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Uncharted waters Few Redskins players have substantial playoff experience
Posted: Monday January 03, 2000 10:30 PM
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Fifteen of the 22 Washington Redskins starters have never played in a playoff game. Albert Connell is one of them. "I'm ready to go," the third-year receiver said Monday. "The intensity level's going to go way up, but it's nothing that the guys who haven't been in it aren't ready for. We know what it takes. We're ready." Connell may find himself checking his bravado at the door as the week goes along. Those who have been there say things are going to feel a lot different, starting with the first practice Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's first-round game against the visiting Detroit Lions. "It's a lot more intense," said running back Brian Mitchell, one of only four current Redskins players who played in the franchise's last playoff game, a 20-13 loss at San Francisco on Jan. 9, 1993. "The young guys that haven't been there will have to catch on. A lot of times you get guys coming out of college, they don't understand how the level of play is going to pick up. Even in practice it picks up." Mitchell, cornerback Darrell Green, tight end James Jenkins and linebacker Kurt Gouveia are all who are left from the Redskins' last playoff team, and Gouveia spent 4 1/2 years elsewhere before returning this season. The long drought means the Redskins have little postseason know-how: just 22 players on the 53-man roster have playoff experience, and nine of those are backups who rarely played a down on offense or defense this season. Only seven starters have the playoffs on their resume: quarterback Brad Johnson (one game), fullback Larry Centers (2), tackle Andy Heck (2) and guard Keith Sims (7) on offense and end Marco Coleman (5), tackle Dana Stubblefield (10) and Green (15) on defense. But does playoff experience really matter? The Redskins' Super Bowl team from the strike-shortened 1982 season was also wet behind the ears, but that was an exception to the rule. "I think it does matter," Coleman said. "It's a different atmosphere. In the regular season, if you lose you can just go back, correct it and come back the next week. If you lose this one, you don't come back until August. You got to be up for this game." Of course, opinions vary. Johnson said the fans and others "outside the building" may treat the playoffs differently, but the players don't. "Things don't change a bit," said Johnson, whose lost his only playoff start with the Vikings at Dallas in December 1996. Johnson then added: "I'm sure there won't be as much cutting up as there [usually] is." A smile came to coach Norv Turner's face when he was asked to remember his first playoff game as an assistant coach with the Rams in 1985. Turner later went to Super Bowls as an assistant in Dallas, and this is his first chance to pass on those experiences as a head coach. "There's a real intensity, a real focus, it truly is exciting," said Turner, who is trying to adhere to his regular season routine as much as possible this week. "I need to stress, and we're going to stress, the importance of the preparation." The Redskins are generally healthy, with the exception of Stephen Davis, who ran for an NFC-high 1,405 yards despite missing the last two games with a sprained ankle. The running attack suffered without Davis, who said he was hopeful that he would practice on Wednesday. The rest of the injured, including Connell (sprained shoulder), guard Tre Johnson (bruised thigh) and safety Matt Stevens (pinched nerve) appear ready to go. The Redskins finished the season with a conference-high plus-12 turnover differential and the second best offense in the league behind St. Louis. But, were it not for expansion, they would have set a dubious record with a 30th-ranked defense that placed only ahead of Cleveland. No team with the worst defense in the league has made the playoffs since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. "As a team, we're 10-6, and that's what's most important," Coleman said. "You can look at the stats all day long, but ultimately did the Redskins win or did the Redskins lose? And 10 times we did out of 16." As for the playoff experience debate, the final word was left to the 39-year-old Green, who told reporters how he would explain the Redskins' performance Saturday if he were writing for a newspaper. "If you lose, you need playoff experience," Green said. "If you win, it doesn't matter." Notes: Stats of note from the regular season: The Redskins allowed 31 sacks, roughly half of the team record 61 they gave up last season. ... Brad Johnson (4,005 yards) passed the 4,000-yard mark for the first time this season, but resting him in the second half Sunday probably cost him a chance to better Jay Schroeder's franchise record of 4,109. ... After starting last season 0-7, the Redskins have gone 16-9.
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