THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 6, 1994 TAG: 9412060510
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Analysis
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
The latest question regarding what the Washington Redskins failed to perform Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was headed coach Norv Turner's way. Suddenly, he sought an answer to a problem only he knew existed.
``Rick. ... Rick,'' Turner stammered from his elevated perch, scanning the crowd for Redskins PR man Rick Vaughn.
``Close that door?'' Turner requested evenly, pointing to the locker-room entrance, a shovel pass away.
A winner's locker room is a steady roar of exuberance, a heady mix of love, playfulness and bravado. A loser's locker room is quieter than a midnight snowfall in the country. Whispers can be heard for miles; well, certainly the next room.
Turner peered inside at men hanging their heads, nerves frayed, silently running through the shower and into their clothing for another dreary journey home. The last thing he wanted to do at this moment was blind-side them with raw truth.
So he had them shielded, literally, even though his criticisms would mostly be old, read-between-the-lines stuff.
``We know where we have to improve,'' means along a defensive line that might have just one bonafide pro player.
``The most disappointing thing was when we stopped them early, we couldn't stop them on third down,'' is coach-speak for the devastating impact brought on by no pass rush, lousy coverage, abysmal tackling and mental mistakes only the weak-minded would commit weekly.
``We had an opportunity on third-and-7 (to keep the ball away from the Bucs prior to their last-minute, game-winning drive) but we didn't get the first down,'' means that though the play was designed to go deep, there are built-in options underneath that a quarterback with more savvy than Heath Shuler would have exploited.
Funny, when a team is 2-11 and the coach talks about ``things we didn't get done,'' even what was accomplished assumes a negative tint.
Sunday, Andre Collins' 92-yard interception return for a touchdown and Shuler's 81-yard touchdown toss to Desmond Howard gave Washington a 14-10 lead six minutes into the second quarter.
But Collins' run and Shuler's ``drive'' took less than 50 seconds off the clock. Ball control had been a pre-game goal. In all, the Bucs were on offense more than 24 minutes in the first half. The Redskins' modest, fragile defense wilted in the Florida heat and humidity.
It might not have mattered. Tampa Bay safety Thomas Everett claimed both of Washington's offensive TDs were luck, blown defensive assignments on which Shuler ``chunked'' the ball to his receivers.
They can settle that argument when they meet again in two weeks.
The only real lessons left to learn about the Redskins this season concern Turner. How he handles the ooze into which his first team has sunk, whether he can keep his head above it all, keep sight of his big picture, whatever that may be. Whether he can keep his passion for success from overwhelming his compassion for his mostly mediocre troops.
It's not simple. Examples of the opposite abound, at every level of coaching. Just think Mike Ditka. Just think Buddy Ryan. Just think Steve Spurrier.
So when the last bit of flesh had been pared from the carcass Sunday, Turner spoke with an almost desperate eloquence about aspects of the game the fans lost interest in weeks ago - spirit, effort, professionalism.
``That group of men in there,'' he said, pointing beyond the TV lights, ``a lot of them have been through great times. They're struggling now, but you don't give up on them.''
As the fourth quarter wound down and the Bucs dashed nearer the end zone and victory, Turner looked for signs of quit in his team. What he saw, instead, moved him.
``They kept competing,'' he argued. ``I looked at their faces, and I saw how much they care.
``The things we're not getting done have nothing to do with lack of effort, or our work or practice habits. They are fighting. Even today, they never quit fighting.''
In the long run, that isn't nearly enough, and Turner knows it. He is adamantt in his contempt for moral victories. But without the real thing, he grudgingly accepts whatever he can.
``We did a lot of good things,'' he said. ``And we're close. I know that people are tired of hearing that. I'm tired of saying it.''
But he doesn't stop. by CNB