Redskins are losing their poise as well as games

ATLANTA Losing is one thing. Losing with a distinct lack of class is another.

Yesterday in the Georgia Dome against the Atlanta Falcons, the Washington Redskins, 2-6 this season and losers of 12 of their past 16 games, entered the "another" zone.

They played in the first half without discipline, organization, emotion and class.

They played as if they know their coach is practically powerless in the organization, which he is. They played like losers.

Jim Zorn is the Redskins' coach in name only. He works on the game plan. He sets up the practice schedule. He decides what to do on fourth down.

But the players know Zorn is not the ultimate arbiter of anything of consequence concerning the team. And when the players know that, it shows in their performance.

Add that to the distinct lack of talent on the roster, and what you have is one fine mess.

Zorn deserves better than this. He might not be the NFL's best coach, but Redskins owner Dan Snyder and executive vice president for football operations Vinny Cerrato picked him for the job. They should let him coach his way or fire him now.

Instead, they brought in a consultant for the offense, then stripped Zorn of play-calling duties.

That only made things worse.

All that's ahead for the Redskins is more losing, more moaning about what might have been, more of Zorn saying how irritated he is with the performance his team gives in the first halves of games.

Yesterday, Zorn said Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell needed better protection and that the offense was horrible in the first half. And he said Campbell still needs to learn to how to get to the ground safely at the end of a run.

"I was upset again about his slide," Zorn said. "He's not good at it, and he's got to get better."

Yep, that's the ticket, better slides by Campbell. That should take care of things.

And if that doesn't solve the Redskins' problems, safety LaRon Landry and cornerback DeAngelo Hall have other ideas.

It was bad enough the Redskins trailed 21-3 late first half. It was bad enough the offense had given up five sacks and the defense had yielded 95 yards rushing.

It got worse when Landry delivered one of his typical late hits on a vulnerable player.

With about 90 seconds left in the second quarter, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan scrambled out of the pocket, sprinted to the sideline and was well out of bounds when Landry came onto the scene and shoved Ryan from behind.

Falcons coach Mike Smith ripped off his headset and went to his quarterback's aid. A melee ensued.

Landry was pulled from the scrum of players, but Hall, a former Falcon who left the team on less than pleasant terms, could not escape.

Replays showed Smith wanted a piece of anyone wearing a Redskins uniform, and the player most readily available was Hall.

Finally, order was restored.

Landry was penalized for unnecessary roughness. He should have been ejected.

"I didn't like the hit out of bounds," Zorn said. "It was on the other side of the field. Was it blatant? I don't know. I just have to see."

As for Hall, well, the former Virginia Tech star was outraged. Chagrined. Positively beside himself. He's not going to take it. Oh no he's not.

He's telling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. That's what Hall is going to do.

"I'm going to be giving Commissioner Goodell a call myself because something needs to be done about that," Hall said. "It's different when a coach comes over there to break guys up. When a coach comes over there to put his hands on you in a harmful way, something needs to be done about that.

"He [Smith] put his hands on me in a harmful way, talking about how he's going to kick my [butt] and all this other [stuff], and that ain't how you do things. . . . Like I said, something is going to be done about it. Trust me. Trust me. Trust me."

Smith could have handled himself with a more poise. But say this for him. He saw his quarterback take a cheap shot and was not going to stand for it.

Goodell might speak to Smith about the incident. But at least the Falcons know their coach has their backs and is the man in charge.

The Falcons are 5-3 and playoff contenders. The Redskins play feckless football and are in the race for the first pick in the 2010 draft.

Yesterday said everything about why both teams are who and where they are.