Rick Snider: Don't believe the Snyder spin
By: Rick Snider
Examiner Sports Columnist
October 23, 2009
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| Redskins owner Dan Snyder is to blame for the mess in Washington, writes Washington Examiner columnist Rick Snider. (Getty Images) |
So what's the next move by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder?
Firing Jim Zorn.
This has all been so predictable. Zorn was only expected to stay two seasons. You knew Snyder eventually would hire his next "consultant" after poor preseason efforts.
Consultant Sherman Lewis was the perfect way to remove Zorn, and sure enough, three weeks after arriving not to take anyone's job, Lewis will call offensive plays on Monday vs. Philadelphia.
This will be a disaster. The Redskins barely get plays off in time now, without losing several seconds to a relay system from Lewis to assistant coach Sherm Smith to quarterback Jason Campbell. You're going to see a lot of burned timeouts, mind-numbing calls and no points.
See Campbell joking with the media on Wednesday? He knows this is a joke. No sense worrying about things now. Campbell realizes chances of success are nil and he's playing elsewhere next season, so the pressure really is off him.
After several losses to coming playoff contenders, this move will prove a failure. Instead of play-calling duties returning to Zorn, the owner will try another smoke-and-mirrors move and fire the coach. The cited cause will be that Zorn has lost the locker room. Secondary coach Jerry Gray or special teams coach Danny Smith will take over the final weeks. The real reason is Zorn won't be a puppet and smile at Snyder's brilliant ideas.
The over/under date is Nov. 23 after losing at Dallas. If it's the sixth straight defeat -- considering two current losses and coming foes Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver and Dallas all are playoff contenders -- then Snyder will be desperate to give the rising fan rebellion someone to blame. It could happen even earlier, though. Maybe next week if Philadelphia crushes Washington on Monday Night Football.
Snyder's problem is nobody blames Zorn anymore. While the coach hasn't done a great job, fans finally see ownership as the true problem. Snyder no longer dazzles the crowds with his free agent spending. Every day some fire/boycott/sell group pops up on the Internet with growing force.
Snyder may fire Zorn on the eve of Thanksgiving, hoping the holiday kickoff will disrupt a mounting media crush. Fans thoughts will turn to the holidays as Snyder hopes for apathetic peace from the public.
But it won't work. Fans are madder than a fat man arriving too late for the last doughnut (OK, I admit being ticked off that day.) The final stretch versus Philadelphia, New Orleans, Oakland, New York Giants, Dallas and San Diego at most merits a 2-4 finish.
Snyder then will make his second move -- removing vice president Vinny Cerrato. Massive no-shows will finally force Snyder not to give up his faux regime (let's not be silly) but instead hire some new puppet personnel man no one knows. Maybe Cerrato goes over to scouting, maybe he goes away, but fortunately the pseudo-GM will be replaced.
Come January, a new coach and front office will have Snyder saying he's learned once more (the man has learned so many times that the college dropout should be given an honorary Ph.D.) A top-five pick and heavy free agent spending will again trick Redskins fans into believing things might be getting better.
And in two years, the pitchforks and torches will return.
They always do.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or
e-mail rsnider@washingtonexaminer.com.
