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.

Nothing is Easy, but Redskins Tough it Out

Nothing is easy for the Redskins.

Making a first down is a struggle, scoring a touchdown is dam near impossible. Winning a football game is always complicated and even the losses are challenging.

The road to the playoffs is very stressful.

The Redskins have one of the best defenses in the NFL; yet, you’re e never relaxed when they are on the field. Maybe each possession is so important because they always seem to need another stop. More likely it has become obvious that the offensive scoring is more often a field goal than a touchdown. Helping the defensive anxiety level rise is the fact that the opposing quarterback always seems to have enough time to make a sandwich before throwing.

Making it complicated is the fact that the NFC East is still the best division in football. Question: Would you rather be in the NFC East fighting for a wild card spot with Dallas or in the NFC North where 4 teams are struggling for the division title and the rest go home? Answer: who cares as long as we are competing for a playoff spot!

Are the Redskins lucky to be 7-4?

They have only scored 201 points; the fewest of any of the playoff contenders. Put it another way and the Skins have only out scored Kansas City (196), Detroit (193), Cincinnati (148) and St. Louis (147). Thanks to the Redskins, St. Louis is the only one of those who has won 2 games.
Yet, there isn’t a victory where you come away saying they won because of a lucky play.

It is wrong to say to the Redskins are lucky, Washington is tough.

They are following their leader, Clinton Portis, who is the toughest offensive player in the NFL. The rest of the team is the same tough, just not spectacular. They do not have a glamorous pass rush, but others can’t run on them. They don’t make 40-yard passes down field, but they do make short passes that depend on breaking a tackle. Every Sunday the Redskins tough it out.
Stressful yes, but it’s good hard-nosed football.

Will they make the playoffs? You will have to sit on the edge of your seat and watch.

Rating the Redskins' O-Line

Want to shout, “Cerrato, hey, Vinny -- what about the offensive line? Why not select a lineman with one of the 3 second-round picks? Did we really need another tight end?”

The Washington Redskins offensive line is much maligned lately after giving up 10 sacks in back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh & Dallas.

Ever wonder how the Skins’ O-line compares to the rest of the NFL?

Very hard to measure statistically as the only readily available stats are rushing yards and sacks allowed.

Many other factors should be taken into account like Philly would rather pass than run while Minnesota can’t put the ball in the hands of Adrian Peterson enough, or the Jet’s Brett Favre isn’t as mobile as Jacksonville’s David Garrard, and there are teams with porous defenses, which means the offense often has to abandon the run.

Here is how the numbers below work. Take the team rankings for rushing yards and fewest sacks and combine them. This is not rocket science; in fact, it is not science at all. However, its gives us a measurement that produced some interesting results.

Team Yards Rank Sacks Rank Total
1 NY Giants 1,727 1 12 6 7
2 Tennessee 1,327 7 6 1 8
2 Atlanta 1,534 2 12 6 8
4 Carolina 1,337 6 13 9 15
5 Baltimore 1,468 3 18 13 16
6 Tampa Bay 1,151 14 11 4 18
7 Denver 1,089 18 8 2 20
8 Dallas 1,159 13 17 12 25
8 NY Jets 1,251 9 19 16 25
10 Redskins 1,394 5 26 22 27

28 49 ers 1,095 17 36 30 47
29 St Louis 959 25 32 26 51
30 Pittsburgh 998 23 35 29 52
31 Detroit 809 31 37 31 62
31 Bengals 837 30 38 32 62


Now we understand better why the New York Giants and Tennessee have the best records in football. On the top of the list of surprises is Atlanta, maybe we should stop giving credit to rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and start giving it to the O-line. How about Pittsburgh? The Steelers are only ahead of Detroit & Cincinnati. How is that possible?

Despite all of the obvious missed variables that go into making a great offensive line, there was hope of finding some secrets to success of line building by looking at the top four O-lines, as they all rank in the top 10 in both rushing and fewest sacks. Want to shout to Vinny, “Look how it’s done.”

Well, healthy is a big plus. Both the Giants and Tennessee lines have started all 10 games, while Atlanta had 4 ten-game starters. Both Redskins tackles Steven Heyer and Chris Samuels have missed games, but they do have 3 10-game starters.

Giant’s average age is 29. Tennessee’s is 28, but if you take 15-year center Kevin Mawae away, the age drops to 26, which is the same as Carolina & Atlanta. The Redskins average age is just under 31. If you replace Heyer with Jon Jansen it is over 32.

The Giants also have the team experience as all have been playing for New York since 2005 and Tennessee’s have been on the Titans since 2006. For the Redskins Heyer and guard Pete Kendal came aboard last year.

Tennessee, Atlanta & Carolina were built through the draft as each has 4 home grown starters. The Giants have 3. Samuels is the only starter drafted by the Redskins.

The Redskins’ O-line is a microcosm of the whole team. The line, like the Redskins, is built through free agency. Jansen (1999) and Samuels (2000) are the last high round draft choices. There are 9 linemen, but only 3 were drafted.

The O-line points to what appears to be a design flaw when building with free agents -- age & continuity. This enables a team to be playoff competitive but maybe not a serious title contender. Since Dan Snyder and the “build through the free agency” philosophy took over, the 3 playoff appearances have all been via the wild card. They have never won a division title much less reached a championship game.

Book'em Dano.

It's Not Over!

We will find out what drives the Redskins.

Nothing like a little 2-game losing streak adversity to see if they have broken down or if it was just a pot hole. DC is known for its pot holes and life goes on. Last year they rallied to the playoffs from not only a 2-game losing streak but also losing 3 in a row. Of course, the Redskins were coached by Joe Gibbs, Mr. December, who finished winning the last 4 games.

Thank God, that home record isn’t on the list of playoff tie breakers. Since Dano Snyder bought the team, the Redskins have made the playoff just 3 times – 1999, 2005 and last year. Each time Washington has had a winning record at Fed Ex. To have a winning record at Fed Ex this year, they would have to win the last two home games against the Giants & Philly. Take a split and hope to win three of the four on the road.

It is way too early to look at tie breaker scenarios, which are way too complicated to predict before the season is over. Really, after Head-to-Head and Division record, it is Common Games followed Conference Games and Strength of Victory. Just understand, the Redskins are not out of it by any stretch of the imagination. There are six games left and 4 wins are more than possible.

How many times have you seen a team come out and look like world champions with an opening touchdown drive only to watch the offense disappear for the rest of the game? Of course, the Redskins, offense has been doing a Houdini act for a month now.

Why can’t the offense find any rhythm? If we knew the answer we could be making the big bucks coaching. Gut feeling wants to blame the offensive line. However, that would diminish the dropped first-down passes by Randle El & Devin Thomas or how about the continual short passes to Santana Moss that finally lead to an interception that ended a 3rd quarter drive in Dallas territory?

