THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120375
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ASHBURN, VA. LENGTH: 88 lines
No coach in his right mind plans to open a football season using a ``bend-but-don't-break'' defense. There hasn't been a general manager yet who sent scouts into the offseason talent search with orders to find players comfortable giving opposing receivers a 10-yard cushion so he won't be beaten deep.
In fact, bend-but-don't-break is nothing more than a cute, fuzzy, wholly inaccurate catch phrase tossed around to make people think there's something mystical about the sport. The guy who invented it may be the same galoot who came up with ``synthetic grass.''
Championship-caliber football teams can't fathom ``bend.'' Not fulltime. Their focus is to attack, ravage and intimidate the opposition. Nothing in their philosophy allows an opponent access to the shadow of their end zone.
In other words, no one should be fooled into believing that the Washington Redskins are employing anything but a defense for the desperate. Bend-but-don't-break? How 'bout bend-and-get-lucky?
Only teams with fundamental weaknesses rely on the ``bend.'' It's been four seasons since the Redskins tackled well. There hasn't been a consistent pass rush at any time since Norv Turner became coach.
What's sad about today's NFL is that you can get away with it long enough to fashion a deceptively impressive record because so many teams are inept on offense. But against playoff-type teams, or those with veteran quarterbacks who've seen every defensive shell-game on the block, playing the ``bend'' is courting disaster.
How else to describe the 1,091 yards and 75 points the Redskins have surrendered the last two weeks to Buffalo and Jim Kelly and Arizona and Boomer Esiason?
After Esiason torched the Redskins' secondary for 522 of the Cardinals' 615 total yards in a whacky 37-34 overtime victory Sunday, Washington finally fell to 30th in team defense, 27th against the pass, 29th against the run. And with games coming up against Philadelphia, San Francisco and Dallas during an 11-day span, the chances of that rating improving are just slightly better than the chances of snow in Hawaii.
The easiest coach to target as scapegoat is defensive coordinator Ron Lynn. That's slightly misplaced. It's admittedly bizarre logic, but the fact that the Redskins have missed an incalculable number of tackles the last two weeks actually proves Lynn and his assistants have done their jobs. They put players in position to make plays they didn't make.
``We haven't tackled worth a darn in two weeks,'' Lynn said. ``We blew some coverages, we had some penalties and we can't play like that and win. Some of our younger guys, the onus is going to be on them to get consistent. Too many other guys are counting on them.''
The Redskins made bolstering their defense a top priority last offseason. That's why they dealt their No. 1 draft pick, sixth overall, to St. Louis for tackle Sean Gilbert. Double- and sometimes triple-teamed, Gilbert has gradually worn down. Against the Cardinals, he had just two tackles.
Generally, however, Gilbert has been everything the Redskins wanted. He's occupied his share of opposing linemen, but the kids around him haven't taken advantage of the one-on-one confrontations that have resulted.
End Rich Owens, 24, started and played most of the game. He finished with one tackle, a third-quarter sack.
``We need more good plays from him,'' Lynn said. ``When you get the sack, everyone sees that. But he can do more on other downs.''
Owens' opposite end, Sterling Palmer, 25, also had one tackle, a sack. Third-year end Dexter Nottage? One tackle. Second-year tackle William Gaines? Two tackles.
Arizona ran 68 plays. Washington's line had nine tackles.
In the secondary, the player with the best pedigree - 24-year-old cornerback Tom Carter - is hard to figure out. At 6-feet-1, 200 pounds, Carter ought to play up on the line of scrimmage, using his strength to jam up his opponent, keep him from getting off the line cleanly.
Moments before the end of the first half Sunday, Carter's assignment was to keep Marcus Dowdell at the line of scrimmage long enough for safety Darryl Pounds to run over to cover in case Dowdell was going deep. Carter barely laid a hand on Dowdell, Pounds was late getting over, and Dowdell sprinted down the right sideline with a 64-yard touchdown pass.
Later, Carter and Pounds, also 24, became confused on which defense they were in. That play became a 33-yard catch by Rob Moore that allowed the Cardinals to escape a third-and-26.
Not that Lynn is above reproach.
With Arizona on the Washington 13, there's no reasonable explanation for the 10-yard cushion safety Stanley Richard gave Cardinals' tight end Johnny McWilliams. Feasting on the one-on-one matchup, McWilliams did little more than run 14 yards down field and turn. Richard never challenged him until he was cradling Esiason's touchdown pass.
The saddest commentary of all is that the smallest and oldest man on the defense - 5-8, 36-year-old corner Darrell Green - levied Washington's two most resounding hits Sunday. That can't keep happening or else Green's season and Washington's playoff hopes soon will be finished. by CNB