DATE: Saturday, August 9, 1997              TAG: 9708090666

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NASHVILLE                         LENGTH:   77 lines

HOMECOMING FOR SANDERS THE REDSKIN TIGHT END IS ANXIOUS TO PLAY TONIGHT AGAINST FORMER OILER TEAMMATES

You don't have to explain what an identity crisis is to Chris Sanders.

He lived one last year with the Houston Oilers.

Sanders, a wide receiver and Texas A&M's third-leading receiver as a senior, was moved to H-back by the Oilers as soon as they signed him to a free-agent contract a year ago. Placed on the practice squad, Sanders never got into a game and spent the year working on the intricacies of his new, foreign position.

Then there was the matter of the ``other'' Chris Sanders in Houston. Wide receiver. Starter. Led the NFL in yards-per-catch his first two seasons.

Chris Sanders the H-back felt lost in the shadow of Chris Sanders the star receiver. When the Washington Redskins offered him a contract to come to training camp with them, he jumped at the chance.

Tonight at 8 (WTAR, 850 AM), Sanders and the Oilers meet again in - speaking of identity crises - the country music capital of the world and the AFC Central team's new home in 1999.

``It's going to be lots of fun,'' Sanders said, ``like a marriage-and-divorce thing. You know, you were with this woman once, then got divorced, now you've seen each other again. There's going to be some talkin' goin' on out there, you better believe.''

Sanders gave the Redskins something to talk about in their 20-8 win over Tampa Bay last week. He caught three passes and on one, was rocked so hard that his helmet came flying off. But he hung onto the ball and he got up and ran to the huddle.

``Believe it or not, I've been hit harder than that - once,'' he said, laughing. ``My freshman year at A&M, Quentin Coryatt hit me so hard during an intrasquad scrimmage that I didn't feel it for two more plays. I mean, I got back into the huddle just numb and played the next two snaps before the pain got through to my brain. Then I fell to the ground.''

Like most receivers trying to make the transition to tight end, catching the ball isn't Sanders' problem. Blocking someone nearly 100 pounds heavier is.

``They don't have to worry about me dropping many, because that isn't going to happen,'' he said. ``When I was a receiver, I was blocking guys who weighed 189 pounds. Now, they're 290-300 and up. That requires a different mindset. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it's going to take everything I've got on a certain play just to get a piece of one of these big guys.''

Sanders came into the league at 205. Now, he's 240. The added weight has forced him to change his thinking on what to do after he catches the ball.

``I used to think about getting it downfield and into the end zone,'' he said. ``But I've lost a lot of my breakaway speed. Now I think about moving the chains, becoming a 10-, 15-yard guy. That can become my greatest attribute, to keep the chains moving.''

Coach Norv Turner has taken Sanders aside a couple of times for not-so-private ``instructions'' on mistakes Sanders has made.

``I started real slow,'' said Sanders, who once was chewed out for running a pass route that ``isn't even in our playbook'' according to an enraged Turner. ``The coaches have been real patient, especially with as many mistakes as I've made. I knew I had to pick up my game, because coaches don't stay patient long.''

There's a good side to that, too, cornerback Darrell Green told him.

``He said, `If they're yelling at you, at least you've shown them enough to make them expect more,' '' Sanders relayed.

Notes: Gus Frerotte will play the entire first half at quarterback; backups Jeff Hostetler and Trent Green will split the third and fourth quarters. Turner is sticking to the exhibition plan he instituted when he became coach. Next week against Atlanta, Frerotte will play three quarters and either Hostetler or Green will take the fourth. In the preseason finale at Miami, Frerotte will play just the first quarter. ... Leslie Shepherd and Michael Westbrook open at wideout tonight. ... With Terry Allen, Stephen Davis and Marc Logan unable to play because of injuries, Brian Mitchell will start at tailback, Larry Bowie at fullback. William Bell and Chesapeake's Jim Kitts will split other fullbacking chores, while Kerry Joseph, the only other healthy tailback, figures to receive an exhausting number of carries. ... At last count, only 18,500 tickets had been sold. The Oilers are hoping for 30,000.

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