The Redskins should not have to play perfect offensive football to win a big game. They have all of the tools needed: better than average quarterback, an offensive line that has allowed Clinton Portis to rush for over a 1,000 yards with six games still left, outstanding wide receiver Moss and excellent tight-end Chris Cooley and an underrated (and under used) fullback in Mike Sellers.

We have not discussed the Defense. Anytime the Defense holds Dallas to 14 points, it should be a victory. However, pressure on a hurt quarterback would have helped.

Going into Sunday the four 1st-year coaches who have their squads making playoff runs – Baltimore’s John Harbaugh, Atlanta’s Mike Smith, Miami’s Tony Sparano along with the Redskins’ Jim Zorn – only Sparano won and they have the luck of playing Oakland, the NFL’s most dysfunctional team. Has the rest of the league figured the rookies out?

More importantly has Pittsburgh & the Cowboys given the rest of the NFL the blue print on beating Coach Zorn offense?

Three Losses

The Redskins have three losses left.

If they only lose three more games, then they will finish 10-6. This should get them into the playoffs. If they finish 9-7, which made it last year, they could make it, but most likely fans will be cursing the loss to St. Louis.

The schedule is Cowboys, @ Seattle, Giants, @ Baltimore, @ Cincinnati, Eagles & @ San Francisco. Win four and they advance.

The good news is that the toughest games are at home. Thanks to owner Dan Snyder, the High Priest of Greed, home is finding a large number of visiting team’s fans. Expect a large Dallas contingent Sunday night. Also, Giants & Philly fans will be well represented. They have been since Dano made corporate ticket sales a high priority.

One last word on this subject of who is in the crowd: the Redskins fans, who made RFK one of the biggest home field advantages, are mostly gone. They have been run out by Snyder’s “fans are cash cows, let’s milk them for every dollar” game plan.

Let’s get back to talking football.

Clinton Portis is hurt and may not play. Losing a running back who is having an MPV season has to hurt. Yet, it is not the end of the world. A game plan which uses the West Coast Offense first to set up the run should be able to compensate.

The good news is that the defense may be as healthy as it has been all year. Jason Taylor is expected to play at end. More importantly Shawn Springs is expected to come back to cover Terrell Owens. Add the addition of cornerback DeAngelo Hall, the Redskins’ pass rush now does not need sacks, just pressure the quarterback. The Redskins could have the best man-to-man coverage package in the league.

Quick note: What is Vinny Cerrato doing releasing cornerback Leigh Torrence? This may or may not be the correct player to release, but isn’t this the coach’s decision? Isn’t Vinny’s job to get the players and let the coaches decide which ones make up the best team?

Expect Dallas to emphasize the running game as quarterback Tony Romo returns. Reportedly, Romo will have a splint on his passing hand.

The game should be a low scoring affair.

If the Redskins win, it would almost eliminate the Cowboys from the playoffs. Redskins fans could start singing to Dallas coach Wade Phillips, “Hey, hey, hey Good Bye.” Probably the Dallas fans would sing too.

Redksins Fans are not to Blame

The hot topic in Washington this week is the Redskins fans.

Well, that’s not quite true. The Presidential election has electrified the town. In fact, the spontaneous dancing in the streets Tuesday night into Wednesday morning is something the town has not seen since, well, the 1980s when Joe Gibbs was leading the Skins to Super Bowls.
Back to the second hottest topic: Redskins fans.

The beginning of the conversation could be found on the Front Page of Tuesday’s Washington Post in Liz Carpenter’s story about the Pittsburg drubbing of the Skins Monday night.

"Then, in the third quarter of the Redskins' showcase game this year, Campbell's first interception came. It arrived on a soft pass tossed high to running back Clinton Portis in which the ball bounced off Portis's hand, then landed in the arms of a Pittsburgh Steelers player named Deshea Townsend. And when it happened, a great roar filled FedEx Field, and three levels of stands rising to the sky were filled with the twirling golden rags called Terrible Towels that have become a talisman to Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It would be that kind of a night for the Redskins in their 23-6 loss to the Steelers: Their quarterback's prodigious streak had come to an inglorious end and their home stadium had ceased to be exclusively their home. "Man, was that weird or what? All I saw were terrible towels in the stands," said Redskins defensive end Demetric Evans. "Even when we were on offense and it's supposed to be quiet, all you could hear was the Steelers fans cheering."

Wednesday the Post’s Dan Steinberg had a story with players’ reaction to the offense having to use a silent count for a home game. The discussion reached its peak on Thursday with Washington Times’ David Elfin and Post’s Michael Wilbon both having pieces about the fans. Wilbon’s column was the strongest for taking the fans to task for selling their tickets.

This is not a fan issue! The selling of a large number of tickets is a recent phenomenon. It can be traced back to Dan Snyder buying the team. It never happened before.

The High Priest of Greed treats the fans as cash cows. Dano is milking them for every dollar. Mooooo!

When Snyder bought the team, the stadium had a capacity of 85,407. He expanded it to over 90,000. Of course, this was done without adding parking places around the stadium. Finding a parking spot would be easier in a pasture. Herd the fans. Make them pay big time parking fees to park miles away and bus them. Mooooo! They do things like raising the parking prices but forget to update the parking map.

In 2007 the Redskins had the second highest ticket prices in the NFL. The value of the Redskins has risen over $700,000 since Dano bought the team but this year the team stopped the bus rides from the Metro stations. Mooooo!

Try bringing in a bottle of water to the stadium. Not allowed! They will tell you it is for security reasons. However, this is not the case at other stadiums. Mooo!

When you finally get into the stadium you are greeted with six-pack prices for a single beer. Mooooo!

Then the fans are treated like dumb cows. There is music BLARING over the speakers. S ome DJ tries to fire up the crowd before the game. In the old days, the stadium announcer use to give the ball carrier’s name, the yardage made or lost, who made the tackle and the new down & distance, all in a very civil tone. Now the DJ is shouting things like “third and looong.” Like, the cows are too dumb to know.

Dano promotes the StubHub ticket selling site. Why? Because he makes more money. What he didn’t consider was that the cash cows would take a chapter from his playbook selling their tickets to the highest bidder, other team fans.

Anyone remember when moooo-ing at RFK was a good thing?

Let the Second Season Begin

Will the Redskins’ good times continue to roll? The real season, the run for the playoffs, begins with the Steelers.


The first half of the season seemed like a pipe dream. Everything went right. Well, maybe not everything: see St. Louis.


Monday night Pittsburgh arrives in town to usher in reality. To make the playoffs the Redskins need to win half of their last 8 games. How well the season is going? It is quite possible Washington will be favored in 6 of them.


