THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608170521
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 85 lines
It will go down as the night Heath Shuler or Gus Frerotte wins the starting quarterback job for the Washington Redskins this season. It won't be one either will want to remember.
More than once, an RFK Stadium crowd of 41,885 let coach Norv Turner know that it didn't think much of either quarterback during a 28-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
``It got to be a joke after a while,'' Shuler said. ``They booed all three of us, even Trent (Green).''
But they also watched with appreciation as Bengals' quarterback and former East Carolina University star Jeff Blake tossed three touchdown passes - two to Shuler's ex-Tennessee teammate Carl Pickens - and cornerback Cory Sawyer ran 51 yards with Reggie Brooks' fumble to hand the Redskins an embarrassing loss that dropped their record to 1-2. Cincinnati is 2-1.
``Obviously, I'm very disappointed in the way we played tonight,'' Turner said. ``The mental errors we had are inexcusable for this time of training camp. The lack of physicalness on our offensive line disturbs me. Sonny Jurgensen in his prime couldn't have played with that group.''
Shuler, who took 26 snaps, completed 7-of-13 passes for 65 yards and an interception. He had two dropped and was charged with a fumble when he lost the ball after center Cory Raymer tripped him as he dropped back to pass at the Washington 28. Six plays later, Cincinnati had its first touchdown.
But Frerotte, who took 30 snaps, did nothing to endear himself either. The third-year pro from Tulsa completed just 4-of-15 passes for 50 yards. He didn't fumble and he didn't throw an interception, but a crowd that had greeted his appearance so warmly soured to the point that it gave third-stringer Trent Green a mock ovation when Frerotte left the game five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Turner will make his decision on the starter either Sunday or Monday.
``Shoooo,'' Frerotte whistled, arching his eyebrows as he walked toward the press. ``This is not the game I wanted to have, not at all.''
Asked which player had the lead, Turner said only, ``that's a very difficult question to answer.'' Yet, Shuler might get an edge for the way in which he kept bouncing back.
After Pickens' juggling grab gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead, Shuler drilled a 17-yard pass to Bill Brooks. Two plays later, running back Terry Allen followed crushing blocks from left guard Tre Johnson, tackle Shar Pourdanesh and fullback Larry Bowie and romped 50 yards for a touchdown.
But those were all the points Shuler was able to generate.
On the Bengals' first play after the ensuing kickoff, Blake hit Darnay Scott for an 85-yard touchdown. Scott beat cornerback Tom Carter inside, then raced past safety Stanley Richard, who blew the coverage and misjudged his chance to intercept the pass before it ever reached Scott's hands.
On the next drive, Shuler took a cheap shot to his chin from linebacker Steve Tovar. The 15-yard penalty gave the Redskins a first down at their 38. After he was sacked on the next snap, Shuler lobbed a deft 23-yard pass to tight end Jamie Asher, moving the Skins down to the Cincinnati 40.
But a penalty against Ed Simmons and another dropped pass by Brooks forced a punt.
Darrell Green intercepted a Blake pass on the next series, giving Washington the ball at its 25. Shuler made a bad pass in the flat that Bengals linebacker Gerald Dixon should have intercepted. But he also hit Asher for 12 yards on a third-and-10, before Shuler's pass for Henry Ellard was picked off by ex-Redskin Jimmy Spencer.
That was his last pass, and he left the field to a chorus of ``We want Gus.
They got him with 10:20 left in the second quarter after Washington used a botched punt to gain possession at the Cincinnati 44.
Frerotte passed 17 yards to tight end Scott Galbraith, but Brooks dropped his third pass of the night and Scott Blanton was wide right on a 46-yard field-goal attempt.
Frerotte's next drive was hamstrung when he was sacked twice, though he hit Brooks for 17 yards.
On his next series, Frerotte's first pass was too low for Asher, he threw incomplete on second down and had his third-down pass batted down by Tovar. That drew his first fan derision, which increased during the next series when Asher dropped a second-and-2 pass that would have gone for a first down. Linebacker James Francis batted away a fourth-down attempt to kill Washington's final thrust of the half.
``I think it's going to be a hard decision,'' Frerotte said. ``I wouldn't want to be in (Turner's) shoes.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Cincinnati's Carl Pickens catches a Jeff Blake TD pass in front of
Skins cornerback Tom Carter. by CNB