Redskins at Bengals: Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent

Washington Redskins (7-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-11-1)
1:00 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium
The losing continues, the season remains on a downward spiral and a winning streak appears unlikely. I did say at the beginning of the season that I expected the Redskins to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs by a game. That appears to be what will happen. But when you start 6-2 and win two division road games, a 4-4 finish combined with a playoff birth becomes the minimum expected. At midseason, the expectations changed. As did the Redskins effort.

The Redskins never really had a chance to win this ballgame, and as usual, it had little to do with their opponent. The Ravens defense was everything it was advertised. But so was the Ravens lousy offense, which really only produced 10 points. The Redskins spotted Baltimore 14 points in the first five minutes of the game, and it went downhill from there. After that, it looked like the Skins were being coached by Romeo Crennel. They took no chances, very few shots downfield, and the play-calling was predictable. I know the team is banged up, I know the Ravens D is good, and since I was in attendance, I know that Jason Campbell had to deal a football that was frozen solid thanks to Arctic-like temperatures. That doesn’t mean you don’t go for it once and awhile at midfield on fourth and short. That doesn’t mean you throw downfield (over 20 yards) once in the entire game. That certainly doesn’t mean you take out one of the premier running backs, who is also one of the best pass blockers in the league, in the 2nd quarter. Jim Zorn has a lot of explaining to do after this loss, and he hasn’t done so.

The decision to bench Portis is certainly a curious one. Zorn claims it was because Ladell Betts is a better pass blocker and knew the protection schemes better. And since the Redskins fell behind early, that meant more passing. Any Redskins fan know that isn’t true. Portis may not have the best work ethic in the world, but he’s an outstanding blocker. He flattened Mathias Kiwanuka twice in the opening game against the Giants. He never shies away from a block, and that’s part of the reason Portis gets hurt all the time. Even when he isn’t carrying the ball, he’s getting hit. Betts on the other hand, has shown himself to be nothing more than an average pass blocker. I’m not sure where Zorn got this idea from, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

So far this season, we’ve seen Zorn come in and have immediate success. Then we saw the NFL adjust to his style. He has yet to counter that adjustment. This is NOT a fire Jim Zorn statement. I am not even close to entering the fire Jim Zorn camp which has grown the past month. I’m just stating the facts. He has not adjusted to the league’s adjustment. Some coaches learn how to do that quicker than others. Some coaches never learn it. It is unlikely that Zorn will do it this season. He needs to be given at least one more year to prove he can adjust to the NFL now that the NFL has adjusted to him. Remember, he’s still won seven games (and will likely get at least one more win) in his rookie season as a head coach. That’s pretty good and much better than what most experts said he would do.

That said, his failure to adjust to the NFL in the second half of the season is likely the factor that will keep the Redskins out of the playoffs. A close second is the injury bug that continues to decimate the team. Chris Samuels, welcome to the injured list. Who knows if Jon Jansen will be ready to go? Chris Horton showed a lot of promise and potential this season, but I doubt he sees the field again in 2008. Those are just a couple of the new injuries the Redskins have had to deal with this week.

Fortunately, the Redskins face a team that has a hundred times the problems they do. The Cincinnati Bengals check in with a 1-11-1 record and a top 3-4 draft pick waiting for them April. The Bengals defense is young, but was expected to be more talented than last year’s version. They haven’t been. Like the Redskins, their offensive line is in shambles. Cincy never found a replacement for Rudi Johnson at tailback. Finally, Carson Palmer has missed most of the season with injuries. Palmer’s absence has led to Ryan Fitzpatrick getting his second chance to start in the NFL. Fitzpatrick not being qualified to be an NFL quarterback has neutralized the Bengals best two players: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmrmxyzptlkramalamadingdongazadah. The Bengals offense stinks. The defense stinks. Marvin Lewis won’t survive the mess. When Palmer went down, the Bengals went from a 6-7 win team to a team that probably won’t get more than two.

I was actually able to keep an entry short! How about that. Anyway, the Redskins need to pound the middle of the Bengals defense. Their front seven is terrible, easily the worst front seven the Redskins have faced since the St. Louis game. I doubt the Redskins will take shots downfield, but the patient offensive approach should work in this game as long as the Redskins don’t get in their own way. Defensively, all the Skins have to do is allow Fitzpatrick to make his own mistakes, and they should get a win. If they somehow manage to screw this one up, than the fire Jim Zorn camp will grow much larger for the Skins final home game next week.