ASHBURN, Va. -- Vinny Cerrato believes he gave Jim Zorn a roster that can make the playoffs. Cerrato also said the Washington Redskins coach's job status was undecided in the days following the play-caller switch to Sherman Lewis.
Cerrato, the Redskins' executive vice president of football operations, made a rare, albeit short, appearance before reporters Tuesday to answer questions about the team's 2-5 start. He was given a space backed up against a wall in a cramped area next to a stairway near the locker room -- looking very much like a man who was cornered with no way out.
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"Frustrating and disappointing with 2-5," Cerrato said. "It's not where we expected to be."
Cerrato, perhaps even more than owner Dan Snyder or coach Zorn, has received much of the heat for the Redskins' dismal season. Even players in the locker room Monday bemoaned the lack of depth along the offensive line, with running back Clinton Portis saying: "We went into the season, and we didn't address that issue, and it came back to haunt us."
The offensive line began the season with no backups who had played a single NFL down last season, even though Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas were coming off multiple surgeries. Samuels and Thomas are now hurt, and the reshuffled line has allowed 14 sacks in the past three games.
Cerrato said he "tried to address the line" during the offseason. He cited left guard Derrick Dockery and tackle Mike Williams as his main additions, even though Williams hadn't played in the NFL since 2005.
The Redskins haven't selected an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of the draft since 2000, and Cerrato said there was nobody the team believed was worthy of the No. 13 overall pick this year.
"Are you having the results you wanted? No, you don't want the sacks," Cerrato said. "If it was Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas, would we be better? Absolutely. If you lose a Pro Bowler, it's definitely going to drop off. Where we're standing now, to have more depth, it would be great."
Still, when asked twice if he believed he gave Zorn a roster that could reach the playoffs, Cerrato said "Yes" each time.
Last week, prodded by Snyder to do something about the struggling offense following a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Cerrato made the decision to have Zorn removed from play-calling duties. Cerrato then went silent for several days, making Zorn look like a lame-duck coach who could be fired any minute.
It wasn't until Friday, on his radio show, that Cerrato finally discussed the play-caller change and stated that Zorn would remain the coach for the rest of the season.
Asked why he waited five days to endorse Zorn, Cerrato said: "We sat down and got our game plan together, and that's why it was on Friday."
So it took a week to decide that Zorn would stay for the rest of the season?
"Yeah, we sat down and talked about it," Cerrato answered. "We were doing the play-caller thing and everything, so yeah."
Asked if he was concerned about his own job security, Cerrato said: "I feel like my job's on the line all the time. It's not something that I really worry about. My job is to get us going and fill these holes when guys get hurt. Things take care of themselves after the season."
The Redskins' first game with Lewis as the play-caller didn't yield promising results. The offense committed three turnovers, allowed six sacks, converted just 3 of 12 third downs and had a season-low in rushing yards in Monday night's 27-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Redskins still haven't scored more than 17 points in a game this season.
"We didn't win," Cerrato said. "But I thought Sherm provided a spark, and I think the offense did some good things. ... I thought he did an excellent job."
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Because Lewis has been with the team for just three weeks and doesn't know the full playbook, the play-calling mechanism Monday night was hardly textbook.
Sitting in the coaches' box, Lewis first decided whether the play would be a run or pass. If it was a pass, he called out a code for the play to offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, who relayed the play to quarterback Jason Campbell. If the play was a run, Lewis let Smith call the actual play.
Zorn kept mum for the most part, still trying to come to grips with the situation.
"I'm most comfortable calling plays myself, no question. I can't deny that. I can't fill you with fluff there," Zorn said. "But this seemed to work. It had some success; we had our share of failures."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
