DATE: Tuesday, September 2, 1997            TAG: 9709020214

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  110 lines

REDSKIN REPORT

THE GOOD: RB Terry Allen slashing through the Panthers' line, alert and reckless. . . Carolina RB Anthony Johnson returning the favor. . . Washington TE Jamie Asher, catching anything he could get his hands on. . . Some of rookie LB Derek Smith's forces on sweeps. . . The overall improved play of the secondary, especially CB Cris Dishman and Stanley Richard. . . WR Michael Westbrook's downfield blocking on Leslie Shepherd's 43-yard completion late in the second quarter. . . The Utah pass from Gus Frerotte to Brian Mitchell, which went for 22 yards and led to a first-half field goal. . . Washington's 198 yards rushing.

THE BAD: The pass-protection of LT Shar Pourdanesh vs. Lamar Lathon. You can't teach someone quickness. . . The inability of WRs Westbrook, Henry Ellard and Alvin Harper to get open. Shepherd was the only wideout to catch a pass. . . Punt and kickoff coverage. Carolina was close to breaking a couple for long gains. . . The punt snapping of Dan Turk. Looked wobbly and slightly off to the side. . . The interior work of the defensive tackles. Carolina's Johnson averaged 6.7 yards a carry. . . The 15-yard penalty assessed Carolina's Walter Rasby for removing his helmet on the field following Wesley Walls' touchdown. The Panthers kicked off from their 15.

THE UGLY: Shepherd's attempt at a double reverse. Shepherd got the ball cleanly from Westbrook and turned the left corner with a couple of blockers in front of him. But he ran smack dab into Frerotte's rump and stopped. What should have been a 20-yard gain was stuffed after four.

TURNING POINT: Safety Jesse Campbell's first-half fumble recovery. It came at the Washington 9 late in the second quarter. Frerotte immediately took the Redskins 91 yards to the go-ahead touchdown.

AND DON'T FORGET: Dishman could have had as many as three interceptions. One was nullified by a pass-interference penalty against LB Marvcus Patton. Dishman had another in his hands and dropped it.

UNSUNG HEROES: FB Larry Bowie, who had no rushes, but receptions of 13 and 14 yards. . . DE Rich Owens, whose hustle was infectious and who chipped in five tackles. . . TE Asher. In addition to his two catches, both of which resulted in third-down conversions, he recovered Frerotte's fumble at the Washington 3. . . Derek Smith. The rookie tallied seven tackles in his debut, a couple of which rattled the plexiglass windows of Ericssson Stadium. . . Rookie G Brad Badger. He played so well in place of hobbled Bob Dahl that Redskins were able to give their veteran what amounted to another week to heal.

NUMBERS CRUNCHING: 9 and 0 - Carolina's record at Ericcson Stadium before Sunday. . . 141 and 10 - Allen's rushing yardage against the Panthers, and the number of 100-yard games he's compiled for the Redskins. . . 134 - Anthony Johnson's rushing yards, and a Panthers' single-game record. . . 0 - Redskins' punt-return yardage against a Carolina special teams that proved superior. . . 5 of 23 - The combined number of passes caught by wide receivers and the total number of completions for both sides. . . 10 for 101 - Number of penalties and yards walked off against the Panthers. . . 3 for 19 - The Redskins' numbers in that category. . . 3.9999 - The combined average gain per pass play. . . 24 - Washington's points matched the most Carolina allowed in any regular-season game last year.

INJURIES: None, though Allen left the locker room with his right hand and thumb bandaged and iced.

NEXT OPPONENT: The Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m. at Three Rivers Stadium. . . . The Steelers were mauled by Dallas, 37-7, Sunday at Three Rivers ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

REPORT CARD

Offensive line B+

The running game worked from the first snap and if not for some

early mistakes, one of which could have ended Gus Frerotte's season,

they'd have earned an A.

Receivers CLeslie Shepherd's crucial 43-yard catch-and-run late

in the first half was the kind of big play one expects to see more

of from a unit with four good players. Instead, Shepherd was the

only wideout to catch a pass.

Running backs A-

Terry Allen was brilliant, especially on the 2-yard scoring run

on which he rammed over Carolina CB Eric Davis. Stephen Davis ran

hard, but after the game was decided. Larry Bowie made two athletic

catches of badly thrown passes. Only a dropped ball or two keeps

this from being an A.

Quarterback B

Gus Frerotte took a couple of hard shots, one of which left him

groggy for a few plays, yet hung in nicely and made the plays he had

to. His third-down toss to Jamie Asher on Washington's winning

touchdown drive had to be perfect or else intercepted. It was

perfect, and under intense pressure.

Defensive line C

Carolina averaged 5.5 yards a carry, with running back Anthony

Johnson averaging 6.7 on 20 rushes. They had one sack, by Chris Mims

late.

Linebackers B

Panthers ran away from Ken Harvey and at Marvcus Patton in the

middle and Derek Smith on the outside. Those two combined for 14 of

Washington's 39 tackles. Harvey put no pressure on Steve Beuerlein

and he's got to do more if Redskins are to have a pass rush.

Secondary B+

Did Tom Carter ever close on a ball like Cris Dishman? Rookie

Jamel Williams was beaten by veteran TE Wesley Walls on Carolina's

only touchdown. S Stanley Richard had some nice deflections playing

centerfield.

Special teams B

Scott Blanton gets the Alertness Award for falling on Michael

Bates' fumbled kickoff. No one else on the field appeared aware the

ball still was live. Coverage not as crisp as usual and 0

punt-return yards.

Coaching B

Give Norv Turner credit. He put his team through three

extra-physical practices last week to get them mentally ready to

counter Carolina's hard-hitting defense. And he didn't hesitate to

make the adjustments necessary to get Frerotte more protection after

a couple of near-knockout punches.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu