Jim Zorn: WIlling To Mix it Up

By John D. McKinnon, Jr.


Art Monk, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald have all proven that big and talented receivers can change the entire tone of an offense. In fact, that one player can be the difference in a mediocre offense and one that keeps opposing defensive coordinators up at night. For the past two seasons it’s been evident the Washington Redskins have needed some size at wide-out. Santana Moss, Antwaan Randel-El and others have occasionally made big plays but more often than not, their lack of height and mass have worked against them. Santana Moss, though blazing fast and talented, stands maybe at about 5’8 with Randel El maybe an inch or two taller.

Last year by mid-season, the Redskins were the only NFL Team without one wide out to cross the end-zone for a touchdown. Ironically, on November 11th against the Eagles the Redskins finally managed three touchdown passes to wide outs James Thrash (6’0 200) and Keenan McCardell (6’1 190). It seemed Gibbs and company had figured it out and even acquired former Giant’s receiver Anthony Mix (6’5 235). However, the Gibbs II regime stayed true to form and acquired Mix only to stand on the sidelines and play special teams (i.e. T.J. Duckett, Reche Caldwell and Brandon Lloyd).

When Jim Zorn was hired as an offensive coordinator and eventually (default) Head Coach, I was very critical of the move. In fact, the move supported the theory that Dan Snyder had no clue how to run a football team. A couple of weeks ago, the Redskins brought in free agent wide receiver D.J. Hackett whom Zorn coached during his time as an offensive coordinator in Seattle. Zorn liked Hackett (6’2 200+) but informed him he wouldn’t overpay for his services. A couple of days later Hackett signed on with Carolina for an undisclosed amount. I have to commend Zorn for his honesty and his backbone in the situation. After all, that type of candor has been a- synonymous with Redskin coaches since Gibbs I.

Zorn in a recent interview mentioned Anthony Mix stating, “Wow, he's a big receiver. He's going to get an opportunity.” Zorn spoke of Mix and his size and even alluded to increasing his playing time contingent upon his performance. Mix humbly showed his appreciation for the compliment while accepting the challenge by stating, “It makes me feel great that they've identified me as being someone who has the talent, so that they want to give me a chance.” Mix continued, “I'm not nervous at all about it. I'm excited about it. A lot of people wait for that big break; this might be my big break.” How refreshing is that for Redskin’s fans? To have a guy with potential that’s getting paid a minimum salary and can’t wait to prove himself in conjunction with a coach that’s willing to give him a try and use him to the team’s advantage? Personally, it sounds better than anything I’ve heard in a long time coming from Redskin Park between February and September.

Of course this may not work out at all and Zorn could be a flop. However, if that’s the case, at least the Redskins aren’t overpaying players (so far) and appear to be focused on building through the Draft. So even the worst case scenario should materialize a lot better than it did during the Norv Turner years when “Over The Hill” guys like Deion “Past Prime Time” Sanders and Bruce “If we played one more down I know I’d get a sack” Smith robbed the Skins blind with little production in return.

Zorn appears to be moving this team in the right direction, which may be a testament that the Redskins may be on their way to more championship Seasons. I’m not going to ask Tony Kornheiser to reserve a spot for me on the “Bandwagon” just yet but I can’t resist being cautiously optimistic about the coming season. After all, with Jim Zorn putting guys like Anthony in the Mix (pun intended), how could a true Redskin fan not be excited?

Hail To The Redskins! Fightforalldc.blogspot.com

America's Dream

By John D. McKinnon, Jr.


It’s been only a little over a month since the end of the ’07 NFL season and as we know this is the worst time of year for football fans. Waiting and anticipating our respective team’s next free-agent move or awaiting a blockbuster trade is all that we can cling to right now. In an effort to break the monotony of this miserable period, I’m going to bring in a little controversy. You guys wouldn’t mind that would you? I didn’t think so.

I am going to take this time to break down "America's Team." For those of you that have been napping for the past few decades, “America’s Team” is a moniker for the most over-rated bunch of (sorry I must remain objective); I mean the Dallas Cowboys. In 1979, Bob Ryan, the former editor-in-chief for NFL films, called the Dallas Cowboys “America’s Team” while producing a documentary with the same name. This nickname was also given to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Boston Celtics in the same reference but somehow the Cowboys have assumed the unofficial rights to it.


In the 70s and parts of the 80s Dallas boasted some legendary players, such as Randy White, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Tony Dorsett and Drew Pearson. Though Redskin’s fans disliked these guys they could appreciate the fact that they were granted their accolades based on their performances as opposed to media hype. Fortunately the Redskin’s had some legends of their own that handled Dallas during the first Gibbs era. As a writer and a football fan, I’ve always appreciated pure talent against talent.

