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: Gibbs is willing to take 'blame' Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 15:30:30 EST Message-ID: \SE D;SPORTS \HD Gibbs is willing to take 'blame' \BY Dave Fay \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Joe Gibbs thinks he finally has figured out what is causing the never-ending string of debilitating injuries to his Washington Redskins this season. "It's got to be me," he said yesterday, not even half in jest. It ceased to be a laughing matter some time ago. Yesterday the puzzling series of injuries turned a complete, sickening circle. Gibbs learned that the driver his NASCAR Winston Cup racing team employs, Dale Jarrett, will have surgery on a ruptured disk in his back today in a Hickory, N.C., hospital. "What's next?" the beleaguered coach said. "No, I don't even want to ask that one." The mystifying string of injuries to people near Gibbs started with last spring's football practice at Stanford University, where the coach's youngest son, Coy, a sophomore linebacker, seriously sprained a knee. Nothing has gone right since. The Redskins now have 13 players on short-term injured reserve, 10 others listed on this week's league injury report and seven players who started last Sunday in Kansas City but did not practice yesterday. "I'm not surprised by the number of injuries because by this time in a season, the 10th, 11th week, they're all banged up," longtime team physician Donald Knowlan said yesterday. "What does surprise me is the number of players that have been injured and won't be coming right back because of broken bones or back problems, that type of thing. That's unusual. But by this time in a season, linemen, linebackers and wide receivers, guys who hit the ground with their shoulders a lot, they're always banged up." Said trainer Bubba Tyer, who like Knowlan started with the Redskins 22 seasons ago: "I think there are some people who are 100 percent, but that might not be true on a Monday morning. "Take [linebacker] Kurt Gouveia," Tyer said. "Come game day, he feels pretty good but not nearly so good on Monday. Tuesday he'll be a little better and Wednesday better than the day before, and so on. By the time Sunday rolls around again . . ." Linebacker Wilber Marshall walked by and displayed a heavily taped finger on his left hand. "Broke it against Philadelphia" five weeks ago, he said, "but you don't pay it any mind." Said Tyer: "Don't pay him any mind. It's not broken; it's an old dislocation with a lot of scar tissue that got straightened out a lot further than it wanted to go, but it must hurt like heck." Not practicing yesterday were offensive linemen Joe Jacoby and Mark Schlereth, defensive linemen Tim Johnson and Fred Stokes, and secondary players AJ Johnson, Danny Copeland, Sidney Johnson and Martin Mayhew, the last on injured reserve. Tight end Terry Orr and linebackers Andre Collins and Monte Coleman returned to practice. Cornerback Darrell Green and offensive tackle Jim Lachey might do so next week. LATEST LINE ON THE LINE The offensive line will have another new look Monday night against New Orleans if everything goes well in practice. It is an effort, coaches say, to start putting people in their right spots in anticipation of Lachey's return. Center-guard Raleigh McKenzie will switch to left tackle, and last week's left tackle, Ed Simmons, will return to the right side. Last week's right tackle, Ray Brown, returns to left guard; Schlereth, the right guard, stays put. Rookie Matt Elliott stays at center until McKenzie returns. If that lineup holds, four different players will have seen action this season at left tackle, four at left guard, three at center, one at right guard and four at right tackle. And there are six games left. 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