DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 1997            TAG: 9711250757

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   87 lines

DESPITE GOOFS, ALL FORGIVEN REDSKINS WON'T FINE FREROTTE, WESTBROOK FOR BONEHEAD PLAYS.

Washington Redskins coach Norv Turner said Monday he will not punish quarterback Gus Frerotte or receiver Michael Westbrook for their roles in the team's costly 7-7 tie Sunday night against the New York Giants.

Frerotte suffered a cervical sprain when he deliberately rammed a padded concrete wall with his helmet following the one-yard run that gave Washington a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. He was replaced at the start of the second half by veteran Jeff Hostetler, whose only practice with the first-string came last week.

Westbrook, enjoying the best game of his oft-injured three NFL seasons with nine catches for 127 yards, was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct when he removed his helmet while protesting an official's ruling that a pass to him was incomplete. The penalty, with 48 seconds left in overtime, took the Redskins from the Giants' 38 to the Washington 47. Two plays later, Scott Blanton's 54-yard field goal was short and wide right.

Asked Monday whether he planned to fine Frerotte or Westbrook, Turner answered that he did not. He said that initial medical reports indicated that Frerotte would be able to practice on Wednesday and start Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. Likewise, Westbrook will return to the starting lineup.

``In both situations, both guys made mistakes,'' Turner said. ``They were wrong. They were both very critical mistakes. It cost Gus the second half of the game, and obviously. ... (Westbrook) cost our entire team field position. Neither one of them is excusable, and you can't have that happen if you expect to be a good football team.''

Frerotte raced around the right end and into the end zone with 2:16 to play in the first half to give Washington the lead. But despite playing with a sprained right shoulder, Frerotte spiked the ball against a padded cement wall, then butted the wall with his helmet. Immediately, his legs buckled and his eyes glazed over.

``I didn't see anything,'' Turner said. ``He came off, went over and sat down and I really didn't understand what was going on. I said, `What's wrong?' and he said, `I have a headache.' I thought maybe it happened before the play, but I didn't see any of it.

``I never thought I had to tell a guy not to hit his head against a wall. We will now put that in the preseason coaches manual.''

Although X-rays taken at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium were negative, Frerotte was taken by a stretcher from the Redskins locker room and brought to Prince George's Hospital. He returned to the stadium in the second half and watched the rest of the game from the locker room.

``It was stupid,'' Frerotte admitted. ``I was fired up and I was excited. Things weren't going well and then we get a big play and score a touchdown. I've butted heads with people many times and this just happened to jam me up. It's just one of those things.''

Later, however, Frerotte admitted that his injury, ``may have cost the team a win.''

Westbrook, who hasn't spoken to the media since his much-celebrated punching of teammate Stephen Davis in training camp, thought he had caught Hostetler's pass at about the Giants 25. That would have put Blanton close enough to have a better shot at a game-winning field goal. When the play was ruled incomplete, Westbrook ran back onto the field from the sidelines, ripped off his helmet, threw it down and began protesting the call.

An astonished Turner ran onto the field, but by then other officials had thrown their flags. When Westbrook went to the bench, he was met by cornerback Darrell Green and linebackers Marvcus Patton and Ken Harvey.

``That may have been an all-timer,'' Green said of the 15-yard penalty. ``I don't think you can ever do anything worse on a football field.''

Added Harvey: ``You can't let one play dictate the outcome of the game, but you sometimes make mistakes. I was a young player once, and I did.

``It's all a team thing. There are situations where you feel bad and say, `God, I wish I had that to do over.' He'll learn this time out.''

The tie left the Redskins with a 6-5-1 record, still one game behind the Giants, who are 7-4-1. If Washington wins the rest of its games, including a return match with the Giants on Dec. 13, they will win the NFC East, no matter what New York and third-place Dallas (6-6) do.

At the moment, they are a half-game ahead of Carolina and the Cowboys in the race for the final NFC wildcard berth.

``We can't cheer about this tie, we can't be happy,'' Harvey said. ``If anything, it's very frustrating. It's like running a long race but stopping short of the finish line.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

An astonished Norv Turner ran onto the field to calm down Michael

Westbrook. ``It cost our entire team field position,'' Turner said.

THEATER OF THE ABSURD

GRAPHIC

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]

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