Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.sports From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Linemen flinch, flags fly, penalties pile on Redskins Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 17:03:26 EST Message-ID: \SE C;SPORTS;REDSKINS-CHIEFS GAME REPORT;NOTES \HD Linemen flinch, flags fly, penalties pile on Redskins \BY Thom Loverro \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Though autumn is fading, the Washington Redskins still saw a lot of reds and yellows during yesterday's 35-16 loss to Kansas City. The Redskins expected red-clad Chiefs fans, but yellow flags - 14 of them for 80 yards - were a surprise to the veteran team, especially this late in the season. Four false starts were called for offensive-line movement, and four encroachment penalties were called against the Washington defense. At least two of those false starts were against Ray Brown, who moved from left guard to right tackle when Joe Jacoby went out in the first quarter with back problems. He had has hands full facing Kansas City defensive end Neil Smith, who had a career-high three sacks. Smith's moves seemed to throw Brown off. "The flinches he was doing obviously bothered me," he said. "I think I was probably looking too much at his shoulders and neck and that sort of thing, when maybe I should have been concentrating on getting into some kind of rhythm." Brown did not use his sudden shift to a different position as an excuse. "I've played over there," he said. "I expected to do some things well over there. We were able to come out and make some plays in the second half, but it just wasn't enough." He didn't use the difficulty of hearing quarterback Mark Rypien's signals because of the crowd noise - generated by 75,238 boisterous Chief fans - as an excuse, either. "It was a factor, but you can't blame it on that," he said. "We just didn't do a good job in the first half." On the other side of the ball, defensive end Charles Mann had two offsides penalites called on him, and defensive tackle Tim Johnson and linebacker Tony Barker each had one flag for encroachment. Kansas City offensive guard Dave Szott credited quarterback Dave Krieg's cadence for throwing the defense off balance. "Krieg has a pretty good snap count, and that helped throw them off," he said. "He is pretty effective at it." Szott commented that the 6-foot-3, 283-pound Johnson "is one of the strongest guys I've ever played against. He can play." THIRD'S THE CHARM The Chiefs were eight-for-13 (62 percent) on third-down conversions against the Redskins, but what is most impressive about the Chiefs' third-down play was that three of those conversions were third-and-long situations. On the Chiefs' opening drive, Krieg was faced with a third-and-16. He managed to get the first down by hitting running back Todd McNair on a short pass that McNair turned into a 29-yard gain. Kansas City went on to score their first of five touchdowns for the day. Late in the second quarter, faced with a third-and-12, Krieg hit wide receiver Tim Barnett with a 39-yard pass down the sideline, putting the ball on the Washington 36. Kansas City scored its fourth touchdown later in the drive. And on third-and-17 from the Washington 35 in the fourth quarter, Krieg hit Barnett for a 35-yard touchdown. Three long, third-down conversions, three eventual touchdowns. "Early on, to make first downs and to have a chance to have a positive rhythm going in the game was a big plus for us," Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer said. "That was one of our objectives. And to be able to convert on third-and-long situations was also a plus." NO BIG DEAL Schottenheimer said he was "proud of the way our defense held them in two situations to field goals. That, in my mind, was really important." He shouldn't make a big deal about this accomplishment. In their four previous games, the Redskins' offense had only two touchdowns. UNDER PROTEST The meeting between the Redskins and Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium was just too symbolic for the Native American community to ignore. So a group of protesters were set up outside of the stadium, with a teepee and upside-down American flags to protest the nicknames of both teams. The protesters claimed that Native Americans find the nicknames offensive and have lobbied for the teams to change the names. Washington owner Jack Kent Cooke has said he has no intention of changing the name of his team. The crowd did not appear too sympathetic to the protests. Numerous times they used the tomahawk chop - and chant - to cheer their team on. HOMECOMINGS The Kansas City trip was a homecoming, albeit not that pleasant, for several Redskins. Punter Kelly Goodburn played with the Chiefs for three years before joining Washington in 1990. Safety Danny Copeland also played with Kansas City for two years before signing with the Redskins as a Plan B free agent last year. Cornerback Sidney Johnson spent two seasons with Kansas City, 1987 and 1988. Washington defensive backfield coach Emmitt Thomas had an illustrious 13-year career with the Chiefs. The former cornerback played in four Pro Bowls and had 58 career interceptions. His name is posted on the Chiefs Ring of Fame at Arrowhead Stadium, along with other past Kansas City greats such as Otis Taylor and Len Dawson. LOCAL TIES Kansas City has two former Virginia Cavaliers on its roster. Backup rookie quarterback Matt Blundin led Virginia last season, and running back Barry Word once carried the ball for the Cavaliers. Blundin was put on the inactive list for yesterday's game. Also, longtime placekicker Nick Lowery is a Washington native and a graduate of St. Albans High School. RUN