Article:Washington Redskins Thumbs Up/Down

http://dcprosportsreport.com/?p=2086

Thumbs Up/Down
By Spence | December 8, 2008

 THUMBS UP

MLB London Fletcher has been hurt for weeks, missed practice time and was only certain to play hours before the game. Nevertheless, Fletcher had 10 tackles and shut down the Baltimore rushing game until midway through the 4th quarter, when fatigue set in and the Ravens asserted their physical dominance over an inferior Redskins team.

FS Laron Landry is the main reason the Redskins were not shut out. With the offense utterly incapable of mounting a drive of its own, Landry grabbed a nice interception over the middle and then forced a fumble from a Ravens running back. Those two turnovers led to all the points Washington scored.

 THUMBS DOWN

The Offensive Line was ugly again, not communicating with each other to react to the Baltimore blitzing scheme and [predictably]  not opening holes for the running game. I don’t think anyone, including the Redskins, expected they would be able to run on the Ravens, but the utter lack of blocking in the passing game was disappointing and depressing. The players often didn’t seem to know who to block. That speaks poorly of them and the offensive coaching staff.

Head Coach Jim Zorn just didn’t seem to have his offense ready to play. Admittedly, the Ravens are a tough defense, but other teams have managed to look professional, if not exceptional, against Baltimore. Washington’s offense looked confused, depressed and overwhelmed. At this point, it is understandable that the offense lacks confidence. Bad teams probably shouldn’t have confidence in themselves. But this offense has just gotten worse as the season has progressed. It still isn’t making any big gains through the air, but now it is more prone to turning the ball over. This is Jim Zorn’s offense. He designed it and he called the plays. It is time for him to stop blaming the players for everything and accept some blame. He’s earned it.