Ex-players: Lewis a good call for Redskins

Sherm Lewis might not be able to save the day, let alone Washington coach Jim Zorn’s job, but top receivers who played for Lewis said the Redskins’ new play caller should give new life to their faltering version of the West Coast passing game.

“The West Coast offense is predicated on spacing on the football field,” said Antonio Freeman, who played five seasons under Lewis with the Green Bay Packers. “When I watch the Redskins, on a lot of plays Jason Campbell can’t get the ball to the receivers because the spacing isn’t there. It’s a receiver’s nature to want to get open, to want to beat the [defensive back] covering him. But the West Coast isn’t about that. It’s about getting to the right place on the field so the quarterback isn’t sitting back there holding the ball.”

Freeman then illustrated how the proper routes can have a major effect on the offense’s success by describing what’s supposed to happen on a double post, slot right.

“The inside receiver is supposed to run to the safety’s face [like a decoy],” Freeman explained. “If he tries to get open, then the safety can back off and get into the passing lane and prevent the outside receiver from getting to the post and making the catch. Guys have to know their roles on each play.”

Cris Carter doesn’t believe that the 67-year-old Lewis, who Monday was given the playcalling duties previously belonging to Zorn, can fix all that’s wrong with an offense that scored just five touchdowns in five games against previously winless opponents.

However, Carter, who starred for the Minnesota Vikings when Lewis was the offensive coordinator/play caller in 2000-01, believes Lewis can bring a new mindset.

“Sherm’s from the Bill Walsh school,” Carter said, referring to the coach for whom Lewis worked from 1983 to 1988 with the San Francisco 49ers. “He didn’t like the ball touching the ground during practice. There wasn’t a lot of hitting, but Sherm liked crisp practices.”

The 2000 Vikings figured to be anything but crisp, going with untested quarterback Daunte Culpepper and having lost Pro Bowl offensive linemen Randall McDaniel and Jeff Christy, tight end Andrew Glover and veteran No. 3 receiver Jake Reed to free agency.

But Minnesota started 7-0 en route to the NFC championship game while averaging 24.8 points. Culpepper threw for 33 touchdowns and 3,937 yards and started in the Pro Bowl. Robert Smith led the NFC in rushing and joined Culpepper, Carter, receiver Randy Moss, tackle Korey Stringer and first-year starting center Matt Birk in Hawaii.

“Sherm always put his players, especially the skill guys, in position to make plays,” Carter said. “He believed in the impact of big plays in the game plan. He thought that completing 70 percent [of your passes] didn’t matter if you don’t make big plays.”

But the next year began with Smith’s retirement, continued with Stringer’s death in training camp and ended with a 5-11 record that cost coach Dennis Green and Lewis their jobs. The Vikings averaged just 17.1 points a game.

In Green Bay, Lewis, succeeded his longtime boss, Mike Holmgren, as the play caller when the coach left for Seattle after the 1998 season, the Packers’ seventh straight in the playoffs.

Philadelphia coach Andy Reid worked under offensive coordinator Lewis in Green Bay from 1992 to 1998 and said that his former boss was a “sharp guy” and “instrumental” in his career. Reid said Lewis won’t be overwhelmed calling the plays Monday against the Eagles less than three weeks after joining the Redskins as a consultant.

“I don’t think Sherm would have a problem doing that,” Reid said. “He was in this offense a long time. I think he’ll be fine.”

Under Lewis, the 1999 Packers averaged 21.7 points, down from 25.5 the previous year. Quarterback Brett Favre’s passer rating dropped from 87.8 to 74.7. Green Bay fell from 11-5 to 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

But Freeman loved playing for Lewis and thinks the Redskins’ players will, too.

“Sherm was a players’ coach,” Freeman said. “He never got a lot of his due, but Sherm was the unsung hero of our offense all those years. He knew his [stuff]. He knew how to get guys in the right positions. He’s great at getting you the ball on slants, but Sherm changed the offense to take five to eight deep shots a game.”

Carter said coming out of a 4 1/2-year retirement to call the plays so soon after joining the Redskins makes it “nearly impossible” for Lewis to succeed. Carter referred to the Redskins as “that mess.”

Freeman wasn’t quite so skeptical.

“The Redskins do have some talent,” he said. “I don’t know if Jason’s the right quarterback for the West Coast, but he does have a deep arm. And Santana [Moss] is a deep-ball receiver. When I was playing for Sherm, he would say, ’Free-man, this is your play. If you don’t get open, we won’t have a play.’ That would make you feel good. That would make you give it your best to make the play work. I think Sherm can help the Redskins.”