Coach
Zorn Group Session
On if he thinks he could handle a player like
Chad Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals, WR, #85):
“I don’t really know Chad all that well. I
haven’t spoken to him honestly. You really like to get to know a guy
before you jump in. In this kind of situation, I don’t know yet.
Again, you hate to comment or speculate on something that is really
not there.”
On if they are focusing on a certain area in
the draft:
“No one single position. I say we are looking to
all areas. I think at that 21st pick there is going to be a
very difficult decision to make because there are going to be four or
five guys there that we like and they will be four or five different
decisions.”
On the development of Jason Campbell (QB,
#17):
“The thing about him is he is concentrating so
hard to get the things down. He has really taken to it. For me, I am
really very satisfied with how he is progressing. Not major changes,
little subtle changes and just vocabulary. The ability to actually
verbalize what we are talking about has been wonderful and that is the
thing that I am looking for in these workouts. Just to get Todd
(Collins, QB, #15), Sam Hollenbach (QB, #3), and then Jason the terms
and how we are going to run the cadence. I keep telling the backup
QB’s, ‘You have to sound like Jason, so whatever he sounds like, make
sure you sound like him so we don’t jump offsides.’ So, that is kind
of the start and then we go from there and the drops and how we are
going to throw on rhythm. Right now we are starting in on some of the
plays, the actual reads, the actual rhythm and the progression of the
plays.”
On changing Jason Campbell’s (QB, #17)
mechanics to improve his fundamentals:
“Exactly. When I make statements about how I’m
changing Jason, really it’s not to compare with what has been done in
the past. I really get in trouble and I have gotten in trouble on
comparison questions, because somebody has not done it right, but it
is just a philosophy. I have done a couple of things and he is so
tall. Instead of him standing tall the whole time, I have him
compressed a little bit, so that instead of him being 6’6” he is maybe
6’5”, just to bend a little bit and to give him the opportunity to
move laterally quicker than maybe what he has done in the past. That
is just a philosophy change. I am glad he would comment on them and
those little things and they really are going to help him. They are
going to help us and we are going to make plays because he is playing
at that level.”
On if Jason Campbell (QB, #17) is further
along mechanically than he thought Jason would be:
“That is a good question. The answer to that is
more that what I am excited about is that he is making his body do the
things that I am asking it to do. You say, ‘Okay, I don’t want to you
stand up, I just want you to compress,’ and everything gets down there
and ready and he is in a better position. I think the most exciting
thing is what I am asking him to do he can understand it and make
himself do it.”
On if the compressing refers to Jason Campbell
(QB, #17) taking the snap or throughout the entire play:
“That is the difference. I would never use the
term stand tall in the pocket. I just don’t use that term because then
you get players standing straight legged and straight up and they
can’t move. It is very, very subtle. He will do it in practice and in
games and he won’t even think about it because that is the way he will
play. I won’t have to say, ‘Hey don’t stand up so tall,’ because I
will notice and I will say, ‘Stay compressed.’ Those are the things
that I will use with him as we practice and go forward.”
On how he will incorporate his offense with
the Redskins previous offense:
“One thing that is evident is that both running
attacks that Joe (Bugel, Offensive Line) and Sherman (Smith, Offensive
Coordinator) and Stump (Mitchell, Assistant Head Coach/ Running Backs)
are putting together, the one key is that they are sound and we were
sound in Seattle. We are using terminology that our players would have
recognized last year in the run game. So, we can start faster in the
run game than we probably will in the passing game just because there
is going to be more of a learning curve.”
On what is his expectation about the start of
the passing game:
“I think it will be super. I think people will
understand terminology well. I think we will get the concepts down,
but my expectation is I want to see the speed that the offense is
designed to play at. I am looking for playing fast and that is the
thing I hope will come and I think it will be the most difficult thing
as we go on. People know I am supposed to be over there, I’m going to
get there, but it is how fast and this offense is played at a very
good pace. That is what I want to get to right away.”
On if there is any position in the later
rounds that he is hoping to add depth:
“Right now we have only ten offensive linemen on
the whole roster, so we need to bolster that. We need to get depth
there. We need to get depth at corner, at safety, at d-line. We have
three safeties and we have I think seven or eight linebackers, but
everything is important. I would say that the later rounds in this
draft are extremely important because you can find nuggets that maybe
they do need a little development, but they are going to be starters
in the future and that is what you develop your team. The future
starters in this League are developed by these later rounds.”
On playing Indianapolis in the Hall of Fame
game:
“That is going to be a special game for the
Redskins because we have two Hall of Famers going into the Hall, but
it will also be our first chance to really show what we have practiced
and that we can execute. There will be errors. There will be a lot of
people playing, obviously, but it will give our players the chance to
see themselves on video against another opponent. It will be the first
time. It is going to be a wonderful game for us and for the Redskins
organization, no question.”
On how the Redskins prepare for the draft:
“Here is one of the things that I have been so
impressed. All of the preparation individually gets listened to when
we come together as a group. All the parts have been wonderfully
tapped in to. We have gotten players in, top draft choices in. It is
almost like a recruiting night and we haven’t even drafted them. I
think that has been special. You get to know the players a little bit
better.”