DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 1997            TAG: 9711250752

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

REDSKIN REPORT CARD

THE GOOD: Washington WR Henry Ellard, who caught seven passes for 77 yards, including the 800th of his career. He is only the fifth player in NFL history to reach that plateau. . . LB Ken Harvey. He had the first four-sack game of his career, not to mention nine other tackles. . . Michael Westbrook - at least until he took his hat off with under a minute to play in overtime, costing the Redskins 15 yards. He had nine catches for 125 yards and did everything you would want a great receiver to do.

THE BAD: K Scott Blanton. Missed a 45-yarder that would have won the game. You can't count on him. . . The Redskins' offensive line. It opened one hole for RB Terry Allen all day, and he gained 29 yards. His other 26 carries netted 35 yards, and there were Giants in the backfield the moment he received the ball. . . Washington's tackling. Giants Charles Way, Tiki Barber and Ty Wheatley gained more yards than they should have because of Washington's sloppy tackling. One of the main culprits was S Stanley Richard, who took a step back from what had been a good season.

THE UGLY: If the replays weren't so hilarious, QB Gus Frerotte would permanently retire the trophy after deliberately head-butting a padded concrete wall, jamming his neck. However, this week's winner is that theater of the absurd that occurred when Westbrook whipped off his helmet to protest a ruling that he was out of bounds on his catch of Jeff Hostetler's pass with 48 seconds to go in OT. First, Westbrook ran back onto the field before ripping off his helmet and banging it into the ground. The instant Norv Turner saw the helmet go off, he raced onto the field, pointing at Westbrook to put it back on. When Westbrook returned to the sidelines, the welcoming committee of Harvey, Marvcus Patton and Darrell Green was waiting to let him know what they thought.

REAL QUOTABLE: ``I thought I'd seen everything,'' said Green, of what he called the strangest game in his 15-season career. ``But if I keep going, one day I'll probably see a deer or something run across the field.''

TURNING POINT: Many are called, one is chosen. That would be Richard's attempt to pick up a fumble by Wheatley midway through the third quarter, with Washington ahead 7-0. The Giants were at the Redskins 33 when Wheatley was stripped from behind by Rich Owens. The ball bounced directly to Richard who, instead of falling on it, tried to scoop it up. He failed, the ball was kicked out of bounds, and the Giants retained possession. Three plays and a penalty later, the Giants scored their touchdown.

UNSUNG HEROES: WR Chris Thomas. For the second week in a row, the kid made two catches. One, a leaping grab of Hostetler's high pitch, gained 17 yards and set up Blanton's errant regulation field-goal try.

NUMBERS CRUNCHING: 803 - Number of catches Ellard now has in his career. Only four players in NFL history have more. . . 2 yards - How far Frerotte appeared to run before slamming his head into that padded concrete wall. . . 60 - Third-most passes the Redskins have ever attempted in one game.

INJURIES: G Tre Johnson (right ankle), TE Jamie Asher (sprained left shoulder), QB Gus Frerotte (cervical sprain), OT Shar Pourdanesh (dislocated finger), OT Joe Patton (right knee), CB Darryl Pounds (left wrist), WR Henry Ellard (sprained shoulder).

NEXT OPPONENT: The Redskins play the St. Louis Rams, Sunday, 1 p.m. at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. ILLUSTRATION: GRADES VS. GIANTS

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