The NFC East may be heading west.
It was once a real-man’s division where bone-jarring inside runs decided games, especially in the swirling December winds of Giants Stadium. Passing was for dome teams and western folks.
But, Redskins coach Jim Zorn is showing some of his old quarterback tendencies while readying for the New York Jets on Saturday. In two preseason games, the West Coast offense has passed on 9 of 10 third downs under quarterbacks Jason Campbell and Todd Collins. Overall, the Redskins have passed 10 of 17 third downs.
The numbers aren’t simple math. Each situation is different, depending on how much yardage is needed for a first down, field placement, score and time of game. But, defensive coordinators league wide are surely studying Redskins game film to decipher Zorn’s style.
Maybe Zorn needs to work on passing more while installing the system. Perhaps it’s just coincidental. The overall numbers — 62 runs, 54 passes in two games — show balance.
“I’m just trying to see the flow of the game,” he said. “In training camp here and preseason games, we also want to see certain things. I’m not trying to run the ball every time and I’m not trying not [to be] tempted to call a run because I’ve called too passes. It’s just the flow.”
But, Campbell passed for 14, 19 and 10 yards on four third downs against Buffalo on Aug. 9 before Washington ran twice at the one-yard line for a touchdown. The opener versus Indianapolis on Aug. 3 was inconclusive given two of three third downs by Campbell and Collins were too long to run. Still, the Redskins passed on third-and-four, too.
“You don’t want to be one-dimensional because you become predictable,” Campbell said. “You don’t want to become predictable so as much as we can we try to keep people on their heels.”
The running game is showing more life inside. Ladell Betts looked like his 2006 form when gaining 1,154 yards. Clinton Portis popped off a couple nice ones versus Buffalo. The beauty of a handful of receivers and tight ends for options is creating space for runners. Zorn knows there will be games when running isn’t an option.
“There are teams that say, ‘You will not run the football on us’ so they force it into a different rhythm,” he said. “Are there runs to be called? Absolutely, but you can’t force something that’s not there.”
The first-year coach has never called signals before so little things like holding the play chart over his mouth to keep Bill Belichick’s friends from taping is important. Zorn said, “there are reminders on the chart saying, ‘Jim, you must do this to win’ and I’ll have several things I want to get done.”
There’s even an art to making the chart.
“[An assistant] didn’t have the correct marker to write small,” Zorn said. “All the letters looked like zeroes. Just a mash of marker.”
As long as they don’t all look like pass plays, Zorn will be fine.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
