Lancaster New Era from Lancaster, Pennsylvania • 34

RW is i '1-1 LANCASTER, NEW ERA C-6 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2000 SPORTS Redskins East Division Pet 85 63 78 70 .574 .527 GB New York Boston. Toronto. Baltimore Tampa Boy 24'j 7 7Vj 20 78 71 ..66 84 ..61 88 Central Division .524 .440 .409 88 61 80 66 74 76 69 81 65 84 Pet GB .591 .548 6'j .493 14'2 .460 18' '2 .436 23 Cleveland Kansas City Minnesota. West Division Pet 84 66 .560 .544 .510 80 67 76 73 GB 2'j Th Seattle. Anaheim.

Texas. 69 82 .457 15'2 Continued from C-1 mistakes, you usually dont have a chance to win. The Redskins closed to 24-21 with 5:34 left on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson to Mike Sellers, and Washington quickly forced a punt. But Reese picked off a Johnson overthrow and returned it 46 yards to set up a field goal by Tim Seder with 1:46. remaining.

Forced to use a short passing game in part because of the absence of injured wide receiver Michael Westbrook, Johnson couldnt bring the Redskins back. He completed passes to nine different receivers, but the longest was for 17 yards. Dallas, on the other hand, got a 76-yard touchdown reception from Chris Warren and a 44-yard catch from Raghib Ismail. Cunningham completed only 10 passes, but his 185 passing yards was just 55 less than Johnson had with 30 completions. z-denotes first game was a win Sunday's Games Oakland at Tampa Bay hurr.

Monday's Games Detroit 5 Chicago White Sox 2 Oakland Baltimore 3 Cleveland 2 N.Y. Yankees 0 Seattle 4 Tampa Bay 3 Minnesota 3........ Texas 1 Only games scheduled Detroit 5 Boston 4 Cleveland 15.. N.Y. Yankees 4 Seattle Baltimore 2 Minnesota 1...........

Anaheim 0 Toronto White Sox 1 Texas 6 Kansas City 5 Tuesday's Games Chicago White Sox (Lowe 3-1) at Detroit (Sparks 6-4), 7:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 18-7) at Toronto (Wells 19-6), 7:05 p.m. Oakland (Heredia 14-11 and Prieto 1-1) at Baltimore (Spurgeon 1-1 and Rivera 0-0), 2, 1:35 p.m. Cleveland (Nagy 2-5) at Boston (Ohka 3-5), 7:05 p.m.

Seattle (Halama 11-9) at Tampa Bay (Lidle 2-6), 7:15 p.m. Anaheim (Ortiz 6-5) at Kansas City (Stein 6-4), 8:05 p.m. Texas (Glynn 5-4) at Minnesota (Mays 6-14), 8:05 p.m. Troy Aikman (right) could only watch Monday night as Randall Cunningham got the start. Randall kept the Redskins guessing Athletics 1 2, Orioles 3 Tigers 5, White Sox 2 Afterward, Campo stepped in front of the cameras and microphones and smiled broadly.

Thats one, he said, referring to his first win as an NFL coach. We needed a confidence-builder, and we got one. This gives us a chance to move on and be a good football team. Stephen Davis scored two touchdowns for the Redskins and ran for 91 yards, but Campo was encouraged to see Dallas hold Washington to just 107 yards on the ground. Two weeks earlier, Philadelphias Duce Staley ran for 201 yards in a 41-14 rout in Dallas.

The key was our rushing defense, Campo said. You stop the run, it gives you a chance to do some things in the secondary. Sanders, meanwhile, had very little impact on the game. He ran left with the first Dallas punt of the night, then handed the ball to Champ Bailey, who sprinted 54 yards to set up a Davis touchdown for a 7-0 lead. But Cunningham hooked up with Warren for the equalizer and Smith scored on fourth down from the 3 in the second quarter to put Dallas up 14-7 at halftime.

Despite two second-half turnovers, Dallas held on. When I was a Cowboy, we believed we could come in here and win, Sanders said. I see thats still going on. touchdown the longest of his career. The Cowboys had rookie cornerback Kareem Lar-rimore starting under the bright lights of Monday Night Football.

