Sherman Lewis

by kseandoyle on Oct 7, 2009 7:11 PM EDT Comment 26 comments

If I hear the phrase "one more set of eyes" one more time I'm gonna lose it. Really. JC said it. Zorn said it. Snyder said it. Cerrato said it. Robert Thomas probably said it to the guys working 9-5 at McDonald's Seriously, guys. It's not a comforting phrase. It's not something that makes me say, "wow. I wasn't so sure about this, but now that you say that you're bringing in a new set of eyes, I'm excited about this!" I mean seriously. They've used it so many times that I don't think it'd even be witty to make a joke about the fact that that guy has four eyes. By the way, if any one has already made that joke on this or another site, congratulations: you're a regular Rodney Dangerfield, funny guy.

But about the signing specifically: I'm withholding judgment for now. I don't know a thing about this guy. He's worked on some really good offenses and some really bad offenses. Hopefully people who know about him will vouch and say that he's a great game strategist and can be effective on teaching a guy to call plays. He's not going to teach the O-Line to be less flimsy, though (if Buges can't do it, who can?). I doubt he's going to teach Campbell to hold onto the ball when he's getting sacked (it seems like a mental thing that JC has to get himself through). So, yeah, maybe playcalling will get better. But who's to say whether or not execution will improve as well?

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Good news bad news time

Good news
The O line is much better than it used to be, and barring injuries Campbell has time to throw…
Bad News:
One WR and one TE does not a passing O make

Good news:
One of the stronger D lines in Pro ball
Bad News
A secondary that drops more picks than a gold miner with Parkinson’s disease,and in my personal opinion is seriously weak. Can someone tell me again why we dropped Champ Bailey again?

Oh yeah…..And if a new set of eyes means zorn is fired and we have a new coach, then it’s typical Dan Snyder

by brett t on Oct 8, 2009 5:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I just want to remind everyone of something.

I asked a question on one of my posts this summer asking if Blache’s job was secure. EVERYONE who responded acted like there was no chance in the world Blache would be gone. Well, look now. Look, I like the guy. All I’m saying is that he inherited one of the best defenses in the league; he did not build this defense. First year with him at the helm, all of a sudden we can’t get turnovers or sacks any more. Now, our ability to keep other teams from driving and scoring is failing us. And, hey, this is the guy who, before taking Williams’ job, was in charge of the D-Line — you remember, the weakest part of our defense for many years now. Nice guy, shoots from the hip and all… But how effective is he really?

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 8, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This reply was supposed to be lower down

Stupid SB server. It’s been freezing up on me for a couple of days.

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 8, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll stand by the comment that I agreed with on your post

Blache is here for as long as Zorn is.

by VA_Skin on Oct 8, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just

Dont get his thinking. He does not believe in the blitz. Thats been the difference since he has come aboard. He believes that the line should apply the preasure and the backers clog the holes. He does not run blitzes that often. It annoys me. How can you give a QB that kinda time. If you give even the worst QB in the game time he can make plays.

"The rich wage WAR and the POOR die!!!"

by milcmann on Oct 10, 2009 7:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

that’s why promoting him made such little sense. He understands the Gregg Williams style of complex blitz schemes, but he doesn’t believe in using them. That completely changed the nature of our defense, especially the DBs. They still play as far back as they used to, but now they never move up for a blitz right before the snap. Corner and safety blitzes were so much of what made our team a dangerous defense during the Williams years.

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 10, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Can someone tell me again why we dropped Champ Bailey again?"

Seriously?

by ReggieBullits on Oct 8, 2009 12:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Stupid reply button

by ReggieBullits on Oct 8, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

POrtis

He would have paid off for us big time had the rest of the offence been on the same page. We missed his prime i fear.

"The rich wage WAR and the POOR die!!!"

by milcmann on Oct 10, 2009 7:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

it's easy

to discount Portis because he hasn’t provided many big plays. But he will go down as having the most rushing yards in Redskins history. And, big plays or no, he HAS won us plenty of games. I’d do the deal for Bailey 100 times over. (Though I don’t think we should’ve given up the pick as well.) Bailey was a very good corner, but he has ALWAYS been over-rated. In fact, I don’t think we lost anything when we got Springs.

by CJHutch on Oct 10, 2009 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

same here... Portis was worth it

"The rich wage WAR and the POOR die!!!"

by milcmann on Oct 10, 2009 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

And I do remember that during his last year with the Redskins, Bailey was falling off. He’s had good years since, but he was in a lull in his career for a few years there (don’t let the Pro Bowls fool you). At the beginning of 2003, QBs were afraid to throw in his direction. Then a few good plays went by him, and all of a sudden, by week 5 or 6, people weren’t afraid to throw in his direction any more. What we had then was similar (notice I’m just saying SIMILAR) to what we have now. One corner great at covering who will make very few big plays (Smoot then, Rogers now) and one corner who isn’t as good at coverage but who will make you pay for challenging him on a close play (Bailey then, Hall now).

