FanHouse JonJansen

Samuels will require surgery after tearing his right triceps in the fourth quarter of the 24-10 loss. Also placed on injured reserve was offensive lineman Justin Geisinger, who sustained a meniscus injury in his left knee while serving as an emergency fill-in for Samuels and injured right tackle Jon Jansen.

Jansen, who sprained a ligament in his left knee in the fourth quarter, remains on the active roster, although it remains unclear whether he will be able to play again this season. Stephon Heyer and Jason Fabini are expected to start at tackle Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I'm disappointed that I'm not going to be out there," Jansen said. "I still believe myself to be the right tackle here, but it's not going to be that way on [Thursday], and that's what I have to deal with."

Jansen was given some explanations for the change, but "nothing that I felt was reason enough," he said. Zorn said the decision to go with Heyer was very difficult, citing the ability to best protect the passer as a key factor.

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

The Washington Redskins just completed one of the most emotional seasons in their 75-year history. 2007 will always be remembered. Life, as they say, does go on ... so looking to 2008 is imperative.

1. Head Coach – Duh. Once Joe Gibbs retired, it has thrown up in the air what this team will look like in 2008. Gibbs wanted things one way -- his replacement may want them totally different. If Gregg Williams gets the gig, you'd expect the team to stay on the same track that Gibbs put them on. If they go outside the organization, who knows?

Also, if it is Williams then the Redskins need to find out a new defensive coordinator. Oh, and Al Saunders (if he sticks) won't have Gibbs to deal with when calling the game.

2. Salary Cap -- As we all know, the Redskins mess with the cap as much as any team. That being said, it is rumored that Washington is waaaay over the salary cap and will need to shave off the payroll. That means (a) cutting players and (b) reworking deals. Good thing Daniel Snyder is wealthy and likes to rework the deals. Guys like Clinton Portis, Chris Samuels, Jon Jansen and Marcus Washington may be willing to do this. Guys like Brandon Lloyd and Mark Brunell may be cut. Obviously, where these cuts come from will help determine what holes need to be addressed.

"Man, I'd love to be back here," Portis said. "I love my teammates and love the organization, but that's on them. I feel like I'll be here, but if it don't work out you can't hold your head down about it. I gave and left everything I had on the field, and it's up to them to make that decision. It's on them. I don't know what they're going to do, and right now I'm under contract with the Washington Redskins for the next four years. That's where I plan to be."

Obviously football is one of those games in which there's no such thing as a one man team like the NBA. If an offensive lineman doesn't do his job, the passing and running game suffers. If a receiver drops a key pass, the momentum can shift and the game lost. If the offense scores 35 points and the defense gives up 36, what difference will it make.

In addition to the 22 starters, the backups have to execute as well. What's the point developing a running game if on a 3rd and short, the backup comes in and fumbles. Or the nickel back gets burned. And then there's the special teams. The game is based on field position. If the opponents' average starting position is around the 35, the defense's job already got harder. John Hall has to make his kicks. Derrick Frost has to continue to pin opponents' offenses deep.

And then there's the coaching staff. What happened to the explosive offensive play calling by Al Saunders or the suffocating defense by Gregg Williams? If is just player execution or can the coaching staff make better decisions as to what to call and when? Is Joe Gibbs involved in any of the play calling at all?

All the attention so far has ended up with Mark Brunell. As I watch all the pregame shows and read all the articles on the internet, fingers are being pointed everywhere but eventually being pointed at Mark Brunell. I'm pointing the finger at Mark Brunell.

But I also feel that the other 21 starters, handful of key backups and the entire coaching staff needs some finger pointing. Jon Jansen looked terrible against the Cowboys. I liked him better with two broken thumbs. The secondary is playing like a practice squad. David Carr had an impressive game last weekend, but he was overshadowed by Peyton Manning's performance. If we think Carr is vulnerable (he has the NFL's third best passer rating), he might put up better numbers than the two aging QBs we've faced so far. The d-line spends all game dancing with the o-line. Adam Archuleta is a heat seeking missile looking for the football instead of where the football is going. Andre Carter? Hello?

There are a lot of individuals that can get a finger, but ultimately, it's a team sport. The ultimate team sport. Hopefully the 0-2 start has refocused everyone and instead of spending all week whether or not Mark Brunell should be the starter, let's hope everyone collectively can figure out how to make it easier for him to do whatever he does and win some games. If it's Todd Collins or Jason Campbell back there, everyone still has to do what they do better in order for it to make a difference.

Now that the glass half full looks more like it's half empty, let's take a more realistic snapshot of what the Redskins are working with. It's easy to let the 0-2 record get us down, but last year's team, which was less talented (on paper at least) was 5-6 before making a run for the playoffs.

So what's going on this year? Are we really that bad? Is there any hope left for a run for the Lombardi Trophy?