Redskins Look for Noisy Start

The season opener in the National Football League always is worth shouting about and, happily, everybody will be able to do that tonight in RFK Stadium. The Noise Police have been told to use reasonable caution against rockin’ and roisterin’ Redskins fans.

How long will Washingtonians get to stay cheery? Into the next decade, it says here, which means the playoffs--and January joy until the Chicago Bears get rowdy on their way to winning the Super Bowl.

Something in the low double-figure range ought to be within reasonable regular season reach for the Redskins, 10 to 12 victories. Their edge in slipping by the Eagles and Giants for the NFC East title just might be the dreaded s-word, schedule.

For being three games better than the Redskins and winning the division championship last season, the Eagles drew a 1989 schedule that includes games with the 49ers and the Vikings.

Washington’s NFC West opponent is Atlanta; its comparable NFC Central opponent is Tampa Bay. Philadelphia plays the Bears and Broncos on the road during the regular season; Washington gets both of them here. The Giants avoid the Bears, but get the Vikings (at home) and the 49ers and Rams (away).

Coach Joe Gibbs surely has reminded his troops no more than 50,000 times about opening--and sort of closing--1988 with that Monday Fright against the Giants. And that the Giants also were three games better during the regular season.

Lots went wrong for the Redskins in their first losing season under Gibbs; nothing was more vexing than surrendering touchdowns on a blocked punt and a Doug Williams fumble in the fourth quarter at Giants Stadium.

Gibbs spent first- and second-round draft choices to acquire a big-time thumper, Gerald Riggs, then spent months in closed-door think sessions on how often to run him left, right or up the middle.

What Gibbs may have done best is keep Riggs fairly close to him on the sidelines during the preseason. Those 6,631 yards in 1,587 carries over seven seasons with the Falcons are proof that Riggs can crash the nastiest crowd. No sense risking an injury against giants when Giants await.

Even though they call themselves New York but never play there, the Giants are no dunces. Knowing Gibbs would like to run Riggs their way every chance possible, they surely will offer a defense that forces Mark Rypien to beat them.

Rypien has been an easy mark throughout an off-season in which few NFL players actually were allowed off. Too good to be believed during many stretches of last year, too lousy to be tolerated during others, Rypien in his second season wants blissful consistency.

The first commandment for quarterbacks working for Gibbs is: Thou shalt not lose football games. No dumb throws. Know the difference between a Posse and a posse. If your friends have no chance to catch the ball, make certain nobody does.

Probably, the biggest rooter for the Redskins’ offense is the Redskins’ defense. It would like to be heroic, making spectacular plays and strutting week after week. That didn’t happen a year ago and might not again.

While the Redskins were intercepting just 14 passes, their opponents were swiping 25. The other fellows lost eight fumbles a year ago, the Redskins 21. Maybe the stat that clinched the Riggs deal with Atlanta was opponents scoring twice as many rushing touchdowns (17 to eight).

The Redskins were fortunate Willard Reaves still was available when rookie Joe Mickles went down last week. Why anyone, even a football fossil of 30, who produces touchdowns near the goal line stays unemployed in the NFL for more than 30 seconds remains a mystery.

Decades go by, an obscure offensive-minded coach shortly follows a famous defensive-obsessed coach and one thing stays fairly constant: Washington’s middle linebacker will get cut one week and start the regular season there the next. Somewhere, lumpy Mo Pottios had a chuckle reading about Neal Olkewicz.