TUESDAY TIDBITS: "the big problem was inconsistency" the saga of the 1946 Redskins.

Has been awhile and sure hope all of you are having an enjoyable summer! Over the years have done plenty of research on teams from the late '40's through 1959, but never really looked at the season of 1946. Having film of 8 of the 11 games (many in vivid color) sure made viewing enjoyable, plus having other strong sources made writing this saga much easier. Will be using my usual format, so here goes! The title comes from a quote from veteran back Wilbur Moore and boy oh boy did he ever hit the bullseye! Having winning seasons and earning the right to play for the title 4 times in the past six seasons the 'Skins embarked on their quest to return to the championship game at home in late September against a revitalized Steeler team now coached by Jock Sutherland. Quoting Rich Tandler from his terrific book "The Redskins Chronicle" "the Redskins cruised into the 4th quarter with a 14-0 lead but had to hold their breaths as a last second field goal attempt went wide allowing them to escape with a 14-14 tie with Pittsburgh". Their first offensive drive of the season was 61 yards to pay dirt. So, lets start with the 'Skins offense shall we? Playing end for Washington means you are gonna block, and when you are called upon to catch a pass from the best of his generation in Slingin' Sam! Doug Turley, Ralph Schiling, Jack Lookabaugh, Ted Lapka, John Kovatch, Ed Cifers, and Jim Peebles played end and as a group they caught just 37 passes total. While none stood out, the best of the group was probably Peebles. Baugh must be protected so lets take a look at the offensive line; John Koniszewski played left tackle in nine games, he just did not distinguish himself either as a run or pass blocker. Don Avery is listed as the starter for 11 games at the website Pro Football Archives, and though that might not be accurate he did see plenty of action(he also played some at right tackle). The usual starter at right tackle was John "Tree" Adams, who actually received all-league recognition. At times he was a powerful drive blocker, and agile enough to pass protect, yet did not see the type of play that merits all-league distinction. Veteran Bill Young saw action in eight games and always gave maximum effort. Bill Ward got the bulk of playing time at left guard, and he was asked to pull, trap, and lead running plays. He also did not stand out. Johnny Jaffurs got playing time in seven games, and also seeing action at both guard positions was Al Couppee for 8 games! Couppee even filled in at fullback for a few plays! John Steber was consistent in his performance at right guard and got the most playing time there. The best offensive lineman for the '46 'Skins was right tackle Paul Stenn who used his size and strength to great advantage as a drive blocker. He was not quite as nimble as a pass blocker, yet no doubt he graded out the best. When he left the 'Skins he played very well for the Bears. Clyde Ehrhardt earned his letter at both center and right guard, but the center position was handled very well by the duo of Al DeMao & Kiki Aldrich. Early in the season Washington was able to run the ball effectively and consistently since they gained 658 yards rushing on a time consuming 179 plays. There have been many teams that historically were backfield by committee, and the '46 Skins sure had depth at both fullback & halfback. Jim Gaffney, Bob DeFruiter,Dick Poillon & Frank Akins filled in, but the men getting the most snaps were Dick Todd, Jack Jenkins, and Sal Rosato. Early in the season Rosato ranked among the league leaders, but as the season progressed his injuries curtailed his effectiveness on inside running plays. Jack Jenkins hit the hole hard, bounced off tacklers, and after four weeks also ranked among the league leaders in rushing. He had the most carries in a game with 15 against the Boston Yanks on October 20th. He also had some injury issues thus he carried the ball only 25 times for 60 yards in the last seven games. Dick Todd led the team in rushing and after seven games he ranked among the league leaders with a total of 245 yards, but he carried the ball only 7 times for 21 yards the last 4 games of the year (Skins lost 3 of those 4 games). Todd was still effective as a receiver when called upon. Eddie Saenz was quick, and ran hard when given the opportunity, though he was much better as a receiver than as a runner. Jack Jacobs filled in at both fullback & quarterback at times. Since Frank Filchock was traded to the Giants (a very questionable decision by Marshall) the back-up quarterback became Jim Youel. The youngster had to fill in the second half of the campaign since Baugh had injury issues! Youel though a quick a willing runner lacked the accuracy necessary to be effective in directing the Washington offense. When you complete over 70% of your passes in a season the question that must be asked is .....can Baugh do it again? No he can't! Though he is still Slingin' Sam and he sure had his moments he just could not pitch the pigskin the way he did in '45. Oh, have left out who played the bulk of the season at right halfback? Watching film of #00 Steve Bagarus is just a joy! He was even better in '46 than he was in '45! He carried the ball enough on counters, sweeps and off tackle plays to be a major part of the running game, but he was sent in motion often to be the main receiving weapon for Baugh, and was he ever a WEAPON! He raunked among the league leaders all season with 31 catches for 438 yards. The lean quick versatile Bagarus is shown time and time again being called upon to make the big play for Washington on offense. When #00 had the ball in his hands in the open field he was shifty, and fast enough to elude tacklers. He is without a doubt the OFFENSIVE MVP of this team. Early October and the Lions come