|
With another strong effort wasted, Redskins coach Jim Zorn glumly walks off the field after Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Quarterback Jason Campbell faced pressure from Eagles |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
ASHBURN--
It took 11 weeks, eight losses and 33 sacks of their quarterback, but reality has finally set in for the Washington Redskins.Their optimism has faded and perspectives have adjusted. On the heels of Sunday's 27-24 loss to Philadelphia, head coach Jim Zorn and his players realize that that this miserable season is, indeed, lost.
"It hurts," Zorn said yesterday. "It hurts the coaches, the ownership and the fans. There is nothing good about the end result. The only thing I can say is what we're pushing towards is that pride in doing a good job and being professionals."
Unlike after Washington's Week 3 loss to Detroit, when Zorn dropped jaws by proclaiming that the Redskins were "getting better" despite losing to a franchise that had lost 19 straight games, he acknowledged the storm clouds over Redskins Park that figure to intensify as the team plays out the string over the next five weeks.
"With the responsibility that every head coach has, the accountability factor is [the ultimate]," he said. "It makes the difference in success or failure. I certainly am accountable for our football season--no question about it--and I'll be held accountable."
And as Zorn waits to learn his fate--management has assured he'll finish the season--he must steer the injury-riddled Redskins (3-8) through this final meaningless stretch.
Players say they'll continue to put forth the same effort as they did when they believed the postseason was still a possibility. Some are auditioning for jobs elsewhere. Others could leave a lasting impression on the organization before possible sweeping changes are made.
Players at least haven't quit on Zorn yet, and they don't foresee the situation devolving to such depths.
"Each opportunity you get to go out and play, you want to play your hardest, regardless of the outcome," linebacker London Fletcher said. "Obviously, winning is the ultimate goal, but I think the thing that you do is at the end of the day when you know you've given it your all, you can feel a little bit better about everything."
Compounding the Redskins' bleak outlook is their dire injury situation. They placed tight end Chris Cooley and rookie defensive end Jeremy Jarmon on the season-ending injured reserve list yesterday. Washington now has three times as many players on injured reserve as it does victories.
The organization yesterday decided that it was not worthwhile to bring back Cooley with so little at stake, considering that Cooley's broken ankle has taken longer to heal than he originally hoped.
Losing Jarmon hurts because he's denied a prime opportunity to get five more games of experience. He tore the ACL in his left knee on Sunday while covering a kickoff that resulted in a touchback.
Team officials have said that Jarmon needs to get stronger, but now he'll have to focus his offseason efforts on rehabilitating his knee. He'll have reconstructive knee surgery, and the required rehabilitation time typically ranges from 6-12 months.
Meanwhile, Zorn will grit his teeth and push forward with several backups filling more prominent roles than the team originally hoped for.
"I'm going to call for them to dig down deep," Zorn said. "They've been doing that all year. We're not trying to create any fantasy that's not there. We kind of know what the real situation is for us. These have been excellent players, and I'm very proud of the way that they've played."
Rock Cartwright, one of six team co-captains, said he'll keep an eye out for signs of splintering.
"All I can do is try to do is stay positive and make sure guys don't be pointing the finger and make sure guys aren't having secret conversations talking about this and that," he said.
Cartwright doesn't expect any problems in that regard, though, even knowing that the situation could get worse before it improves.
"We have a great group of guys here," he said. "Guys are still fighting and competing. Guys are still coming to work every day trying to get better. That's what we're going to continue to do for the next five weeks until the season is over."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
