ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jim Zorn has his own way of doing things.

Has his own way of talking about things, too.

Asked Monday how he wants his Washington Redskins to improve in the season's second half, Zorn said, "We have to play more suddenly."

This from a man who already has made the phrase "stay medium" — as in not too high, not too low — part of the regular conversation around Redskins Park. A man who praises "violent" (read "physical") play in his defense and star running back, alike.

So what does it mean to play "suddenly?"

"We have to know our assignments and know the technique — at any given moment, the technique has to be right and it has to be 'sudden,' for us to be the contending team that we want to be in this last half of the season," Zorn said.

There is plenty about this left-handed former quarterback that is unorthodox:

—The kindergarten-style cheers he expects from a locker room filled with grown men.

—The very public chastising of players, including league-leading rusher Clinton Portis during Sunday's 25-17 victory over the Detroit Lions.

—The save-your-timeouts-until-50-seconds-are-left clock management.

—The throw-on-fourth-down play calling.

"I try to do things my way," Zorn said.

And his way is working so far for the Redskins. The first-time head coach, never before even a coordinator in the pros, is 6-2, a better halfway record than Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs ever enjoyed in his second stint with the team.

No head coach making his NFL debut with Washington has ever won more than eight games in his first season. Gibbs went 8-8 in 1981, a mark Zorn seems on his way toward surpassing.

Zorn's boundless and, apparently, infectious optimism and enthusiasm certainly are a departure from the buttoned-down atmosphere Gibbs oversaw.

"He's a different type of coach, you know. Different personality. He's a little (more) free-spirited, so to speak, than some of the other head coaches I've had in the past," linebacker London Fletcher said. "But you like that about him, because he is who he is. He's not trying to be somebody else. He didn't all of a sudden become a head coach and try to become Bill Cowher."

Or, for that matter, Joe Gibbs.

After all, what are the odds Zorn's sixtysomething predecessor communicated with any of his players via text message? That, though, is precisely how Zorn kept in touch Monday with Portis, a day after their sideline spat was captured by a TV camera.

"My daughter says this is the modern-day phone call," Zorn said.

There's more where that came from.

The stories Zorn tells about skinning a coyote, for example.

The "Z Shade" he introduced at training camp, a contraption that provides protection from the sun — and a modified version he used on the sideline during a hot home game.

The practice drills where Jason Campbell and other quarterbacks have equipment thrown at them to prepare for blitzing defenders.

The play calling that Zorn's players refer to, with admiration, as "aggressive."

Campbell, in particular, is blossoming under Zorn. He's completed 66 percent of his passes, has eight touchdown throws and — remarkably — zero interceptions.

How is playing for Zorn different from playing for Gibbs?

"Coach Zorn kind of just lets it all hang out," Campbell said. "What I mean by that: He attacks, he calls a lot of plays and he doesn't really look at you as, like, a young quarterback."

Then there is Zorn's postgame celebration script.

He sounded downright crestfallen while explaining Monday that no one led a "Hip, hip, hooray!" chant Sunday. Instead, his players simply shouted, "Win!"

When Zorn thrust his left fist in the air and shouted, "Victory Monday!" — to let everyone know they would get a day off — his players responded with muted clapping. He tried again, yelling, "We're 6-2!" More polite applause.

"The energy was just not there," Zorn recounted. "I don't know if it was that they were tired."

After next Monday night's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Redskins will have their bye week. It's a break Zorn thinks they really need, in part because of how many starters are dealing with injuries, from Portis, receiver Santana Moss and left tackle Chris Samuels on offense, to end Jason Taylor, tackle Cornelius Griffin and cornerback Shawn Springs on defense.

Who knows what sort of off-week shenanigans Zorn will dream up?

Perhaps some new way of making his Redskins feel good about themselves. After all, in evaluating his first half-season as anything higher than a position coach in the NFL, Zorn spoke Monday about trying "to be as positive as I can with our players because they're doing great, and they're heading in the right direction."

So, seemingly, is he.