Rick Snider » Two teams with eyes set on one much-needed win
By: Rick Snider
Examiner Sports Columnist
September 27, 2009
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| All week Redskins coach Jim Zorn faced questions about his job security should the Lions end their 19-game losing streak against the Redskins on Sunday. (AP) |
It's hard to tell who needs this victory more when the Washington Redskins visit the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The Lions have lost 19 straight, including the NFL's first 0-16 season last year, and are 0-2 this fall. One more gives Detroit the league's second longest losing streak ever and within six of expansion Tampa Bay's all-time mark.
It's a sorry time in MoTown where locals have been blessed with a TV blackout for not selling out Ford Field. But respectable losses to playoff contenders New Orleans and Minnesota have several national and Detroit media outlets picking the Lions to end the madness. The Lions have a promising rookie quarterback and some defensive pickups. They're no longer a bad joke, just a bad team.
"Everybody needs a win that's 0-2," said Detroit coach Jim Schwartz. "There's a lot of teams that feel that sense of urgency. ... It's too much to ask [players] to correct what happened last year this year."
Said Washington coach Jim Zorn: "I don't see any desperation at all. I see a solid football team.
"We're all desperate for wins."
Indeed, Washington (1-1) was booed off FedEx Field despite beating St. Louis 9-7 on Sept. 20. Fans smell a bad season after one offensive touchdown in two games with empty seats dotting the upper deck. It was a chaotic week in the locker room, worsened by the loss of guard Randy Thomas for the year with no seasoned backup.
The Redskins don't need the victory as much as they don't need to lose to the Lions. Otherwise, Washington not only earns the stain of being the one Detroit finally beats, but sees an early soft schedule suddenly no longer filled with gimme games.
Coach Jim Zorn even sidestepped repeated questions over his job security should the Redskins freefall.
"Everybody asks questions about it all, but that's part with dealing with everyday in the NFL," he said. "I'm hopefully game planning and going about my business. I owe it to these players, to the fans to stay strong."
Running back Clinton Portis conceded Schwartz and Zorn will be always second guessed by fans.
"A lot of people on the outside looking in, everybody feels like they know football," Portis said. "You can pick up a joystick in Madden and play the computer and realize your coaching is not what you think it is."
It seldom is.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or
e-mail rsnider@washingtonexaminer.com.
