THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260581
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
Eight weeks into the season, virtually nothing has gone according to plan for the Washington Redskins.
The quarterback isn't Heath Shuler. The left offensive tackle isn't Jim Lachey. Most of the time, the right guard isn't Tre Johnson. Rookie receiver Michael Westbrook still hasn't caught his first pro touchdown pass and may not get one this season, depending on how quickly he recovers from a knee injury.
On defense, tackle Tim Johnson has missed half the season with a bum shoulder. Safety James Washington is just coming back from a torn groin muscle. No one up front puts pressure on the opposing quarterback and new linebackers Marvcus Patton and Rod Stephens make a lot of little plays, but few big ones.
And what's the better barometer of where the Redskins are? That they have equaled last season's victory total (3) in half as many games? Or that they have lost four games on virtually the last play and could be in the playoff picture at 5-3 instead of on the outside looking in at 3-5?
Those sound like good questions for the year's final exam, commencing early Christmas Eve after Game 16 against Carolina. We're only at midterm now and the grades are just in:
Quarterback - B: Gus Frerotte has thrown for more yards (1,823) through the first eight games of a season than any Redskins quarterback since Mark Rypien (2,192) in 1989, and he still doesn't have 16 NFL starts. Frerotte has proven he has poise, leadership skills, a strong arm and is smart enough not to make the same mistake twice. He has been more than anyone ever expected when the Redskins drafted him in the seventh round out of Tulsa to serve as Shuler's backup. The end-zone pass Martin Mayhew intercepted to kill a last-second drive in Tampa Bay was probably his biggest goof of the season; but the play before was a perfect pass that Cedric Smith (since waived) dropped. If I'm the coach, Gus has really got to fold the next few weeks to lose his job this season.
Offensive line - C: Vernice Smith should be a center, but has to play guard because starter John Gesek, who was a guard in Dallas, has a chronic neck problem and takes less pounding playing center. The injuries to Lachey and Johnson sapped this unit of its depth. The run blocking is uneven and there are too many lapses in pass protection. But Johnson and Joe Patton are the real deal for the future.
Running backs - B: The only thing keeping free-agent pickup Terry Allen from an A are his fumbles, most of which the Redskins have recovered. But there's no guarantee that will continue to happen. Allen is fourth in the NFL with 666 yards and shows no signs of slowing down. Marc Logan gets an A as a receiver and blocker. Brian Mitchell gets an A for his 19 carries from scrimmage. Reggie Brooks apparently dropped out.
Receivers - C+: Too many drops, whether it be Henry Ellard or Westbrook. Ellard is on pace for 68 catches and remains the model receiver to learn from. Before assistant Terry Robiskie lit into him a couple of weeks ago, it didn't appear Westbrook was working as hard as the coaches wanted. He got that message, then got hurt. He's a good kid soon to become an excellent receiver. That doesn't help now. Leslie Shepherd has been better than expected.
Tight end - C: It's hard to believe Jay Novacek played such a huge role in Turner's Dallas offense. Scott Galbraith, Coleman Bell, James Jenkins are a nice group, but that wasn't what the Redskins were looking for. They wanted The Man to emerge, and he hasn't.
Defensive line - D: Lots of effort, little results. End Sterling Palmer was starting to come around a couple of weeks ago, but has slid back since. This unit gets no pass rush without help. It seemed to be a clear message when Mike Flores and William Gaines were added to the roster just days before the opener that Turner thought he had trouble here. He wasn't wrong.
Linebackers - C: Patton, Stephens and Ken Harvey are 1-2-3 among Redskins tacklers. Nothing wrong there. But Patton was supposedly a star about the blossom. Haven't seen it. In fact, he looked pretty darn ordinary getting beaten on the winning touchdown throw to Garrison Hearst in Arizona a couple weeks ago. Stephens is more of a plodder, but good at plugging the middle. Although he has started to come around, Harvey is way off his sack total from last season. The double-teams are getting to him. On special teams, Scott Vanderbeek and Derrick Brownlow have been exceptional.
Secondary - C+: Safeties Stanley Richard and Washington were brought in to make plays. By in large, they haven't. Richard has just a couple of interceptions, Washington has played just four games. The Redskins are 29th in the league at stopping third-down conversion attempts. Sure, some of that is the lack of a rush, but some is the coverage of corners Tom Carter and Darrell Green. In summary, slightly better than average and that because they have to do so much of the work shorthanded.
Special teams - A-: The easiest grade to assign. Brian Mitchell is the league's pre-eminent punt- and kick-return threat. Thanks to his 27.6-yard kick average, nobody gets better field position to start drives from than the Redskins. Kicker Eddie Murray leads the NFL in scoring with 67 points. Special teams coach Pete Rodriguez isn't exaggerating when he says punter Matt Turk should be in the Pro Bowl in a couple of years. He gets better by the week. The return blocking is exceptional, kick after kick; generally speaking, so's the tackling on coverage. The only drawback is the shortness of Murray's kickoffs, something about which the Redskins were well aware when they cut Chip Lohmiller.
Coaching - B: Turner assembled the troops before last Wednesday's practice and reminded them that football was a game and not to forget to have fun. Pretty gutsy, considering his team had dropped three games on the final play, and yet another with 1:16 to play. Washington has the seventh-best offense in the NFC. Thank Turner for that. There isn't an offensive assistant who doesn't deserve high marks for their work this season, particularly line coach Jim Hanifan. Maybe defensive coordinator Ron Lynn just doesn't have the horses. That's one argument. The other is that Richie Petitbon had better people up front, but never as much in the back seven as Lynn has. He just did more with less.
OVERALL - C-: Their defensive deficiencies have kept the Redskins from having a better record. Below-average record, below-average grade. ILLUSTRATION: DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH, Virginian-Pilot file photos
Gus Frerotte has thrown for more yards through the first eight games
of a season than any Redskins QB since Mark Rypien in 1989.
Terry Allen is fourth in the NFL in rushing with 666 yards.
Graphic
Ducibella's Redskins Report Card
by CNB