DAVID EULITT / Kansas City Star
Kansas City's Tamba Hali (91) is the center of attention after his last-minute safety sealed Sunday's win over the crisis-plagued Redskins.
Ashley Fox: Eagles are woeful; Redskins are worse
Think how awful it was to be an Eagles fan Sunday, watching your team aimlessly wander around the football field without a purpose or a plan. They were manhandled by the Oakland Raiders, a team that had been outscored, 96-16, in its three previous games.
Contact columnist Ashley Fox
You know the problems. They're like old friends now. Andy Reid refused to run the football, even though on those rare occasions when the Eagles did, the Raiders couldn't stop them. Reid burned through his time-outs in the first half, and Donovan McNabb didn't notice, calling one when the Eagles had none. The defense couldn't stop a tight end, and the offense couldn't orchestrate a game-winning scoring drive when it had to have one.
Then there was the favorite: Reid's postgame declaration that he had been outcoached by a rookie and his team outplayed by a squad that had only narrowly beaten the same Kansas City Chiefs team the Eagles had pummeled in Week 3.
No, there weren't many bright spots for the Eagles, but as bad as it was Sunday - and it didn't look or feel any better yesterday - it was 100 times worse to be a Washington Redskins fan. It didn't seem possible, but that franchise sank even further into the abyss Sunday, losing to the Chiefs, 14-6, at home.
It was the Redskins' fourth loss to a winless team this season. In what has become commonplace since Daniel Snyder purchased the team, the Redskins are in turmoil. Four hours after the loss, Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations, stripped Jim Zorn of his play-calling duties and handed that coveted job to the 67-year-old Sherman Lewis, who until two weeks ago was calling bingo games at a senior center in Detroit.
Snyder brought Zorn to Washington after the 2007 season because he thought Zorn was a creative play-caller who could mentor quarterback Jason Campbell. Zorn relished the role. But now he's little more than a warm body with a whistle, and if he makes it the rest of the season, it'd be an upset.
Zorn would've fared better - and at least held onto his dignity - if Snyder/Cerrato would've just fired him. He can't win. The players, some of whom asked management last week to give Zorn a vote of confidence, undoubtedly will tune Zorn out, if they haven't already. Nothing spells disaster like a lame duck in the NFL.
The Redskins hired Lewis earlier this month to be a consultant, and now despite being away from the game for five seasons, he's their offensive leader. It's unheard of. The offensive coordinator in Green Bay for eight seasons, Lewis only called plays in 1999 after Mike Holmgren left; the Packers went 8-8 that year.
Zorn said yesterday that Lewis will relay plays from the press box to Zorn. "It's something that I'm going to have to grow into," he said. "It's not easy."
But nothing has been for the Redskins. The offensive line is inadequate. The receivers haven't developed. Who knows whether Campbell, whom Zorn benched at halftime, or 37-year-old Todd Collins will be the starting quarterback against the Eagles. The defense is solid but the team is averaging only 13.2 points per game.
Against Kansas City, an opponent that had given up 27.6 points and 402.8 yards per game (including 420 to the Eagles), the Redskins managed only 265 yards and seven first downs.
"Last week, I thought that was as hard as it could get," Zorn said after the game. "It just got harder."
It's bad here, make no mistake. But as Chris Cooley told the Washington Post on Sunday, it is a "time of crisis" in Washington. And that couldn't be better news for the Eagles.
Contact columnist Ashley Fox
at 215-854-5064 or afox@phillynews.com.
