Jim Zorn Is Out of His League As Redskins' Head Coach

The Redskins evened their record at 1-1 with their underwhelming defeat of the visiting St. Louis Rams. A win is a win in the NFL, but a 7-9 win over the worst team in the NFL raises questions for the team.

It is difficult to place the blame on any one player or coach so early in the year because there are plenty of games left to play.

That being said, if Jim Zorn doesn't step up his red-zone play calling, the Redskins are never going to beat the better teams in the NFL.

Pete Prisco wrote in his Week Two grades that "Jason Campbell was efficient, but he didn't make it happen in the red zone."

There is no doubt that Campbell was efficient against the Rams, completing 23 of 35 for 242 yards, but claiming he came up short in the red zone is absurd.

In the four red-zone appearances, Zorn called five passes to nine runs. Four of the passes were thrown by Campbell, and one by Clinton Portis.

All of Campbell's throws reached the end zone, two were off target and the other two were dropped. Two touchdown passes were dropped, one by Devin Thomas the other by Mike Sellers.

Jim Zorn didn't call a single pass play in the red zone after the first quarter.

He did call a halfback option for Portis, who overthrew Chris Cooley in the end zone.

Zorn's playcalling seemed to shy away from the passing game despite Jason Campbell having led several drives to the red zone through the air.

In 18 games as head coach for the Redskins, Zorn's offense has scored 20 or more points on seven occasions. Of those seven outings, only two of the opposing defenses ranked in the top 10 for NFL defenses.

Jim Zorn may be heading into his final 14 games as head coach of the Washington Redskins. Sadly enough, if he goes, so does Jason Campbell.

Jason Campbell has performed to the best extent that Zorn's play calling has allowed him. He has no room to make mistakes that other quarterbacks have. Zorn's lack of trust in Campbell will be his and Campbell's downfall.

If Zorn does intend on keeping his job, he needs to adjust his play calling in the red zone to incorporate less trickery and more consistency.

The team drafted Malcolm Kelly, Fred Davis, and Devin Thomas for a reason, and that reason is the red zone.

Why haven't we seen it yet?

When it comes down to it, Zorn is simply out of his element. He is a quarterback's coach who fell into a head coaching job. He can't be blamed for the position he is in, but he can certainly do a bit more with it than he has been.

The Redskins will be in for a rough season if Zorn insists on putting handcuffs on Jason Campbell. He needs to give Campbell room to adjust plays and make mistakes.

Campbell can't learn from mistakes he isn't allowed to make.

Jim Zorn's days as head coach are indeed numbered. Daniel Snyder is an impatient man and will not hesitate to oust Zorn in favor of a different coach.

Just ask Norv Turner.