THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608180175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 89 lines
Maybe what the Washington Redskins' quarterback controversy has served most to do was assure that neither Heath Shuler nor Gus Frerotte is fully prepared to start the regular season.
So meticulously has coach Norv Turner seen to it that both men received almost equal snaps, throws, plays and practices that the one who survives to start against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 1 probably won't be as far along as he ought to be.
``Gus and I have been getting half the time someone else from another team has been getting,'' Shuler said following the Redskins' dismal 28-7 dismantling by the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night. ``You like to be out there long enough to get into a groove, and that's tough to do when you're playing a quarter and he's playing a quarter.''
Shuler wasn't making excuses for his 7-of-13, 65-yard performance against the Bengals. He never mentioned the fact that he had three passes dropped. He took the blame for his sophomoric mistake of trying to hand the football to Terry Allen while on the ground after having been tripped by center Cory Raymer. The resulting fumble set up Cincinnati's first touchdown.
Rather, he was merely pointing out fact. Not counting penalties, Shuler took 26 snaps Friday night. Frerotte took 30. Cincinnati's Jeff Blake took 29 Friday night, but there's no question that he receives almost all of the important work in training camp, day after day. His needs have been addressed.
So, as much as Turner might like the luxury of granting himself a one-game extension and using next week's preseason finale against New England as his final QB exam, he simply must make his decision within the next 48 hours. The winner is going to need all the work he can get before facing the Eagles.
What's the call? No one really knows. Late last week, it was reported that some Redskins insiders felt Turner favored Frerotte. He made fewer mistakes than
Shuler and was slightly more advanced.
If that's the case, Frerotte may still win the job despite a 4-of-16, 48-yard game against the Bengals. He did not throw an interception. He did not fumble. But it also should be noted that he has played about three quarters with the first-team offense the last two weeks and doesn't have a touchdown to show for it.
Then there's Shuler. The fumble was atrocious and makes you wonder how, after two-plus years, he still hasn't learned more self-control. The interception wasn't as bad as the play two snaps before, when he passed into the flat for Bill Brooks and instead tossed it directly to linebacker Gerald Dixon. Had Dixon intercepted the ball and run for a touchdown as he probably should have, Frerotte might have had the starter's job before he took the field Friday.
But Shuler redeemed himself by hitting Jamie Asher for 12 yards on a third-and-10. He also overcame a third-and-15 situation on the next series with a 17-yard completion to Brooks. Two plays later, the Redskins scored on Terry Allen's 50-yard run.
Later, he lobbed a perfect 23-yard pass to Asher over the Cincinnati linebackers, which wiped out a second-and-19. A couple of plays later, Bill Brooks dropped Shuler's near-perfect third-and-10 pass that would have gone for a first down.
Only Turner knows whether those plays are enough to make up for Shuler's two big mistakes.
``The numbers thing is really one of the least important things to me,'' Turner explained. ``I think it's the feel of how a guy is playing and the control he has over things. . . . We've emphasized completion percentage, lack of interceptions. . . . Those things weren't there tonight.''
Frerotte has completed 53 percent of his passes (47 attempts, 25 completions). Shuler has hit 61.5 percent (39 passes, 24 completions). Turner's goal is at least 60.
Frerotte has thrown for 278 yards. Shuler has thrown for 278 yards.
Frerotte has no touchdowns and no interceptions. Shuler has no touchdowns and two turnovers.
Maybe it should be Frerotte's job. Barely.
But a Redskins official recently said that when you chart Shuler's performances, they start badly but improve the longer he plays. When you chart Frerotte's performances, they start high and drop off the more he plays.
Clearly, Shuler has improved more than Frerotte from last season to the present. Clearly, he had farther to go, though there's probably not enough money in the world for Turner to label either a finished product.
Still, one must be chosen to lead. No matter who it is, Turner must also work to make him better prepared than he currently is. Right now, the quarterback position is not a Redskins strength. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cincinnati linebacker Stan Tovar celebrates a hit on Skins
quarterback Heath Shuler during Washington's 28-7 loss Friday night.
Shuler was 7-of-13 for 65 yards and an interception. by CNB