|
A Redskins fan expresses her feelings about Sherman Lewis calling plays in place of head coach Jim Zorn.
Washington's Rock Cartwright (31) is brought down near the end zone. Washington scored a touchdown on the drive.
Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson (10) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Jason Avant. |
LANDOVER, Md.
--Anyone who's ever taken a math class has pulled his or her hair out trying to solve an equation that has more variables than Jay-Z has cars. It's that way with the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, who have so much wrong with them that it's impossible to decipher.Last night's nationally televised bludgeoning by the Philadelphia Eagles exposed the Redskins' myriad problems. But it did little to pinpoint just where to begin in solving them.
In trigonometry, two negatives cancel each other out and result in a positive. That's not the case with the Redskins, for whom multiple wrongs don't make a right.
Sherm Lewis' play calls didn't look much different from Jim Zorn's. (In other words, mostly ineffective.) But then, no strategy looks good when your quarterback can't hit his receivers.
So Jason Campbell's the culprit, right? He fails to look off his primary targets, he's indecisive and inaccurate on the move (and sometimes while stationary), and he turns the ball over way too often. Even when he hits his man, it's rarely in stride.
It's easy to conclude that the Redskins were right to try to replace Campbell in the offseason.
Not so fast. Yes, Campbell has plenty of faults, and (like Zorn) he probably won't be back in 2010. But how can you blame him when he has a sieve of an offensive line allegedly protecting him, and no running game to speak of? Campbell's not the fleetest afoot, and he's a poor fit for Zorn's West Coast offense.
Plus, he lost his favorite target early last night when Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley went down with an apparent ankle injury that looked pretty serious. And we saw last week that backup Todd Collins' 2007 magic may have been a flash in the pan.
OK, blame the line. It's what's up front that counts.
But without Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas, these are castoffs, has-beens and never-were's. The starting tackles are a couple of ne'er-do-wells--an undrafted free agent (Stephon Heyer) and an overweight veteran (Mike Williams) who sat out three full seasons. Heyer was outclassed by Eagles end Trent Cole and was called for holding twice.
It's gotten so bad that Levi Jones, whom the Redskins signed just last week, was active last night. And even if Clinton Portis didn't look like a tailback with a lot of mileage on him, he rarely finds an opening, anyway.
Well, the offense is clearly a mess. But at least the defense has kept the Redskins competitive against the dregs of the NFL through their first six games, right?
Um
On the fourth play from scrimmage last night, the Redskins surrendered a 67-yard touchdown run to Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson. Three Washington defenders had angles on Jackson, but couldn't catch him.
Then, with two minutes left in the first half, the Redskins inexplicably let Jackson get behind them for an easy 57-yard touchdown catch--on third and 22. Safety Chris Horton appeared to be the man who forgot a cardinal rule. Washington's secondary is full of high draft picks who are mediocre at coverage and poor tacklers.
OK, all isn't hopeless. We'll give the Redskins' front four credit. For the first time in years, they're getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks without resorting to blitzes. Albert Haynesworth isn't worth $100 million, but he's improved a unit that desperately needed it. Andre Carter, one of the main beneficiaries of Haynesworth's arrival, is playing like a Pro Bowler and had a sack of Donovan McNabb (giving him 61/2 for the season).
But one strong unit does not a football team make. It's very trendy (and not incorrect) to point fingers at Vinny Cerrato, who's responsible for assembling this expensive train wreck of a team.
Still, you wonder how many of those costly decisions were made by Cerrato and how many have Daniel Snyder's fingerprints on them. He's not talking, but the results speak for themselves.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
Email: sdeshazo@freelancestar.com
