During his daily media chat session, head coach Jim Zorn was asked his opinion on Greg Blache's impassioned defense of Daniel Snyder. You might have thought -- given all the reports that swirled around Sherm Lewis taking over play-calling duties -- that this might've been a tense moment, but that wasn't how it played out at all.

Zorn didn't hesitate before agreeing with Blache and offering up his own defense of the owner -- and taking responsibility for a big chunk of the problem.

"Dan Snyder is a guy that absolutely cares about other people. He does not have that kind of [dark heart] attitude," Zorn said.

Around noon on Monday, reports surfaced via Rick Maese's Twitter that DeAngelo Hall would be the primary punt returner for the Redskins, replacing Antwaan Randle El. By a little more than an hour later, Ryan O'Halloran was tweeting a conflicting report -- one that squared with what I had been told here at Redskins Park -- that both Hall and Randle El would be involved in the return game, along with Santana Moss.

Randle El talked about this during open locker room today, and he wasn't particularly happy about the change, and he was doubly unhappy that he had learned about it via questions from reporters.

"I gotta find out the logistics of it myself in terms of the punt return," Randle El said. "My whole thing is I'm still gonna ... you know, given the opportunity, when I get the chance, I gotta go out and be little more productive, but, you know, it's not always just one guy there. So it's just a matter of ... you take it as it is: go out and play when you get your opportunity and be thankful for it and make the best of it."

A reporter mentioned that he didn't look thrilled about this change. "Not at all," Randle El responded. "But that's part of it sometimes."

In case that wasn't clear enough, another reporter asked if this was a tough pill for Randle El to swallow. "Little bit," he said.

Later in the day, speaking after practice -- and, apparently, after a meeting with Randle El -- head coach Jim Zorn clarified the situation. Mostly.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, I appear on Redskins Nation on Comcast SportsNet. I sit next to Larry Michael to answer fan questions or pick games or talk about what's going on at Redskins Park.

And, occasionally, I sit there and fidget while he goes on a rant. That happened Wednesday, when Michael held forth about members of the media doing nothing but transcribing radio shows and being, I believe his word was, "stenographers."

The gist of his argument was, I believe, that people on live radio sometimes say things in an awkward fashion but that -- unlike writers -- they don't have the opportunity to edit the final product. He really seemed to feel quite strongly about it, and went on somewhat at length, and I fidgeted, and that was that.

So keep all of that in mind as you read the following eleven-hundred word transcript of the first few minutes of Vinny Cerrato's radio show this morning, the bit where Cerrato declared that Jim Zorn will be the head coach for the rest of the season and hopefully beyond, and his explanation of the playcaller switch.

If you want to listen to the rest of it, I've embedded it after the transcript segment (with thanks to ESPN980), but here's one stenographer's interpretation of the first part.

After a week of rumors, counter-rumors, statements from what seemed like every ex-Redskin still in the area (and one ex-Seahawk), and a metric ton of drama, it seemed like nearly everyone assumed head coach Jim Zorn's tenure was as good as over.

So naturally, executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato started his Inside The Red Zone radio show this week with ... a pretty unequivocal endorsement of Zorn.

"Let me start by making a few things very perfectly clear," he said. "Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins and will for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future."

Cerrato also insisted that -- despite what some have said -- "the relationships internally within the organization quite frankly remain the same," and acknowledged that everyone in the organization (including the owner) is disappointed for the fans about how the team has performed.

Yeah, that's exactly what everyone expected today.

• Metromix Washington D.C. got a chance to talk to the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders about their rigorous practice regimen. There's also a photo gallery, if you prefer that sort of thing.

• Clinton Portis is launching the Clinton Portis Foundation.

It seems that there was some sort of incident -- a "heated argument," per the Washington Times -- between the Redskins Pro Bowl running backs Monday night. Rumors have Clinton Portis questioning Mike Sellers's abilities as a blocker, but no details have been confirmed. Neither Portis nor Sellers spoke after practice, but Head Coach Jim Zorn addressed the situation.

I had considered a few different approaches Zorn might take to this kind of thing, but he went with one that I hadn't thought of at all: an upbeat Zorn -- as cheerful as he's seemed for weeks -- was actively supportive and enthusiastic about the incident.

Here's my transcription of Zorn's answers, for the inevitable group of people who are unable or unwilling to watch internet video.

There are a lot of commenters here who like to speculate about Jason Campbell. About his intelligence, about his leadership abilities, and most of all about his relationship with head coach Jim Zorn. And I can insist that Campbell is better than people suspect in every one of those categories; I can write it until my hands cramp up and I can't type any more, but it was always tough to present evidence to the contrary beyond anecdotal evidence.

Fortunately, NFL Films had both Campbell and Zorn miked up during Sunday's game, and this resulting video makes things much clearer in just five minutes. It also makes me feel a lot better about the Rams game as a whole. Just fascinating stuff all around.



You can watch it in even higher resolution at NFL.com, but the most impressive parts come through loud and clear here:

My schedule is bizarre today, bouncing across the entire DMV from event to event, so here are some things to keep you occupied while I sit in traffic.



Advanced NFL Stats is the sort of site where the writers are prone to using pithy phrases like


And where the first person who comments is less likely to say "F1RST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111!!!!!!!!!!" and more likely to say


But both of those excerpts are made much more comprehensible in context, and -- more notably -- they come come from a piece that confirms Coach Zorn's decision to go for it on both fourth down plays.

Just some last notes, links, pictures and what-not from today. Click to enlarge the pictures.


That's head coach Jim Zorn and running back Clinton Portis, hanging out talking before practice. I have no idea what they were discussing, but it went on for some time. Also, it looked perfectly normal and cordial. I put this up just because I don't think we hear nearly enough about the times that Zorn and CP just kinda shoot the breeze.

Gary Fitzgerald of Redskins.com and I sat down with head coach Jim Zorn not long ago to discuss the start of Zorn's second year as a head coach. One of the things I was most curious about was -- surprise! -- what Zorn's expectations were of Jason Campbell.

I wasn't only interested because of Campbell's much-talked-about tumultuous offseason; there are two other elements of the Zorn/Campbell dynamic that intrigue me. First, the word on Zorn's system has always been that it might take a QB a year to master it. And second, I've always felt like Zorn had more faith in Campbell than people generally assume.

Here's the portion of the interview that addresses those two questions; check out the whole thing at Redskins.com.

Q: What specifically in Jason Campbell's development this offseason is going to help drive where this offense goes?

A: "He's much more explosive away from the line of scrimmage. He's playing at a higher physical level, just in terms of his ability. He has made himself understand what we're trying to do. He understands more about the athleticism that it takes to play the quarterback position. And I think he's seeing that he's a pretty good athlete.

"What he learned last year, even up to game 16, was just the nature of being on the line of scrimmage and controlling the run game, controlling the passing game and controlling the protection situations. And then, when the ball is snapped, he learned how to read and throw on the kind of rhythm that we expect from him.

"Jason progressed as he went along. Now, with the comfort of the terminology, with the comfort of what the expectations are, I think Jason has risen up."

Q: In looking at your past history as a quarterbacks coach in Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck in his second year in this offense made a good, solid jump in terms of production. Can Jason Campbell do the same?