THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 3, 1996 TAG: 9608030551
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. LENGTH: 72 lines
Heath Shuler made a clear, consise opening argument that he, not Gus Frerotte, should be the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins this season. The rest of his teammates were nearly as articulate in their assertion that they are improved from a year ago, beating the Buffalo Bills 17-7 in the preseason opener Friday night at Rich Stadium.
The Bills' special teams helped. Darryl Pounds blocked Armando Avina's 28-yard field goal attempt on the next-to-last play of the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, Avina's game-tying field-goal attempt from 33 yards never got off the ground when holder Alex Van Pelt muffed the snap from center.
Pounds also recovered a fumbled punt at the Buffalo 39 that led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Reggie Brooks late in the first half. And he intercepted a pass at the Washington 4-yard line with 49 seconds to play.
``We've been saying all camp that we wanted to do whatever it took to win this season,'' Pounds said. ``Tonight was the start of a statement.
Shuler, the beleaguered former No. 1 draft pick in his third season, started and completed 12 of 15 passes for 127 yards during the first half. And although he occasionally appeared a little shaky against a Buffalo pass rush that did not include Bruce Smith and Phil Hansen, who were kept out of the game, Shuler converted 5-of-6 third-down opportunities in engineering two long drives.
``Consistency has plagued me the first two years,'' Shuler said. ``I put up some big numbers for a change. It's a big difference, from coming in here frowning, saying I wished I'd completed more passes, to this.''
Despite a pulled rib muscle, Frerotte started the second half. Despite playing with a mixture of first- and second-team offensive linemen, Frerotte completed 9-of-12 passes for 87 yards.
``Heath was sharp and in control the whole way,'' general manager Charley Casserly said. ``Gus overcame a lot of adversity. We were not real sharp with our second team in there. In the long run, both guys were excellent.''
Frerotte also took a couple of hard shots after he delivered his throws. It may have had an impact. On consecutive plays midway through the fourth quarter, Frerotte and Brooks collided in the backfield and Brooks was thrown for a nine-yard loss.
On the next play, Frerotte stumbled backing out of the pocket, then was penalized for intentional grounding moments before he was going to be sacked by Sean Moran.
On his last drive, which began at the Bills' 43, Frerotte finally got the offense on track against the Buffalo scrubs. He hit Ca'Dell Seagraves for 10, fullback Larry Jones for 17 and tight end Coleman Bell for 15. Rookie Stephen Davis capped the drive and sealed the game with a 3-yard touchown run with 3:15 to play.
``I had to redeem myself,'' Frerotte said. ``The series before was the worst of my life. It was unbelievable. The only thing I could do to make it better was to throw some passes that hit guys in the chest.''
Shuler didn't need any rust-scraping.
The Redskins started their opening drive at their 11. Shuler immediately took the offense on a 14-play, 70-yard drive that ate up 8:30 and ended with Scott Blanton's 36-yard field goal.
His first pass, badly overthrown to Leslie Shepherd, was followed by a pinpoint slant to Shepherd that gained 16 yards. He also hit tight ends Scott Galbraith for five yards and Jamie Asher for 11 before Turner switched to the run attack.
After Buffalo took a 7-3 lead on Jim Kelly's six-yard pass to Andre Reed, Shuler found Shepherd for 17 and Westbrook for six before the drive stalled. But Washington regained possession when Darryl Morrison caused punt-returner Leon Neal to fumble and Pounds recovered.
Shuler immediately hit Westbrook for 23 yards, then Asher for 11, before Brooks scored from the 1. That gave Washington the lead for good. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Redskins QB Heath Shuler looks to pass under pressure from Buffalo's
Bryce Paup during Washington's 17-7 win Friday night. by CNB