The four hardest contests: the Steelers, Dallas, the Giants & Philly; are at home. Right now only the NY Giants would be favored. The road games are Seattle (2-5), the Ravens (4-3), Cincinnati (0-8) & the 49ers (2-6). Only the Baltimore would be favored.


If the dream season continues and the Redskins were to win 6 of their remaining games, they would not need a pumpkin carriage to get to the ball because they would have home field advantage in the playoffs.


The next three weeks should decide how well the playoff run will go. They play the Steelers, have a bye week and then it’s Dallas again. The Redskins need a spit. Losing 2 straight at home and it will be very difficult to continue the fantasy season.


The key to the second half is injuries. So far the Redskins have a list of walking wounded but no key players are lost for the season. Next week’s bye could not have come at a better time. It eliminates a short week after a Monday night game and it is before Dallas.


First half of the season report card:


Overall -- A --The lone failure was St. Louis
Offense -- B -- Trouble finishing scoring drives
O Line -- A -- Play very well together
Coach -- A -- New student is surprise of the class
QB -- A -- Reaching his potential
Backs -- A -- Portis is better than ever
Wide Outs -- C -- Moss to head of class; rest average
Tight end -- B+ -- Big catches but not scoring


Defense -- B -- How without a pass rush
D Line -- C+ -- No pass rush
Linebackers -- B+ -- Follow leader: London Fletcher
Cornerbacks -- A -- Passing every man-to-man test
Safeties -- B -- No big touchdown mistakes
GM -- C- -- 2nd round picks a bust
Owner -- B -- Bumper Sticker “Honor Roll Student in NFL”

Impressive or Unimpressive?

The Redskins beat Detroit 25-17 to improve their record to 6-2. Impressive.

Washington could not put away the worst team in football until there were 39 seconds left in the game. OK, maybe Shaun Suisham’s 42-yard field goal with 1:56 left iced it. Unimpressive.

Jason Campbell was 23 for 28 for 328 yards. Clinton Portis rush for over 120 (126) for the 5th straight game. Santana Moss caught 9 passes for 140 yards. The Redskins had 439 net yards in total offense. Exceptional. What makes the triumph truly remarkable is the fact that if it wasn’t for a Moss’ 80-yard punt return for a touchdown, they could have lost. Nothing special, maybe just lucky.

Stats wise the defense didn’t play poorly. Detroit completed just 2/12 3rd down plays, only had 57 yards net rushing while passing for 274 net yards. Of course, 81 of those passing yards came on a 4th quarter drive that cut a 12-point lead to five.

Impressive stats usually are for losers. Points are for winners and the Skins scored over 20 points for the 3rd time this year, all wins. They did this while resting many of their walking wounded including their best offensive lineman, Chris Samuels and their best defensive back, Shawn Springs. Hopefully, everyone will be ready for Pittsburgh next Monday night.

So it goes. The Redskins had the ball for over 10 minutes more than Detroit, but couldn’t put the Lions away.

This is the yin yang of Redskins football. They do a lot more right than wrong. So they are winning more than losing. Who would not always trade an infuriating loss to St. Louis for the exhilarating triumph over the Cowboys? They are a pleasure to watch most of the game. Then they make you squirm in your seat at the very end.

Remember -- a win is a win. Hey, at the beginning of the year people would have been overjoyed with a 4-4 record.

The Redskins would take the same outcome when they host the Steelers because they know it is not important to be impressive. Or perfect. Winning cures everything.

Easy Victory? Pass the Ball!

Look up horrible in the dictionary and you may find a picture of the Detroit Lions.

The reason the Lions are winless is really obvious. They are averaging just 16 points a game and are 27th in the league with an awful average of 265 yards of total offense. This is the better half of Detroit’s stats. Hideous may be the better word to describe the defense, which is ranked dead last giving up 419 yards a game.

The Redskins can select its attack mode. The Lions rank 31st on pass defense ( 251 ypg) and 31st against the rush (168).

The best idea would be to get back to the West Coast passing attack, for a couple of reasons. Clinton Portis has rushed 48 times for 304 yards in the last two games. Both games came down to the opposing team lining up for a game winning/tying field goal attempt at the end of the game. The Redskins split the games. The Lions’ Jason Hanson is 8 for 8 in field goals, so it would be wise to avoid this scenario.

There is an oddity to the last two games. Despite Portis’ rushing success, the time of possession was no longer a big advantage for the Redskins. Cleveland actually had the ball for two more minutes, while the Redskins advantage against St Louis was just two minutes. In the 4-game winning streak that has made the season, the Redskins averaged a 10-minute possession advantage. In those 4 games, Jason Campbell averaged 32 passes. In the last 2 games, his average is 25. In the first 3 games of the streak, Portis carried 21 times a game while in the last 3 his averaged went up to 26.

In the winning streak, the Skins averaged just under 26 points a game. In the last 2 games, just over 15 ppg.

Now the Redskins will attack what Detroit’s defense gives them. One would have to think that the Lions first defensive priority would be to stop the running game after watching Portis average 132 yards in the last 3 games.

First downs appear to be the key to the way Washington plays. Against Cleveland, the Skins pass on its first 2 first-down possession in the first half. Then didn’t pass again until there was 2:16 left in the 0-0 first half. On the two second half touchdown drives, the first down plays were split between the run & pass. The first touchdown coming on a Portis run and the second coming on a pass to Santana Moss.

It is scary to think that the Redskins will let the Lions stay in the game. Maybe if we find the West Coast passing attack again, Washington can have an easy triumph.

Redskins Success -- Lack of Injuries

There is a combination of reasons why the Redskins are off to their quick start. The improved play of quarterback Jason Campbell; the running of Clinton Portis; the execution of the offensive line; ditto for the defensive line, the inspired play of linebacker London Fletcher.

A major part of the mix for success is injuries or lack of them.
The Redskins have made the playoffs 2 of the last 3 years. In 2006 Portis went down, so did the playoffs. Ouch!

This raises the question: which players can the Redskins least afford to lose?
1. Quarterback Campbell
2. Left tackle Chris Samuels
3. Portis
4. Linebacker London Fletcher
5. The rest of the offensive line.

Who would have thunk? Campbell is on the top of the list? There were some people hoping he would get hurt so that Colt Brennan could play. Forget Brennan! Last year’s replacement Collins was successful because he was the only man in the NFL who could run offensive coordinator Al Saunders ridiculously complicated system. Without Campbell, the Redskins would be facing 8-man fronts. As well as the offensive line is playing, they can only block so many people.

