Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 29, 1990 TAG: 9007290082
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: CARLISLE, PA. LENGTH: Medium
"I like to see how they handle it from within," he says.
In that regard, Cary Conklin gave the Washington Redskins coach an eyeful Saturday.
Conklin, who suffered through an abysmal scrimmage Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, passed for two touchdowns Saturday to lead the Redskins to a 28-24 scrimmage victory over the New England Patriots.
In the 12-12 tie against the Steelers, Conklin completed three of 13 passes and went 10 plays without gaining a yard. On Saturday, he started slowly, losing 9 yards on his first six plays.
Then, a 26-yard completion to tight end Jimmie Johnson seemed to boost the fourth-round pick from the University of Washington. Three plays later, he whipped a 24-yard touchdown pass to Walter Stanley to put the Redskins ahead 21-17.
After the Patriots regained the lead on a 34-yard scoring pass from rookie quarterback Michael Proctor to fellow rookie Greg McMurtry, Conklin engineered a 45-yard counterattack.
Conklin started by hitting Stephen Hobbs for 11 yards. An incompletion and two 4-yard gains by fullback Tom Brown set up a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Chip Lohmiller.
Lohmiller was woefully short, but the Patriots jumped offside and the Redskins had a first down.
Brown ran for 4, then Conklin hit Hobbs for 13 yards to the New England 5.
On third-and-goal from the 1 - and on the last play of the scrimmage - Conklin faked to Brown, then passed complete to free-agent tight end John Brandes in the left corner of the end zone.
Conklin finished with seven completions in 13 attempts for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
"I think every little thing we see adds a page about him," Gibbs said. "You guys [the media] wrote him off Wednesday; now you've got him going to the Pro Bowl. With the coaches, we're somewhere in between.
"I'll say this for him, he's awfully tough mentally. He's been very solid; no big, herky-jerky jumps forward. He's been very smooth . . . . I liked what I saw today."
Conklin characterized his performance as "all right," and said he didn't spend a lot of time psyching himself up after Wednesday's clunker against the Steelers.
"I felt pretty good, and the major difference was just better concentration," he said. "My whole purpose was to go out and try to concentrate harder, sit in the pocket and get a couple of completions. I thought it was important to have some poise."
With Mark Rypien, Stan Humphries and, perhaps, Jeff Rutledge ahead of him on the depth chart, most observers didn't give Conklin much of a chance to make the squad.
Saturday, however, the coaches were talking about him. That had to be a positive sign.
\ NOTES: It is possible the Redskins will have five official holdouts starting tonight at 6, when veterans are expected in camp.
Late Friday, linebacker Monte Coleman signed a contract. That leaves Markus Koch, Darryl Grant, Gerald Riggs, Todd Bowles and Ravin Caldwell as the only unsigned players.
Gibbs said he has talked to all the holdouts except Koch. "Markus is hard to find," Gibbs said, echoing the sentiments of reporters who have tried unsuccessfully to track him down. "I'd say I'm on his answering service about 10 times and as far as I know. He isn't burning up the lines getting back to me."
Other scrimmage statistics: Humphries, 10-of-12 passing, 89 yards, one touchdown; Rutledge, 8-of-10 passing, 97 yards, one touchdown.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB