Trust me: the two scariest words around Washington. It’s a buzz word to run the other way.
Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell asked coach Jim Zorn to believe in him more during a meeting last week. The latter wanted to, but said it would have to be earned.
“One thing we said to each other is ‘Coach, just trust me,’” Campbell said. “[Jim Zorn] said, ‘I’ve got to trust you more.’”
In the waning moments of the 29-24 victory over New Orleans on Sunday, six scoring drives completed, Campbell gained Zorn’s trust with a short completion on fourth-and-two to seal the victory. The Redskins could have relied on running back Clinton Portis in the short-yardage situation, but the coach and passer are inching closer to what the last two months have been about — bonding between the team’s two pillars.
The Redskins can’t win without Campbell playing well. The defense is only fair, special teams suspect and the running game overrun if the passing doesn’t force defenses back. Campbell may not be the perfect fit for Zorn’s West Coast Offense, but he’s it for now. Zorn tutors his passer on the basics hoping it will grow into production.
It’s little things unseen from the stands. Footwork and stance that enable completions. Avoiding defenders in the pocket that Zorn simulates in practice using dodge balls. It’s a little like the Karate Kid painting fences and waxing cars to produce moves needed in the ring.
Zorn threw 3,149 passes over 12 years in the NFL, the last in 1987 at Tampa when Campbell was barely six years old. Like many teammates, Campbell says he only knows of Zorn what his father told him. All the Redskins know of their first-year coach is he played and coached on the other side of the country and is so refreshingly honest that they don’t know what to believe in a business where no one can be trusted.
Campbell saw five systems over six years. Embracing another comes reluctantly given that track record, but Zorn is starting to break his passer down. Campbell is finding second and third receivers. The winning 67-yard strike to Santana Moss was the same play that failed against the New York Giants in the opener. The difference was Campbell followed Zorn’s advice and stepped up in the pocket to see Moss.
When Campbell makes those plays, Zorn knows he can trust the quarterback with the game plan.
“The playcaller has to trust the guy that is going to manage it on the football field,” Zorn said. “You have to be able to trust the guy that’s out there that he’s going to execute it. He’s earning it, but we left some things on the field that I was hot about. He knows it. I was jumping up and down. I was trying to get to his eye level so I could look him in the eye.”
At least they can look each other in the eye nowadays. Like men who trust each other.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