If Samuels goes down, say good bye to the running game. On the NFL web site the depth chart for the Redskins has no backup listed. The backup is Stephen Heyer, who started the year at right tackle, was hurt and has now been beaten out by Jon Jansen.

Portis is carrying the offense right now. His back up, Ladell Betts, is out. Betts did so well replacing Portis 2 years ago, that some believe he was the better runner – Betts is no Portis. It is too much to expect that recent pick up Shaun Alexander can approach his Player of the Year form of 2005.

The defense is playing out of this world. However, it is truly a no-name defense. Andre Carter and Cornelius Griffin anchor the line but their names are not call all that often. The name you hear is London Fletcher. He is 5th in the NFL with 60 tackles. He had 12 solo tackles against the Giants. His leap frog of the offensive line to stop Cleveland on the goal line Sunday was a play you see once every 5 years and usually in a high school game.

The offensive line is playing so well, trauma of breaking it up with an injury is hard to imagine. Heyer can play either tackle spot, but is better at pass protection than run blocking. Jason Fabini, who started 13 games last year, when the line was crippled by injuries, is the only other experienced backup.

Right now the Redskins have some walking wounded, but are relatively healthy. The longer they stay hale & hearty, the longer the roll will continue.

Catching a Break

 

Did the Redskins catch a break when Cleveland upset the Giants Monday night? No question it helps in the standings, but the real question is that with Cleveland coming to town on Sunday, does it put the Skins in a better position with the Browns coming of a Monday night triumph at home? We will see.

Speaking of breaks, I am going on vacation. Will try and keep track from a far. Will return next week.

Total Loss

The Redskins lost to the worst team in football! At Home!!!!

They could of, maybe would of, if guard Pete Kendall hadn’t caught a pass only to have it turn into a 75-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but they should not of won.

Are we right back where we were after the season-opening loss to the Giants?

No, this was a completely different loss. Right now the Giants are arguably the best team in football. In that game the Redskins were completely out played. The could not of, would not of and should not of won.

Looking at the stats, the Redskins looked like winners – they had 368 net yards to just 200 for St. Louis; 22 first down to 8; averaged 5.8 yards a rush to 2.9; average 6.2 yards passing to 4.4. They scored 10 4th-quarter points to take the lead. Stats are for losers and the Redskins lost.

St. Louis didn’t do anything special to win. At the end, it appeared that they tried to give it way again when Richie Incognito got a 15-yard personal foul penalty to lengthen the game winning field goal attempt from 34 to 49 yards.

How did they lose? Sacks & Fumbles!

The offensive line gave up 4 sacks including 3 in the second half which didn’t help the comeback attempt. The one in the 1st quarter preceded a St. Louis field goal drive.

They coughed the ball up 4 times, losing 3, including the one returned for a touchdown at the end of the first half, where the Redskins were ready to kick a field goal to give themselves a 10-3 lead but ended up trailing 10-7.

Some losses have silver linings. Not this one. The loss was to an NFC team and therefore could make a difference in playoff spot tie-breakers. This is a loss that players, coaches and fans will only regret and hope they can forget. Only a week ago the Giants were almost upset by Cincinnati, but pulled out a win. This is what playoff teams do.

Not only no silver linings, but a loss that makes the 4-game winning streak look like fool’s gold.

What? Me Worry?

The Redskins are underdogs no more.

They are solid 13½ point favorites Sunday against winless St. Louis.

The only stats you need to know are that the Rams are averaging less than 11 points a game while giving up more than 36. On the other side of the ball they are scoring almost 22 points a contest while giving up less than 20. Maybe an easier way to say it is both teams have played the Giants & Philly. The Skins lost to the Giants, 16-7, while beating Eagles, 23-17. The Rams were slaughtered by both – Giants, 41-13, & Philly, 38-3.

What? Me worry?

Well there are concerns.
1. St. Louis is coming off a bye week. Off hand this would not be a big issue, but during the last 2 weeks, the Rams fired their coach and hired former New Orleans coach Jim Haslett, who has had time to put in new schemes.
2. Since the back-to-back on-the-road wins over Dallas & Philly, the praise has been off the charts. Tim Brant of WJLA TV, called them the favorites in the NFC East. How this is possible with the Super Bowl champion Giants still undefeated & having beaten the Skins is mind boggling. However, it is the kind of statements people are making about the team.
3. There has to be a let down. While Coach Zorn preaches no highs and no lows, these are overpaid NFL players, who always have let downs a couple of times during the season. Best teams do not always win, that is why they play the games.

My biggest concern is the let down. Hopefully, the home crowd will fire them up.

St. Louis is a bad football team. The power rankings consistently have them as the worst team in the league. While Haslett is a good coach, he is not a miracle worker.

Haslett is a defensive coach by trade. Since he was the defensive coordinator promoted to Interim Head Coach, he probably will not be making a lot of changes to the defense. On the offensive side of the ball, what is he to do? He will go with Marc Bugler over Trent Green at Quarterback. Running back Steven Jackson is a talented and versatile. He can put up big number both running and catching the ball. He is not off to a great start, but that could be because he is still learning our friend Al Saunders’ 700-page play book.

This game is not about St. Louis, but about the Redskins. In the four-game winning streak, the biggest margin of victory was 7 points. The question is can the heavy favorite dominate a bad football team.

Redskins & Maryland Football

Has anyone every notice the relationship between the Redskins successes & failures and Maryland football?

This old idea came back watching the last 2 weekends. Maryland on the road at Clemson looks completely out matched in the first half and one could only hope that the Skins would not get routed by Dallas the next day. The Terps came back to win and the Redskins beat Dallas.

The same feeling came when Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee State and the Skins poor showing against the NY Giants. So you can imagine the feel of doom & gloom after Maryland was routed by Virginia. The Redskins were in the same scenario coming off a big-time road victory and on the road again. The hope was that the Redskins would stay competitive in Philly. Naturally the Skins made the weekend by winning.

This feeling of happiness and sadness did not start this season. It goes back to the early 1970s where the only football success since the mid 1950s, came and died with Vince Lombardi. While the years do not match exactly, Jerry Claiborne showed up at Maryland and George Allen with the Skins. Allen got the Skins to the Super Bowl and a couple years later Claiborne coached Maryland to the Cotton Bowl. The locals lost both games. The coaches kept their squads competitive but never reached those heights again.

Then came the early 80s, which is the best decade of football in Washington. Nothing can match Joe Gibbs guiding the Redskins to three Super Bowl appearances in seven years. Under Bobby Ross Maryland football became fun again, consistently ranking in the top 25. After basketball star Len Bias’s death, Ross was run out of town by Maryland’s academics, who would not let him recruit players who were allowed into schools like Virginia and North Carolina. This is still an issue at Maryland.