While the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals made sure they tested Larrimore with long balls, the Redskins waited too long and didnt do enough. They attempted only one long pass against Larrimore in the first half, and not until two minutes remained. Instead, they spent most of the night throwing underneath coverage with Dallas in a two-deep zone. The main reason for that, with Michael Westbrook injured, the Redskins lacked their big-play receiver. So when the Redskins werent running Stephen Davis up the middle, they usually were trying to beat Dallas linebackers with their running backs on passes.

Washington simply did not have enough firepower. Washingtons game plan got so predictable that fans were booing early in the second quarter as quarterback Brad Johnson struggled. Johnson got Larrimore to bite twice on stop-and-go patterns, but neither did much damage. On the first, cornerback Champ Bailey had Larrimore beaten badly, but Johnsons pass fell incomplete. The Redskins got five yards because Larrimore made illegal contact.

On the second one, Albert Connell faked them out, then was alone after Larrimore bit. But again, Johnsons pass was off the mark. Cornerback Ryan McNeil made the biggest play late in the third quarter with Dallas leading, 17-14. In man coverage against Connell, McNeil stayed with him as Connell leaped for the catch, then pulled the ball out of Connells hands at Dallas 13. Continued from C-1 him.

Not only did Cunningham avoid the blitz with his scrambling, he threw the ball well. In the first quarter, he had running back Chris Warren alone down the sideline and put the ball right in Warrens hands for a 76-yard score. On Dallas first drive of the third quarter, Cunningham scrambled for a 10-yard gain, then gained 14 yards to Washingtons 18 on the quarterback draw. That set up Tim Seders field goal that gave Dallas a 17-7 lead. The whole focus was to put points on the board, Cunningham said.

Im blessed with being 37 years old and still being able to move like I did when I was younger. It was a play they practiced a lot in training camp and ran several times before Mondays game. But it caught the Redskins totally off guard, and tied the score, 7-7, in the first quarter. The Cowboys, hoping for a mismatch, sent running back Chris Warren to line up as the wideout on the left side. With strong safety Sam Shade coming out to cover Warren, Dallas had the mismatch in speed it wanted.

But the Cowboys also needed to get Washington cornerback Deion Sanders away from the play. So they sent Raghib Ismail, who was lined up inside Warren, in motion. Sanders followed, and linebacker Shawn Barber also pursued Ismail. That left Warren alone with Shade. Warren exploited the lone defender, using a pause to force Shade to stop, then took off at full speed.

Cunningham threw a perfect pass, and Warren made the grab all alone, running into the end zone for a 76-yard 3B Easley (2). JEncamocion (6). HR Konerko (18) oft JWeaver RBls Konerko 2 (87), Easley 2 (53), JGonzalez (67), Magee (28). SF Mogee GDP JGonzalez, DCruz. Runners left scoring position Chicogo 2 (Durham, Konerko); Detroit 7 (JEncamocion, Higginson, JGonzo-lez, DCrxiz, A Sen 3).

Runners moved up Easley. DP Chicogo 2 (JAValentin, Durham and Konerko), JAVolenhn, Durham and Konerko). Ovcogo IP ERBBSONP ERA Parque 6 7 1 1 3 4 95 4 20 Borcelo 32 1 2 2 1 1 2 27 3.24 Howry 1 3 2 2 0 1 18 3.24 Detroit IP ERBBSONP ERA JWeover 10-14 8 3 2 2 1 6 111 4.49 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 3.47 HBP by Parque (DCruz). Balk JWeaver. Umpres Home, Hirschbeck, Rrst, WiWams, Second, Wegner; Third, Reynolds.

242. A 22,718 a-struck out for Anderson in the 5th. b-touted out for Je.Gtambi the 7th. -grounded out for Stars the 8th. d-waiked for Hernandez in the 9th.

e-struck out far JaGiambi the 9th. 1-ran for Grieve in the 8th. LOB Oakland 9, Baltimore 8. 2B Grieve (37), Teioda (30), JeGtambt (6), RJHemandez (17), token (14). HR Chavez (23) off Groom; Teioda (27) off BRvan; JaGiambi (38) oft Rapp; De Shields (9) off Appier.

