Time for Trust: Redskins Coach, QB Need To Be On Same Page

Trust no one unless you have eaten much salt with him.
                                                                         - Cicero


The Washington Redskins 2008 season left everyone—fans, players, and ownership—with a very bad taste in their mouth.

Despite all the money spent in the offseason re-tooling the Redskins defense, it will not be the end-all, be-all factor that determines whether or not the 2009 Washington Redskins improve on the collapse of last season. 

Both Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell were brought to D.C. with the idea that they would lead the Redskins out of the days of overpaid, under-performing mediocrity and usher in a new era of dominance. Zorn is said to have the tutelage and know-how to run the West Coast Offense, Campbell said to have the ability to be the offensive leader.

Or so we all thought. After a blistering start to the 2008 season, the team fizzled in the second half, mainly due in part to the inability to put points on the board. The collapse led to murmurs about Zorn's job and numerous attempts to find a replacement for Campbell.

Despite all the of the uproar over both the head coach and quarterback position, both men have been mostly silent and taken the high road, and (for now) will lead the Redskins into the 2009 season. 

In order to quiet all the nay-sayers, both men need to use the 2009 campaign to prove each other's worth by allowing each other to do what they do best. Campbell the Arm and Zorn the Brain need to understand that their counterparts have the ability to achieve what both men want to do: win.

You can't win football games if you don't score points. Before the Redskins bye week, the Redskins were averaging 19 points/game, with Campbell averaging 202.6 yards/game. After the bye, the Redskins scored only 13.4 points/game, with Campbell throwing 170.2 yards/game. Why the drop off?

Zorn stopped letting Campbell throw long. The Redskins failed to complete a pass over 30 yards the second half of the season. While the West Coast Offense is designed to be an offense based on short timing routes, once a defense knows there is no threat of a big play, the offense gets spread thin.

Jim Zorn needs to trust that Jason Campbell can and will toss the ball where it needs to be.

The weapons are there in the speedy Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El, and with the development of the prototypical long-and-tall West Coast receivers in Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, the ability to move the ball downfield in big clumps of yards needs to be an option for this offense.

It will allow more room for receivers and tight ends to pick up YAC on the shorter routes, and take some of the pressure of Clinton Portis, the only decisive playmaker on the 2008 team.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Jason Campbell needs to trust that Zorn's offense will work on the field. Campbell was plagued in 2008 by holding on to the ball too long, a mortal sin in the West Coast Offense.

The Redskins were sacked 38 times, fifth most in the NFC last season.  While some sacks can be blamed on a piece-meal offensive line toward the end of the season, holding on to the ball only leads to sacks or turnovers.

Campbell needs to trust the receivers on his team and the routes that are presented to him in the huddle. If options run out, Campbell can benefit from his ability to use his feet. He was the NFC's leading rushing QB last season.

While the results of last season don't show it, the pieces are there for the Redskins to have a very well-run passing game. If the two men responsible for the success of the passing game don't begin to trust one another on the field, both Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn will end the 2009 season with a very similar taste on their tongue.