Deadskins...

I remember ridiculing the Eagles for tying the lowly Bengals two weeks ago. McNabb's comments after the game prompted the mockery, but after losing to the Bengals and the Lions, I can't talk trash about the Eagles. The Rams and the Bengals, apart from the Lions, are probably the two worst teams in football and they share one thing in common: they beat a team that was supposed to be a lock for the playoffs 4-5 weeks ago.

Thinking about yesterday's loss is like watching the stock-market these days -- you will see signs of recovery or optimism only to have them crushed by a broad sell-off or hedge-fund redemption. At the start of the season, Redskins' fans were fired up about their road wins at Dallas and Philly speculating that late season games at home would be favorable for the Skins. The Redskins would have a cakewalk with Detroit, St. Louis, Seattle, and Cincy and then leave room for a few losses against NFC East teams at home. Win one against Dallas or Philly, lose to New York, beat the teams you're supposed to beat, and you're playoff bound.

So now casual fans may ask, "how could the Redskins lose this game?"

1. The Bengals have the second-worst offense in the league

2. Cincy's star player and QB is injured (Palmer)

3. There was no home field advantage at the Bengals stadium

4. The 'Skins still had a chance to make the playoffs -- one loss by Dallas or Carolina would have put them right back into the hunt!

5. The Skins have one of the best running backs in football.

A lot was one the line for the Redskins and next to nothing was on the line for the Bengals (it's not like Cincy could even get the number one draft pick this year!). Yet the Redskins still lost this game and lost it badly. What gives?

My analysis suggests that Coach Zorn's play-calling suffers from a recent lack of creativity which makes the Redskins very predictable on offense. Couple bad play-calling with key injuries on the offensive line and you have a recipe for players getting frustrated with a rookie coach who can't seem to adjust his game-plans against defensive coordinators around the league. Zorn admitted this yesterday when he said, "I feel like the worst coach in football." Fans like me agree: you are close to the worst coach in football right now.

The result of Zorn's bad coaching is that popular players speak out, locker rooms turn against their coaches, and teams lose what could have been positive momentum to close the season or a final, desperate push to the playoffs. Morale, like morale on any team sport, is devastated after losses and public questioning makes everything worse and diminishes the collective respect for coaches on teams. (And respect for coaches, arguably, is even more important in the NFL where players make more than their coaches!)

Take the recent spat with Clinton Portis. Everyone in DC knows that Dan Snyder, the Redskin's owner, has a long-lasting and fond relationship with the All-pro running back which predates the Coach Zorn era (thanks for the phraseology Bill Simmons). Clinton knows he'll have zero repercussions for speaking out against the Coach and he took last week's loss as an opportunity to rip Coach Zorn's play calling. Portis called the coach and the play-calling "genius." And Watching Zorn give Mike Sellers the ball not once, but twice on the 1 yard line yesterday makes me agree with Clinton, although I hate it when players speak out against their coaches.

So maybe there is something to Coach Zorn’s recent decline in play-calling abilities. Maybe defenses know how to adjust now and Zorn isn’t ahead of the curve in his game-plans? Either way, players are unhappy and what could have been an excellent season just 5 weeks ago is now a disaster unfolding in sl0w-motion. What should be obvious is that offensive play-calling, like the expectations of players and their offensive duties, should increase as the season progresses. Good teams do this and make the playoffs (the Eagles, potentially) and bad teams (the Redskins) drop the ball.

Patriots fans – this is like seeing Tom Brady’s knee slowly tear over the course of the season. But instead of having it happen at once, it happens slowly and painfully while you watch with horror.