1. How will they respond to the Lions’ loss? » Look, the Lions will win another game this season so this isn’t about the long losing streak. But the Lions also aren’t even a good team. So the Redskins should feel embarrassed, especially after how they played in the home opener vs. St. Louis. They responded to that by playing without much urgency in the first half. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of emotion on the field these days.
2. Do the players still believe in Zorn? » This was asked, oh, about a hundred times Sunday and Monday. To some degree it does not matter; they still have jobs to do and must do them. For some players it’s too easy to blame the coach. Many problems exist with the Redskins, including the offensive line and a lack of playmakers. But some players already have voiced frustrations to him; expect more if the losing continues. Stuff like that causes teams to splinter — we’ve seen it before at Redskins Park under Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer and Steve Spurrier. It’s an erosion that eats away at a season. The players are saying the right things now, but another loss to a bad team and the fissure starts to widen.
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3. What’s the state of the running game? » In the past, when things were sputtering, the Redskins would turn to Clinton Portis and the running game to turn things around. With the NFL’s 31st-ranked defense up next, will they do that this weekend? Can Portis handle a heavy load anymore with bone spurs in both ankles? The Redskins did a better job last week of running out of the I-formation with two receivers, setting up play-action. Will they continue that? Or will they keep playing receivers who make no plays?
