Jim Zorn is: The Conditioner

Jim Zorn made his first negative comments not involving the Redskins’ team colors yesterday when he criticized rookies Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly for their lack of conditioning and resulting injuries.

“I’ve had this happen in other places I’ve coached, and it’s very difficult,” Zorn said of young wide receivers missing training camp time. “When you interview them, ‘It’s going to be easy.’ They’re going to walk around and go: ‘This is nothing. I’ll get this right away.’

“But once they get out there and they really see what they have to do and how exact they have to be and the speed at which they have to play and the intensity — then I think they’ll see. Now, can we get them in and work them in? Yes. Will they get up to speed? Yes. But this is valuable time.”

Both Thomas and Kelly have been out with hamstring injuries, and recent knee surgery will shelve Kelly for at least two weeks. Interestingly enough, Zorn’s comments have been the most coherent since his arrival in Washington, and his most dead on.

Its very possible that Thomas and Kelly relaxed a little in the days following the draft, and are now paying for it in the Washington humidity and newly discovered speed of NFL training camp. They will recover and be standout players, but their slowed progress might slow the progress of a team that is supposed to have the best receivers in the game this year.

But when all else fails, its good to have James Thrash on your side.

Comments

By Truth About It Dot Net on August 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am

Yea, rookies are one thing…but evidently he got on Smoot too.

Isn’t this guy supposed to be a veteran competing for a starting role?

By JC on August 6th, 2008 at 10:50 am

One too many Smack bars in the off-season, apparently.