Gibbs retired after winning his 3rd Super Bowl in 1991 and both programs became irrelevant. Maryland became a factor again when Coach Ralph Friedgen arrived in 2001, winning 20 games his first 2 years and taking the squad to the Orange Bowl. After the Virginia loss last week, there is the feeling that the program is just hanging in there.

Four years ago Joe Gibbs returned to save the Redskins. While they made the playoffs twice in his four years, there was a feeling that a run in the playoffs was becoming an impossible dream.

Coach Jim Zorn is off to a fast start like Friedgen. The Redskins are exciting and a contender. We now get to see if the Redskins become relevant in the NFL again.

Redskins in the Playoffs

OMG – the Playoffs!

Can it be true, the Redskins are going to the playoffs? Unbelievable!!

The Skins are no longer the underdogs. Barring serious injuries, they will be favored in at least 6 of their remaining games – St. Louis, Browns, Detroit, Ravens, Cincinnati & the 49ers. Even if they only win four of these games, it would mean that they would have to win just 2 of their other games – Pittsburgh, Cowboys, Seahawks, Giants & Philly. All but Seattle are at home.

In September, everyone marveled about the offense. Well it is October and now it is time to praise the defense. Philadelphia’s offense scored one touchdown yesterday. One! It came on the opening scripted drive where the Eagles ran new plays. The Redskins adjusted right then and there. Not at halftime, but on the field in the first quarter. It was the key to the game as Philly scored on a punt return to put the Skins in its 14-0 hole, but couldn’t put the Skins away.

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache is doing a terrific job, quietly. Is anyone saying we miss Gregg Williams now? Unlike Williams, Blache has a down home way of talking. When asked how the defense was able to play so well when it was without end Jason Taylor, linebacker Marcus Washington and corner back Shawn Springs, here was his response.

“Our defense is built like an old automobile, you can buy another water belt or fuel pump or whatever; we don't have all the computer chips."

The old parts are getting better with age. End Andre Carter was outstanding. Tackle Cornelius Griffin just stops the run up the middle. Linebacker London Fletcher tackles anything that gets by and cornerbacks Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers are playing man-to-man converge ridiculously well. Wait until the broken parts are fixed and put back in place.

Relatively new pieces like linebackers Rocky McIntosh & H.B. Blades along with safeties LeRon Landry & Chris Horton are keeping the “Old Chevy” running like new.

While the defense can not get enough credit for the unbelievable start to the season, PLEASE, do not overlook the play of the offensive line. Chris Samuels is playing like the best offensive tackle in the NFL, Randy Thomas has a pro bowl shot and center Casey Rabach has been outstanding. Forget those penalties against Dallas. Has anyone notice since Jon Jansen’s returns we are now running the ball to the right side?

Maybe the biggest sign the Redskins are going to the playoffs is that Santana Moss didn’t catch a pass and there were no complaints from him like our friend T O in Dallas. This team believes and it is now time that others start believing too.

Tough Call

Who’s going to win with the Redskins at Philly? Very tough call.

Picking winners is easier said than done. While I have been in the winner’s circle in office pools, so far this year I am only averaging 9 correct picks in my pool, without the spread. There are several factors going into making the prediction: stats, schedule, injuries, emotion and gut feeling.

On the surface the stats favor Philadelphia. After all, according to total yardage the Eagles rank 3rd on defense and 6th on offense; the Redskins are 14th and 9th respectively. Defensively the stats really favor Philly as they ranked 1st against the run (53.8 yards a game) and 11th defending the pass.

Yet, to consider just the stats and not the schedule would seem to be a mistake. The Redskins have played the 2nd (Dallas), 3rd (New Orleans), 4th (Giants) and 5th (Arizona) best offenses in the NFL. The Eagles have played Dallas and they have also faced 2 of the worst offenses , St. Louis (30) and Pittsburgh (29) and no one fears the 19th rank Bears offense either.
The schedule also favors the Skins on offense. Plus, the offensive stats are close. Philly averages 5.5 yards a play while the Skins are 5.4. Passes completed the Eagles are 65.8% while Washington is 65.6%.

If there is a big difference it is in rushing the ball. The Redskins are averaging 4.3 yards a carry while Philly averages 3.5. Part of this is due to Eagle running back Brian Westbrook who missed Sunday night’s Chicago game. Another part is a difference in West Coast philosophy. Philly really believes in pass first, second and sometimes third. The Redskins bring smash mouth rushing to their West Coast attack. This is the key to the game, if the Redskins can run they will be hard to beat.

Whether Westbrook plays is a big deal. His brother Byron, who is on the Redskins practice squad, says he will not play. Philly is saying he is doubtful, but he practiced. If he is practicing, count on him playing.

The key is emotion. Philly is 2-2 and really needs to win this game at home. The Redskins are on a roll and haven’t done anything wrong in 3 weeks. While they will come to play, there has to be a let down from last week’s upset of Dallas.

The gut feeling is Philadelphia.

Of course, the gut is only averaging 9 wins a week in no-points, pick-the-winner pool.

House Money

The Redskins are playing with House Money.

No one expected them to finish September with a 3-1 record. No one expected them to beat Dallas in their last game at Texas Stadium. No one expects them to beat Philly on the road Sunday. Well maybe no one is no longer true, but the spread has them 6½-point underdogs.

This is a double-down game for the Skins. If they lose they are 3-2 after playing all 3 NFC East games on the road. This again is ahead of all expectations. If they were to upset the Eagles, they would have a 2-1 division road record. Jackpot!

Even with a loss to Philly, the hand they have been dealt looks very good. They play St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit next with the Rams and Browns at FedEx Field. They could run those games. The pot would be right for the playoffs.

Home field in the playoffs? Outrageous idea, but not out of the question. With a victory over the Eagles, there would be No-Limit.

Right now the Skins are having had a run of good luck. Jason Taylor has been the only big-time injury. While no one is sure how long he will be out, the Redskins were able to pressure Romo enough to throw him off his game. Lack of depth would be one of their biggest weaknesses. Injuries will up the ante.

It seems each week is a showdown. New Orleans, Arizona and Dallas were undefeated when the Redskins played them. It was the Skins who had a loss. Teams coming off victories can lose some intensity the next week. They hear how good they are. Mistakes are over looked because winning cures everything. Well this week, it is Philly with 2 losses, including to the Bears Sunday night. While this is too early in the season for a must game, there will be people saying this in Philadelphia.

The trips-to-winning in the Redskins luck department is the hiring of Coach Jim Zorn. Don’t for a minute think that Dano Snyder and Vinny Cerrato were anything other than lucky. Coach Zorn doesn’t hold them; so far he’s never folded them…he just plays them straight up. Maybe as the season goes on the other coaches will figure out his style but right now he is All-In.

