Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 10, 1995 TAG: 9510100079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sometimes, the most difficult questions have the simplest answers.
Case in point: How can the Washington Redskins become more consistent?
Answer: Find more Brian Mitchells. About 30 of them.
When was the last time you saw an NFL player with his drive, determination and singleness of purpose? Mitchell knows that the quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line. That's the way he runs. That's the way he plays. Game after game.
Mitchell's statistics in Sunday's 37-34 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles were spectacular. Before the Eagles started kicking away from him, Mitchell had returned kickoffs for 42 and 44 yards and a punt for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Then, it became comical.
When Eagles punter Tom Hutton hit one high enough to force Mitchell to call for a fair catch, the Veterans Stadium crowd cheered lustily, as though it just had been introduced to the guy whose idea it was to slap mustard on a pretzel. Know what Philadelphia special-teams coach Danny Smith called the biggest play of the game? Gary Anderson's kickoff over Mitchell's head and through the end zone to start overtime.
Seventy-one points. Eight hundred yards of offense. Two Eagles - Ricky Watters and Charlie Garner - with more than 100 yards rushing each. Overtime. All that drama, and the play of the game is a touchback? Some might argue, but not many. After all, when Mitchell fielded a kickoff or punt, the Redskins started in Philadelphia territory more times than not.
Read this next sentence slowly: Mitchell may be as valuable to the Redskins as any player in the league is to his club. Without him and the 210 yards the Washington special teams squeezed out of the Eagles, the Redskins lose by, oh, 34-10.
And it's not just Mitchell's returns. On third-and-nine, Gus Frerotte threw a screen pass to Mitchell that gained 15 yards and kept alive a touchdown march. Later, another Frerotte-to-Mitchell screen gained 14 on third-and-10, paving the way for the touchdown that pulled the Redskins to 34-31.
``He's doing that in all of our games,'' said Norv Turner, Washington's coach. ``He's doing it so much I guess you start to take it for granted.''
Oh, one more thing. On kick coverage, Mitchell made a tackle - something the Redskins' defense had difficulty doing all day.
Even though Turner doesn't feel comfortable using Mitchell for more than, say, 10 plays a game - though it makes Washington's offense far less effective and keeps the Redskins' defense on the field longer - maybe there's something Mitchell could do in practice to help the defense.
Turner should just tell the defensive line to sit on the sideline, then let the Washington offensive line and Mitchell rumble over the linebackers and secondary. They might not like it, but at least they would be able to get accustomed to the feeling of playing seven-on-11, as they did Sunday at The Vet.
``We made them look like a million dollars,'' said Ron Lynn, the Redskins' defensive coordinator. ``Made them look like the best thing since sliced bread.''
Had Einstein watched Sunday's game, he might have developed a Theory of Reliability by now. Simply put, give a football to a player facing the Redskins and you can rely on at least one missed tackle per carry.
One guy in the press box scratched his head, dotted the I's, crossed the T's, carried the one and came up with 19 missed tackles.
``They've got a couple of good backs,'' said free safety Stanley Richard, ``but the yardage they got comes from a lack of tackling on our part - mostly speaking for myself.''
Eagles quarterback Rodney Peete never threw a pass of more than 20 yards. He didn't need to, but it also was part of the Philadelphia game plan.
``We wanted to throw short so the defensive linemen would have to turn and run, turn and run, turn and run,'' said Eagles center Raleigh McKenzie, a former Redskin. ``We knew it would take its toll.''
It did, and it may. Don't think other coaches aren't going to see that a conservative Philadelphia offense that ran right, ran left but mostly ran right through the Redskins, churned out some eye-popping numbers with a minimum of risk. Arizona's Garrison Hearst had better strap an oxygen tank onto his jersey Sunday in Tempe, Ariz., when Washington visits. He's going to need it.
``They had both backs over 100 yards,'' said Redskins safety Keith Taylor, when asked if the defense would be seeing a lot more running plays. ``You'd be dumb not to.''
If that's the case, the only way Washington can stay close in these games is for Brian Mitchell to continue being Brian Mitchell.
Redskins fans had better get used to nail-biting finishes - and predictable results.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB