Redskins’ Manley Is Learning

Defensive end Dexter Manley has been accompanied during his four-year Redskins ride by headlines, sacks and giggling ghosts.

He has pushed his way to nearly every extreme. Attach a binder to his Washington press clippings and you have a comic book featuring a somewhat whimsical superhero.

There was, for example, the moment in the 1982 conference title game when he knocked Dallas quarterback Danny White unconscious, then deflected a pass by Gary Hogeboom into the intercepting arms of teammate Darryl Grant, who made a victory-assuring dash for a touchdown.

And then there was the time two weeks later when Manley howled to the world that he might become the most valuable player in the Super Bowl.

And the time in 1983 when he had his hair cut in the Mohawk style, went by the title of “Mr. D” and said he wanted his contract renegotiated because, “They’re paying me pennies and I want dollars.”

And then there was 1984, when he went silent after he had been offered as trade material in the offseason and then had been threatened by the emergence of Charles Mann.

Now Manley is 26 years old. As he prepares to begin his fifth professional season, he stands on the firm ground of a self-professed maturity and says, “We live and we learn.

“As a player, I think I’ve gotten more wise, too. I used to worry about the tight end. I was thinking about the guy who chips (down-blocks) me. But if you want to become a great player, you have to ignore things like that.

“I don’t think Mark Gastineau (the New York Jets’ all-pro defensive end) worries about things like that. Neither does Randy White, Fred Dean or Lee Roy Selmon.”

This is not to imply that Manley--who is 6-3, weighs 250 pounds and is cat-quick--hasn’t produced already. He has accumulated 37 sacks in 56 games, although he says he has learned there is more to playing defensive end than sacking the quarterback.

Redskins coaches talk of Manley’s improved dedication to the game and to the weight room. Team officials also believe his marriage last year and the birth of a son in February will help keep him settled and focused.