THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 3, 1994 TAG: 9410030145
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Heath Shuler's debut as the Washington Redskins' starting quarterback Sunday wasn't all bad after all.
Oh, it was bad. Just not all bad.
Seems his first pass as a starter for Swain County High in Bryson City, N.C., was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. His first pass at the University of Tennessee was also picked off.
Sunday, however, Shuler's first pass as the Redskins' starter was an 11-yard dart to Tydus Winans, resulting in a first down and prompting a hearty roar from the RFK Stadium crowd.
``It looks like we're gaining a little ground," Shuler said with a weak smile after the game.
A very little ground, though. For the rest of the day, Shuler was wild-high, confused, harassed and almost totally ineffective.
In other words, pretty much everything one could expect from a rookie staging his coming-out party against the two-time Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.
``It's tough for rookie quarterbacks,'' Dallas' Troy Aikman said after Shuler's 11-for-30, 95-yard, one interception effort in the Cowboys' 34-7 victory.
Aikman spoke from experience. The Cowboys' top draft pick in 1989, Aikman's rookie year was marked by several Shulerlike performances. For example, in his first NFL start, Aikman completed just 17 of 35 passes with two interceptions and no touchdowns in a 28-0 loss at New Orleans. Two games later, in his home opener against the Redskins, he went 6-for-21, again with two interceptions and no TD passes.
The Cowboys finished 1-15 that year as Aikman learned to play NFL quarterback the hard way.
Sunday, it was Shuler's turn. His indecisiveness reached its pinnacle late in the second quarter when, rather than accept a sack, Shuler flipped the ball into the air as though it were ticking. He said his intention was to heave it over the head of Cowboys' defensive tackle Russell Maryland. Instead, it hit Maryland right between the numbers. Maryland would have scored the easiest touchdown of his life if he'd only remembered to hold on to the ball.
``Gee, he's pretty tall,'' a wide-eyed Shuler noted.
According to Aikman, however, such plays are an unpleasant-but-inevitable part of a quarterback's maturation process.
``We've all been there,'' Aikman said. ``I started 11 games and had 11 games just like it.''
So it was with a real sense of understanding that Aikman, now one of the league's more accomplished passers, watched as Shuler struggled mightily Sunday.
After the game, the two met near midfield, and Aikman, who told Shuler during the off-season he'd be a lucky man if he got a chance to play for former Cowboys' offensive coordinator and current Redskins' head coach Norv Turner, offered words of encouragement.
"He said `I've been there before. Just keep your head and you'll come out a winner,' '' Shuler related.
Shuler said he's aware virtually every NFL quarterback suffers through the type of performance he turned in against Dallas Sunday. But he also realizes that some quarterbacks who start off bad stay that way throughout their careers.
``I can't sit back and think just because (Aikman and other top quarterbacks) struggled I can relax,'' he said. ``I'm not going to take it like that. I'm going to take this like a man.
``I know I'm at the bottom now. I've just got to keep working to build myself up.''
NOTES: During the pregame introductions, the RFK Stadium crowd reserved its loudest ovation for 16-year veteran linebacker Monte Coleman, who tied Art Monk on Sunday for most games played as a Redskin (205). ``It was very exciting to get the reception,'' he said. ``But all the credit goes to my teammates, both past and present.''. . . Despite taking a severe beating on the scoreboard, the Redskins got off lightly on the injury front. Running back Tyrone Rush suffered a sprained right knee and will be re-evaluated Monday. Tight end James Jenkins (sprained neck) and tackle Ray Brown (bruised ribs) sustained the only other injuries of note. Neither is considered serious. . . Mitchell, who caught the Cowboys napping and burned them for a 58-yard punt return. Mitchell picked up a Dallas punt which had struck a defender before rolling into the end zone, and raced 30 yards upfield before the Cowboys realized what was happening. ``The rules state you can try to return it, and if the return doesn't work out, you can refuse the return and take the ball out at the 20-yard line,'' Mitchell said. ``The runback was a win-win situation for us.'' by CNB