DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709280244

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C15  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: LANDOVER, MD.                     LENGTH:   46 lines

JAGUARS' BRUNELL MAJOR CONCERN FOR SKINS TODAY

The Washington Redskins make no bones about it. Statistics be damned, they aren't good enough on pass defense to be No. 1 in the NFL. Neither, they say, are they so bad as to be No. 30 - last - against the run.

So, it is with a sense of anticipation that the Redskins play host to the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars today at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. They've never before faced the third-year Jaguars, who advanced to the AFC title game last season and are 3-0 this year. And they haven't faced anything like the Jaguars since, perhaps, Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers a year ago.

Even that's a stretch. The 49ers had no running game. The Jaguars have Natrone Means, who starred for the San Diego Chargers in their recent Super Bowl year.

And they have quarterback Mark Brunell, who is lefthanded, wears No. 8 and has the same dangerous pass/run abilities as, well, Steve Young.

``He's amazing,'' defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said. ``He finds a way to get the ball where he wants it.''

The last time the Redskins faced a quarterback with Brunell's mobility was Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart, who burned them for 70 yards on the ground, including a couple of quarterback draws.

But Stewart didn't have the receivers Brunell has in ex-Cowboy Jimmy Smith (24 catches, three touchdowns) and ex-Redskin and ex-Brown Keenan McCardell (16 catches).

``He is the best passer we've seen this season and he has the best pair of receivers we've seen this season,'' coach Norv Turner says.

Stopping the Jaguars' offense means containing Brunell. That may be a little easier because Brunell will be playing just his second game since injuring his knee during the preseason in August.

Washington would feel better if it had rookie end Kenard Lang, who is out with an inner-ear infection. Nonetheless, their formula for penning Brunell includes:

Defensive linemen staying in their lanes. One early-season problem for the Redskins has been linemen not staying in position.

Defensive ends and linebackers keeping Brunell contained inside the pocket. It's when he gets outside the pass rush that he is most effective at making impromptu plays.

``They have what every offense wishes it had - the ability to hit the big play,'' safety Stanley Richard said. ``That's Brunell. He makes a lot of plays scrambling, giving receivers the chance to work into an open area.''

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