. Not that Williams would have necessarily posted a better record than Zorn, but he was the correct choice because what the organization didn’t need was another big change. However, Williams would not have let Dano’s go-fer, GM Vinny Cerrato, dictate that all 10 of his questionable draft choices be kept. Maybe Williams would have insisted that they use draft picks to start rebuilding the lines.

Williams may have kept ridiculed offensive coordinator Al Saunders. In 2007 the Redskins average 21 points a game, a good 4 1/2 points higher than this fall. When Jason Campbell was hurt and replaced by Todd Collins, who had practice in Sounders system since 2001 when both were at Kansas City, the Redskins averaged 26 points a game.

Dano & Vinny ignored a couple of other historical facts in hiring Zorn. With the exception of Oakland’s Tom Flores, no former quarterback has been a great coaching success. And rookie head coaches over the age of 50 have been even less successful.

Let’s not get rid of Zorn and go through another painful process of mistakes. Fans need to hope that Zorn grows into the exception for those statistics. After all the Redskins will not be contender for anything meaningful until they rebuild both the offensive and defensive fronts.

The only change we need is in philosophy. Away from the Dano’s mantra “change is good” to a more solid realism of what wins football games.

Chaos

The Redskins should change their nickname to Chaos.

Unfortunately, it is not because of Captain Chaos, as tight end Chris Cooley refers to himself.

All of this madness is driven by the Skins losing 4 of their last five games. Anarchy prevails as the season goes from a dream to a nightmare.

The offensive line is in disarray and this was before their best player, tackle Chris Samuels was announced out for the season. The defensive front- 7 never could generate a pass rush but now can’t stop the run in the 4th quarter when the offense desperately needs the ball.

There is no reason to believe that the offense is going to find itself as it is a complete mess. Quarterback Jason Campbell is crying about all of the talk radio criticism. Clinton Portis is mad at Coach Jim Zorn because he benched him Sunday night. Wide receiver Randle El is openly suggesting that Zorn add some trick plays to the offense, which is a nice way of saying he wants to throw his famous halfback pass. Zorn is losing, maybe lost, his players.

All of this from a team that was picked to finish last in the NFC East, which is exactly where they are.

Coach Zorn has said many times that it took 3 years to get the West Coast offense running in Seattle. Coach Zorn you do not have that long!! Under Dano Snyder, the only coach who has lasted more than 2 years is Joe Gibbs, who Dano could not fire because of the uproar it would have caused with the fans. And Steve Spurrier is the only coach who lasted 2 years.

Right now it is questionable if Dano will let Zorn coach next year. Especially, if former Steelers coach Bill Cowher would consider selling out for the most money. Cowher would demand complete control, which is not necessarily the way to go. See Mike Holgrom in Seattle among others.

What Snyder needs do is let Coach Zorn rebuild the lines. While it is best to build the line through the draft, the offensive line can be done through free agency. However, you do it by signing young uninjured players. It takes 2 to 3 years for the line to learn to play together, so during that time you take a drubbing on the field and use the higher draft choices to build the defensive front seven.

At the end of the 2 to 3 years, we will really know if Zorn can coach. If he hasn’t proved himself, then it’s time for a change.

Of course, this is logical and takes patience. Not Dano’s preferred way. He seems to enjoy being in charge of chaos.

Book'em Dano Cafe

Jim Zorn is losing his mater chef title.

A month ago the Redskins were a culinary delight reviving the Book’em Dano Cafe. They didn’t serve a French cuisine, but the hearty meat & potatoes fare.

The Rib Eye of Quarterback Jason Campbell covered with the Clinton Portis special sauce. On the side a string bean and onion blend of Santana Moss and Chris Cooley. All surrounded by a mountain of fresh Yukon Gold mash potatoes of Chris Samuels and the offensive line. We’re talking a solid meal.

For desert a double scope of vanilla of run stopping lineman and linebackers covered with a home made chocolate & caramel sauce of a defensive backfield. Nothing fancy but the sauce was outstanding.

The Book’em Dano Café doesn’t take reservations and there was a line around the block. Now the line is gone and tables are available. Each week Chef Zorn enters into competition against old and new establishments.

This week people are talking about another new chef in town, John Harbaugh, at the hot-spot Club Ravens. There is a hip new taste of quarterback Joe Flacco. Of course, there is the steady fare of deserts with the crowd favorites of linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Harris.

So far this season Chef Zorn has done well against the road challenges, its on the home front where he is losing clientele. And after Sunday flat Blue Plate special of the Giants, the faithful appear to be in search of a new place to chow down. Some are switching to Club Ravens.

The doubters are saying there are things wrong with Chef Zorn’s ingredients. Maybe it’s what he’s serving. They don’t think the potatoes are Yukon Gold but standard Idaho. Also, the mash is now lumpy and inconsistent. There are no sides to compliment Moss & Cooley vegetables. They question the choice of vanilla ice cream, suggesting something with more stunning taste that can provide a better pass rush.

There is also quite a conversation by regulars on who is to blame for the decline in quality. There are those who blame Dano, the owner, who throws a lot of money at presentation with no apparent plan on how to improve taste. Others are saying it’s Vinny, the shopper who bring Chef Zorn the stables from which he creates. Others are now saying it is the Chef himself who promised more taste like touchdowns, but fail to deliver.

Can it be long before people start wondering how long Chef Zorn is going to be around? After all, one of Dano’s favorite remodeling projects is hiring a new cook.