Zorn's Play-Calling Style Has Substance

Against Arizona, Rogers's interception gave Zorn a chance to call the plays that might secure a win. On first and 10 from the Cardinals 15, Zorn went with a run to the right side, one suggested by Smith. It went nowhere. Clinton Portis was dropped for a two-yard loss. Second and 12 at the 17. Worst-case scenario.

Zorn looked at his sheet, and Campbell awaited the call. "You never know what might happen," wide receiver Santana Moss said. "Sometimes we get in the huddle, and Jason calls the play, and we're like, 'Dang.' "

Zorn defines his play-calling philosophy most frequently with one word: attack. He believes in that even in those situations when the previous play failed. He did it against the Eagles, closing the third quarter by consecutively calling the same run play, albeit out of different formations. Portis was stuffed for no gain the first time. Zorn said he thought to himself: "Okay. They couldn't possibly think we would do that again." Portis gained nine yards.

Zorn, then, occasionally makes some unconventional choices. He said he ran that play to Portis in part to show his offensive linemen he still believed in them. Over the course of these four straight wins, Zorn has helped the Redskins seal victories with stomach-roiling calls on their final possession.

Against New Orleans, he selected a pass to Moss on fourth and one, knowing an incompletion would have given the Saints the ball. Against Arizona, he called for Campbell to roll out on second and seven and look for Cooley, risking the Cardinals sniffing it out. Against the Eagles, he allowed Portis a chance to convert a fourth-and-nearly-two situation on a draw, even though, as guard Pete Kendall said, "Conventional wisdom probably says you take a delay of game penalty, give your punter some more room, and let the defense take over."

In all three instances, the Redskins converted. The opponent never got the ball back. For an offense, there is no better feeling. Asked to describe Zorn's play-calling style, Campbell responded enthusiastically.

"Relentless," he said. "Not playing to keep the game tight. Not playing to not lose. Playing to win, and just letting it all hang out."

The Right Stuff

The Cardinals game was still tied when Zorn and the Redskins faced second and 12 from the 17, the clock ticking toward 12 minutes left. Zorn looked again at the red zone section of his play sheet, specifically at plays the staff selected to run between the 15- and 20-yard lines. There it was, staring straight back at him. The perfect fit.

Portis said there are moments in practice when Zorn's brash confidence in his ability to pick a winning play comes out. On Thursdays, when the red zone package is installed, the Redskins will get maybe six plays into the script when Zorn will chime in, "This is our touchdown play." It happens, too, in games. The highlight reel of the first five games of Zorn's career is already full of moments when he rips the headset from his graying hair, when he bounces up and down in frustration, when he waves that white card frantically. But for his players, the moments that define Zorn as a play-caller come more with a sly grin.

"When somebody calls a play and starts smiling like, 'This is it. This is the play right here. I'm telling you, this is going to happen, and this is where we're going,' " Portis said, "it's like, he really knows his stuff. It's exciting."

Here, then, on second and long against the Cardinals, Zorn figured Arizona would play press-man coverage against Washington's receivers, putting pressure on them immediately at the line of scrimmage. Zorn sent in a personnel group that included two tight ends, a single back and two wide receivers. The play was designed for Moss, lined up on Campbell's right. Just before the snap, Moss turned and took a couple of steps toward the ball, a touch of motion.

"We just knew if they're playing press coverage," Smith said, "the motion we had with it, he's going to get freed up. We'll get a block, and we'll get him one-on-one."

When the ball was snapped, Campbell turned to immediately fire it to Moss. Cooley, the tight end on that side, and right tackle Stephon Heyer instantly released downfield, their objective to get ahead of Moss, to throw a block that might spring him. "He just needs to make one man miss," Smith said. Cooley sealed off cornerback Roderick Hood. Heyer blocked linebacker Karlos Dansby, forcing him outside.

From behind the line of scrimmage, Campbell watched. "You could see it opening up," he said. "I could see, right after Santana caught it, that it was the right play." Moss was off, a foot race with defensive end Travis LaBoy.

"There's not something that he won't call," Moss said weeks later. "Before, there was stuff that we had in the book, but we just wouldn't do it. For some reason, it was like that. Now, if we have it, we're going to call it. We're not going to hold anything back."

LaBoy had no chance of catching Moss. The play ended with Moss lunging into the end zone, the tiebreaking touchdown. On the sideline, Zorn pumped his left fist. Joe Bugel, the veteran offensive line coach who served so long under Gibbs, turned to his new boss. From yards away, Bugel pointed, an acknowledgment between coaches that, at precisely the right moment, Zorn had selected the right play. He was, indeed, not afraid.