THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 2, 1996 TAG: 9609020155
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: SKINS NOTES
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 53 lines
Sean Gilbert took a bottom-line approach to his debut on the defensive line of the Washington Redskins.
``Did we win?' he asked, knowing full well that the Philadelphia Eagles had beaten the Redskins 17-14. ``Then we didn't play well enough and I didn't play well enough. I really couldn't care less about individual statistics.''
Gilbert, who came to Washington from St. Louis in exchange for the Redskins' 1996 first-round pick, had five tackles and no sacks Sunday.
He would have been credited with a sack of Eagles quarterback Rodney Peete, but Peete lunged at the last moment to get back to the line of scrimmage and therefore was credited with a run, not a pass.
Gilbert was continually double-teamed by Philadelphia center Raleigh McKenzie and guard Joe Panos, and he forced Panos into two penalties.
The Redskins have argued all along that Gilbert's presence in the lineup should free space for linebackers Rod Stephens, Marvcus Patton and Ken Harvey to make plays. Patton led all players with 11 tackles, while Stephens added eight. Harvey had just four tackles, but contributed his first sack of the season.
``I thought Sean played extremely well,'' defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said. ``I'm certain the films will bear that out.''
Gilbert argued with some who said the Redskins appeared to be flat in the first half.
``I agree we needed to be more aggressive, especially in the first half,'' he said. ``But I don't think we were flat. In fact, I think we were excited, and sometimes you have to wait for that excitement to settle down so that you can concentrate on what you have to do.
``All I know is that we're 0-1 and that's not how we wanted to start the season.''
SWEEPING THE CORNERS: The Redskins brought in four cornerbacks late last week - NFL veterans Nate Odomes, Rod Jones and Maurice Hurst - and free agent Andre Witherspoon, a former semipro player. Nickel back Muhammad Oliver was on the inactive list Sunday and it's possible the Redskins will sign one of them this week if Oliver's knee condition doesn't improve.
Odomes is the most intriguing. A much-sought free agent two years ago, Odomes signed with the Seattle Seahawks then immediately suffered two knee injuries that sidelined him for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. He was released by Seattle during training camp and has already worked out for Atlanta and Detroit. Jones is a 10-year NFL vet with Cincinnati and Tampa Bay. Hurst spent seven seasons in New England, but was cut last November, then released by the St. Louis Rams during training camp.
INJURY REPORT: Linebacker Matt Vanderbeek sprained his right shoulder. He will be reevaluated early this week. Safety Darryl Pounds fractured his nose. Defensive end Dexter Nottage sprained his left knee. Defensive tackle Marc Boutte dislocated a finger. Vanderbeek's is considered the most serious. by CNB