Getting ready for Detroit.

[Art]

When I'm upset with my favorite football team, I typically don't boo. I just get angry and quiet. I close my eyes and imagine what it would be like to be happy, when the guys leading or playing for my team made me happy. I don't know what sentiment there is after the Rams game. I know my own.

And here it is.

Fire Jim Zorn.

I haven't said those words about a Redskins coach since 0-5 under Marty. After that loss to Dallas in the most dreadful games ever I knew Marty was done. That team rallied and improved, but did so in spite of Marty. They got together as a team and said, "Forget the coach. Play for us." Such a rallying works once. Marty was done once that happened.

Zorn is probably liked by more players so they won't rebel against him, though, it's likely few players respect him overly much. I didn't think we should have fired Norv, being the last on that bandwagon. I thought Spurrier would be given another year, one I knew we'd dread. Spurrier and Zorn are similar in some ways.

What happened Sunday was the end of Zorn. Only a miracle alters that. A miracle is certainly possible. We'll get to that in a moment. For now we discuss why Zorn's done. The team has taken on his identity. If Zorn's identity was great, the team would be.

Zorn's identity is part desperate, part unfocused and entirely uncertain. Thus, the team plays without focus, with desperation and without real identity. One touchdown is on a fake field goal. Another touchdown try is on a halfback pass by the end zone. He goes for it on fourth and 1 TWICE with the team up by 2 late in a game.

It's Week 2 of Season 2.

That's desperate. It's the mark of desperation. He doesn't think the team can score any other way. The players don't believe he can get them in the end zone any other way. It reeks of a lack of professionalism or clue. It reeks of Zorn, a man I actually like.

This team is a West Coast Offense. Kinda. Not really. We're a power running offense. Sometimes, not really. We're a spread-em-out, shotgun team. Here and there. Not really. We're unpredictible, trick play guys, once in a while and without ever setting it up well. We want to hit them deep, we just don't complete.

We don't do anything offensively because we do not stand for anything offensively. We treat drives like Chinese drip torture. Long, time-consuming, unproductive and ultimately ineffective. I've never seen a team capable of so many long drives that do nothing, including never tiring out the other team.

At least with Spurrier it was clear he had no way to adjust to what other teams were doing, so he would TRY to find a new identity every few weeks when the one play he found that worked got taken away. With Zorn, he's found things that work, but can't make himself keep doing it.

The Redskins are, plainly, TO EVERYONE, built to be a spread offense run out of the shot gun. There IS a reason Daniel and Colt appealed late in the draft or in free agency. Our players are built for that. Our line is built for that. Our QB is built for it. And it actually works.

But, Zorn can't embrace it as us. It'll work three times, then he'll slam an off-tackle play three more to punt. He'll force Campbell to do play action, which Campbell is about the weakest anyone has ever seen at doing, yet, it's there. Good play. Another. Then two tight ends and nothing.

We're not smash mouth. We're not big enough. We're not strong enough.

We can't do it. We could MAYBE do it later in games if we ever bothered to score early. But in Zorn you have a fundamentally normal, ball-control coach, who can never break out of his mold to adopt the mold of his players.

This team isn't moribund as Marty's was. It has some interesting things going for it. Some positives about how it performs. You can see it's maybe, kind of, close to being something. But the total lack of explosion in the offense is stunning.

Even on a drive with a good big play, we still manage 10 others. It boggles the mind. If we were efficient and scored with such an offense we'd be thrilled. It's the kind of demoralizing, can't-get-them-off, offense that crushes the will of teams.

It does require touchdowns and no mistakes. These are two things we're not actually able to do or limit.

Defensively it's not been great. It's been fine. This team can win with that defense, though it is not elite right now and with Hall's inability to close and tackle, won't be.

It's really the offense that defines us and the offense is Zorn's definition of us

The miracle requires he stop trying to be a little bit of everything and start being the only thing his team does well. Perfect it. Embrace it. Exist AS it. Make it what other teams KNOW you'll do. And then, add something else in. Get good at something. Make your players know that's who you are. Make everyone know that's who you are.

Only doing that solves the one key problem we have.

We're everything.

Which is why we score nothing.

[daskns4life7620]

This should be fun.. :munchout:

[Robbnva]

I really agree with this

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

tough to argue with most of that. zorn wont be fired though, unless you have an idea of who could take over and run the team.

[InsaneBoost]

Good read Art I enjoyed it.

[McD5]

I believe there is a huge chasm between how good you think our players are Art, and how good they really are.

And removing Dan and Vinny would accomplish much more.

Have a blast in Detroit, and let's hope we kick major ass.

[zoony]

I'd be okay with pulling the trigger if we had a really strong #2 guy somewhere on the coaching staff. For instance, San Fran would have made the playoffs last year had they fired Nolan in week 2.

However, if we take out Zorn mid-season with the current structure we'll implode like we did in 2000.

As for the offense, Zorn is trying to stuff a square peg in a round hole... with that I agree.

....

[KingGibbs]

Basically, it boils down to what I've been saying and that is, this team lacks identity on both sides of the ball. Yes? No?

BTW. I'm not quite ready to give up on Zorn.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

what still makes no sense is that zorn was brought here to run a WCO.....and most of the time it doesnt look like were running a WCO.

i wonder what offense zorn is actually running most of the time.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

Where's OM been at?!

[Main-Maine]

Yeah I agree it was a good read.

[boofMcboof]

I've been waiting for an Art post. When people say it's all about execution and players dropping TD passes, how can you not question the reliance of Mike Sellars to haul it in. If we're dependent on him catching those I think something is wrong.

