New play-caller, same issues for Skins offense
The touchdown pass to Devin Thomas opened up nicely. He ran from the right flanker position to the back of the end zone. When the Eagles converged on Santana Moss, the target of a pump fake, Thomas ran free in the back of the end zone.
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The play worked. The new play-caller made a difference.
Sort of.
“Whatever we dialed up,” receiver Santana Moss said, “we’ve been calling [already].”
In other words, maybe it wasn’t the play calls all along; as coach Jim Zorn has said — repeatedly — it’s about the execution.
And the Redskins, as they had for most of their first six games, did not always execute well in Sherman Lewis’ debut as a play-caller. They only managed 10 points before a late touchdown, closing the gap to 10 points. And their last two drives, when they trailed by 17 points, produced 121 of their 308 yards. Much of the night, Lewis discovered that certain plays could not be called because of protection issues. Other plays didn’t work because of a hesitant passer or miscommunications — aka, the same old issues.
Maybe the padded yardage is why the players said they could not tell a difference in the plays being called during Monday’s 27-17 loss to Philadelphia.
“I’m not smart enough to know that,” center Casey Rabach said.
Sometimes, though, it’s not about the play — it’s about when it’s called.
“I told you it wasn’t going to be a big notice,” Moss said. “We called the same plays. The rhythm of the way he calls plays is different. It’s the same play, but he had his own expertise on when he should call the play.
“But … it’s not that big a deal like everyone makes it out to be.”
Zorn, who had the play-calling duties stripped of him last week, said he was pleased with how things ran overall. Washington was not flagged for any delay of game penalties, nor were any timeouts taken because the play clock was winding down.
The Redskins had offensive assistant Chris Meidt in the press box helping Lewis. Quarterback Jason Campbell wore a wristband with all the plays instead of just a handful as the Redskins devised shortened terminology for Lewis. Also, when Lewis wanted to call a run, he let offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, who was on the field and in communication with Lewis, call them.
“For what Sherman Lewis had to do to get ready for one week to call plays, he did an outstanding job,” Zorn said. “He was bold.”
Zorn said he handled some of the plays in the two-minute drill as well as the Redskins’ final touchdown, a one-yard pass to tight end Fred Davis. During his weekly appearance on ESPN 980 Wednesday, Zorn said he called five or six plays.
“I’m most comfortable calling plays myself,” he said. “I can’t deny that. But this seemed to work. It had some success. We had our share of failures. Our quarterback got hit a bunch in the game.”
