Chiefs at Redskins: Holding The Line

Kansas City Chiefs (0-5) vs. Washington Redskins (2-3)
1:00 p.m. FedEx Field
There’s not a whole lot to say, so I’ll keep it short. Nothing less than two straight victories will save Jim Zorn’s job. The bye week is rapidly approaching, and unless they can pull off what seems to be a minor miracle by beating the Eagles next Monday, Dan Snyder appears ready to sink the season and start from scratch. On the plus side, Maryland Madness was this weekend. The Terps should be in the Top 25 and should be a fun team to watch. At least there’s that.

I hate to keep saying it, but this isn’t Zorn’s fault. I sound like a broken record at this point. Yes, there have been questions about clock management and in-game adjustments. But we all had the same questions about Joe Gibbs during his second go around. And I have a hard time blaming Dan Snyder. Sure he treats the fans like crap. But in terms of putting money into the team, you couldn’t ask for a better owner. He will buy a championship if he’s allowed to (and he may be able to next season). That’s all you can really ask for. I also root for the Orioles, whose owner always tries to go the cheap route and the team has been a laughingstock for a decade because of it. At least the Redskins are competitive most seasons. I never blame the owner for meddling with the team. It’s their millions and it’s their franchise. Only in the sports business is an owner “supposed to” send out all the paychecks and then keep his nose out of how the organization is run. If an owner of any other company did that, they’d be crazy and probably be bankrupt in no time flat.

I will remain on record as saying that Vinny Cerrato and Greg Blache (which I’ve gone over at great length) are the most to blame for this mess. Cerrato is here because of one reason: he’s a yes man. Snyder loves yes men. If Cerrato had any balls as a GM he would tell Snyder why it wasn’t such a good idea to sink $40 million into Adam Archuleta. He would stand up to Snyder and tell him to draft linemen instead of receivers. He would take responsibilities for some of the terrible moves he’s made instead of letting his coach twist in the wind. But he refuses to do any of that.

It’s because of Cerrato that the team had no capable backup to Chris Samuels last week. If they had one, the Redskins would have coasted to victory. They were up 17-2, and if they had depth at the offensive line, they would have run the Panthers into the ground. But they couldn’t. They couldn’t run or pass. Not with D’Anthony Batiste and Stephon Heyer as the two offensive tackles. Not with 350 pound (or 375…400…who knows) Mike Williams at guard. The only place the Skins could run was behind Casey Rabach and Derrick Dockery, and it didn’t take the Panthers long to figure out what the Skins were trying to do.

The offensive line was a problem last year. It was a problem in March, before free agency began. It was a problem in April before the draft. It was a problem during the summer, when teams made cutdowns and decent backups were on the market. Through it all, the Redskins and Cerrato decided to sign only Williams, who hadn’t played an NFL game in three seasons. Every Redskins fan could have told you that the main issue for the team was the offensive line. It wasn’t fixed in the off-season. I even said as much during my season preview. The Redskins were only going to play well as long as their offensive line was intact. They lost Randy Thomas a few weeks ago, and now Chris Samuels is going to be out until at least the bye week. I’m not saying that you have to have All-Pros waiting in the wings, but you have to have capable NFL bodies. Not Heyer, not Williams and not Batiste. This problem is on Cerrato. Period.

I said I would keep it short, so let’s move on the Chiefs. I expected Kansas City to finish around .500 this season. For those staring at their 0-5 record and laughing at me, a .500 finish could still happen. The Chiefs had to play the Ravens and the entire NFC East during the first six weeks of the season. Their loss to the Raiders was inexcusable (even though Matt Cassel didn’t play), but the other four losses were expected. And their schedule gets must easier the rest of the way. Kansas City is not as bad as their record indicates. They’ve been getting better week by week. They hung with the Giants for three quarters. They dominated the Cowboys and choked that game away. This really isn’t a bad team. They are a young team, but not a bad one.

The current problem for Kansas City is their former strength: the run game. The Chiefs had Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson in their primes. Holmes is long gone, and Johnson might as well be too. Johnson averages 4.4 yards per carry for his career, but is under 2.5 this season. The Chiefs line isn’t great, but the real problem is Johnson himself. The miles have finally caught up to him. Without him, or an effective backup (Jamaal Charles doesn’t count), the Chiefs offense is completely one dimensional. And since Cassel was hurt for the first few weeks of the season, even their passing game was dreadful.

Cassel is back, and close to 100% healthy. I expect the Chiefs to move the ball relatively well. The question will be how can the Redskins and their make-shift offensive line move against KC. Their secondary is well below NFL average, but their front seven is starting to come into their own. Again, they are young. But the talent is starting to show this season. Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey on the ends should be a force over the next five years for the Chiefs. Tamba Ali (who is hybrid who primarily plays OLB in KC’s 3-4 scheme), Demorrio Williams and Corey Mays also give the Chiefs hope of a solid linebacking corps in the future. And if Derrick Johnson’s head ever catches up to his natural talent, then this front seven is set until at least 2014.

This will probably be an ugly game in the first half. The Redskins will need at least a half to figure out what they can and cannot do with their offensive line. Kansas City will need at least a half to fool around with the run game until giving up and going to the air. It should be low-scoring and close, but what Redskins game isn’t? Hopefully the burgundy and gold can win this one, and try to save their season next week.