'Nervous and scared'

Redskins hope opener isn't a foreshadow of fall

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Redskins are on pace to set another scoring record in exhibition games -- this time for fewest points.

Dropped passes, no rushing game, four turnovers, 113 yards of penalties and an overall lack of disciplined play gave head coach Steve Spurrier his first shutout loss in 16 years.

"They can't accuse us of trying to win in the preseason, now can they, with the way we looked," Spurrier said after the Redskins dropped their exhibition opener 20-0 to Carolina on Saturday night.

The Redskins scored a franchise-record 164 points last preseason.

While it's tempting to read too much into games that are essentially glorified scrimmages, there are elements of preseason that often foreshadow what happens in the fall -- and none of them good for the Redskins.

First and foremost is how the starters did against the other team's starters, which was basically the first quarter Saturday night. The Redskins lost that battle 6-0, and it looked worse than the score indicated.

Patrick Ramsey had three passes dropped and finished 2-for-6 for 57 yards. Trung Canidate, the favorite to win the starting running back job, gained 4 yards on three carries. The one promising play was a 48-yard completion to Laveranues Coles, but his stumble making the catch kept him from a clear shot at the end zone.

The defense, meanwhile, couldn't stop former teammate Stephen Davis, who rushed for 74 yards on just seven carries. Bruce Smith, Regan Upshaw and Jeremiah Trotter stayed home as a precaution because of their recent knee surgeries, but Trotter is the only one expected to be a force against the run.

What bothered Spurrier most were the penalties and drops, the types of mental mistakes he had hoped to curtail this year. There was also an embarrassing play in the second quarter in which the Redskins stood around, perhaps thinking the play was over, while the Panthers recovered a fumble.

Spurrier brought in NFL referees for several days during the first week of training camp to police holding, offsides and false starts, and players have had to pay $10 fines for fumbles and dropped passes.

So far, the lessons haven't taken effect.

"We had a bunch of penalties because they are smarter than us," Spurrier said. "They are a better coached team than us right now. So hopefully we can learn how to play within the rules, learn how to catch the ball. ... We can't catch right now. We got a lot of guys nervous and scared it seems."

Rob Johnson had the most impressive numbers of the three quarterbacks, completing 10 of 16 passes for 107 yards and one interception. He also had a touchdown pass negated by a holding penalty, but he often had little time to throw behind the second-team offensive line.

Certainly, Johnson remained ahead of Danny Wuerffel in the competition for the No. 2 job. Wuerffel was an ineffective 4-for-9 for 58 yards and one interception.

Last year, the Redskins finished the exhibition games brimming with optimism, even though many of their points came late in the games against backups.

"Last year we dominated the first time and we thought we were pretty good," Spurrier said. "But we got dominated and now we know we're not very good. So we've got to go back and try to practice a little tougher."

 

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