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Victory Raises Stakes for Dallas Week
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And perhaps biggest of all, Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers, who has let several critical interceptions drop from his hands, held on to one yesterday, rolled dramatically across the soft grass, then scrambled up and ran 42 yards downfield to set up the winning touchdown. This prompted Zorn to later say that Rogers's teammates, who have teased him mercilessly for the missed opportunities, should now "back off."
So, yes, the Redskins are playing well. And most of the credit seems to be going to Campbell, who has had a remarkable turnaround from the first game, when he failed to execute the first play, which had been designed weeks before, and tumbled from there. The biggest thing is that the quarterback now sees the numerous options that Zorn throws into every play -- options that often force Campbell to look at the probability of which of three or four wide receivers will be open for passes even before the ball is in his hands. This often takes months of practice. In the case of Zorn's most acclaimed student -- Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck -- it was almost two years before Hasselbeck mastered the coach's teachings.
The last two games, however, Campbell seems far ahead of where Hasselbeck was at the same time.
"I think Jason is gaining more confidence with the offense," guard Pete Kendall said. "It's like a starting pitcher in baseball -- as the guy with the ball goes, so goes the starting quarterback position."
With Campbell playing well, the Redskins are playing well. Suddenly, with a 2-1 record and two games against division opponents looming, the possibilities bloom.
"We want Dallas! We want Dallas! We want Dallas!"
Zorn laughed when a question about the Cowboys came up early in his postgame news conference. He knew enough to expect the queries about the hated Cowboys even before he had a chance to digest his latest victory. Such is the way things are when you coach the Redskins and the team is suddenly playing well.
"I believe we are confident," he said.
Then he thought back to the first, dreadful game against the Giants, which like the Dallas game will be played on the road. As Zorn is often wont to do, he imagined the perceptions of his team in the form of newspaper headlines.
"The Redskins Can't Win on the Road," he figures the presses will churn out this week.
Then, answering his own screaming headline, he said: "We're not going to worry about that issue."
He chuckled.
"We're going to play one of the best teams in the NFL," he said.
As if that will be anything as simple as yesterday's dispatching of the Arizona Cardinals, who haven't been to the playoffs in nine years.
"We want Dallas! We want Dallas! We want Dallas! " The roar reverberated off the emptying stands and down on a team suddenly brimming with expectations.