RSIs JaGtamtM 2 (126), Gneve (98). Tewda 3 (102), Chavez 2 (77), JieGiam-bi (43), RJHemandez 3 (54), DeShields 2 (77), GMyers (10). SB DeShields 2 (34). GDP Long, JaGiambi, Gneve, Kmgsaie. Runners left in scoring position Oakland 5 (Long 7, JaGiambi, Chavez 2); Baltimore 3 (Ripken, Richard, For-dvee).

Runners moved up Ortiz. DP Oakland 1 (Teioda Velarde and JaGiambi); Baltimore 3 (Horston, Mora and Richard), (Harston, Mora and Richard), (Hairston, Mora and Richard). Oakland PH ERBBSONP ERA Appier 14-11 5' 3 7 3 3 3 4 97 4.64 Mecr 0 0 0 1 1 23 3 20 Tam 1 1 0 0 0 0 18 2.55 Service 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 659 Baltimore ERBBSONP ERA Rapp L. 8-12 6 11 7 7 4 3 115 5.94 BRvan 1 2 1 1 0 1 19 6.08 Groom 1 4 4 4 0 1 30 5.04 Kohimeier 1 0 0 0 2 1 23 2.18 Inherited rurmers-scored Mecir 2-0. off Appier (Richcrd) 1.

HBP by Rapp (RJHer-nandez) Umpires Home, Meals; First, Young; Second, Katzen-rocier; Thrd, MiHer. 3:21. A 3041 (48376). Indians 2, Yankees 0 Mariners 4, Devil Rays 3 AB Bi BB SO Avg. 5 0 0 0 0 2 .246 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264 4 0 1 0 0 3 .259 4 1 1 0 0 2 326 3 0 1 1 1 1 324 1 2 0 0 0 .265 1 1 0 0 1 .263 Seattle Henderson If JOHverc Cameron cf ARodriguez ss EMartinez dh Olerudlb Buhner rf 1 -Gipson pr-rf CGuiHen 3b DWHsonc a-Javier ph Ibanez If DaBeH 2b Totals Tampa Bay 0 1 0 0 0 0 333 3 0 1 2 1 1 .263 3 0 0 0 0 1 .237 Receivers are non-exsistent in Eagles' attack 10 11 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 35 4 10 4 2 12 AB BIBB SO Avg.

0 .276 0 .214 1 339 Continued from C-1 5-foot-ll. By, say, the 10th game, in early November, he could be down to 5-6. After three games, Staley has accounted for 453 total yards. The other Eagles 13 in all have accounted for 456 total yards. Thus, the Little Duce Coupe is doing the work of a bakers dozen.

You cant help but notice that he wears more scowls these days. So far, Staley has 69 touches. The rest of the team has 61 combined. Again, a disproportionate share of the workload, with the risk of injury rising each game because the defense is stacked for him. The good news is, Staley is on pace for 2,416 total yards, which would be a mighty output.

The disquieting news is that by the time he reaches that, he will be 3-foot-7. Staley has caught 19 passes. The Eagles wide receivers, all of them, have 16 catches. For zero touchdowns. We all knew, even if the Eagles refused to admit so, that they were lacking out on the flanks.

What we assumed they were lacking was speed. Well, they are. But they also are lacking any semblance of aggression. The problem is not just creating separation from the defense downfield, its getting even a crevice of separation at the line. Head coach Andy Reid admitted as much, first after the dismal 6-3 loss at Green Bay on Sunday, then again yesterday at his weekly autopsy.

When a defender positions himself garlic-breath-close and dares to be beaten, the Eagles wide receiver must accept that as a challenge, Reid said, and react with some I love this word bellicosity. In Philadelphia, it translates thus: Yo, pal, outta my face! Alas, too often the Eagles wide receiver reacts as though he has been asked to dance. He tippy-taps in place, placid, compliant. Meanwhile, the offensive line counts to three-Mississippi under its breath and figures its job is done, only to turn and see McNabb pumping and searching, swiveling and reading, bailing and flailing. McNabb is taking the most heat.

