Redskins at Lions: When It Rains, It Pours

Washington Redskins (1-1) vs. Detroit Lions (0-2)
1:00 p.m. Ford Field
The fans are booing, the media is panicking and the sky is falling. And the Redskins won. Imagine what it would be like if they’d lost.

I think it’s fair to say that we were all expecting more from the Skins in their game last weekend. A 9-7 win over the lowly Rams is hardly convincing and hardly reassuring. It’s become painfully obvious that there are issues with play-calling on both sides of the ball. The decision making and execution has to get much, much better inside the redzone or this team will continue to fail. The Redskins must make a concerted effort to pressure the quarterback, or better teams will take advantage of it. The team must put their play-makers in a position to do so, or it will quickly become a wasted year.

However, to say that the season is already over is a bit too much. I think the rumors of the Redskins 2009-10 demise are a bit premature. If you looked around the NFL last week, there were several curious results and there are several teams in a much deeper hole than Washington. Green Bay was dominated at home by an inferior Cincinnati team. Pittsburgh’s defense looked mortal without Troy Polamalu, a problem that will probably hang with the team until he returns. Tom Brady’s knee is certainly not as healthy as the Patriots are letting us know, and the future of that team and its quarterback is up in the air. The Titans and Panthers are 0-2, but you don’t see the media burying either of those teams, despite playing in two tough divisions. But according to everyone else, the league’s biggest problem spot is here in the District.

Suddenly, the Detroit Lions have become the popular pick this weekend to beat the Redskins. These are the same Detroit Lions that were 0-16 last season. The same Lions that are on a 19-game losing streak. The same Lions that have already been outscored by 32 points in only two games (which is bad enough to be 30th in the league in point differential). The same Lions that are starting a rookie quarterback with a rookie head coach in charge. The same Lions that have gone through general managers with a higher frequency than Dan Snyder has gone through head coaches. The same Lions that possess maybe two players that the rest of the league would want on their team. These are the Lions that are being touted on ESPN and other networks as almost a sure thing to upset the Redskins this week.

The Lions do have several things going for them. First, as long as they keep losing, there is the ever growing pressure on their opponents to not be the team that allows Detroit to snap their streak. No team wants to be in the background of a SportsCenter highlite as the Lions are celebrating on the field. The pressure was on Minnesota last week, and it took them two quarters of football to overcome it. Detroit has no pressure. If they lose, so what? They’ve already gone 0-16. It can’t get any worse. What’s another loss…or two…or five?

Second, the Lions have to be looking at last week’s film from the Skins and thinking “This is our week…these guys are ripe for the taking.” They also have to be glancing at their schedule and they probably see no winnable games until they host the Rams on November 1st. Even though I think some of the so-called experts have gone out of control with their “Lions will win this week” predictions, I will admit that of the four games leading up to their meeting with St. Louis, this game provides the Lions their best chance to snap their streak before then. So a little desperation mixed with a little confidence can be a dangerous combination.

Finally, the Lions now employ Jon Jansen. Jansen spent the last decade here in Washington. If anyone knows the Redskins, and the strengths and weaknesses of all the players, it’s Jansen. I’m sure his time here will help provide Detroit with a decent blueprint in how to beat the Redskins.

Before you start resembling Chicken Little and go running for your umbrella, remember that these are still the Lions. There is a reason they haven’t won since mid-December of 2007. They aren’t good. They are terrible. They may be the worst team assembled since the Buccaneers of the mid-70’s. Sure the Redskins have their problems. Sure there are now question marks on the offensive line with the loss of Randy Thomas. Sure Clinton Portis’ ankle injuries are disconcerting considering it’s only Week 3. But the Lions issues and problems far exceed those of the Redskins. They have NO offensive line. Their rookie quarterback has resembled Alex Smith much more than Matt Ryan in his first two games. The Lions defense is awful against both the pass and the run. And most importantly for the Redskins, the Lions defense finished dead last in redzone efficiency last season. For an offense that has had major trouble punching the ball into the endzone, that’s a welcomed sight.

Ultimately, this game is going to come down the Redskins ability to run the ball and finish drives inside the redzone. The Skins haven’t gone three and out a whole lot this year. They have no problems picking up a few first downs, changing field position and moving the ball. They just can’t get out of their own way inside the opponent's 20. A lot of that has to do with the play-calling. Some of that is just poor execution, especially with the running game. Jim Zorn must change the strategy in the redzone. They were in there four times against the Rams, and they ran each time on first down. Of the 16 plays run in the redzone, nine were runs, four were passes and three were field goals. One of those passes was a bizarre half-back pass. The five-yard line is not the place to get cute. Again, Detroit is a team that has a terrible redzone defense. I think the Redskins will click soon, and this defense may be the catalyst.

As with the last two weeks, putting pressure on the quarterback is the defensive key. Young Matthew Stafford has looked ordinary at best. But they shouldn’t let him have time to find Calvin Johnson. If they do, I’m sure he’ll be able to hit him a few times. The earlier he gets hit, the more likely he’ll be to make mistakes for the rest of the game.

There is always an uneasy feeling going into a game like this if you are a Redskins fan. This is a team that routinely makes easy games hard. They haven’t won a game by more than eight points since Zorn started here. The job security questions for Zorn have already been raised. Most of it is the media feeding itself and convincing themselves that he’s is actually on thin ice. They already have their columns written if the Skins somehow drop this one. They’ll take their shots at the Redskins and Snyder, and they’ll try to run Zorn out of town. They are prepared for the sky to fall. Does Zorn have an umbrella?