The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

In Randle El’s opinion, the primary reason the Redskins won just 12 out of 32 games over the last two seasons is because the owner set the head coach up for failure. Snyder didn’t trust Zorn, and his meddling prevented the ‘Skins from any possible success.

To anyone familiar with the Jim Zorn Era, Randle El’s comments would appear to target the decision to strip Zorn of his play-calling duties in favor of bringing in Sherman Lewis, the retired bingo caller.

Since it’s been a while, let me give you a quick refresher on how grim things got last season:

Over the first seven games, the Redskins offense scored an average of just 13.7 points per game. They averaged 296 total net yards per game, with 93.5 yards coming in the running game and 202.5 yards from the passing game. The ‘Skins offense converted just 25 of 86 third downs (29 percent) and scored on eight of 18 red-zone chances (44 percent).

That’s what Zorn brought to the table.

Now, here’s where the Redskins finished the season:

In 2009, the Redskins offense scored an average of 16.6 points per game. They averaged 312.4 total net yards per game, with 94.3 yards coming in the running game and 218.1 yards from the passing game. The ‘Skins offense converted 86 of 216 third downs (39.8 percent) and scored on 26 of 46 red-zone chances (56 percent).

Even with the substandard start, a retiree was able to walk in the door and improve the offense across the board. You can question the way it went down, but there’s no logical way to question the results. No matter how you spin it, the Redskins offense performed better against stronger competition once Zorn was no longer calling the shots. It might hurt to hear it, but it’s the truth.

"When Jim Zorn was there, he was hands-on," said Randle El of The Danny. "He had great potential, but Dan Snyder was too involved because he didn't trust coach Zorn as much as he did coach (Joe) Gibbs, and those were things that prevented us from success as a team."

tribeofjudah wrote:ARE...I wish him well, but he was kinda a BUST in DC.

CanesSkins26 wrote:

tribeofjudah wrote:ARE...I wish him well, but he was kinda a BUST in DC.

Yea was a total bust, but that doesn't make what he's saying any less true. It was clear from the beginning that the front office didn't fully trust Zorn - they didn't even let him pick his own coaching staff.

tribeofjudah wrote:ARE...I wish him well, but he was kinda a BUST in DC.

SKINFAN wrote:Zman was a bust too. The swinging gate play? Twice, I mean it looked as if he wanted us to look like total idiots out there as a big FU to Snyder. I'm not defending the snyde, I'm just saying, Zman was way out of his league as a coach. And the Snyde shares part of the blame, not all of it. And don't even get me started on cousin Vinny. Back on topic, El is a bust here. Granted it wasn't the best situation to shine (skittish QB, weak Oline) but the punt returns were all him.

skinsfan#33 wrote:

SKINFAN wrote:Zman was a bust too. The swinging gate play? Twice, I mean it looked as if he wanted us to look like total idiots out there as a big FU to Snyder. I'm not defending the snyde, I'm just saying, Zman was way out of his league as a coach. And the Snyde shares part of the blame, not all of it. And don't even get me started on cousin Vinny. Back on topic, El is a bust here. Granted it wasn't the best situation to shine (skittish QB, weak Oline) but the punt returns were all him.

People kill Zorn for that swinging gate play (rightfully so) but here are the stats for ST trick plays last year. Three plays. Two TDs and one meaningless INT.

Stats like that, would put a ST coach in the running for coach of the year if he did it every year.

skinsfan#33 wrote:

SKINFAN wrote:Zman was a bust too. The swinging gate play? Twice, I mean it looked as if he wanted us to look like total idiots out there as a big FU to Snyder. I'm not defending the snyde, I'm just saying, Zman was way out of his league as a coach. And the Snyde shares part of the blame, not all of it. And don't even get me started on cousin Vinny. Back on topic, El is a bust here. Granted it wasn't the best situation to shine (skittish QB, weak Oline) but the punt returns were all him.

People kill Zorn for that swinging gate play (rightfully so) but here are the stats for ST trick plays last year. Three plays. Two TDs and one meaningless INT.

Stats like that, would put a ST coach in the running for coach of the year if he did it every year.

skinsfan#33 wrote:

tribeofjudah wrote:ARE...I wish him well, but he was kinda a BUST in DC.

Not as a WR. He was almost always the best #2 WR in the division even though the team brought him into be a #3 WR and a PR. They consistantly tried to force other people into that #2 spot (Llyode, Kelly, Thomas) and ARE was consistanly our second best WR even though he didn't get as much playing time as a lot of #2 WR.

Who would you rather have on the team right now to compete with Kelly and Thomas, ARE or Galloway/(the WR from KC - whatever his name is)? I really hope this team doesn't regret losing him as a WR. I really hope Kelly and Thomas step up (now that they have a QB), but if they don't...

Most people claim that ARE was a bust for two reasons. He got a lot of money and he SUCKED as a PR.

Yes he was a bust at PR (I think I could have averaged more yards/return), but he far exceeded what we should have expected from a guy that was signed to play the slot and be the #3 guy.

SKINFAN wrote:

skinsfan#33 wrote:

SKINFAN wrote:Zman was a bust too. The swinging gate play? Twice, I mean it looked as if he wanted us to look like total idiots out there as a big FU to Snyder. I'm not defending the snyde, I'm just saying, Zman was way out of his league as a coach. And the Snyde shares part of the blame, not all of it. And don't even get me started on cousin Vinny. Back on topic, El is a bust here. Granted it wasn't the best situation to shine (skittish QB, weak Oline) but the punt returns were all him.

People kill Zorn for that swinging gate play (rightfully so) but here are the stats for ST trick plays last year. Three plays. Two TDs and one meaningless INT.

Stats like that, would put a ST coach in the running for coach of the year if he did it every year.

Running it, getting a penalty, then running it again? LoL no stat can justify that. Not attacking you or your post I'm just trying to understand why he would call the play again after his hand was tipped.

CanesSkins26 wrote:

skinsfan#33 wrote:

tribeofjudah wrote:ARE...I wish him well, but he was kinda a BUST in DC.

Not as a WR. He was almost always the best #2 WR in the division even though the team brought him into be a #3 WR and a PR. They consistantly tried to force other people into that #2 spot (Llyode, Kelly, Thomas) and ARE was consistanly our second best WR even though he didn't get as much playing time as a lot of #2 WR.

Who would you rather have on the team right now to compete with Kelly and Thomas, ARE or Galloway/(the WR from KC - whatever his name is)? I really hope this team doesn't regret losing him as a WR. I really hope Kelly and Thomas step up (now that they have a QB), but if they don't...

Most people claim that ARE was a bust for two reasons. He got a lot of money and he SUCKED as a PR.

Yes he was a bust at PR (I think I could have averaged more yards/return), but he far exceeded what we should have expected from a guy that was signed to play the slot and be the #3 guy.

ARE was an all-around bust. He did have some decent reception numbers, but his YAC was downright pathetic and averaged a measly 2 td's per season.

VetSkinsFan wrote:Yeah, he may have suprised as a receiver, but he more than made up for the production with LACK of production on ST. I got 2 words for ya.... FIELD POSITION!