Enemies within at Redskins Park between team, management

When it comes to Zorn, management gave a grudging public assurance he will coach for the remainder of the season, but they couldn't do a better job of making his job more difficult if they actively opposed him. You wonder.

The hiring of Lewis as an offensive consultant and play-caller was supposedly a measure to help Zorn and "take some things off his plate," according to Cerrato, but its real effect, obviously, is to neutralize and embarrass him. What's more, it seems to have actually added to the problems on Zorn's plate, judging by his remark that he's "uncomfortable."

The Redskins' play-calling against the Eagles was a nonsensical, piecemeal arrangement in which, according to Zorn, Lewis called the pass routes, while offensive coordinator Sherman Smith called the run packages, and Zorn himself stepped in to handle the hurry-up offense. Zorn, in a measured but quietly mutinous way, made it clear that one result was plays in which the pass routes and the protection schemes didn't match up. Campbell was sacked a bone-crushing six times.

It was thus perfectly in keeping with the tenor within the organization when Cerrato contradicted, and even subtly disparaged, the coaches in a meeting with the media Tuesday. Not only did he suggest that the roster is playoff-caliber, he said Lewis's play-calling provided "a spark."

We've seen this second-guessing and disenchantment happen often enough now, with other coaching staffs that passed through Redskins Park. But there is one new element at work, and that's the extent to which the corrosive role of management is being exposed to public view. A pattern is taking recognizable shape.

The specifics of whether the roster is really capable of being 5-2, and how much blame should fall on Zorn, or under-performing players, are just variables compared with this larger and more consistent problem dogging the franchise. Zorn may not be a great coach, and Campbell may not be their quarterback of the future, but they aren't horrendous, either.

By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office. Ownership-management can no longer deny its primary role in ruining cohesion and exacerbating the team's problems, despite its best efforts to blame others, and to spin and censor.

"We've got to look at everybody, we've got to look at everything," Cerrato said. "I've got to look at myself, we've got to look at everybody."

It was the only heartening thing he said. If nothing else good comes from this dissension-riven season, at least maybe such embarrassing exposure will finally force management to look at itself, too.