OFF THE ROAD Washington's road record dropped to 2-3 with yesterday's loss. Last year the Redskins were 7-1 on the road. MONK WATCH Art Monk caught two passes for 19 yards to keep his consecutive-game streak going, now at 142 straight games with a catch. The receptions gave him 37 for the season and 838 for his career. Every time Monk catches a pass, he sets a new record for most career receptions in the NFL. He passed Steve Largent four weeks ago with his 820th catch against the Denver Broncos on a Monday night game at RFK Stadium. MEMORIES Before yesterday, it had been nine years since Washington and Kansas City had played each other. On Sept. 18, 1983, the Redskins beat the Chiefs 27-13, thanks to two touchdown passes by Joe Theismann. The Chiefs dominated the first half, gaining 396 yards, with 275 years passing by Bill Kenney. The Redskins could muster only four first downs and 101 yards in total offense. But the Chiefs managed only four field goals by Lowery, and led 12-0 at the end of the first half. The Redskins were just as dominating in the second half, outgaining the Chiefs 232 yards to minus 66 in total offense. The big plays for Washington included two touchdown passes to tight ends - a 12-yarder to Don Warren and a 39-yard pass to Clint Didier. Theismann was 13 of 27 with two touchdown passes. John Riggins rushed 21 times for 84 yards, and Joe Washington carried the ball 13 times for 66 yards. ELLIOTT: FRONT AND CENTER Rookie center Matt Elliott saw the most playing time he's had all season after Jacoby went down in the first quarter with back problems. When Jacoby left the game, Brown took his spot, Raleigh McKenzie moved from center to left guard, and Elliott came in at center. If nothing else, there appeared to be no bad snaps from Elliott to Rypien. "There's not a problem at all with the exchange between Ryp and I," he said. "There never has been, and there never will be." When asked to assess his play, Elliott said, "I think I played all right. I played as hard as I could. We'll see whether the coaches think it was good enough or not. It's not my decision." Most of Elliott's time to date has been on field-goal and extra-points snaps. Lining up on offense was a step up for him. "It was back in the thick of things playing football," he said. "It was a little up-tempo from practice. It was down and dirty football again." ****ILLUSTRATION TEXT PLAY OF THE GAME Harvey Williams' 2nd-quarter tounchdown run Score: Chiefs, 21-0 Time: 00:37, 2nd quarter Down/distance: 2nd/goal Field position: Redskin 5 Details: Williams' score just before the first half ends gives the Chiefs their fourth touchdown. 1) Chiefs quarterback Dave Krieg takes the snap and hands-off to Williams. 2) The Chiefs' offensive line is able to block down on the Redskin defenders, trapping their blitzing inside linebacker. 3) Williams takes the handoff and runs untouched, straight through the heart of the Redskins' defense for a score. The Redskins blitz all their linebackers on the play, and the Chiefs' blockers are able to open up a huge hole for Williams. ****BOX SCORING SUMMARY FIRST QUARTER * CHIEFS - Okoye two-yard run (Lowery PAT). Drive - 11 plays, 60 yards, 6:37 time of possession (9:40 elapsed in quarter). Key plays - On third-and-16, Krieg hit McNair with a 36-yard pass to the Washington 29. Chiefs 7, Redskins 0 SECOND QUARTER * CHIEFS - Barnett 44-yard pass from Krieg (Lowery PAT). Drive - One play, 44 yards, 0:07 time of possession (0:07 elapsed in quarter). Key play - On the last play of the first quarter, Mincy intercepted a Rypien pass and ran 33 yards to the Washington 44. Chiefs 14, Redskins 0 * CHIEFS - Okoye three-yard run (Lowery PAT). Drive - 11 plays, 83 yards, 6:35 time of possession (8:38 elapsed in quarter). Key play - After Krieg completed a seven-yard pass to Birden, Tony Barker was hit with a 15-yard personal foul for a late hit, moving the ball from the Kansas City 29 to the 49. Chief 21, Redskins 0 * CHIEFS - Williams five-yard run (Lowery PAT). Drive - 13 plays, 88 yards, 3:36 time of possession (14:23 elapsed in quarter). Key play - On third-and-12, Krieg completed a 39-yard pass to Barnett, moving the ball from the Kansas City 25 to the Washington 36. Chiefs 28, Redskins 0 THIRD QUARTER * REDSKINS - Ervins five-yard run (Lohmiller PAT). Drive - 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:38 time of possession (6:33 elapsed in quarter). Key play: On fourth-and-two, the Redskins were in punt formation, but Mitchell took the snap and ran 33 yards from the Washington 33 to the Kansas City 34. Chiefs 28, Redskins 7 * REDSKINS - Lohmiller 40-yard field goal. Drive - Nine plays, 31 yards, 2:55 time of possession (10:45 elapsed in quarter). Key play - On second-and-six from the Kansas City 38, Rypien hit Sanders with a 21-yard pass down to the 17. Chiefs 28, Redskins 10 * REDSKINS - Lohmiller 26-yard field goal. Drive - Eight plays, 49 yards, 1:53 time of possession (14:38 elapsed in quarter). Key play - On second-and-10 from the Washington 42, Rypien completes a 25-yard pass to Sanders to the Kansas City 33. Chiefs 28, Redskins 13 FOURTH QUARTER * REDSKINS - Lohmiller 38-yard field goal. Drive - Four plays, one yard, 1:23 time of possession (1:30 elapsed in quarter). Key play - Edwards intercepts a Krieg pass at the Kansas City 37 and returns it to the 20. Chiefs 28, Redskins 16 * CHIEFS - Barnett 35-yard pass from Krieg (Lowery PAT). Drive: Eight plays, 60 yards, 4:05 time of possession (10:52 elapsed in quarter). Key play - On second-and-six from the Kansas City 44, Williams ran nine yards for a first down to the Washington 47. Chiefs 35, Redskins 16 This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM