Zorn with some tough love for the Redskins rookie WRs

[DIRTEE]

They have a job to do. When you are at work your boss will call you out, if you aren't performing up to standards. Zorn is the boss!! Shape up!

[freddyg12]

The bright side of this is that we have a long preseason w/an extra game, so these guys have extra time to recover. If Thomas comes back for the 3rd preseason game & is ok, he'll have a few weeks to get back in the groove. That may not mean he'll be ready to play in game 1, but at least he'll have the benefit of working in camp for a while.

[skinsfan69]

To me there is simply no excuse for not being in shape if you're a professional athlete. It's your job to stay in shape pretty much year around. But to be honest, I wasn't expecting much out of these guys this year because rookie wr's always take time learning the NFL game. I remember last year Calvin Johnson had conditioning problems in camp.

On a side note I'm really not for calling guys out in the media and that's one thing I loved about Joe Gibbs. But everyone has their own style and the media must love Zorn cause he'll just say whatever is on his mind.

[redsk1]

I don't think i've mentioned this but as in a previous post i mentioned how it seems like the players are really having fun and enjoy playing for JZ.

On the other hand, he has had the toughest training camp since maybe Marty. Under Gibbs, let's face it, they had pretty much a breeze. Not saying it's right or wrong, but i think i heard it was 8 two a days in a row. For being known as a players coach, so far, Zorn has really made these guys work. I like the change.

[PennSkinsFan]

This is damn good for them. First, if they came in at top shape, they could have avoided possible hammy injuries. Plus, just the fact of Zorn calling them out will put them in check and make them realize they are handed nothing, it must be earned. I like the move by Zorn.

[DIRTEE]

Its better to hear it from your coach than from the fans and media. How many times did I hear bad things about B Lloyd on this board?

[mmil12]

I don't think we can honestly expect much from Kelly or Thomas until after week 4. Most rookie WRs aren't very good their first year until the end of the season. I hope I am wrong but I would expect big season from either of them.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by skinsfan_nn

I like the honesty, givem hell, this is the NFL!

Nice to hear Thrash is our #3 guy to start the season, I look for him to make big contributions to this offense and teams!

couldnt disagree with you more,I love Thrash but I'm very dissapointed he's our # 3 receiver,we should have been able to do better than him by now.What happened to Mix,did he play the other night?

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

couldnt disagree with you more,I love Thrash but I'm very dissapointed he's our # 3 receiver,we should have been able to do better than him by now.What happened to Mix,did he play the other night?

I don't think he played, hamstring. That's why you saw guys like Maurice "My Main" Mann and Billy McMullen getting the ball.

I think that for now, through injuries mainly, Thrash has earned the #3 spot but I expect he'll be down to 4th or 5th on the depth chart by week 5 if not soone.

[DIRTEE]

Mix was nursing an injury. I believe he will be ready this weekend. I hope Mix makes the team. If we were to keep 6 receivers, I hope Mix is in the mix.

[The Goat]

I'm seriously, the more I read and hear from Zorn the more I like this guy. He challenged the rooks w/o lowering expectations, in fact his comments seemed to raise expectations. I'm not sure if Zorn is very smart or just has great instincts (or maybe both) but he seems to have the right tone for each circumstance.

Realistically, I wouldn't have expected the rook WR's to start. Moss and ARE have too much experience to not start and both guys have had awesome preseason (according to several of you observers and other guys too). Thrash has had sure hands in the past as well so I'm not concerned about him as #3. But I still think Thomas and Kelly will start to shine in the 2nd half of the season.

Oh yeah, I still bet Fred D. will have a bigger impact than the two WR - dude has hands and he can move almost like a WR. I'm pumped to see this kid flying around opposite Cooley.

[Schneed10]

I'm not sure this means much.

Rookie WRs rarely make a big impact in year 1 (perhaps this conditioning issue is part of the reason why). I wasn't expecting much out of either of these guys in the early going.

I'd prefer that Zorn come down on the players in practice, in the locker room, in front of his teammates, in front of other coaches, etcetera. I don't need to see him doing it in the media. Not sure what that accomplishes (anybody?). But in the end, I guess if you're not mentally tough enough to handle media issues like this with class, you're probably not mentally tough enough to succeed in the NFL.

So whatever. These aren't the droids you're looking for, move along.

[SmootSmack]

He probably should have added "This is a gamble the front office and coaching staff knew, or should have known, it was taking when we drafted a WR several consider a one-year wonder, and another whose stock dropped quite a bit after he showed up to a predraft workout unprepared and completely tanked his 40 yard dash."

[Ruhskins]

I think this whole situation makes me realize that we did not get better at the WR position, despite drafting two WRs in the second round. As ppl stated during the pre-draft boards that getting a rookie wideout would not solve the WR problems, since rooke wideouts cannot contribute right away. All we did with the draft is to get players for the future...which is fine but we want to go back to the playoffs this season and we're not in rebuilding mode.

My guess is that the team has gambled on a couple of things: Moss/ARE being healthy, the o-line staying healthy to protect JC, and JZ's offense being more productive than Gibbs'. You can also throw in there the hope that a player like Anthony Mix can step up. Because I don't think that in the short term (upcoming season) our WR situation is the same as last season's.

[wilsowilso]

If Calvin Johnson can struggle as rookie.............cuz that dude was one of the sickest wr I have ever seen in college. Big, fast and awesome hands and he reportedly had trouble with the stamina required at the next level.