The Redskins this 2009 season are awful. We can barely beat the St. Louis Rams and we lost to the winless since December 2007 Detroit Lions. The team is NOT awful at anyone thing but quite a few things. Only Santana Moss & Chris Cooley can get open with any regularity, our play calling stinks, we can’t run the ball, we can’t stop the run and we apparently can’t stop anyone on third down (the Lions were 10-18).
This Redskins team looks completely out of touch and out of sync. The team does not look well conditioned at all. Does Coach Jim Zorn deserve all of the blame? No. Some of the fixes I will mention can take place after the season is over.
Here’s how I would fix this Redskins team:
1) Fire Vinny Cerrato. I’d like to fire Dan Snyder but, can anyone afford to buy the team? Maybe Richard Branson. Cerrato has been awful everywhere he’s been. First at Notre Dame, then in San Francisco, and now at Washington. Vinny is just not a good judge of talent. When is the last time we had a decent draft? We need a respected football guy in charge of the team like Gibbs had in Bobby Beathard. But, will any of the respected football guys want to work with a guy like Dan Snyder?
2) In the most recent history of the Redskins (since Joe Gibbs I), the Redskins have always had a better chance of winning when they establish the run and stick to it. I don’t know what the exact record is but, when a Redskins back runs for over 100 yards, we’re pretty good. Establishing the run also sets up the downfield passing game.
3) Put Mike Williams in at Right Tackle. And get Chris Samuels to the bench. Samuels just looks old. 8 years of lining up against some of the best defensive ends the NFL has to offer have taken its toll. He gets beaten regularly as does Heyer on the right side. The two stretch plays the Skins have run running to the left haven’t worked because Samuels couldn’t hold his end. Stephon Heyer is a natural Left Tackle so he would fair better on the left side.
4) Fire the training staff. Whoever hired these folks should be ashamed as many players look out of shape even after weeks of OTAs and training camp. We need some folks who will actually get these guys fit.
5) Bring in Mike Shanahan and demote Jim Zorn. I like Bill Cowher but, I think he will be in Carolina next year. Cowher lives in Charlotte so he won’t have to go far to work. Shanahan will help right the ship and get us back to where we need to be as a team. Last year, Zorn’s play calling was awesome in the first half of the year and dreadful in the second half. Sadly, that has continued over into this season. Let him concentrate on being a coordinator and getting back to being agressive on offense. As a head coach, Zorn looks like he is in over his head. Question remains, would Mike Shanahan want to work with a guy like Dan Snyder?
6) End the Orakpo experiment. Brian Orakpo is better at rushing the QB. Let him rush the QB full time like the Giants did with LT years ago. Orakpo just looks lost at LB in coverage. You can certainly move Orakpo around on the line to cause mismatches like the G-men would do with LT. Getting a pass rush is necessary because it creates problems for the opposing teams offense and we aren’t getting it right now on a consistent basis.
