Mattyk72 presents: The Warpath Zornometer Poll™

Gotta' give JZ a 5.
Based on my "current" level of observation, he is doing everything right, AND generating excitement and respect among the players-this is BIG.
I would prefer to grade him on what he has done thus far, or currently, rather than what "may" happen later on.

That's what I had in mind with this poll, let's judge what he's done to date and forget about what the future holds.

I gave him a 4. If he's the 2nd coming of Spurrier I'd be absolutely shocked. He's a guy that seems well organized and was ready for this challenge, almost as if he's been preparing for this his entire life. He's calm, cool, and collected and seems to have a good football mind and he's not afraid to think outside the box as evidenced by his quirky yet effective drills in practice. He's also very likable, but he seems to know when to bring the hammer down.

I gave him a 5. So far I love everything he is doing. Gotta go with a 5. Now that could change rapidly in the coming weeks.

All I can say is...........Vinny, Dan.............did you really hit the Powerball with this one?

I refuse to give him anything other than a 3.

If you've held two weeks of training camp and you've coached in one preseason game, you haven't done SHIT. Any coach can look good doing that stuff (remember how we felt about Spurrier after his preseason performance?) The reason I have to give him a 3 is actually embedded in Matty's opening post in this thread, it's way too early to rate him at all. 3's neutral, so I give him a 3.

Ask me after week 8 of the NFL season and I'll give a very thoughtful response.

I refuse to give him anything other than a 3.

If you've held two weeks of training camp and you've coached in one preseason game, you haven't done SHIT. Any coach can look good doing that stuff (remember how we felt about Spurrier after his preseason performance?) The reason I have to give him a 3 is actually embedded in Matty's opening post in this thread, it's way too early to rate him at all. 3's neutral, so I give him a 3.

Ask me after week 8 of the NFL season and I'll give a very thoughtful response.

If he hasn't done shit why are you grading him at all? ;)

You have to admit this feels different than Spurrier. I think people looked past alot of things with ball coach initially. His opening presser was a huge warning sign that most of us ignored when he called out other coaches for putting in too many hours.

If he hasn't done shit why are you grading him at all? ;)

Because you put a poll up asking for an opinion. And I'm a blowhard who can't keep his opinion to himself!

You have to admit this feels different than Spurrier. I think people looked past alot of things with ball coach initially. His opening presser was a huge warning sign that most of us ignored when he called out other coaches for putting in too many hours.

On this point I totally agree. The major difference is Zorn has actually coached in the NFL (for a long time, under one of the best head coaches). I like the decisions he and Vinny have made in the offseason. He seems totally organized and totally in charge of the team. He's played QB in the NFL (rather successfully) so I don't think he'll get flustered in pressure situations. I can see him being very successful.

But one of the best coaches the NFL has ever seen came back to the game in 2004, and my confidence level was at a 10 out of 5. And we were not good in the first season.

Granted, we're more talented now, and deeper. So I'm hopeful. But if Joe Gibbs goes 6-10 in his first year, I'm hesitant to get too excited about Jim Zorn until I see more from him. Seeing will be believing for me.

I'm optimistic, but guarded.

3 for reasons given above...

If he hasn't done shit why are you grading him at all? ;)

You have to admit this feels different than Spurrier. I think people looked past alot of things with ball coach initially. His opening presser was a huge warning sign that most of us ignored when he called out other coaches for putting in too many hours.

Well, a huge difference between Zorn and Spurrier (apart from the mass influx of Gators) is the support staff that Zorn has. A lot of people kept dismissing Snyder and Cerrato's talk of consistency but it really can't be overlooked how much of the staff was retained; veteran coaches who have been not only in the NFL, but with the Redskins for several years so they knew the culture and expectations at Redskins Park. The presence of guys like Bugel, Blache, Gray, and Hixon I believe really has helped Zorn make the transition. That's a benefit that Spurrier did not have, largely by his own choosing though.

I can see a scenario here where the Redskins are very successful this season, and the Cowboys are the reason why (seems wierd to say that).

But Bill Parcells spent four years in Dallas building that team, putting a strong staff together, instilling a winning attitude, acquiring talent and depth, and establishing a strong work ethic. He made his mark, and Wade Phillips (who's OK as a coach) came in and just kept the team on the same course. The Cowboys did very well, winning the division. I do think they would have beaten the Giants in the playoffs if they had Parcells at the helm instead of Phillips. But Phillips was enough to keep them on track Parcells set them on. Parcells deserves major credit for their season last year.

I can see something similar happening with us. Gibbs put together a strong coaching staff which Zorn has largely kept. We still have Bugel coaching the line, we still have all the defensive coaches (save for GW), we still have several offensive assistants. We're keeping the same run game which Gibbs, Bugel, Portis and the line have established. The defensive scheme is not changing. Under Gibbs, it's obvious the team learned how to work, and you saw how they learned to fight to the bitter end (December record). They built character, bad seeds are no longer part of this locker room. I can see Zorn, like Phillips, guiding this team to a lot of success this season. If that's the case though, I'm going to give Zorn his due, no doubt. But a lot of the credit would have to go back to Joe Gibbs. He built this team, it's his foundation, he put it back on the map.

If Zorn's really good, he'll take us further than Gibbs did and continue the growth. Hopefully he can do something to differentiate himself from Wade Phillips.

Well, a huge difference between Zorn and Spurrier (apart from the mass influx of Gators) is the support staff that Zorn has. A lot of people kept dismissing Snyder and Cerrato's talk of consistency but it really can't be overlooked how much of the staff was retained; veteran coaches who have been not only in the NFL, but with the Redskins for several years so they knew the culture and expectations at Redskins Park. The presence of guys like Bugel, Blache, Gray, and Hixon I believe really has helped Zorn make the transition. That's a benefit that Spurrier did not have, largely by his own choosing though.

good point