THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 28, 1995 TAG: 9511280434
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
That was no blueprint for victory Washington Redskins coach Norv Turner sent Heath Shuler in with against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday. Blueprints carry a certain degree of sophistication.
This was more like an etch-a-sketch. Child's play.
Hand off to Terry Allen. Hand off to Brian Mitchell.
Throw short to Allen. Throw short to Marc Logan. Throw short to Mitchell. Even throw short to the wide receivers, whoever they are.
Don't make anybody nervous. Don't get anybody excited. Stay so deep within yourself you need a search warrant to find your intestinal fortitude. Lose with dignity, which a 14-7 loss constitutes.
Shuler, the third pick in the 1994 NFL draft, threw 27 passes against the Eagles and completed just 12. Seven of those stayed in the air just slightly longer than a baby bird with two broken wings before settling in the arms of the running backs. Of the other five, the longest was 20 yards. That was a bullet over the middle to tight end Jamie Asher, who immediately fell down, quite possibly in shock.
OK, so there were the usual extenuating circumstances losing teams cling to like ivy as dismal week becomes dreadful season. The Redskins' second, third and fourth receivers - that's Michael Westbrook, Leslie Shepherd and Tydus Winans - didn't play because of injuries. The only thing recently signed wideout Jeff Query apparently has learned to do since joining the team is commit offensive-interference penalties. (Yeah, I know, it was a bad call.)
What's funny about this in a sad, pathetic sort of way is that I'm not trying to be the least bit critical of Turner or the game he called for Shuler. Taking into account injuries, Sunday was basically the fourth time the kid has tried to launch his pro career. Unfortunately for him, he's way behind the curve he and the Redskins and, certainly, Redskins fans set up 18 months ago.
But when you're standing behind the podium knowing that your quarterback completed less than half of his pass attempts, that he threw an interception, that he was sacked three times and that he started first-half drives at the Eagles 30, 33 and 43 and scored no points, don't tell people that your quarterback played ``good.'' It isn't so.
I thought the purpose of Shuler taking over these next few weeks was to get a better feel for what he can do, that he wasn't going to learn and Turner wasn't going to learn and Joe Fan wasn't going to learn unless Shuler actually played and had the chance to do the things asked of the other guy, Gus Frerotte.
I hope Turner didn't dummy-down the gameplan because he was worried about the RFK fans getting on Shuler's case. What a dangerous precedent to set.
Besides, contrary to what you've heard, the team itself isn't completely tethered to Frerotte with no room in their heart for Shuler. In the fourth quarter Sunday, when the boo-birds started to squawk loudly enough to be heard on the field following Shuler's interception, starting guard Ray Brown approached the quarterback.
``Forget about them,'' he said, ``we're with you.'' And he stuck his massive right hand in the air, offering Shuler a high-five - maybe an olive branch - which the kid gladly accepted. ``That meant more to me than anything the fans could have said,'' Shuler said later.
On top of that, the kid seems to be growing the protective shell all high-profile quarterbacks need to be successful.
A Washington TV type asked Shuler when it was going to be time for the young guys on the Redskins to stop using their youth as an excuse for losing. Shuler replied that he had never done that. The reporter agreed, but very sincerely told him again that some of his teammates were comfortable blaming their birth certificates for their blunders.
``Well, go ask them about it,'' Shuler snapped. ``Next question.''
How 'bout whether Shuler will get the opportunity these next four weeks to play his way into a closer relationship with his teammates? You do that by showing them you can make plays, or ``big plays,'' as the Redskins categorize anything that gains more than 20 yards.
In 10 1/2 games, Frerotte had 33 of those, from 5-yard dumpoffs that a back or receiver carted an additional 15 yards, to long, majestic strikes like the 73-yard bomb Shepherd ran under in the season opener against Arizona.
Greedy Deion Sanders and the Cowboys are up next, which may make this the most uncomfortable afternoon of Shuler's career. So what. Let's see what the guy can do, how far he's come, how far he has to go.
Give him a blueprint, not an etch-a-sketch. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Heath Shuler, the third pick in the 1994 NFL draft, threw 27 passes
against the Eagles and completed just 12.
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler is sacked by Eagles linebacker
William Thomas Sunday at RFK Stadium.
by CNB