Obviously, our top story today is the return of Jim Zorn. No, he hasn’t gone anywhere, but the news is that he apparently will not go anywhere. As DC Pro Sports Report has written, Redskins GM/Enabler Vinny Cerrato asserted on his hideous radio show yesterday that Zorn will return as Head Coach in 2009. The good news is that the Redskins will have some coaching stability. Unfortunately, they apparently will also have some front office stability, as there are no plans for owner Danny-boy Snyder to fire himself as GM or Snyder as his GM/Enabler.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider makes the case that DE Jason Taylor, who had a great game on Sunday, but has been plagued by injuries most of the season, should not return in 2009 for $8 million. I agree. Taylor is too pricey and for that money the Redskins need 12-15 sacks from Taylor. We already know Taylor intends to spend the offseason in south Florida, working on his acting/model career, so don’t expect to see him at any team OTAs or other workouts. Taylor is a fine human being, I’m sure, and a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he’s older now and just doesn’t seem inclined to give football his full attention. The Redskins should realize they really screwed up by trading for him and just move on.
John Keim of the Examiner writes that the Redskins have tough, intimidating safeties and that rookie Kareem More is part of that package, with FS Laron Landry and SS Chris Horton. They form part of the strongest unit on the team, the secondary. Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache leans on that secondary, as he did last Sunday when he played lots of 7-DB defenses and rushed only 3 down lineman. It left QB Donovan McNabb with nowhere to throw the ball on most downs.
Keim also sees progress in rookie WR Devin Thomas, but that he still isn’t using his speed and he has a long way to go. Finally, the Redskins are not getting much out of the passing game on 3rd downs.
Campbell once again was efficient enough, but his longest pass completion was just 17 yards and he hasn’t completed a pass for more than 30 since the Oct. 26 win over Detroit. Campbell struggled mightily on third downs. He completed just two of nine passes for 19 yards on third down and was sacked twice. He did have a 19-yard scramble on one third and 12. Of the NFL’s top-20 third down passing leaders, Campbell is 16th with a 79.5 rating and his 5.90 yards per attempt are 19th — ahead of only Kansas City’s Tyler Thigpen. There is blame on others for the offensive woes, but Campbell deserves his share.
I agree that Jason Campbell isn’t faultless, but he has basically one decent wideout [Santana Moss] and teams are doubling down against the running game, leaving the Redskins in lots of 3rd and long situations. With the team’s poor pass protection, Campbell doesn’t have a lot of time to look downfield on long passing situations. It’s an offense-wide problem and won’t really be solved until the talent level at wideout and offensive line is upgraded.
PK Shaun Suisham, who has missed more field goals than any kicker in the NFL this year, still has the support of Jim Zorn. I’m not sure why. This is an obvious area of need in upgrade during the offseason. the good news is that Zorn plans a competition in next year’s training camp for Suisham and P Ryan Plackemeier, who had been terrible prior to his breakout performance against Philadelphia last Sunday.
Here is where the Redskins rank offensively and defensively. The offense is 20th in yards and 23rd in yards per play. The rushing game is 8th overall and the passing game is 23rd. The Redskins are 26th in offensive 3rd down efficiency, a stat that MUST improve next season.
Jason Campbell remains first in the NFL in interception percentage. He’s 17th in passer rating (84.3), tucked between Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb. Clinton Portis remains third in the NFL in rushing yards despite another modest output Sunday. He also is third in the NFL with 313 carries.
The defense moved up to fourth overall in the NFL. The Skins are eighth against the run and eighth against the pass. They are fourth in the NFL in points allowed per game. They are eighth in third-down efficiency. The only categories in which the defense is not elite, really, are forcing turnovers and sacks per pass play (28th).
Jason Reid of The Washington Post discusses the Zorn coaching situation.
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