So are the Redskins.

Coach Zorn

Jim Zorn can Coach!!!!

Jason Campbell can play quarterback, because he has Coach Zorn.

Good Lord, God Almighty – the stars, the moon & the planets did line up exactly right -- Dano Snyder and his personal go-for, Vinny Cerrato, got it right. They hired a Coach. Who would have thunk?

In the upset of Dallas the game plan was beautiful. The play calling was magnificent. The offense had balance. Passes were short, in the flats, down field and deep. There was Clinton Portis, who may no longer wonder what it’s like playing in a great offense scheme.

Before the arrival of Coach Zorn how many offensive series went like this: first down pass incomplete; second down run for 2 or 3 yards; third down pass compete sort of the first down yardage; punt.

Not counting the three kneels to run out the clock to end the game, yesterday, Washington only had two 3-&-outs both in the first quarter. Yesterday, on 68% of the first- downs plays the Redskins gain 3 or more yards.

Jon Jansen made his return and the offensive line play very well. The Redskins rushed for 161 yards and 7 first downs. A rushing touchdown was called back on a hold that could not be seen on replay. Sure Campbell was hurried and sacked twice, but the quarterback was never forced into making a game changing turnover.

Defense Coordinators Greg Blache, also, should get a lot of credit. However, in the future, PLEASE, leave the Prevent Defense out of it. Prevent Defense = Prevents Winning. Yesterday, the Prevent Defense gave the Cowboys 10 points in just 2:30 minutes. Dallas averaged almost 8 yards a play against the Prevent. In the Cowboys other 48 plays, they averaged 4.3 yards. Why run the Prevent??? What is the hurry in giving up points???

Maybe even Vinny deserves a little bit of an apology. After all rookie Chris Horton continue to show a knack for finding the ball when he picked off a Romo pass that killed a third quarter Dallas drive and may have done in the Cowboys. The Redskins eventually kicked a field goal with the turnover. Also, rookie punter David Brooks averaged over 46 yards a punt. However, none of the three 2nd round draft picks receivers played. Since this was expected it was no big deal. So when Romo had enough time to make a sandwich before he threw the ball, one could not help but scream, “draft a defensive lineman.”

Right now that is being picky, picky, picky.
Hail the Redskins!!

Beast in the East

The Beast is back in the East!

The new millennium had not been good to the NFC East. In the previous 8 years only the Giants & Philly made it to the Super Bowl and both lost. Not like the 90s when East owned the NFL winning 5 Super Bowl championships between 91 and 96 including four in a row from 91 to 94. The steak included 3 different teams – Dallas, Giants & Redskins. An Era no other division can match!

Last year the same trio all made the playoffs and the Giants’ upset of New England has put the East back on top. So far this year there is no touching them. The division has a 10-2 record, with the two losses coming against each other. The Cowboys handed Green Bay its only loss, Philly knocked Pittsburgh from the undefeated, while only the Redskins have beaten New Orleans & Arizona .

The Redskins playoff hopes are on the line the next two weeks when they play Dallas and Philly. OK, that may sound a bit dramatic but it is very simple. Finish last in the division and you’re out of the playoffs.

When it comes to making the playoffs, the divisional games are the most important. Since 2000 only 2 teams have made the playoffs with losing records in their division. In both cases (Dallas 2006 & Jacksonville 2007), their division put three teams in the playoffs. Only 11 teams made it with a .500 divisional record while 47 others stayed home.

Right now everyone is enamored with Quarterback Jason Campbell . Rightfully so, he has yet to throw an interception or fumble the football. This is scary as the streak has to end and this weekend seems like a prime time.

There are many people who think Dallas is the team to beat for the Super Bowl. Since the Cowboys have not won a playoff game since 1966, one has to think this is a little premature. However, when you look at the defensive & offensive lines you begin to understand the logic.
Dallas plays a 3-4 defense. The 3 down linemen ends Marcus Spears & Chris Chanity along with nose tackle Jay Ratliff were all drafted by Dallas in 2005. Think that was a good draft? Also picked in the draft was Linebacker DeMarcus Wade, the best of the group. What this gives the Cowboys is a core of young & fast players who are supported by Bradie James (6th year), Greg Ellis 11 year and Zack Thomas 13th year. All but Thomas were drafted by Dallas. This defense was built by Bill Parcells. Are you understanding Vinny??

The offensive line is very experience with TE Jason Witten the youngest (6 years) while LG Kyle Kosiec , C Andre Gurode & RT Marc Colombo all in their 7th season. RG Leonard Davis (8) and LT Flozell Adams (11) rounds out the line.

So far this year, the Cowboys are winning the war along the lines, which is why they are the biggest Beast in the East.

Jason Taylor

The whistling of “Hail to the Redskins” came to a stop yesterday. The reality of an NFL season has arrived. The Redskins biggest weakness, lack of depth along both the offensive & defensive lines, has become an issue. Defensive end Jason Taylor along with offensive tackle Stephen Heyer are out for Sunday’s game with Dallas.

We don’t want Dallas, much rather St. Louis at home until the pair get healthy. The odds of beating Dallas on the road were a long to begin, the Cowboys opened as an 11-point favorite. Without Taylor it will be interesting to see how they change.

Obviously, the loss of Taylor is the biggest concern. To beat Dallas, a team needs a pass rush!! If Romo gets too much time, nothing good is going to happen. While Campbell and the Redskins offense have been the talk during the mini two-game streak, the defense has very quietly done its job.

The defense is nothing spectacular ranked 14th in total yards, 12th in rushing defense, and 15th in passing. Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache has been playing that “bend don’t break” style, which is working. The Skins are tied with 9th with 57 points allowed, while playing 2 of the better offenses, New Orleans & the Cardinals, in the NFC.

So it is hard to criticize the defense. However, the worst part of its game is the pass rush, which is tied for 18th in sacks with 6. Taylor along with Andre Carter and Cornelius Griffin combine for half of the Skins total. When it comes to sacks, the Skins are by far and away the worst in the NFC East. The Giants & Philly lead the NFL with 13 while Dallas is tied for 4th with 10.

Who will replace Taylor? Demetric Evans a former Dallas undrafted free agent. If Washington can put the Cowboys in passing down & yardage situations, expect to see Erasmus James along with Chris Wilson. The player to watch is James, who was the 18th player selected in the 2005 draft by Minnesota. The Redskins picked him up in the off season with a damage good label after knee injuries the last 2 years. The sleeper maybe Wilson who was picked up from the Canadian Football League in 2007 and had 4 sacks last year as a part-timer.

