Sunday, August 04, 2002
Redskins 38, 49ers 7
By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
OSAKA, Japan — Steve Spurrier's first NFL exhibition game had a Florida-type result.
The Washington Redskins threw early and often and won by more than four touchdowns, just as Spurrier's Fun 'N Gun Gators used to do, in a 38-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the American Bowl on Sunday (Saturday night EDT).
The Redskins passed for five touchdowns, threw the ball 45 times and ran it just 21 times. Spurrier even went long on fourth-and-1, with Danny Wuerffel tossing a 31-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Derrius Thompson.
“Winning and losing, nobody's going to give a darn five weeks from now,” Spurrier said. “But tonight there's a winner and a loser, and we're going home a winner.”
The final score and many of the stats of the NFL's first exhibition game of the season meant very little, however. It was overwhelmingly backups vs. backups, and the more pressing concern for Spurrier was Round 1 of a three-way battle for the starting quarterback job.
Sage Rosenfels had some early jitters, throwing two incomplete passes and an interception on the first three plays from scrimmage. He settled down, however, and threw touchdown passes of 65 yards to Thompson and 10 yards to rookie Robert Royal in the second quarter against the 49ers' backup secondary.
Spurrier, known for throwing his visor when his quarterbacks didn't play well at Florida, kept his composure during the early miscues. In fact, he wasn't even wearing a visor at the game played indoors in the Osaka Dome.
Rosenfels, a second-year player who didn't get into a regular season game last year, played the entire first half and finished 10-for-20 for 172 yards.
“I was a little nervous when I started out there, but I think I responded well,” Rosenfels said. “I don't have that much experience, so it took me a little while to get comfortable.”
Wuerffel played the second half and looked impressive, leading four scoring drives in four possessions and making two creative plays: a spin-move toss to Robert Gillespie to avoid a sack and a jump-pass to Ladell Betts.
Wuerffel also hit Darnerien McCants for touchdowns of 14 and 44 yards, and Brett Conway kicked a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter. Wuerffel completed 16 of 25 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns.
“I've felt real good about things, and I felt tonight was a continuation of it,” Wuerffel said.
The third player in the quarterback competition, Shane Matthews, will start next week at Carolina.
The 32,000-seat dome was about half full at the opening kickoff, a disappointing turnout for a region known for its strong support of Japanese college football. The crowd was quiet, and the players' signals could clearly be heard from the top of the upper deck.
Past American Bowls in Japan have been held in the Tokyo Dome, and the game will return there next year.
San Francisco also began its quarterback competition, but it's for the backup job. Jeff Garcia played just two series and gave way to Tim Rattay, who kept a touchdown drive alive with an aggressive 22-yard scramble on third-and-12 and finished 9-for-13 for 80 yards.
Rookie Brandon Doman entered the game in the third quarter and was 2-for-5 for 14 yards. Cade McNown did not play.
Because most of the starters were done before the end of the first quarter, little else could be discerned about the teams' fortunes for the upcoming season.
San Francisco's 22 offensive and defensive starters are essentially set, but there is competition for the kicking job. Rookie Jeff Chandler lined up for a field goal in the first quarter, but the attempt was aborted on a bad snap. He missed a 51-yard attempt on the final play of the game.
The Redskins have competition at quarterback, guard and receiver. Ross Tucker and Rod Jones opened at guard, while Gardner and Green were the starting receivers.
“We were probably more into it than the Niners,” Spurrier said. “We had a little more to prove than they did. They're a team that won 12 games last year. We're trying to earn our stripes a little bit more.”
49ers coach Steve Mariucci admitted as much, discounting the final score in favor of the chance to gives his reserves some game experience.
“That's good work, when our backups play against their starters,” Mariucci said. “They're going to be a fine team, and we're going to be a fine team as well.”
The game had an inauspicious start for San Francisco's Japanese linebacker, Masafumi Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi, who impressed coach Steve Mariucci so much that the coach got permission to take him back to training camp after the game, committed a blocking penalty on the opening kickoff.
Late in the game, Spurrier treated the crowd by calling a reverse to his Japanese player, Akihito Amaya. The play gained four yards.
Redskins backup guard Alex Sulfsted sprained his left ankle in the first half. He returned briefly in the second half before leaving the game again.
San Francisco safety Al Blades sprained his left ankle and will be doubtful for next week's game. Linebacker Jamie Winborn brusied his thigh, and guard Ron Stone hyperextended his elbow. Both are probable for next week.
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Redskins 38, 49ers 7
