Washington Redskins: Diagnosing the Issues

Ford Field erupted in uncharacteristic fashion at the end of the game against the Washington Redskins as the success-inept Detroit Lions claimed their first victory in 22 months.

Not surprisingly, the visiting Washington Redskins were downtrodden and hung their heads in shame as they had become the second biggest headline in the NFL for all the wrong reasons.

The Redskins have been their own worst enemy in recent years, losing to teams many believe they should beat handily. Last season the St. Louis Rams got their first win of the season in Week Six at FedEx Field.

There is a common thread that exists between the loss to the Rams last season and the loss to the Lions this season: Scott Linehan.

As head coach of the Rams last season, Linehan guided his previously winless team to a victory against the Washington Redskins on the road. As the Lions offensive coordinator this year, Linehan guided his previously winless team to a victory over the Redskins on the arm of a rookie quarterback.

I doubt anyone needs a blow-by-blow of what exactly happened during the game, because I am certain it will be etched in the memory of every Redskins fan.

The real question is: Why are the Redskins unable to play to their supposed potential?

It was only a few years ago that the team made the playoffs on the legs of Clinton Portis and the flimsy arm and hobbled legs of Mark Brunell. After that season experts picked the Redskins to make it deep into the playoffs the following year.

Of course the Redskins decided to change what they were doing and bring in Al Saunders' massive and complex playbook in hopes that the team would pick it up in an instant and become an offensive juggernaut.

That, of course, did not happen, and the Redskins have failed to show any signs of being a real contender or even a competitive team since.

The Redskins have several problems facing them going into a long week. Jim Zorn's passing game is progressing nicely, but it seems to be at the expense of the run game.

Clinton Portis has run the ball just 47 times in three weeks, and the running game has only produced 210 yards between Ladell Betts, Mike Sellers, Marcus Mason, Jason Campbell, and Portis.

Through three games last season, Portis had 228 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Does anyone else see a discrepancy in the stats?

The Redskins have supposedly been protecting Portis, saving him for the latter part of the season. However, if saving Portis means sacrificing the balance of the offense then I want no part of it.

Despite the Redskins' playcalling imbalance, there are showing at least three positives on offense.

The offensive line hasn't allowed a substantial number of sacks on Campbell, limiting the total to five. That's surprising since a lot of criticism facing the team centered around the age, durability, and talent of the offensive line.

Santana Moss showed that he does still play in the NFL, registering 10 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown against the Lions. His performance merely balances out his complete invisibility in the first two games of the season during which he caught just five passes for 41 yards.

The best thing to come out of the Redskins' loss is the realization that Jason Campbell is not the problem on offense.

After the offseason he went through, and the amount of hatred billowing in from fans across the D.C. area, Campbell has stepped up and shown he is a leader for the Redskins.

His numbers don't jump off the page, but he isn't costing the Redskins games the way many fans feel he has in the past. On the season, Campbell has completed 68 of 102 passes for 793 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.

His touchdown-to-interception ratio isn't stellar, but when Zorn calls pass plays on nearly every down, defenses have the luxury of sitting and waiting for his throws.

Everyone saw what Campbell did towards the end of the game. He ran a flawless no huddle offense, where he made a good deal of the decisions on play calls and the Redskins marched the ball down the field for a touchdown.

After the defensive stand that brought the ball back to Washington's offense, and what looked to be a promising potential game-winning drive, Zorn stuck his nose in the game and lost it.

With less than 10 seconds remaining Jim Zorn dialed up a short pass play and resorted to Division 1-AA college tactics—trying to lateral his way 30 or more yards to victory against a winless team.

Even though the Lions had the prevent defense on the field it wouldn't have hurt to take a shot and play for a defensive penalty in the end zone. Yet another exhibition of Zorn's lack of confidence in Campbell.

Still, the real issue facing the Redskins is not their offense, surprisingly.

The defense was woeful against the Lions, and that is being generous.

It is hard to blame any of the players on the Redskins defense, because they can only make the plays they are put in position to make. Greg Blache isn't doing anyone any favors by putting a big cushion between the receivers and his secondary, and he doesn't know how to dial up a blitz.

Look at any other team that blitzes. Players are creeping up to the line and then shooting gaps; defensive linemen are stunting to open up holes for linebackers or safeties. Greg Blache seems to follow the idea that if you run seven guys at the offensive line one of them is bound to get through.

He fails to account for the seven or eight men that are waiting to block the seven rushing defenders. That isn't even football and Blache doesn't get it.

As a whole the defense has a ton of talent to draw from, with some notable exceptions.

For all the good he has done in the past, Phillip Daniels should not be starting at defensive end. The Redskins drafted Brian Orakpo for his pass rushing ability, not his skills as a linebacker.

Orakpo, not Daniels, should be starting opposite Andre Carter.

Albert Haynesworth has yet to light the field on fire, which seems to bother more than just a few fans.

That being said, Haynesworth is making more of an impact than fans think. Teams are running up the middle less and less against the Redskins, effectively removing Haynesworth's ability to stop the run.

The Redskins' linebackers and ends are supposed to be catching everything that Haynesworth funnels their way, but they are never in the right spot. The only notable runs up the middle were on third-and-short situations and didn't net any substantial yardage despite the conversions.

The Redskins defense has failed to generate sacks and turnovers, which is exactly why they have lost the time of possession battle in each game this season. They can't get off the field.

Like I said, the defense isn't suffering from a lack of ability on the field, but rather a lack of know-how from Blache.

The Redskins head home for a week four game against a reeling Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad. The Bucs are 0-3 coming off their shut out loss to the New York Giants and will be looking to capitalize off of the poor play of the Redskins.

It isn't a stretch to say that winless teams look forward to facing the Washington Redskins since most teams that are struggling have found luck. The Rams did it last season and the Giants started their road to a Super Bowl two years ago with a win against Washington.

Now you can add the Lions to that list.

The Redskins have a lot of thinking to do after the embarrassment of losing to the Lions truly sets in. It is unlikely that Zorn will be shown the door following the loss, though many fans think he will. But Zorn will be under the microscope even more so next week against another winless team.

If the Redskins don't find a way to generate points on offense and create turnovers on defense they won't win. And if they don't win, even the biggest fans won't want to show their faces as part of Redskins Nation.