There'll Always be Next Season for Redskins

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"WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR" is a phrase that used to be most associated with the Brooklyn Diodgers but is now applicable to the Redskins.

Since Dan Snyder took over his favorite team, the future has always looked better than the present.

We were almost fooled this season. A 6-2 start made those of us who predicted a 6-10 record — or worse — look foolish. Now the naysayers are off by only one win while the Redskins free-fall toward 2008's end.

The snap judgment from Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the dreadful Bengals is to question whether Jim Zorn really knows what he's doing or, at the very least, whether quarterback Jason Campbell is the right fit for Zorn's West Coast offense.

Now let's be realistic. Washington appears to lack the talent to compete on the highest of levels.

It seems likely Zorn had this team overachieving the first half of the season. And one more victory would match Joe Gibbs' total this year in his initial tenure (i.e. the good one).

Traditionally, it takes two to three years to successfully install a new offense, especially the West Coast attack.

Barring a firing, Zorn will get a second year to adjust the Redskins to his schemes. Production should improve, as should Campbell.

If we look at this year as building the foundation, next year should be better. If it isn't better, it will be time to start over — and then the future will look bright again.

Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post