Sherman Lewis' Influence Already Being Felt By Washington Redskins

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Sherman Lewis hasn’t wasted much time.

He’s only been the de facto offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins for a couple of days, but his influence seems to already be coming across.

The Redskins shuffled two players onto the offensive roster and two off yesterday, releasing RBs Marcus Mason and Anthony Alridge in favor of RB Quinton Gaither and OT Levi Jones.

As our own Bleacher Creature Anthony Brown said about Gaither: “Who he?”

Since no running back has been able to get past the Redskins Swiss cheese offensive line this season, why make the switch at this position? It certainly seems strange on the surface, given that Mason is a staff favorite and Cerato added Alridge to the roster rather than adding an extra offensive lineman after Randy Thomas was placed on injured reserve.

The only logical explanation is the influence of Lewis.

Lewis must have taken the job with the idea that some changes had to be made, and that’s nothing but good. Head coach Jim Zorn clearly had no influence with the roster management, seeing how Alridge was added to the roster but not active for any games. Alridge was the fifth-string RB during the preseason and was viewed primarily as a kick returner.

With Zorn on the hot seat, it’s unlikely that he would have been willing to give up an offensive roster spot for a kick returner.

Replacing Mason with Gaither also smacks of a change by the new de facto offensive coordinator. Clearly uncomfortable with the running of Mason, perhaps Gaither fits better into Lewis’ plans.

It could also be that Gaither plays special teams and we know that Mason doesn’t, or that Lewis thinks Gaither can also backup at fullback. No matter what, the team simply did not need five tailbacks.

Jones is the more interesting addition. The team only started the season with four legitimate offensive linemen and a hole at right tackle, so why not sign Jones during the offseason?

He’s had a history with injuries and got whooped by Joey Porter during an infamous incident in Sin City in 2007. Jones has also spent his entire career at left tackle, and he might not have been able to make the transition to the right side.

However, it still would have been worth a shot. Stephon Heyer has manned the position so far this season, moving to left tackle after the injury to Chris Samuels. Heyer has been mediocre at his best, and may have potentially set an NFL record in giving up two safeties in consecutive weeks. If it’s not an actual record, you would have to think it’s a record for someone who remained employed the following week.

While it’s unlikely that Jones, who was released in May, will be ready to play this week, the team has a bye coming up. With three weeks of practice, he could be ready to take over at left tackle.

Whether Heyer gets his job back at right tackle is a question. Mike Williams, who started at right tackle last week, has been improving weekly, though may be a better guard at this point.

No matter who is at what spot when the music stops for the offensive line, it’s clear that Lewis’ influence is already being felt at Redskins Park.

Crazy season: who would have thought some measure of comfort would come from handing the reins to a guy who was calling bingo at a senior center three weeks ago?

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