DATE: Wednesday, October 22, 1997           TAG: 9710220739

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Bob Molinaro 

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

SKINS THINK THEY CAN BEAT ANYBODY, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NOBODIES?

You don't have to be delusional to follow pro football, but it helps.

Take the Redskins. Please.

On Sunday, they proved once again that in today's National Fieldgoal League a contending team and a good team are not necessarily the same thing.

Understandably, these two concepts are usually intertwined. In the NFL, they shouldn't be. For pro football's true believers, this can only create confusion tantamount to a pre-game segment with Terry Bradshaw.

Can the Redskins, losers of two of their last three, reach the playoffs? Of course they can. The NFC East is the Mir space station of football.

Does this mean, then, that the Redskins are a quality team?

You're kidding, right? Did you see them Sunday against the Oilers? Did you manage to check out their walking dead routine against Philadelphia?

After Sunday's loss, coach Norv Turner clutched at straws. At one point, he rationalized that, ``When we play our best, we can play with anybody.''

Translation: ``I'm clueless.''

And yet, I believe Norv if what he means by ``anybody'' is Baltimore (3-4) this week and Chicago (0-7) the week after. I also believe the Redskins can play with anybody if you include division nobodies Arizona (1-6), Philadelphia (3-4), or even a middling Dallas team.

But if and when the Redskins beat some of these footwipes, it proves what exactly? That Norv's club is not to be mistaken for the Bears, Colts or Falcons?

Hail to the Redskins!

Speaking of the general health of the NFL, what were Buffalo and Indianapolis doing on Monday Night Football? Has the NFL sunk so low that it can't dredge up a couple of real football teams for its premier attraction?

The Bills and Colts belong on prime-time television about as much as Jenny McCarthy does.

Not appearing on TV Monday was one of the most successful teams this season, the San Francisco 49ers. Are the Niners a championship contender? Good question.

In winning six of seven, they have beaten St. Louis and Atlanta twice. They also defeated Carolina and New Orleans. This week, they meet New Orleans again.

Eight weeks into their season, the Niners continue to fatten up on bottom feeders. Who made up their schedule, Frank Beamer?

Institutionalized mediocrity has overtaken the NFL to the point where it's risky to equate victories with excellence or a decent record with quality performances.

Take the Redskins, who are 4-3 and a playoff contender despite averaging only 18.5 points per game.

You'd think that an offensive genius like Turner could get better production out of a $4 million-a-year quarterback. Turner is an offensive genius, isn't he? Or are people fooling themselves about this, too?

And what about that quarterback? Isn't it time Gus Frerotte added something to his resume other than, ``I'm not Heath Shuler.''

Not being Heath Shuler may get you the job in Washington, but it doesn't impress the opposition, not even the Memphis/Nashville Oilers.

After the loss to Tennessee, a writer working the Redskins' reservation asked: ``Is this really what a playoff team looks like?''

The answer to that would be: Yep, warts and all. It really could be what a playoff team looks like.

Even the pro football faithful can delude themselves for only so long. In many ways, the Redskins are a reflection of what today's NFL looks like.

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