WOODY COLUMN: Troubles continue to mount for Zorn, Redskins

CHARLOTTE So it's true that no good deed goes unpunished.

Byron Westbrook, who spent two seasons on the Washington Redskins practice squad and worked so hard to make the 53-man roster this season, was just doing his job, trying to protect punt returner Antwaan Randle El.

And then Westbrook's world, as well as that of the Redskins, turned upside down. Or right side up. Or every which way but loose. This much is certain: it was not sunny-side up.

You can say the Redskins found a new way to put the "foot" in football. In the process, you also can say they found another way to lose a game.

Yesterday's 20-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers had the patina of the Norv Turner-coached Redskins teams of the mid-1990s. Those teams constantly found ways to pull defeat from the jaws of victory, often in unusual ways.

"I don't think we're jinxed," said Redskins coach Jim Zorn. "You play the game the way it falls."

Things are falling badly for Zorn and the Redskins. They lost yesterday after holding a 17-2 lead in the third quarter. They lost to a team that was looking for its first victory.

The Redskins are 2-3 and the feeling of doom in the locker room is palpable.

The punt play was an absolute mess, a situation in which no one seemed to know what was going on or what to do about it. That made it a microcosm of the Redskins' week and season.

Westbrook did nothing wrong. But everything went wrong for Washington.

Westbrook was falling after he was pushed by Panthers safety and special teams player Quinton Teal into Randle El with just over 10 minutes left in the game.

Westbrook's leg was extended and the descending ball hit his foot. The Panthers recovered on the Redskins' 12 and scored the game-winning touchdown two plays later.

"It was just a freak play," Westbrook said. "I didn't want my guy to have a free hit on El, so I have to stay on him until I hear the whistle blow."

The whistle hasn't blown on Zorn's tenure as the Redskins coach, but barring a dramatic turnaround, it is only a matter of time. Last week, Sherman Lewis was hired as an offensive consultant for Zorn, not at Zorn's request.

Yesterday, the Redskins' biggest weakness on offense was exposed. They have no depth on the offensive line, a fatal flaw for any team.

When left tackle and perennial Pro Bowl selection Chris Samuels suffered a neck injury on the second play of the game and could not return, the Redskins were in serious trouble.

The Redskins already have lost starting right guard Randy Thomas for the season.

D'Anthony Batiste, who has been cut by almost as many teams, three, as he has starts in the NFL, four, took over for Samuels.

Samuels' injury changed almost everything about the Redskins' offense. Zorn, wisely, was reluctant to call any long-developing plays.

Instead, he called a number of quick passes and tried to pound out yards on the ground. He kept tight end Chris Cooley, one of the Redskins' most effective pass receivers, in as a blocker. Cooley had no catches yesterday.

Zorn called formations that gave both tackles -- right tackle Stephon Heyer had a long day as well -- extra help.

Nothing worked.

The Redskins' defense set up two touchdowns, giving the offense the ball on the Carolina 13and 1-yard lines. The offense managed a 60-yard drive for a field goal, but also gave up a safety for a net point production of one.

Zorn has every right to look at Lewis, point to the quality of his blockers and ask, "Tell me, consultant, what am I supposed to do about that?"

Instead, Zorn displayed a good deal of class when he calmly said, "I feel sick because I know what our players and coaches do to prepare for a game. I've just got to discover within myself how to get this thing turned around."

That brings to mind a movie title -- Mission Impossible.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or . Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/World_of_Woody