[DGREENHULK]

Very good read...I just don't know about Zorn...on one hand I like fact he is a "TEACHER" of the game I think Zorn is very hands on in practice and in games...Now on the other hand it really makes me mad when he throws 99% of the failures on the players...that is B.S...IMO it's 70% Zorn and 30% the players....

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

I've been waiting for an Art post. When people say it's all about execution and players dropping TD passes, how can you not question the reliance of Mike Sellars to haul it in. If we're dependent on him catching those I think something is wrong.

sellers had no problem catching TD passes under gibbs in 05. he caught 12 passes that season, 7 were for TDs.

it was one drop, our offense shouldnt hinge on one drop from a proven and respected guy like sellers.

[MattFancy]

Can't argue with anything there Art. I think our main problem on offense is we don't have an identity. We're supposed to be a WCO, but we don't look like it most times. We try to be a power running team, but that doesn't work either. I think Zorn could be successful if he had a plan. He doesn't seem to gameplan for a team or make adjustments to take advantage of what's working. He just makes his play "script" and doesn't change much.

[Art]

I believe there is a huge chasm between how good you think our players are Art, and how good they really are.

And removing Dan and Vinny would accomplish much more.

Have a blast in Detroit, and let's hope we kick major ass.

Possibly, but, more likely the chasm is not with me and my evaluation, but more with Zorn and his refusal to evaluate. Meaning, it's likely true our players are not the greatest at some things. Like, for example, power running, play action, or even simple drop backs and short passes.

But, our players do some things well. Whenever we do it those things work. We just do so little of it as to be troubling.

[SMOSS89]

We'll go to the playoffs so this conversation will be irrelevant. This league is such a week to week league that we can't truly make judgements about Zorn until the end of this year. By the end of this year, I believe we'll have improved enough to go to the playoffs and thus save Zorn's job.

[Art]

I'd be okay with pulling the trigger if we had a really strong #2 guy somewhere on the coaching staff. For instance, San Fran would have made the playoffs last year had they fired Nolan in week 2.

However, if we take out Zorn mid-season with the current structure we'll implode like we did in 2000.

As for the offense, Zorn is trying to stuff a square peg in a round hole... with that I agree.

....

The current structure is fine. You have Buges. Make him head coach. It's not like our fallback is Robiske .

[Art]

We'll go to the playoffs so this conversation will be irrelevant. This league is such a week to week league that we can't truly make judgements about Zorn until the end of this year. By the end of this year, I believe we'll have improved enough to go to the playoffs and thus save Zorn's job.

We could go to the playoffs. We could go 5-1 here to start. But neither of those things is likely until the team becomes something. It has to be a team you recognize and KNOW what you're going to get to get consistency or achieve better than something middle of the road.

[Maximus71]

Well, rigth about the time I started to get my hopes up about Sunday... Now this,

[brianm23]

What I want to know is......what exactly has changed? Numbers don't lie.

2008 Total Offense

Rank 19th- Washing Redskins 320 yards/game

2009 Total Offense

Rank 19- Washington Redskins 317 yds/game

ps. I agree with you.

2008 Scoring

Rank 28- Washington Redskins 16.6 points/game

2009 Scoring

Rank 30- Washington Redsking 13 points/game

[Larry Brown #43]

While I'm not sure that Zorn deserves to keep the job beyond this season(and I wouldn't fire him mid-season for the reason zoony noted), I really wouldn't be comfortable with firing Zorn without the organization first taking a serious look at itself in the mirror to determine what it wants to be and who should be running the show.

I don't think Vinny is nearly as bad as some think he is. But he's not above reproach by any means, and he was instrumental in hiring Zorn. He doesn't get a pass for that in my book if Zorn turns out to be a flop. He was also instrumental in assembling much of the current roster. This is the second year now with Vinny at the helm. He is no longer shielded by Gibbs. He's the man now, and with that comes scrutiny.

Vinny has accepted a role as head of football operations, meaning the buck stops with him. I'm not even necessarily saying Vinny needs to go. But I just don't like the idea of firing a coach without also thinking about the front office structure and how it could improve, and discussing whether it's actually working.

We can fire Zorn and make him the fall guy, and then we can go hire another coach and make him the next fall guy, and so on. Or we can stop and think about just what the hell direction this franchise is headed, because we haven't won our division once this decade. And with the amount of financial resources we've poured into acquiring talent, that's pretty much unforgivable.

[bobzmuda]

Wow. We've gone from "we will run the Giants out of their stadium" to "fire the coach" in less than two weeks.

[Est.1974]

it was one drop, our offense shouldnt hinge on one drop from a proven and respected guy like sellers.

It didn't. It was more like;

JC under throwing Kelly - 7pts

Thomas dropping it - 4pts

Sellers dropping it - 4pts

a Moss Fumble - Potentially 3 pts, or more

Thats the first half alone.

Nice OP.

Desperation,unfocused, uncertainty,mistakes. We have seen alot of that thro' 2 weeks. The team needs a confidence boost and soon.

[Birdlives]

Zorn and every other coach under Snyder has been set up to fail by Snyder himself. He is the one true constant these past ten years. He is the one who has the most profound effect on how this team, its coaching staff, and players produce. It was never more evident than when he stated plainly, that in Zorn's first year he expected them to compete for a division title. He has no concept that it takes consistency and patience to build a team that can compete on an annual basis. If any Redskins team actually suceeds it will be in spite of Snyder, not because of him.