Skins go from question mark to favorite in 4 weeks

By Joseph White

ASHBURN

Riding a four-game winning streak few would have predicted, Redskins coach Jim Zorn on Monday gave his first news conference as a heavy favorite.

A favorite three times over, in fact. Having mastered the choppy waters of NFC East opponents Dallas and Philadelphia on the road, the Redskins (4-1) should have smooth sailing all the way to 7-1 with upcoming games against St. Louis (0-4), Cleveland (1-3) and Detroit (0-4).

Right?

"That's probably the scariest thing out there for me. I'm not going to dance the jig because of that," said Zorn, twisting his body and shuffling his feet as if he actually were going to demonstrate the dance. "I'm going to try to work hard and get a good plan."

In that regard, Zorn is going to be like every other coach, wary of letdowns and overconfidence when facing a struggling opponent.

What separates him from others - particularly predecessor Joe Gibbs - is that Zorn isn't afraid to say he expects to win, an attitude he adopted as an assistant on Mike Holmgren's staff in Seattle.

"Odds? Throw the odds out," Zorn said. "We expect to win. It was a serious attitude. (Holmgren) just had high expectations and that permeated to the team and that permeated to the fans - and we were all in it together. And hopefully that's where we're headed to."

Zorn's next challenge as a first-time head coach will be to keep his players confident, not cocky, even as they go from being the hunter to the hunted. No one has complained about that predicament.

"Instead of being one of the teams that's looking for someone to beat, I think we're one of the teams that people are looking to beat," right tackle Jon Jansen said. "That's a great position to be in. It hasn't been one that we've been in a lot in my tenure here."

No one is enjoying the ride more than owner Dan Snyder, who was caught on camera screaming in the aftermath of the past two games. After Sunday's 23-17 victory against the Eagles, he walked off the field yelling: "Four-and-one! In Philly! In Dallas! Yeah, Redskins!"

And, for the second straight week, a chant of "Hip, hip, hooray!" reverberated in the locker room - this time led by receiver Antwaan Randle El.

Under Zorn, the Redskins are writing their own textbook on how to win, mixing some classic formulas with a few of their own. The offense still hasn't fumbled the ball and Jason Campbell's season-long run without an interception has set the franchise record for attempts without a pick. Opponents are up to 34 straight drives that started in their territory.

Washington is winning the time of possession by an average of nearly six minutes per game and dominating the fourth quarter with clock-killing drives, outscoring opponents 34-10 in the final 15 minutes.

Then there's the unexpected. Beating Philadelphia without injured cornerback Shawn Springs. Winning without a catch from Santana Moss. Going for it again on fourth-and-short when holding a lead late in the fourth quarter - and letting running back Clinton Portis choose the play that got the first down.

"You can't play scared," Moss said. "You can't win scared. That's been something that's been noticed around here since we've been on this little run: We haven't been playing scared football."

Winning such favor with his players made it easier for Zorn to order them to show up for work Monday, forgoing the traditional "victory Monday" day off. Despite their winning streak, the Redskins are merely tied with Dallas for second place in the toughest division in the NFL, a half-game behind the undefeated New York Giants.

"They would all love to have a little bit of a rest, but we have work to do," Zorn said. "We did not play flawless football."

Notes: DT Cornelius Griffin had an MRI on his sprained right shoulder and WR Malcolm Kelly has some swelling on a knee.... P Durant Brooks had another weak performance Sunday and is last in the league with a 39.3-yard average. "Our punter has to improve his height, hang time and distance," Zorn said.