Redskins at Panthers: Consulting Firm

Washington Redskins (2-2) vs. Carolina Panthers (0-3)
1:00 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
Well, the Redskins won at least. And for at least one game, or at least one half, there was moderate improvement. The offense that showed promise last season showed up in the second half. We not only saw a touchdown drive, we saw a big pass play for the second week in a row. More on the offense in minute. Most importantly, we saw the defense play up to their capabilities. Not counting the touchdown pass, since the Buccaneers drive started at the Washington 10, the defense allowed only two real drives the entire game and surrendered six points. They stopped Cadillac Williams and company from running on them. They pressured Josh Johnson. I know Johnson is essentially a rookie, but he made some very good decisions to pull the ball down and run (however, he looked scared to throw the ball). It’s not a great measuring stick for the Redskins defense, but they at least put pressure on the quarterback and got off the field on 3rd down. It was some combination of the Bucs line being terrible and Greg Blache (who is no longer talking to the media) finally taking some chances with his decent front seven.

Now to the big story over the past week. The offense looked good in the second half, but apparently not good enough to stop Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato from hiring Sherman Lewis as an “offensive consultant”. I’m not sure what that means, and I’m not sure the Redskins know what this means. Jim Zorn was not consulted about the consultant before he was hired. As of Wednesday, Lewis had no set role in the Redskins coaching system. It had many people confused for several days.

Now, I figured out in two minutes what it took the local sports media two days to realize. Lewis was brought in as a security blanket and a back-up option for Snyder in case he wants to relieve Zorn of his coaching duties. One of two things are going to happen. The first option is that Zorn and Sherman Smith are going to get their offense clicking and the Redskins are going to start winning games. If that occurs, Lewis hangs around Redskins Park the rest of the season, gets a big fat paycheck from Snyder, is thanked for his service, and sent on his way at the end of the year. The second option is that the offense continues to struggle, the Redskins drop two of their next three games, Snyder gets rid of Zorn and promotes Blache (ugh) for the rest of the season, and Lewis becomes Blache’s offensive coordinator. The hiring takes place after another overall lackluster performance by the offense, and three weeks before the bye week (which would be the most likely time for Snyder to make a move). I heard columnist Mike Wise say that Snyder was simply “hedging his bets”. Lewis is one of the godfathers of the West Coast Offense, so I’m sure he has some insight to share with the rest of the class. If things get real ugly in the next month, then Lewis has had about 30 days to familiarize himself with the players and personnel, and can be ready to call plays for his good friend Blache. There’s also a third option. With Sherman Smith already on the coaching staff, maybe Snyder wants to start building a coaching staff of just people named Sherman. It’s a reach, but I still leave it out there as a possibility.

In essence, this was the right move by Snyder, but it was done in typical-Snyder fashion. Let’s say the Redskins lose two of their next three. The Skins are 3-4 going into the bye week. Zorn gets fired. In the NFL, 3-4 is not nearly bad enough to give up on the season. You certainly don’t want to tell an already unhappy fan base that you are conceding the season in the first week of November. It’s also likely that there will be a host of 9-7/8-8 type teams competing for the last two playoff spots in the NFC. Whatever the case may be, if Snyder wants to go through with a change, then it makes sense to start preparing for it now so the rest of the season doesn’t go down the drain.

But, there are better ways to do it. You don’t send Cerrato out to a press conference admitting that he doesn’t know what roll Lewis will serve. Hell, make up a roll. Just don’t tell the media that you don’t know. Secondly, don’t have Cerrato doing the press conference in the first place. Snyder should have been out there himself, and while announcing the hiring, should have given Zorn a vote of confidence at the same time. Finally, it’s common courtesy to at least inform the head coach that this is about to happen. You can’t just drop it on him.

Whatever the case may be, it added a lot of unnecessary drama to a team that doesn’t need any more of it. It complicated what will be another difficult week for the Redskins, as they face their toughest test since opening week. In the standings, the Carolina Panthers are easy to ignore at 0-3. The offense has 12 turnovers in three games. The defense is ranked 23rd in the league and has given up more than 350 yards of offense a game. John Fox, for the first time in a long time, is on the hot seat. Things may be uglier in Charlotte than they are in Ashburn and Landover.

However, this game would not be easy for any team, especially a Redskins team that always plays down to its competition. The Panthers lost their three games to Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas. So it’s not as if they’ve played three sisters of the poor. The Panthers get this game at home, where they were 8-0 during the regular season last year. Plus, the Panthers are coming off their bye week and have had two weeks to prepare for this game. One of my favorite stats continues to be the one that focuses on the win percentage of teams coming off their bye playing teams that don’t come off one. The team that had the bye week wins nearly 75% of the time. So, when the Redskins had to play four teams coming off their bye week in 2006, it was if the schedule already handed them three losses.

Just like the Redskins, I think the Panthers are simply too talented to struggle like this all season. Jake Delhomme’s problems have been well documented. He’s been a deer in headlights since his five interception performance against Arizona in the playoffs. However, this team still has Steve Smith, Muhsin Muhammad, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart (who may not play due to an achilles injury) on offense. That’s a load of talent. Defensively, Carolina has showed signs of putting things together in the last two weeks after a rough debut against the Eagles. They too have plenty of talent with Julius Peppers, Na’il Diggs, Jon Beason and Chris Gamble still on the squad. No, this isn’t the same team that had a deadly pass rush just a couple of seasons ago. But they are still fast, and they still apply plenty of pressure on the quarterback.

The big question mark is Delhomme. This is a quarterback who has been to the playoffs several times. He led the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII and played well in the game. He’s had several arm surgeries, but has come back with success each time. He has a lifetime completion percentage around 60%. He has 34 more touchdowns than interceptions. It’s not as if he’s unproven. It’s not as if he’s never had success. I don’t fully comprehend his recent struggles. It just seems like he hasn’t been the same quarterback since the end of last season. But it’s hard to argue that he’s a good quarterback right now. He has two touchdowns and seven picks. He has never been mobile. Carolina’s line is not what it once was. All a defense has to do is get someone in his face, and he tends to force his passes. Are you listening Blache?

Once again, the NFL has handed the Redskins a team with a quarterback who can’t move and tends to make bad decisions if rushed. You saw what the Redskins defense was capable of last week when they pressured Johnson. Blitzing Delhomme should be a no-brainer. Offensively, the Redskins HAVE to establish the run. The Panthers are dead last in the NFL in rush defense. They’ve been gashed for nearly 183 yards per game on the ground. This is the game for Mike Sellers to finally start living up to that contract extension he just signed. He’s been non-existent since signing it, and he’s been too busy picking fights with Clinton Portis in the locker room. Time for Mike to put up or shut up. The Redskins must run the ball to win this game. So with the vultures circling, maybe the Redskins bread and butter will finally show up and lead the offense to some success.