Carlos Rogers intercepted Ben Roethlisberger in last night’s 49ers-Steelers game. It was his sixth of the season. Rogers joins a growing list of Redskins alumni who went on to other teams an made the playoffs (The ‘Niners have clinched already). Rogers left a legion of haters in Washington who scorned him for hands of stone, Rogers did struggle to hold on to potential interceptions, but your Hog Heaven writers never shared that view of him. We considered him the best cover corner on the team and are glad to see him thrive elsewhere.
So, why didn’t Rogers perform so well with the Redskins? He didn’t grow new fingers when he left. I suspect that he felt less pressured to make those picks and relaxed. San Francisco coaching and schemes have something to do with it. Dashon Goldston also has six INTs for the ‘Niners. I will study the bios for DC Vic Fangio and DB coach Ed Donatell for clues.
Ryan Clark and Shaun Suisham took the field for the Steelers. Clark is credited with five tackles and two passes defended. Suisham scored a field goal, the Steelers only score through the night.
Did anyone else wonder how it might have been if the Redskins kept Clark and Rogers in the secondary? I have no illusions about Super Bowls. The Redskins have neither the stability nor talent evaluation machine that the Steelers have. If we did, Washington would have receivers like Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown.
Whether players or coaches, the Redskins have had good football people on the payroll. Something happens to them when they get here.
Andre Carter injured his left quadriceps in the Patriots-Broncos game. New England has placed him on Injured Reserve. Carter finishes the season with 52 total tackles and 10 sacks.
Jim Zorn was seen on the Kansas City sideline when the Chiefs upset the then unbeaten Packers. Zorn is a legend in Seattle, like Jurgensen in Washington and Mark Brunell in Jacksonville. The Seahawks never considered Zorn to be coordinator material. That material fact never raised red flags with the Redskins in 2008 when they made him head coach and stood by as he named the equally inexperienced Sherman Smith offensive coordinator. Washington layered heavy-handed management on top of Zorn. The results were predictable.
Members of the head coach club usually get a second shot with another club. Zorn will likely get a shot as offensive coordinator first and could even be successful with mentoring from the right head coach. If you doubt that, consider that Norv Turner got two more bites of the apple. I bet you never expected that when Dan Snyder dumped him.
Turner’s San Diego Chargers upset the Baltimore Ravens in stunning fashion Sunday night.
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