It goes with the position. The fact is, it is dilficult to assess his play and his potential because the receivers are so rarely running free. Reid repeated yesterday that he would stand by his man. There will be no relief pitcher, at least for now. That is unfortunate this is not to suggest that replacing him as starter with Koy Detm-er, rather than bringing in Detmer late in a winnable game in which McNabb is obviously struggling, is worth trying.

If the Birds somehow finish the season 8-8, they will look back on the Green Bay loss and curse a missed opportunity, one that ended up costing them the playoffs. But if the Birds are going to stay with McNabb, they owe it to him to get him some help on the outside. Otherwise, it isnt fair. His learning process is going to be extended, and so is the pain. Not to mention the agony of the long-suffer-ingfans.

Reid suggested yesterday that the return from injury of wide receiver Torrance Small and full-time availability of wide receiver Na Brown would perk up the moribund offense. Frankly, that sounds like wishful thinking. Small is the very model of symmetry: 1-1-1. Thats one game, one catch, for one yard. Brown has one fewer catch than Small, which is to say the same total as you, me, and everyone in the graveyard.

Those are the two guys Donovan feels especially comfortable with, Reid said. That may be grasping at a very slender straw. Reid couldnt offer much more, other than to say the current situation certainly was gloomy. But the Birds will not permit two consecutive defeats including Sundays loss, in which they were outscored by the Phillies to dampen their outlook, Reid vowed. A year ago, it was obvious the Eagles needed wide receivers.

It is even more obvious, and painful, now. Ignore the rash, it will only spread. Tampa Bay 1 (Huff, Caro and McGnft). PHR ERBBSONP ERA 6'j 7 3 3 I 2 96 3.94 I' 0 0 0 1 1 16 4.10 1V3 0 0 0 0 2 17 3 36 PH ERBBSONP ERA 7 8 3 3 1 9 95 4.57 1 0 0 0 0 3 11 6.41 1 2 1 1 1 0 24 2.94 Abbott pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Inherited rurmers-scored Rhodes 1-0, Pamoguo 1-0.

HBP by Abbott (JGmHen), by Abbott (GVoughn). WPP Abbott, RMHemandez. Umpires Home, Gorman; First, Fichter; Second, Crawford; Third, DiMuro, Mike. 2:44. A 13,129 Seattle PAbbott Rhodes Parnogua 3-0 Tampa Bay Rekar Yon RMHemandez 3-6 Branyan (3).

LOB Cleveland 9, New York 2. 2B Thome (32). 3B EADiaz (2). RBls MRamirez (110). GDP Vizquel, Thome, Brosius.

Runners left scoring position Cleveland 4 (Lofton Branyan 2); New York 2 (TMartnez, Posoda). Runners moved i Martinez. DP Cleveland 1 (Vizquel, RAkxnar and Thome); New York 2 (Knoblauch, Jeter and TMartkwz), (Jeter and TMortlnez). Cleveland IP ERBBSONP ERA Colon 14-8 9 1 0 0 1 13 114 4.03 New York IP ERBBSONP ERA Clemens 13-7 7 6 2 2 5 9 129 3 27 Stanton 3 0 0 0 0 0 8 4.29 Nelson 13 1 0 0 1 0 20 2.26 PB Posoda. Umpires Home, Tschida; First, Meriwether; Second, Gibson, Third, DeMuth.

A 31317 Twins 3, Rangers 1 Eagles eye answers after disaster in Green Bay Home Runs Thomas, Chicago, 42; Glaus, Anaheim, 41; CDelga-do, Toronto, 40; TBatista, Toronto. 38; JaGiambi, Oakland, 38; ARodriguez, Seattle, 38; Justice, New York, 37; RPatmero, Texas, 37. Runs Batted Thomas, Chicago, 140; MJSweeney, Kansas City, 135; EMartinez, Seattle, 135; CDekjodo, Toronto, 133; JaGiambi, Oakland, 126; ARodriguez, Seattle, 121; MOrdonez, Chicago. 119. Pitching (17 Decisions) Martinez, Boston, 17-5, DWes, Toronto, 19-6, Hudson, Oakland, 17-6, Baldwin, Chicogo, 14-5, Pettitte, New York.

