Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 22, 1993 TAG: 9311220108
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ANAHEIM, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Darrell Green said it.
Jeff Bostic said it.
Even Art Monk, who rarely says anything, said it.
These elder statesmen of the Washington Redskins declared their 10-6 loss Sunday to the lowly Los Angeles Rams the worst they have experienced in the NFL.
"The only positive thing about today is that we're going home," Bostic said, heading for the bus that would whisk the Redskins to the airport.
How inept was Washington in losing for the eighth time in 10 games this season? Twice the Redskins didn't come close to the line of scrimmage on important third- and fourth-down short-yardage plays - once when a couple of offensive linemen ran a play called "Gash" instead of the called play, "Blast."
How helter-skelter was the Redskins' offensive thinking in solidifying their worst record after 10 games in 30 years?
Monk, who was benched in favor of Desmond Howard and didn't play until the third quarter, found himself the primary target on a deep pass - his worst pattern - and triple-covered with 39 seconds to play and Washington desperately trying to overcome the Rams' four-point lead.
The results were predictable. Safety Anthony Newman tipped Rich Gannon's pass before it reached Monk, then fellow safety Michael Stewart intercepted it at the 3-yard line.
"Worst thing I've ever been part of," Monk said.
Green added: "This one hits me a different way; something about this one . . . . I don't know. This was the final blow to my heart. This was devastating today."
Devastating because the Rams entered the game with a 2-7 record against a supposedly softer schedule than the Redskins. Because the Rams hadn't scored a first-half touchdown at home since Game 5.
Devastating because, as Brian Mitchell said, "This was the game I thought we'd break out - and I'm surprised we didn't. Losing seven is low; losing eight is really low."
Devastating because the Redskins appeared to have the game in hand through three quarters, despite only leading 6-0 on two field goals by Chip Lohmiller.
Or, as linebacker Carl Banks moaned, "You're supposed to be able to withstand one or two plays from the other day. Obviously, that wasn't the case today."
It started falling apart when Rams coach Chuck Knox benched quarterback Jim Everett, the NFC's lowest-rated passer and the target of near-constant booing from a largely disinterested crowd of 45,546. In came T.J. Rubley, who had started earlier this season and was found wanting.
Rubley can run, and on third-and-18 he moved toward the line when flushed from the pocket. Cornerback A.J. Johnson left tight end Pat Carter to close on Rubley, and Rubley flipped the ball to Carter, who ran 38 yards.
Richie Petitbon, Washington's coach, later insisted Rubley "was only about 3 1/2 yards" past the line of scrimmage when he threw, but no official saw it that way.
On the next snap, Rubley rolled right and hit tight end Troy Drayton with a 25-yard screen pass in the left flat. No one touched him.
The extra point made it 7-6, Rams.
"We caught their defense playing a little too aggressively," Drayton said. "We caught them at the right time."
And then they caught a break.
After Lohmiller barely missed a 57-yard field-goal attempt with 7 minutes, 22 seconds to play, Rubley hit Flipper Anderson with a 29-yard pass, which was tipped, on second-and-16. That put the ball at the 8, close enough for Tony Zendejas to connect on a 23-yard field goal with 3:10 left.
Gannon, whose 25 completions netted 172 yards, moved the Redskins from their 31 with short passes underneath a deep-dropping LA zone.
Then, from the Rams' 27, came the pass toward Monk.
Newman and Stewart never left Monk and were in easy position to steal a pass Gannon later said never should have been thrown.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB