Jim Zorn presser: "I'm going to comply with that."

Mark ButerbaughOct 19, 2009

Jim Zorn began his press conference by lavishing praise upon the defense, the defensive line and MLB London Fletcher, saying he loved their production, their pass rush, their tackling and their efficiency. It almost seemed as if he wanted to point out that he appreciated the part of the team that actually is working right.

He went on to say that the offense just didn't sustain drives in the first half [In fact, most of the drives ended after about 3 plays] and that he decided if the final drive before the half didn't go well, he would change quarterbacks at halftime.

As far as giving up calling the plays, Zorn said: "It was strongly suggested to me after the game in a meeting I had with Vinny...he just suggested I make a play caller change." It definitely sounds as if Zorn didn't want to give up calling the plays, but yielded because he was given no choice. He added this phrase about the new arrangement: "I'm going to comply with that." Zorn is CLEARLY sending a signal with a word like "comply" that this is being forced upon him by management and that he isn't doing it because he wants to do it or because he thinks it is a good idea. There was no enthusiasm about it, clearly. Making Sherman Lewis the play caller was something Vinny Cerrato mentioned. In other words, this decision came from Snyderrato.

Zorn refuses to name a starting quarterback for Monday night and then says the team will prepare its offensive game plan for Monday night as they always do. During the game, Sherman Lewis will be in the press box calling the plays and relaying them down to Zorn on the sidelines. Zorn will then communicate those plays to the quarterback, whomever that is. It sounds rather cumbersome and I wonder if there will be some delay of game penalties by the offense on Monday.

Zorn made sure to point out that Sherman Lewis has been at Redskins Park for about two weeks and that he and the other coaches would work to "get him up to speed" on the offense. It seems as if Zorn is trying to communicate to the public that the play calls will now be made by someone who has yet to fully grasp the offense or the players he's calling them for.

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