There is an art to calling plays in the National Football League. Sometimes you're Picasso, and sometimes you're a 2-year-old with a crayon and a wall. It takes time, discipline, patience, and practice - none of which Sherman Lewis has had in the last five years, at least where football is concerned.

He's called bingo games at a retirement home in Michigan. But calling a football game, as he will for the Washington Redskins from the press box at FedEx Field just two weeks after joining the team in the nebulous role of "offensive consultant"? That hasn't happened in a long, long time.

"He's a very, very good coach," Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said.

That may be, but Lewis is in a very, very difficult situation. He's out of practice and with a dysfunctional team whose head coach, Jim Zorn, had been calling the plays until last Sunday night. After the Redskins lost to Kansas City. Zorn was stripped of his favorite part of the job, undermined and weakened by an impatient, meddling owner who has made a mockery of a D.C. institution.

Up until two weeks ago, Lewis didn't know the Redskins' players, or their plays, or their strengths or weaknesses. But tomorrow he's supposed to be sharp, quick, confident, and composed. He's supposed to be able to relay the calls down to the sideline so they can get into Jason Campbell. He's supposed to be able to listen to his gut, to know the game plan inside and out, and to make adjustments on the fly.

It's an impossible situation that can't possibly succeed, akin to bringing in Jeremiah Trotter to be your middle linebacker. Sherman, like Trotter, is a gem of a guy and an accomplished football lifer, but that doesn't mean that this situation is one in which he can thrive and succeed. It's not. It's one motivated by money - the Redskins are on the hook to Zorn for $4 million over the next two years, and Zorn wouldn't resign or provide the Redskins with a reason to terminate him for cause by protesting Lewis' hiring - and destined to fail.

Mornhinweg has been calling plays since he was a college quarterback at Montana. (Interestingly, he said of those college days, "I tried to do a good job and mix it up." Then with a sheepish grin on his face, Mornhinweg added, "Bombs away." That makes sense, given the Eagles' unbalanced run-pass ratio. The man loves the long ball.) He has called them essentially since stepping into the NovaCare Complex in 2003.

While some fans might deride the Eagles for their seeming lack of in-game adjustments, Mornhinweg said his philosophy is simple: Trust that your preparation was correct, stick to the game plan, adjust as necessary, listen to your gut, and be quick about all of it.

"There is a rhythm to it, much like a quarterback playing," Mornhinweg told me on Friday. "That's a real thing. You do put much time and energy into the game plan situationally, and then you have some thoughts on if your opponent does different, specific things. Of course, you don't want your players to be surprised by anything.

"Then you get into a rhythm, and certainly gut instincts come into it, there's no question about it, all the way through the game. And then, of course, adjustments are big, adjustments really after every series."

Mornhinweg said he made it a priority to get the plays quickly in to Donovan McNabb so McNabb has time to relay the play and use the snap count as a weapon. A delay in getting the play in quickly could doom the play before it ever begins.

"Your quarterback has to have a little time to think from the play call to the snap of the ball," Mornhinweg said.

Lewis will need time, too. Time to think, to react, to recall. It's a huge task, especially because time will be of the essence, and Redskins fans will demand a Picasso when a scribble is more realistic.

Contact columnist Ashley Fox

at 215-854-5064 or afox@phillynews.com.