Washington coach Jim Zorn enjoys playing “gotcha.”
The Redskins offensive playcaller tipped an obvious deep pass to Dallas’ sideline during Sunday’s 26-24 victory by moving receiver Santana Moss to flanker and the Cowboys still couldn’t stop it. Four games into his first stint calling plays, Zorn’s ahead of defensive coordinators. They don’t have enough tape to decipher his tendencies. He’s hoping they never do.
“Defensive coordinators and assistant coaches get very good learning,” said Zorn on Monday. “My hope is the learning curve never catches up with what we’re doing.”
What Zorn’s doing is attacking. Unlike predecessor Joe Gibbs, whose offense never seemed to throw beyond the first down markers on third downs, Zorn goes for the win. Maybe he hasn’t been around long enough to become conservative or perhaps the old quarterback just says the heck with it. If Zorn can break a cheerleader’s nose throwing too hard in a touch football game, he’s not afraid to go after defenses.
The Cowboys thought they would run the Redskins out of Texas Stadium after leading 7-0. Instead, Washington scored on three straight possessions for a 17-7 edge. The first drive was a rope-a-dope pass/run mixture. The second was capped by a third-down, two-yard scoring pass. The third was nearly a Moss touchdown in the back of the end zone before settling for a field goal.
Three short field goals in the second half were old-school beauties. Indeed, the final drive was vintage Gibbs — nearly seven minutes before scoring with 3:22 remaining for a 26-17 lead. The Cowboys comeback didn’t have enough time thanks to the keepaway by the Redskins.
Zorn rarely called his own plays during a 11-year playing career when offenses and defenses started playing situational units in the late 1970s. Rather than the same 11 on 11, a handful of players shuttled in and out based on the situation that is a staple of today’s game.
But Zorn has always been ready to lead the offense. What quarterback doesn’t feel he can do it himself? After all, no-huddle and two-minute offenses let passers decide snaps.
“I’ve always felt comfortable calling plays,” he said. “I always felt like I had the next play right in my mind or tip of my tongue.”
Once when Zorn was tongue-tied, quarterback Jason Campbell waved to indicate understanding the play. The coach-passer are gaining that chemistry since the scheme isn’t that fancy. Predecessor Al Saunders’ monstrous playbook was replaced with a more opportunistic style. Zorn waits for his chances, then takes them.
“I’ve stayed true to calling the plan we’ve had,” he said. “I haven’t tried to shake anything more out of our gameplan. I felt like I’ve had enough stuff. It just seemed natural to me.”
The Natural — sounds like a good nickname.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