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 10, 2009 7:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What frustrated

me the most about Bailey was his inability to stop the big name guys. David Boston used to eat him up. So did Rocket Ismael, and even Amani Toomer. I’m sure others did as well, I just can’t think of all the receivers we played then. And I know the first time I saw him play in Denver, Jerry Porter torched him. I’m not saying he isn’t a good corner. He’s always been top 5-10. But he’s not the “shutdown corner” everyone calls him. And it’s funny, but I think he started getting called that more when he went to Denver. Another case of Redskins players not getting credit.

by CJHutch on Oct 10, 2009 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

One thing to keep in mind.....

Zorn didn’t hire his staff! His offensive coaches aren’t necesarily built for coaching a west coast offense. Sherm gives them that. Another coach with extensive west coast knowledge to help the othe coaches as well as the players! I like Zorn. I know there are haters out there, but I actually like him. He is good in interviews….if you actually go out there and watch his interaction at practice with the players, he handles them really well. I think we need to stick with our core, players and coaches, and build…..rather than keep blowing it up every year and starting over. I know this is Zorn’s second year, but he was never even an offensive coordinator. He installed a new offense, one that will take time to establish with the right players. It takes a few years for a transition like this to happen.

However, knowing how this team runs, I have a feeling we will have a new coach, new coordinators, and new QB next year. Either way, Skins fan for life!

by shvd98z24 on Oct 8, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm pretty sure

Zorn did hire Sherman Smith, Stump Mitchell, and Chris Meidt. Besides Meidt, they all have Seattle connections.

Someone wrote a story saying Zorn was allowed one hire and everyone is assuming that the author was correct. Smith and Mitchell definitely weren’t here before Zorn. Buges was, Danny Smith was, and Blache and the defense were, but its not like Vinny and Danny gave Zorn an entire offensive staff and say “Ok, your turn.”

by Boo. on Oct 8, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m just going off memory. If someone has a link proving otherwise, please share.

by Boo. on Oct 8, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Smith and Mitchell

were definitely hired by Zorn.

by VA_Skin on Oct 8, 2009 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He was initially allowed only one hire

But ended up making 3 hires and Snyder allowed that. They were trying to keep Gibbs’ staff in tact, but then realized that they had hired a head coach with a completely different offense. Plus I think at least one guy decided to retire w/ Gibbs.

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 8, 2009 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't want

to comment on Lewis until he actually does something, which probably won’t be for 3 or 4 weeks. What I do want to know is, why didn’t they hire a DEFENSIVE consultant? Couldn’t they at least bring in someone to introduce Blache to his all his players, and then explain basic defensive philosophy?

“Mr. Blache, this is Brian Orakpo. He is your best PASS RUSHER. And standine is your SECOND BEST PASS RUSHER. You see, when the center hikes the ball to the quarterback, the play begins. If you can get to the QB BEFORE he throws the ball, then you do not give up 3rd down conversions. If you don’t give up 3rd down conversions, you keep the opposing offense off the field, meaning your defense stays off the field as well. Now, I realize this goes against all you stand for, but it actually IS good for your defense to not be on the field a whole lot.”

by CJHutch on Oct 8, 2009 1:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

my 'puter farted

should say “standing next to Brian”

by CJHutch on Oct 8, 2009 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Now if only Snyder would offer...

sideline consulting passes to those who buy the over priced yellow seats….

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

by Scott E on Oct 8, 2009 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would do it

for the cost of the seats alone. He must’ve lost my number.

by CJHutch on Oct 8, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+100

It seems like all the professional analysts ignore how the defense became worse AFTER adding Haynesworth and Orakpo.

by ZakInOmaha on Oct 8, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just want to point something out.

In this post over the summer, I asked if Blache’s job was secure. EVERYONE said that, of course, it was. And for the record, I like the guy. But here come’s my tirade on him. He inherited this defense from Gregg Williams; Greg Blache did not build this defense. During his first year at the helm, our production in terms of yards and points stayed high, but all of a sudden, we couldn’t get sacks or turnovers any more. Now, we’re giving up yardage and letting teams control the clock as much as they like. All we’ve got left is that we don’t allow many points, but if a team can hold the ball for 35 minutes, they don’t really need to score all that much against our slow-moving offense. So, is his job really all that secure?

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 8, 2009 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Im pretty sure

that lewis is not going to have anything to do with Zorn….except for saying whether he is retarted at the playcall or not….I really dont think that playcalling is going to change…

by ACo on Oct 8, 2009 7:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Zorn asking Lewis for advise on calling a play:

Lewis- G37!
Zorn- Huh?
Lewis- Oh, whoops. I mean, uh… Double Tight Ends, I Formation, Lone Flanker. Play-action. Progression is Moss deep middle, Cooley in the flat, Davis left screen, Portis center dump-off. How’s that?
Zorn- You really have been out of the game too long. Half of that stuff was pure gibberish. “What”-action? Moss deep on which sideline? How soon is JC supposed to dump it off to Portis for the two yard gain? Also, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to have both tight ends on the field.

"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!

by kseandoyle on Oct 10, 2009 7:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs