Tony McGee on Detroit Lions

[Gmanc711]

Hello All,

Sorry to be so late this week.... Was a very busy week for us. I do not have a whole lot to say that is any different this week. I thought the game against Detroit was very unfournate, but not very suprising either. Right now, I think this is a very fragile team, a team which has to many guys who are not foucsed on what they need to do, and a team which is lacking a leader. I think the leadership on this team is one of the biggest things missing right now. The team does not seem to have a clear cut leader. I can appreciate the way guys like London Fletcher bring themselves across and try to not be bigger then the team, but the Redskins are in desperate need of a guy like that to step up and lead the team.

Looking specifically at the teams play, offensivley, they need to establish the running game. This team is not built to pass first, if you look at the streak they had last year, Portis was over 100 yards 4 or 5 weeks in a row. They need to do a better job rushing the ball. I have a hard time blaming Clinton Portis right now, because he is not getting the opprotunities to establish himself running the ball. In addition, I'd like to see more from the bigger receivers on the team. I think they need to get Marko Mitchell in some real gametime and see what the kid can do, specifically on the goal line. On defense, pass rush and defensive coverage are the two biggest problems... in addition to missed tackles. On defense, I think the problems are more correctable then on offense, because they are so fundemental. I do not, however, like how the corners are playing so far off the ball. To be successful, this team needs to run the ball better and get more pressure on the quarterback. Its the same things I have said for the last four years, but it is what is holding them back righ tnow.

Looking at Jim Zorn, someone had mentioned that he maybe trying to hard with all the pressure, or the inexperiance of the people around him. I dont think Zorn is trying too hard. I disagreed with his call to go for it on 4th and 1..but I also am one of the few that did agree with him to accept the penatly and push Detroit back on their second drive, I think you need to show trust in your team. As far as the experiance of the staff, I think the staff is very exprianced to be honest. They have a previous head coach on the staff, as well as guys who have been in the league for quite a while. I am, however, very interested to see what happens this offseason. I know the rumors of Mike Shannahan (who was in DC this past week..), and Mike Holmegren (who I dont think would want to take the job from Jim Zorn) are getting louder and louder right now. I am interested to see how the offseason plays out should the Redskins not be able to turn this around.

I think Jim Zorn is trying to learn on the job, and he was put into a very hard position here in DC. This is a town that wants to win now, and its not a good "learning enviornement". Even though he was given the head coaching position, Jim Zorn was put in a very tough spot here in DC. He was brought in as an offensive coordinator, and was supposed to be given the chance to learn. He is now trying to learn the head coaching position on the fly.

In terms of a coaching change mid year, Dan Snyder has already shown with Norv Turner that he is not afraid to make a change in the middle of the year. However, I also think it shows signs of giving up on your current team. The team defintley feels the same way and you can see when Norv was fired, a team that was 7-6 compeltley quit. I think it sends the message to your team that you have given up on the season and are looking ahead to next year.

Sorry to be short this week guys. Thank you very much! I will be back next week - Tony.