Washington Redskins- Rebuilt under Jim Zorn

In the second post Gibbs era, newly appointed head coach, Jim Zorn looks to build a winner. A season ago, the Redskins went 9-7, snatching the NFC's final wild-card berth, before losing to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs. For the last seven years Zorn was the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach, helping develop Matt Hasselbeck into a Pro Bowl player, but he had never been a coordinator for an NFL team until the Redskins came calling. Now he's making the jump to head coach.

"I'm very excited about being the Redskins' head football coach. My hope is to hold the traditions and the fight that the Redskins have always had in high regard," Zorn said. "And I'm going to try in my best effort to continue that tradition.”

Zorn becomes the sixth coach under Dan Snyder, who bought the team in 1999, and he ends a string of high-profile coaching hires by an owner who had developed a reputation for hiring top names at a top price. Snyder's last three coaches were Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier and Gibbs. None had a cumulative winning record, although Gibbs took the Redskins to the playoffs in two of his four seasons before his resignation Jan. 8.

"We're proud that our search was diligent, thorough," Snyder said. "Jim's track record and reputation as a player, great teacher, and as a coach makes us confident that they will translate to success for the Redskins."

Much of Zorn’s success will hinge on the development of third year quarterback Jason Campbell. Campbell made strides in his development last year, he passed for 2,700 yards and 12 touchdowns, before suffering a knee injury Dec.6, 2007 against Chicago. Zorn is expected to overhaul the offense, implementing a version of the west coast attack. This offense may take a short time for Campbell to adjust to, but in the long run, Campbell’s skills should translate well to this type of system. He possesses deceptive speed, rushing 36 times for 185 yards, a 5.1 ypc average. Going into next season, Campbell will likely be a gamble for fantasy owners, the talent is there, but it’s hard to invest in a young quarterback who has to learn a new system. Last season there were definite flashes of brilliance for Campbell with a 3 touchdown performance against Philly, and a 300 yard effort @ Dallas, but overall he was very inconsistent. While Campbell remains one of my favorite young quarterbacks, it would be unwise to draft him as anything more than a back up at this point.

Another factor that should contribute to Campbell and the Redskins’ success is their current personnel. While Zorn has made it clear that he would like to bring in a big target for Campbell, current targets Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El should perform well in the short passing game of the west coast attack. Both Moss and Randle El are speedy undersized receivers (5'10) who excel in the open field. A year ago both struggled with injury, and were often limited when matching up with the physical corners like Ronde Barber and Chris Tillman. After Moss’1,400 yard, nine touchdown pro bowl campaign in ‘05, he hasn’t been the same due to recurring muscle pulls. Moss is coming off a career low, three touchdown catches in ‘07, and isn’t likely to return to his pro bowl form. Looking ahead to 2008, Moss should bounce back a little if he is able to avoid the injury bug, but valuing him as any more than a No. 3 receiver would be a mistake. Randle El has never been a fantasy contributor, though he did record 51 receptions for 728 yards a year ago, both career highs. Randle El should be looked at as a marginal fantasy contributor and may be pushed back to a fourth option if help is brought in. Expect Washington to address their receiving corp at some point this off season whether it be through the draft, or simply retaining the ageless Keenan McCardell who came on late with the Redskins.

While the passing attack will change, Zorn will do his best to keep the running game a constant. With all the changes Washington has gone through the last eight years, Zorn is trying to keep as many constants as possible. To help keep the status quo, Greg Blache now heads the defense, he was promoted from line coach, and the special teams, which is still under the direction of Danny Smith. This lack of change bodes well for pro- bowler running back Clinton Portis. Despite the new offensive look, Portis should remain one of the top running backs in the NFL, and a solid first to early second round fantasy pick. Portis excels in the zone blocking scheme, and is an adept pass blocker. For fantasy purposes Portis should be able put up numbers in the area of 1,200+ yards and 10+ touchdowns if he is able to stay healthy. As has been the case the past few seasons, any owner that takes Portis will need to handcuff him with back up Ladell Betts. After Betts’ breakout year in ‘06 when he posted 1,154 yards and four touchdowns, many owners jumped on the former Hawkeye standout only to see him play in occasional 3rd down situations. This season owners should be able to wait until the late rounds to snag Betts, who has proven he can carry the load if Portis goes down.

The one constant in the Redskins offense the past three seasons has been tight end Chris Cooley. Over that time Cooley has averaged 65 receptions for 764 yards, and seven touchdowns. Cooley has developed a solid rapport with quarterback Jason Campbell the past two seasons and benefits from being the biggest target on the field. Cooley clearly emerged last season as the top play maker at receiver, and Jim Zorn would be wise to look for additional ways to get the ball to his star tight end. With another year to mesh with Jason Campbell, and the use of a west coast attack that favors the tight end, Cooley could improve on his numbers in 2008, further solidifying his status as a top five player at his position.

Zorn has done an exceptional job so far in his short time with Washington, with much of the roster in attendance for the start of voluntary off-season conditioning, the transition should run smoothly. While players are eager to come in and learn the new system, the familiarity is still their with players and coaches. The Redskins have helped maintain continuity by having every projected starter under contract and 11 of 17 assistant coaches returning from a team that made the playoffs last season and in 2005.

“There hasn’t been a complete changeover,” Pro Bowl snapper Ethan Albright said. “There is some stability, some doing it the way we’ve been doing it (including in the conditioning program). It’s not at all the night and day switch like some teams I’ve been on. I think it will be a huge help. Instead of rebuilding, we’re building on last year’s success.”

With all the talk and the preparation Jim Zorn, and the Redskins will go through this off- season there is no substitute for game time action. His players will have to adjust to the new offense in a hurry as each team in the tough NFC East looks to rebuild and make a run at the playoffs.