THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411210177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: SKINS NOTES
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFFWRITER
DATELINE: IRVING, TEXAS LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
The ball hit the ground. Reggie Brooks' spirit wasn't far behind.
It happened in the third quarter of Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins game, one in which the final scoring margin of 31-7 had already been decided.
Brooks, a 1,000-yard rusher last season for Washington, but an oft-injured fumbler who hadn't played since losing two fumbles in the last Dallas game on Oct. 2, suddenly got the call from Norv Turner.
First carry, 4 yards.
Second carry, next snap, 7 yards - and a fumble, recovered by Cowboys safety James Washington.
Brooks, head down, ambled for the sidelines. He was intercepted by Turner, with whom he reportedly has bickered.
``It hurt,'' Brooks admitted. ``But Norv told me I was going back in, that he had confidence in me. He said I had to have confidence in myself. I did.''
Brooks finished with 33 yards on 10 rushes. He also caught 3 passes, second to Desmond Howard, for 16 yards. Nothing great, mind you, but there were no more fumbles. It seems likely Brooks will begin sharing time with Ricky Ervins, that perhaps his career in Washington can be salvaged.
``I never said I wanted to be traded,'' Brooks replied emotionally, refuting what has appeared in several media outlets. ``A lot of these allegations have been turned around by people, excuse me, in the media. I cannot control that. As long as this team knows what I mean.''
Some teammates joined Turner in consoling Brooks after his fumble, which was wiped out a couple of plays later when Dallas' Darryl Johnston lost a fumble to Washington's Darryl Morrison.
``They were very encouraging, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else,'' Brooks said.
SLOW STARTERS: Andre Collins had a simple explanation for Washington's habit of falling behind early this season (they trailed Dallas, 17-0, Sunday): ``We've got to get out motors running earlier,'' he said. ``I don't think we can wait until the second quarter to show up and play. At that point, it becomes too late for us to catch up.''
Or, as fellow linebacker Ken Harvey put it, ``Dallas is a good team. After it was over, we started playing good ball.''
THIS 'N THAT: Kevin Williams' 83-yard punt return for a touchdown was the fourth longest in Cowboys history. It also was the first Dallas punt return for a score since Williams went 62 yards last December - against the Redskins. Redskins, 65-14. ... Brian Mitchell set a Redskins record for most kickoff return yardage in a single season. Mitchell's 180 yards gave him a total of 1,112 this season, breaking Mike Nelms' mark of 1,099 in 1981. ... Cowboys coach Barry Switzer, on finding replacements for injured QBs Troy Aikman and Rodney Peete: ``If they can't play, we'll have to find another quarterback. But right now, you can't find them at 7-11.'' by CNB