Replacing Heyer is a much simpler solution. Jon Jansen comes back to his starting position. Jansen may have lost a step or two, but should be ready to show the coaches they made a mistake when benching him.

Smile

Smile. Enjoy a breath. The season is not going straight down the tubes with a big season opening losing streak.
However, do not use the word huge to describe the Redskins’ triumph over New Orleans. Never is the second game of a 16-week schedule is huge. Significant can only be known with the hindsight of the next six or so games. Impressive could work but it was just a home game. Let’s try consequential.
The immediate consequences are a week where Jim Zorn can grin while not hearing he is not ready to be a head coach. For a week there will be no debate about Jason Campbell’s quarterbacking skills. This week the offense line isn’t too old.
Even Vinny got off the hook when his 7th round draft choice safety Chris Horton came up with three turnovers. This of course, overshadowed his prize punter averaging just 33 yards on 2 punts, including a line drive that was returned for a touchdown, along with a blotch hold on a field goal attempt.
The laughter will only last until the next loss. Hopefully, that will not come Sunday against Arizona.
This week the story will be about the Redskins offense that is trying to combine the smash mouth NFC East running game with the quick passing of the West Coast Offense. In the loss to the Giants, the offense was all running the ball and had just one completion to a running back. Against New Orleans the offense averaged 4.8 yards a rush and competed passes to nine different players, including five to running backs.
Smile this week with the memory of Jason Campbell leading the team from behind instead of a potential game-winning drive ending in an interception. Come-from-behind fourth-quarter drive was a big hole in Campbell’s resume.
The offense line will be walking with a spring in their step and a smile on their face.
The biggest repercussion maybe the Clinton Portis’ quotes wondering how he would fare in another offense is a dead issue. Now the comments are hidden behind big grins. The Washington Post story may have been more about the Joe Gibbs/Joe Bugel running game than Zorn’s West Coach Offense. After the Giants game, where it looked like Bugel was calling the plays, it appears that maybe Zorn is trying meld this NFC running game with the quick passing game -- an interesting concept.
This is not the West Coach that Philadelphia runs. It may look something like what Dallas is running. After watching the shootout between the two last night, the Redskins will need more than a concept. However, this week the sounds you are hearing maybe people whistling while they work.

Redskin Schedule

One loss does not make a season.
A quick look at the schedule and the Redskins are still in the hunt.
When the schedule was announced, besides the Giants, we could have also put Ls (loss) next to At Dallas, At Seattle along with the Browns, Pittsburgh and Dallas at Fed Ex. We could put Ws next to Arizona, St. Louis, Philly, and NY Giants at home along with Detroit, Baltimore, Cincinnati and San Fran on the road. Either-way games were New Orleans at home and Philly on the road.
If this were to hold true the Redskins would have an 8-5 record with the 2 swing games holding the playoff chances. We’re talking the moons, stars & planets all need to line up in perfect order, here.
The Redskins do not have an easy schedule; the teams they are playing last year (counting the NFC East twice) were 132-124. The good news is that home schedule is the toughest (68-60) while the road is 64-64. So a 4-4 record road record is must, the need for a 5th road victory maybe need to pull out a playoff spot.
Been to Fed Ex lately? Many of those who attend games since Book’em Dano Snyder regime began feel there isn’t much of a home field advantage especially with all of the Cowboys and Philly fans who show up. The feeling is very understandable. When the stadium was know as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, in Raljon MD, the home advantage was 15-6-1. Under the High Priest of Greed, who raised the ticket prices to the limit while charging 6-pack prices for one cold beer among other price gouging schemes, the home record is only 33-31. Anything for a buck, Book’em Dano.
Gibbs would have loved the December schedule with Ravens, Bengals, Eagles and 49ers. All but the Eagles are on the road but Gibbs owned December with 46-18 record.
While the lack luster 16-7 loss to the Giants does not bode well for a quick start to the season, the Skins need to win 2 of their next four. If they were to sweep the 2 at home (New Orleans & Arizona) or better yet sweep the 2 NFC East teams (Dallas & Philly), we’re talking playoffs. If they were to win all four of the games, we need to check for steroids.

West Coast Offense?

Where was the West Coast Offense?
It was more like the NFC East Offense with plays called by Joe Bugel. Clinton Portis ran 23 times. The Giants rush for 154 yards. Giants win, 16-7. Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells would be proud.
Isn’t the West Coast offense supposed to have a lot of quick passes with big yards after catch? Why can’t Portis be like Philly’s Brian West brook? Last year the Eagles versatile back average 17 rushes for 83 yards along with six catches for another 48 yards. A big part of the problem is that Portis is a great blocker, which is something missing along the Redskins offensive line.
The only short passes seemed to come on 3rd down. The passes were also short of the needed yardage for a first down.
Whose fault is this debacle? Quarterback Jason Campbell, who held on to the ball to long. Coach Jim Zorn who was hired to install the offense, but left the Redskins running game intact? Head of Football operations Vinny Cerrato, who took 3 receivers with his top 3 picks in last year’s draft? Owner Dano Snyder? For those who are sure it’s Book’em fault see Sally Jenkins article in Friday’s Washington Post.
No question that Campbell didn’t answer any of his critics, who believe he is a classic drop back quarterback and not suited for the quick game of the West Coast Offense. Nor did Coach Jim Zorn show his detractors that he was ready to be a NFL head coach. The offensive line look old and the youth of Stephon Heyer, looked unprepared – Vinny you can step up to the mike any time. Book’em 2008 version of the Redskins maybe hard press to reach the mediocre level the team has maintained for the last 9 years.
The only semi bright spot was the second half adjustments by the defense, which kept the Skins in the game using scoreboard standards. Hey, if the defensive backs could hold on to bad passes for several picks, it would have been closers and who knows what would have happen.
All told, it is far from the end of the world. A loss to the Giants in New York is nothing new. Since 2000, the Redskins only have won there once. When the schedule was announced, it was a game most people put an L besides.
Now there are 2 home games. If the Redskins are going to have any success this year, they must win at home. After the lack of emotion showed on opening night, it appears that they will need all 90,000 people screaming with them to get them fired up.

