“In the big picture, things are progressing and we’re getting better,” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said.

It’s an assessment that a few people — or an entire fan base and most of the league — might disagree with. After a 19-14 loss to Detroit, it’s hard to imagine the Redskins are, indeed, improving.

At 1-2 and with the NFL’s 29th-ranked scoring offense, not to mention the 16th-rated defense, the Redskins lack much evidence of anything but a team in trouble.

“A sense of utter frustration,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “We can’t allow a snowball effect to take place, where one loss turns into two and three and everything gets out of control.

“Maybe guys think you can just show up. We’re not a great team; never have been since I’ve been here. It’s been a long time since the Redskins have had a great team.”

And now Zorn’s job security will become an issue with each loss, particularly if the offense continues to struggle. But the players say they’re not focused on that, nor are they distracted.

One NFL source said there’s no doubt Zorn has “lost” some of the players.

Publicly, though, the players back Zorn. Privately, the majority of players — but definitely not all — seem to share the same opinion.

“Coach Zorn is our coach,” tight end Chris Cooley said. “We have complete faith in what he’s doing and the scheme we’re running and the way we do things here.”

Zorn said he would be “really surprised” if he’s lost the support of the players.

“We have excellent men in that locker room and we have great captains,” he said. “They handle a lot of that stuff. Our captains are doing a wonderful job keeping guys together.

“I will be real to [the players]. I don’t need to yell at a bunch of men or I don’t need to play a psychological game with them either.”

Zorn also disagreed with cornerback Carlos Rogers, who said the team lacks an identity on both sides of the ball. In the past, they’ve been a team that runs well and stops the run. This year they’re 24th in rushing and 21st stopping it; they moved the ball better in a power-I formation Sunday.

“We lost a game and after a big loss like that, I can imagine there are a lot of things that go through guys’ minds,” Zorn said. “And that is a thought. I don’t have that thought.”

Meanwhile, corner DeAngelo Hall said it wasn’t until late in the game when he felt the Redskins played with an aggressive mindset.

“We didn’t come out from start to finish with the same sense of urgency,” he said. “At times we saw it, but it can’t be something that flickers on and off.”

[email protected]