Clearly, Southern Boys Just Ain’t All That Comfortable With the West Coast
Wow, that Jim Zorn west coast offense sure was explosive last night. And by explosive, I mean it may cause Washington’s entire season to blow up in its face. 209 total yards, 133 passing (a good portion of which coming in garbage time) for a staggering total of seven points. Impressive, indeed. ↵↵But the problem likely isn’t that The Zorn Star’s offense doesn’t work -- the west coast offense has been successful once or twice in this league. The problem is that despite running a version of the west coast at Auburn, Jason Campbell just doesn’t get Zorn’s system yet. At all. ↵
↵↵The offense is predicated off the QB taking a quick drop and making a quicker decision. Nearly every time Campbell dropped back into the pocket, it looked like he’d entered some unfamiliar, foreign territory, as opposed to the place he’s called home for over a decade. He didn’t know what to do, or where to throw. He played the game like I play Madden: Decide before the play which receiver I’m going to throw to, and if it’s not there, take the sack. (I can never remember which button to press to throw it away. Neither could Campbell.) In his defense -- and, I know, this has been repeated ad nauseum, but it’s still valid -- this is his fourth different system in as many seasons in the NFL. It’s my understanding that NFL offensive systems are quite complicated, so this surely adds to Campbell’s confusion.↵
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↵Aside from the anemic offense, the defense played well, considering how much they were on the field and that they were down Shawn Springs, their best cornerback. The redzone D was particularly impressive, holding the Giants to three field goals. Really, the outcome of this game could've very easily been 28-7.↵
↵↵As for Eli, he played well enough, but wasn’t great. He threw one pick in the face of Andre Carter’s pressure, but really, should’ve ended the game with at least three (or more) INTs if Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers could catch footballs. It also makes things easier on Eli when nobody can cover Plaxico Burress. On top of that, there’s Brandon Jacobs, who is an absolute man-child, bowling over the Skins’ secondary. ↵
↵↵What more is there to say about the season’s first game? New York totally and utterly dominated the contest. But it’s hard to say if this is because they’re just that good or the Skins are just that bad. I’m gonna lean more towards the latter for now and just hope the Burgundy and Gold can pull out at least a handful of victories this season.↵
↵↵(If you don’t already know, or hadn’t figured it out by now, I’m a very, very depressed Redskins fan this morning. Hey, at least it’s Friday, right!? Eh, no, that doesn’t help either. I’ll be over here, crying in the corner, if you need me.)↵
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