Vinny, Vinny, Vinny

Vinny Cerrato knows if Book’em Dano Snyder wants his coffee black or with cream & sugar. The unknown is whether Vinny can acquire the players needed to make the Redskins a playoff contender. What? Again you are saying that we already know the answer? The same answer to the question if Dano can build a winner?
Again, it’s a bit too early to tell. However, the track record is not on the coffee boy’s side.
The Redskins media guide gives Vinny credit for singing Bruce Smith & Deion Sanders. He also gets credit for signing free agents like Irving Fryar and Mark Carrier. No one seems to be taking credit for Jeff George or Brandon Lloyd. Also, no one believes that Vinny had anything to do with the big-name signings, those were all Book’em Dano.
Vinny has had success with choices likes of LaVar Arrington, Chris Samuels, Sean Taylor, and Carlos Rogers & LeRon Landry. This year we will know about Jason Campbell. However, my mother would have been able to pick a starter with a top 10 selection in the draft.
It must be said that the Vinny hasn’t had a lot of late picks in the draft as the Redskins under Book’em has traded them for veteran players. It is a philosophy that really isn’t working. The Skins always seem to be to slow (old) and lack depth. Vinny does has 2006 on the record as a good draft when the Skins picked up Kedric Golston, Reed Doughty, Anthony Montgomery and Roger McIntosh, all of whom have played and contributed.
This year was different only because Cincinnati would not trade Chad Johnson to us for a couple of No. 1 picks. Thank God for Cincinnati. Naturally, we traded our top pick but not for an over paid veteran, but for 2 second-round selections. This allowed the Redskins to draft 10 players, the most during the Snyder era. While it is too early to tell the real quality of the draft, all 10 made the team but none are expected to start. The down side is none of the 3 second-round draft choice is going to start or expected to play against the Giants.
The fact that all 10 of the draft choices made the team is cause for concern. Here are some scenarios.
1. Worst case – new coach Jim Zorn and his staff didn’t have the final say on who made the team
2. Not so good -- The Redskins are lowering their salary cap to jump back into the free agent market next year.
3. Best case – these draft choices were actually better than those cut and the Redskins will be a deeper team.
Don’t discount the last scenario as none of those on the final cut were any great shakes. Marcus Mason was a local favorite but really couldn’t be out the running backs in front of him. While there is reason to worry to punter Frost’s crying about his competition with Brooks being rigged, weren’t we tired of Frost’s inconsistency?
The concern is that those players cut were either drafted or pick up on Vinny’s recommendation.
Vinny, Vinny, Vinny.

Is Jim Zorn Lucky

Is Jim Zorn lucky or should we feel sorry for him?
He’s was lucky to be in the right place at the right time to get his dream job as a head coach in the NFL. As with all dreams come true, there is a catch. His job is with Book’em Dano Snyder, who thinks he can run a team better than any of the NFL professionals. Dano has a history liking stars – see Steve Spurier under over paid coaching hires. Zorn was a nice player in his day but no star outside of a few places in Washington. Unfortunately, we’re talking the state of Washington, not DC.
Zorn took an interesting and unusual route to get to the right place at the right time. He’s never been a head coach. After quarterbacking Seattle well for years, he was a coach at two WAC colleges, Boise State (1989-91) and Utah State (92-94). Then he moved on to the Big Ten at Minnesota (95-96). Now Minnesota has never been known as Quarterback U, but the WAC is one of the most exciting offensive leagues in college football. Wouldn’t it be nice if he still has some of the plays Boise State used to upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl 2 years ago.
What worries me is the way that Book’em Dano conducted his search for a new coach. Dano hired Zorn as an offensive coordinator first. So whoever he planned to hired as the new coach would not have an option to bring in his own man and/or style. Dano then eliminate the obvious choice of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for reasons never explained, which leads many to believe that he was looking for another “yes” man. Head of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato is the original.
If you ever get a chance to read the Dano’s bio on Zorn, it is easy to understand why he was hired. According to the Redskins, Zorn is the reason that Seattle’s Tim Hasselbeck is a successful NFL quarterback. The job Zorn choose to accept is to turn Jason Campbell into a successful quarterback. A task that Joe Gibbs and his staff couldn’t complete.
Everything points to Zorn being a good guy. He is talkative with the press and it sounds like the players truly like him. However, being a good guy means nothing. Wins and only wins count as a head coach in the NFL. Those over price players will quit on him if he doesn’t put them in position to win games.
I am not so concern with the big question is Zorn ready to be a head coach. Actually, I like the idea that the Redskins didn’t hire a retread old head coach. This despite the fact last year’s Super Bowl teams were both coached by retreads.
Fresh blood is a bold move, but very risky for even the best organizations. Since Dano took over the Redskins in 1999, the Redskins have never been accused of being a well oiled machine on the field or especially in the front office. This is not Jack Kent Cooke and Bobby Beathard, but Dano and Vinny.
Usually such a move brings in a bright, young innovative coach, like, Joe Gibbs. Zorn maybe bright but he is not young (55) and the West Coast Offense is now standard not innovative
Let’s hope that Jim Zorn is lucky and good.

Book'em Dano

Book’em Dano!
This blog is dedicated to figuring out if Dan Snyder can run the Washington Redskins successfully. What? Stop the presses! After nine years. we already know the answer. Well , it is a bit too early to jump to conclusions. At least let's give him another chance.
Anyway, this is what we do know, he can make money! Dano is the High Priest of Greed. He views the fans as cash cows and will milk every dollar.
My personal favorite is after the Redskins score a touchdown, with the help of the scoreboard the crowd breaks in the great chorus of “Hail to the Redskins.” After the first verse is complete, Dano runs a pizza add. Love it, take the fans right out of the song and game. Anything for the Almighty dollar!
In 2005, the Redskins made the playoffs for the first time under Dano’s ownership and he raised the ticket prices 17 percent .
Book’em Dano!
The infatuation with the Dollar hasn’t gone unnoticed. Last year ESPN’s “Ultimate Standings: Fan Satisfaction Rankings” the Redskins ranked 108 of all 122 pro teams from the NFL, NBA, MBL & NHL.
He maybe ripping the fans but it works as according to Forbes Magazine, in 2007 the Redskins were the 2nd most valuable team in the NFL. The number one team was the Dallas Cowboys, a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1990s.
In 2007 the Redskins had the second highest average ticket price in the NFL. Number 1 was the New England Patriots, who give their fans runs at the Super Bowl every year.
Now on the plus side, he is willing to spend as much money as possible to make the Redskins a winner. He has consistently over paid players and coaches.
Dano bought the team in 1999. To late in the football year to make his hallmark changes. So the team posts its best record (10-6) goes to the playoffs and beats Detroit before losing to Tampa Bay, 14 to 13, on the road just missing the NFC title game.
Dano is now in charge and the first thing he does is bring in the likes of Jeff George, Dion Sanders and Bruce Smith. 2000 Record is 8-8. In the last 8 years the Redskins record is 58-70 (450 winning percentage) How about the change of coaches, 5 between 2000 and 2004.
Book’em Dano.
Despite having made the playoffs 2 out of the last three years, Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs decided it was a great time to call it quits. Maybe he figured that there was no chance of making it back to the Super Bowl?
Well anyway Dano is back in total control again. Let's see how he does this time.
Book'em Dano.