BY RICH CAMPBELL
ASHBURN
--The Washington Redskins will put their new play-calling arrangement into action for the second time tomorrow when they visit the Atlanta Falcons, and they won't change much because they believe it worked well in its debut two weeks ago."It was flawless," offensive coordinator Sherman Smith said earlier this week. "We'll see if we can do it better, but we never got close to having a delay-of-game [penalty]."
Some players and coaches wondered aloud how the overhauled system would perform after having only seven days to install it last month. The Redskins lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-17, but execution--not play-calling--was their undoing.
To recap: head coach Jim Zorn had his play-calling responsibilities stripped by executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato after the Redskins' 14-6 loss to Kansas City in Week 6. Offensive consultant Sherm Lewis became the new play-caller despite having been employed by the team for only two weeks.
Lewis called the Redskins' passing plays from the coaches' booth using a color- and number-coded system because he is not yet familiar with the terminology of Zorn's West Coast offense. Lewis also decided whether to pass or run on each play. If he wanted to run, he told Smith on the sideline and Smith made the call.
Smith had never been so extensively involved in calling plays.
"It was cool," he said.
Smith relayed all the play calls from the sideline to quarterback Jason Campbell, who used a wristband to translate Lewis' calls into terminology he and his teammates have used since last season.
Campbell's wristband contained the entire offense.
"It was pretty cool because the play gets in a lot faster and we could get in and out of the huddle a lot faster," Campbell said. "It's like a book. You can flip the page."
Up in the booth, television cameras showed offensive assistant Chris Meidt helping Lewis on several occasions. Meidt declined to comment this week on how influential he was, and Lewis is not speaking to reporters.
Meidt, though, was pleased with the system's efficiency. He believes the process will improve over time.
"It's just Sherm's overall knowledge and comfort with the offense," he said. "He's working hard and asking a lot of questions just trying to get up to speed with what we do and how we do it."
Zorn admitted after the Eagles loss that he called some plays, specifically in the red zone and in the two-minute offense. He said yesterday the coaching staff was fine with his interjections, and they will continue.
As for whether Cerrato OK'd Zorn's involvement?
"I haven't asked him," Zorn said defiantly.
MITCHELL MAY GET CALL
Rookie wide receiver Marko Mitchell said yesterday that he expects to be active for Sunday's game.
The Redskins' offense is in desperate need of some production from a receiver other than Santana Moss, and Mitchell could get the opportunity to provide some after being inactive for the last five games. As the Redskins' fifth receiver, his playing time on offense will be limited, but he expects to be involved in specific packages in certain areas of the field.
"If it happens," he said, "I'm going to try to make a play."
Making plays in the preseason was how Mitchell made the team as an unheralded seventh-round draft pick. He led the Redskins in the preseason with three touchdowns and 11 catches.
He has yielded in the regular season, however, to second-year wideouts Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, in whom the Redskins invested second-round picks. As a result, Mitchell's chances to improve have come exclusively in practice.
"It was good for me because I'm getting to go against [starting cornerbacks] DeAngelo [Hall] and Carlos [Rogers] every day," he said.
Mitchell, who is a wiry 6-4, stood out in the preseason for his hands and speed. Zorn continues to see those as assets in practice.
"Here's one thing he does really well: When the ball is in the air, he goes and gets it," Zorn said. "He's got excellent hands. He catches with his hands. He's a tall target, and he really understands football."
FIRING BACK AT RIGGINS
Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' executive vice president of football operations, yesterday took his turn in responding to the piercing comments former Redskins running back John Riggins made about owner Daniel Snyder on Wednesday.
"You can't say Dan Snyder is a bad person," Cerrato said on "Inside the Red Zone" on ESPN980-AM. "You know, say what you want right now about the football, but we will get that fixed. But don't say that he's a bad guy. So John Riggins, I don't think he knows Dan Snyder as a person. To me, John is just trying to create noise to get himself noticed to create a job or something like that. That's my opinion.
"But say what you want about football, but you cannot say Dan Snyder [is a bad person]. He has done so many good things that people don't know about."
DANIELS GETS RECOGNITION
Defensive end Phillip Daniels received the team's Ed Block Courage award, which is given annually to a player on each NFL team who displays extraordinary courage in the face of adversity.
Daniels, 36, returned to the Redskins' starting lineup this season after tearing the ACL in his left knee on the first play of training camp last year.
"Going through it, I never doubted anything," said Daniels, who sometimes rehabilitated his knee for eight hours a day. "I never would have said it wasn't worth it. I would listen to people say that he can't do it and all this stuff. I was like, 'They don't know me.' I wanted to prove to people that you really can come back no matter what you're age is."
INJURY UPDATE
Linebacker H.B. Blades believes he will play on Sunday despite being less than two weeks removed from arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
He was seen running and cutting at practice yesterday as if nothing were ever wrong, a feat Zorn called "amazing."
"It feels good," Blades said. "No glitches at all, no pain, no nothing. Even [Thursday], I haven't even gotten on my medication yet and there's no swelling."
Punter Hunter Smith (groin), cornerback Byron Westbrook (knee) and tight end Chris Cooley (ankle) will not play Sunday.
The Redskins yesterday signed punter Sam Paulescu to replace Smith. They released running back Quinton Ganther to make room.
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
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