Lately at the beginning of every season the mediots and former Cowboys from ESPN, ordain them [Dallas] Superbowl Champions every season regardless of their previous record. For the first few weeks of the 2007-2008 season it seemed too many Dallas fans thought that their team was destined for the Superbowl. In fact many held on to that hope after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins late in the season. Is Dallas really the juggernaut that many Dallas fans (mostly the one's that don't watch or even know football) are making them out to be or are they a grossly overrated team that benefited from a weak schedule and receives biased support from officials every week? Well to be fair, let’s take a look. Dallas though having one of the weakest schedules in the NFL (not their fault but is in conjunction with the overall point, be patient) maximized their efforts last season and beat the teams they should have beaten. This is something Dallas or the Redskins have not done consistently in years, so Kudos. However, when Dallas faced a stout defense, (i.e. Redskins, Carolina, Eagles, and somehow Bills, etc.) they looked very mediocre. It's laughable how Dallas fans that don't know football (my favorites) attribute Dallas' success to them being better than any other team in the Universe because of the publicity they receive. However, when they play good teams and look average or sub-par, some of their fans are dumbfounded and wonder what happened (i.e. Jessica Simpson, minds weren't in to the game, etc.) Tony Romo has struggled (check the stats) with mid to upper level defenses in his first two years. However, he has a strong arm and having Terrell Owens has been a tremendous benefit. He doesn't always make the best decisions (one of the league leaders in interceptions thrown) however he makes good reads and has had time to throw due to an upgrade on the O-line. Now is Romo the future Hall Of Fame quarterback that he's already being ordained to be? John Madden (a guy who knows a little about football) acknowledged Dallas' offense looks very mediocre without the presence of Terrell Owens. Against good defenses Dallas' offense has looked great at times but has struggled even with Terrell Owens in the lineup. Without Terrell Owens this offense is futile. So once again, is Romo really as great as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman believe? After all, Peyton Manning had gone without Marvin Harrison all season and the Colt's offense hadn't broken stride.

Marion Barber made the ProBowl this year despite several other candidates gaining more yardage (no that’s not the only barometer.) He was nicknamed the "Barbarian" by some of his team-mates. Barber is a very strong, stocky running back that stays low to the ground. He runs well behind a large Offesive line that’s adept at run blocking. However, he didn't look anything like a "Barbarian" (maybe Thundar but certainly not Conan) in the last week of the regular season against the Redskins with 6 carries for minus six yards. Thinking back to every other Pro Bowl running back as far as I can remember, I've never seen that in my 25+ years of watching and understanding football. Does the presence of TO open up the running game since Defenses have to honor his presence as opposed to focusing on the running game, or is Barber really on Jim Brown's level and the loss against the Skins just a meaningless game? After all, for the past two years this guy was a situational back (short yardage, goal-line) but maybe he really is that good. Jason Witten has emerged as a good tight end. However, since TO wasn't in the lineup once again he was not able to exploit the holes in a weak zone Defense. When he's played man to man by a good defender he looks a lot like he did in the last few weeks of the season.

Now Dallas' front seven is a strong group collectively. However, the secondary is very overrated and Roy Williams is one of the worst starting safeties in football as far as coverage. However because of the name and facade of Dallas he's a lock for the ProBowl as well.

Wade Phillips looked pretty good as the first year Dallas coach, however does anyone want to take a stab at his playoff record? Anyone, Anyone, Bueller? 0-3. Yet some of their fans and media alike are calling them next year's Superbowl favorites already. Superbowl? Wow! I’ve always been under the auspices that teams must win at least one playoff game before they can make it to the Superbowl and definitely to win it.

People can say what they want, Dallas always has and always will benefit from the phantom calls (game changing calls like pass interference) that conveniently occur when their having trouble moving the ball. Hopefully some of that will be rectified next year, when the league allows other teams to challenge any call that can affect the game. Despite this fact, our beloved Redskins have beaten them the past 4 out of 6 times. Many Dallas fans would probably refute that and say “but they’ve beaten the Redskins numerous times during the Norv Turner era.” I would respond by saying, “who didn’t?” During that span the Redskins had a better overall record than guess who? You got it America's Team (as always feel free to do the research). However, it appeared their goal was to only beat the Redskins and appeal to the aforementioned uninformed fan base.

I have spoken to a few Cowboy fans that don’t drink the blue and gray Kool-aid and actually know the sport, as opposed to being individuals that just want them to beat the Redskins.) I may be a ranting homer that hates Dallas with a passion and just refuses to acknowledge their greatness in every aspect of football. Or this could actually be a substantive article that attacks a gray area that most won't acknowledge.


Hail To The Redskins!

Fightforalldc.blogspot.com

Teams Cannot Live By Veterans Alone

By John D. McKinnon, Jr.

As the 2008 season approaches, the Washington Redskins like many teams have holes to fill. After a season marred by untimely injuries and underachievement the Redskins need to solidify their team. The Skins have not proven they can develop and maintain cohesion with its existing group and that’s very indicative of why they have a new Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator after the last four seasons have not reaped rewards of their investments.

Firstly, the Redskins are not the least talented team in the league, in fact (when healthy) they might be one of the most talented the NFL has to offer. One problem that has plagued the Redskins is their top-heavy roster. In other words, they simply don’t put too much stock in back-up or role players. Usually when a starter goes down the Skins are left with a backup that’s just happy he made the final preseason cut but certainly not someone that can make an impact.

If the Redskins followed the blue-print they could rectify this situation in the upcoming Draft. As stated before, the major issue isn’t talent, its lack of youth and depth which is a recipe for disaster in the football world. Our injury plagued, talent laden, thirty-something Offensive Line is indicative of the fact that we cannot survive on vets alone. Randy Thomas is one of the best pulling guards in the NFL and John Jansen is a solid right tackle. Thomas and Jansen have both missed most of the past two seasons with injuries which left coaches struggling to find substantial reserves.

If I’m a coach or a General Manager, I’d rather have solid, serviceable first tier players and backups with comparable abilities, rather then injury prone, aging stars with future high-school coaches backing them up. In today’s game Teams cannot live on vets alone and their survival is contingent upon what they do in the Draft.


Hail To The Redskins!