DATE: Monday, November 3, 1997              TAG: 9711030125
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE:    - JIM DUCIBELLA

                                            LENGTH:   54 lines

GRADES VS. BEARS

Four of the five starters were playing in different spots than where they've been all season, yet they played more cohesively than at any time this season.

Receivers B

Leslie Shepherd made the only catches for Washington wideouts. Henry Ellard was blanked and Alvin Harper had two good chances, but was interfered with on one and Bears LB Ron Cox made a diving tip of another. TE Jamie Asher tossed in three catches, and Jenkins had his touchdown grab, so the other wideouts weren't needed.

Running backs A+

Terry Allen came oh so close to breaking big runs on five occasions and still wound up with 125 yards, including 30- and 34-yard scampers.

Quarterback A

Gus Frerotte missed his first pass badly, then went on to complete 13 of his last 19. And he had at least two dropped. Frerotte played with more poise than in recent weeks; of course, the offense around him just purred.

Defensive line B

Hard to evaluate this unit because Washington got so far ahead at the start that the Bears couldn't maintain their run-first game plan. ``Gutty'' was defensive coordinator Mike Nolan's description of the unit, and that's as good as any, given that Chris Mims and Jamal Duff were inactive.

Linebackers A

Greg Jones had four tackles and did a nice job of filling in for injured Ken Harvey. Marvcus Patton led team with nine tackles, and contributed a smart special-teams play when he recovered an attempted onside kick. Derek Smith had five stops, including a couple of run forces early that caused Chicago to punt away the ball.

Secondary B+

Interceptions for Stanley Richard and Cris Dishman keyed an excellent performance. Darrell Green had coverage trouble on Chicago's lone touchdown drive. Not that it would have mattered greatly, but the ejection of Curtis Conway right before the half made things easier on the secondary.

Special teams A

P Matt Turk gave his usual terrific performance under gusty conditions. He averaged 39.7 yards, including a sensational 37-yard kick that Darryl Pounds downed at the Chicago 1. Scott Blanton drilled his only field-goal attempt and Brian Mitchell got the Redskins started on their second touchdown with a 25-yard punt returned.

Coaching A

The game was dictated by Norv Turner from the first snap and the Bears never seemed to regain their balance. Seeing the Bears blitz continually up the middle, Turner's game plan called for Terry Allen being isolated one-on-one with Chicago linebackers and safeties. Almost always, Allen won the battle.

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