Evening star., 1962-10-09

from the start Of the season
there were misgivings.
Ominous or not, the 1946
Redskins started out exactly
like this years team--a tie and
three straight victories. To
draw a finer comparison, they
played Pittsburgh to a 14-14
standoff, won a squeaker over
the Lions, 1915; beat the
Giants, 24-14, and raped the
old Boston Yanks, 1875. This
years team played Dallas to a
35-all stalemate, edged the
Browns, 17-16, defeated the
Cardinals, 24-14, and just last
ed against the Rams, 20-14.
In their opener, the '46 Red
skins jumped out in front OF
the Steelers and started coast
ing. When they needed their
second wind after Pittsburgh
tied it up they didn't have it.
In the return game at Pitts
burgh, Bill Dudley, later to be
a Redskin, killed them with an
81-yard touchdown run.
Coach Gus Dorais or the
Lions said early in the year
that he couldn't see the Red
skins as serious contenders.
The line was too green and
slow, he decided. But 1t wasn't
the line that eventually led
to their downfall. Something
happened to the squad, some
thing one couldn't quite put
a finger on. It might have
been carelessness, or over con-
fidence. Or it might have been
the devil-may-care attitude Of
a certain few who tried not to
let practice and training rules
interfere with their good
times. Whatever it was wreck
ed the team. The year 1916
marked the beginning Of the
long skid into obScurity.
In the first Philadelphia
game, for example, the Red
skins helped themselves to q
$40 lead and lost, 1894. The
Eagles didn't have their great
running back, Steve Van
Buren, who was injured, but
they had the old single wing
and short-punt formations,
and the Redskins failed to
solve either.
1t wasn't quite the same
story against the Bears in
Chicago. but they were nurs-
ing a 20-17 lead and were on
the 11-yard line, in position
for the clinching touchdown,
when Jacobs took a punch at
Ed Holman. Baugh got the Is
yards back with a pass to Ba-
garus, but the Redskins were
penalized on the play and
seconds later the Bears re-
covered q tumble and went
rs yards for the winning touch
down.
The Packers ran 'em into the
ground the following week,
piling up 800 yards rushing,
and won, 20-7. That was the
end Of the line for the Wash
ington eleven. 1t had to go
through the formality Of play
ing the Giants a>week later, but
lit was no contest as the New
Yorkers won, $40, to clinch
the division title.
It was uncanny how the Red
skins, away winging in several
games, stumbled and fell. A
penalty at the wrong time, a
tumble on crucial plays, in
tercepted passes that inter-
rupted potential scoring drives,
and now and then injuries. It
seemed that some evil force
was conspiring against them.
y y
This 1862 squad Is better
than the '46. alumni in almost
every department. 1t has speed,
good pass receivers, improved
running, good line play and.
above all, determination.
It also still has 10 games to
play, without as much depth as
Coach Bill McPeak would like.
The 1916 team played only II
games and that opening game
tie gave it a 500 season. You
can't help but look back to that
team and wonder if it will
happen all over again in a IA
game season. A 500 average for
the season would be commend
able. A championship? Wed
be the most surprised person In
the world. But we like surprises.