Zorn to Qwest Field
Posted Nov. 20, 2008 at 9:27 am by Don Ward
The long-awaited return of now Redskins head coach Jim Zorn is nearly upon us as Washington rolls into town this Sunday.
Earlier this season I made the prediction a day would come when Seahawks fans would wish it was Zorn’s crew-cut mien peering over a clipboard on the sidelines. With the ‘Skins at 6-4, playing in the toughest division in football, the NFC East, and contending for a playoff spot, that day probably came about five weeks ago.
Particularly since coach-in-waiting Jim Mora Mk. II is running the Hawks secondary, which has been playing more like a fourthdary.
The coach-in-waiting experiment between “retiring” Mike Holmgren and Mora, in retrospect, probably wasn’t the best recipe for success. All during the pre-season fans and the media were assured by the Hawks veterans, that having two head coaches on the sidelines wasn’t going to be a distraction. And if you ask the same players today they’ll probably give you the same answer.
Distraction or not, with Seattle sitting at 2-8, it is doubtful too many NFL franchises in the future will emulate the coach-in-waiting game-plan.
A lot of blame has been put this season on the defense. Watching the squad give up 100-yard receiving games to 7 different players, long multi-play scoring drives and third-down conversion after third-down conversion, it is a fair criticism.
Consider first that the defense is built by design to augment the offense. They’re the auxiliaries to the legion. You have undersized but speedy players who fly around the field with an eye towards making the big play. The defense is not meant to be a 1985 Chicago Bears or 2000 Baltimore Ravens unit that can win games all by itself. Nor can it even be expected to hold the line when the chips are down.
It is the offense, Mike Holmgren’s vaunted West Coast attack, which is supposed to get out to a quick lead, score fast, and force opponents into a one-dimensional game-plan.
When your offense has lacked its franchise quarterback for half a season, when the offensive line has been dinged up, when you have a stapled-together collection of second and third-string backs and when the receiving corp has been injured and injured and injured and injured again, your defenders are going to be running back onto the field after far too many three-and outs.
So the question is do you write off the 2008 season as a fluke and drop back and punt? Or are we in full scape-goating mode? Because if it is the latter, it might be time to start thinking about a new GM-in-waiting experiment.
Topics: Seahawks