18-7, Burba, Cleveland, 15-6, Paraue, Chicago, 12-6, Mercedes, Baltimore, 12-6, 667. 0-fked out for Knorr in the 7th. b-fHed out for Ledee in the 8th. c-struck out tor Waszgs the 9th. d-grounded out for Green the 9th.

1-ran far Ortiz in the 8th. LOB Texas 8, AAmnesota 6. 2B Lawton (43), JJones (23). RBls RPalmero (111), JJones (68) SB Rivas (1). CS JJones (4), Barnes (1).

GOP RPalmero, Runners left in scoring position Texas 3 (Kapler, Curtis, Clayton); Minnesota 4 (CGuzmcm, DOrtiz 2, Hunter). Runners moved up Barnes. 7k WILDCARD RACE, Continued from C-1 chatter about what the players and coaches cant explain. What seems to be a gloomy situation, weve got to change, coach Andy Reid said Monday during the hangover from the 6-3 loss to Green Bay on Sunday that dropped his team to 1-2. How to change? Who knows? It would take contributions from many young players.

But right now, the clouds are dark and ready to drop more rain. How to fix things? Who knows? There are plenty of answers to go around. Just not concrete ones. We definitely have to be clicking on all cylinders. Donovan McNabb, quarterback, copyright 2000.

You will read that kind of thing many times if the offense continues to sputter. Reid said pretty much that no cylinders are making that clicking noise. He blamed the Eagles paltry 171-yard effort against the Packers on the entire offense. At times, it was McNabb holding on to the ball too long. At times, it was the line not protecting him well enough.

At times, it was the wide receivers being manhandled by a very average but very aggressive Green Bay secondary. At times, it was McNabb misfiring to receivers who were open. The positive is Duce. Entire Eagles team, copyright 2000 and beyond. Running back Duce Staley has accounted for 453 of the teams 833 total yards more than half.

He is not one to brag or to complain, but he is the only light in this early-season mess. Since his 201-yard game against Dallas, Staley has rushed for only 71 yards on 24 carries in the last two games, mostly because defenses are keying on him, moving one or even two defensive backs to stop the run. Staley is the running game and the passing game right now. He has more catches (19) than all of the Eagles wide receivers combined (16). Were not on the same page.

Eagles offensive linemen, copyright back to the 1990s. Granted, communication and chemistry are essential in any team sport. But this has long been the catch phrase for the offensive lines futility. Things appeared to be getting better. Tackle Jon Runyan received a $30.5 million contract as a free agent in the off-season to be a cornerstone.

But in the last two games, McNabb has been pressured constantly. Whose fault is that? It has been a team effort, Reid said. We need to spread it around more. Reid, copyright 2000. Against the Packers, only one wide receiver, Charles Johnson, caught a pass (actually, three), and there was only one reception by a tight end (Luther Broughton).

We have to be more aggressive. Reid and the receiving corps, copyright 2000. Two words: Bump and run. So and so (insert the most recently injured wide receiver) is the missing link. Offensive unit, copyright 2000.

First, it was Na Brown, the second-year man who has a fractured hand and a lot of missed playing time, including the first two games. He played on Sunday, banged that hand once, and was ineffective the rest of the way. Now the attention is on Torrance Small. He has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury. The Eagles hope to have him back for Sundays game against New Orleans.

Will he help? He had one catch for 1 yard in the season opener against Dallas. Many doubt one player can make a difference. But having everyone healthy could do some good. AMERICAN LEAGUE Pet. GB Oakland 12.

Cleveland 2- N.Y. Yankees 0 Minnesota Movs 7-14 BWeHs Guardado 9 PH ERBBSONP ERA 5' 3 8 1 1 0 4 87 5 78 2') 1 0 0 1 1 3t 3.26 I'd 1 0 0 0 1 25 338 NATIONAL LEAGUE Pci. GB -85 65 367 ..79 66 337 44 New Mays pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited rurmers-scored BWete 1 -0, Guar dodo 2-0. PB Knorr, Woszgis Jr- Umpres Home, Nelson, Jeff; First, Brinkman; Second, Cousins; Thrd.

Marquez. 27. A 7,040 (48678). Monday's Games Late Game Not Included N. Y.

Mets 3 (n) Atlanta 6 -Arizona at Los Angeles- i e- a m..