to town and after a 2nd place finish in '45 there sure was optimism in the Motor City. Washington again had to survive a missed field goal by the Lions to survive 17-16. Home for the third week in a row and Washington put forth maximum effort is beating the Giants 24-14. This is one of those games that you can watch over and over again due to all the twists & turns in this compelling drama of two long time division rivals that know whoever wins between them wins the division. The visit to Fenway Park for the first road game resulted in a 14-6 victory. The Redskin defensive effort in the victory was what you want in a defense! Strong at the point of attack with outstanding pursuit and tackling. Who played where for the 'Skins on defense in '46, well glad to share and detail. The defensive ends are the same as the offensive ends since players went both ways. The two men who stood out at defensive end are Jim Peebles at left end, and Ed Cifers at right end. The pass rush was average at best, yet in a 6-2 defense the ends are asked to play the wide run first. The defensive guards and tackles were asked to shed blocks and fill holes. All the players were adequate, yet the best in pursuit was Paul Stenn. During their division title campaign of '45 the 'Skins ranked 4th in the key defensive passer rating with a mark of 44.8. Though they ranked 6th in 1946 they actually improved with a rating of 42.8! The key was intercepting 11% of all opponent passes. There was a time when Wilbur Moore was an offensive weapon, but those days are long since passed, but the veteran right corner was superb in all facets of corner play in the nine games he played. Steve Bagarus got plenty of playing time at right corner and intercepted 3 Lion passes in the early October victory. For the first time Baugh is not the safety for Washington. His instinctive ability to be where the ball is was missed yet Jim Youel & Jack Jacobs were adequate playing the pass, with Jacobs being the better stronger tackler, and Youel the better deep pass defender. Dick Todd played a few snaps at safety, but he was usually handling the left corner post with aplomb. Savvy, quick, and tough Todd was as good as it gets in what you want in your strong side corner. Jacobs played some there and so did Dick Poillon (he also played some linebacker). Now the key to they defense in a 6-2 defense are the linebackers (at times the 'Skins shifted to a 5-3). Clyde Earhart would stand up and move to middle linebacker at times, but he was mainly a defensive lineman. The first half of the season the best left linebacker in football was Jack Jenkins! This stud filled holes, pursued, and was an effective pass defender (two interceptions on October 13th against the Giants). Sal Rosato also played left linebacker, but he was no Jenkins. Since they rotated at center they also rotated at right linebacker, who is "they" you ask? Why the dynamic duo of DeMao & Aldrich. Youngster DeMao (second season)is learning his lessons well. Excellent in pursuit, able to shed blocks and tackle, a very bright future for him! The second half of the season DeMao will play some left linebacker when Jenkins was injured. The NFl in this era has had so many outstanding right linebackers; future Hall of Famers Hein, & Turner, and nose for the ball uncanny for being in the right place at the right time Charley Brock, yet Kiki Aldrich would get my vote for 1st team all-pro in '46 as a right linebacker. Instinctive, tough as nails, quick, with the ability to pursue at the proper angle, Aldrich is the Redskins DEFENSIVE MVP! Jack Jacobs did some punting but Samuel Adrian Baugh can still boom the ball with the best. Dick Poillon made 6 of 16 field goals. Returning punts for the 'Skins were Bagarus & Youel and they both ranked with the leaders all year. Eddie Saenz ranks as one of the best kick-off return men in Redskin history and he ranked among the league leaders in this category during '46 and of course #00 Bagarus gained field position for Washington many times on his returns. Now, back to season;four weeks into the season the 1st place Redskins had allowed only 50 points, and coming to town are the Eagles. Washington leads 24-0 at half, but Philadelphia has a strong well coached team and rallies to close the gap to 24-21 with 5:11 to play and Head Coach Turk Edwards decides to go for it on 4th down and Rosato is stopped. Was this the turning point in the season as Thompson hit Ferrante for the winning touchdown. The rematch with the Steelers in Pittsburgh was simply the Bill Dudley show in the black & gold 14-7 win! Late in the game Washington had the ball on the Steeler 37 yard line, but Baugh was sacked for a 22 yard loss. Returning home to play Boston the Yanks decided they were the equal of the 'Skins and had the ball on the Washington nine yard line late in the game with a chance to win being down 17-14. A penalty pushes the Yanks back, and a desperation pass falls incomplete. Though injured with a rib injury Baugh comes off the bench to drive the his team down the field all on running plays. Victory for the Washington Redskins. When the Redskins play the Bears it is always meaningful and the game at Wrigley is a classic, with the 'Skins ahead 20-17. Though Luckman has misfired many times today, he finds Jim Keane twice on the winning drive in the Bear victory. Still on the road the 'Skins rebound with a victory over Philadelphia 27-10. During the game Thompson of the Eagles losses 43 yards on 10 rushing attempts. Since the "sack" is not kept yet at this time in history but having the film, this is a game where the Redskin pass rush got to Thompson time and time again. The morning of December 1st and the Eastern Conference standings are as follows; The 6-2-1 Giants are at home vs. the Rams, the 5-4-1 Steelers are at Philadelphia, and the 5-3-1 'Skins are at home against Green Bay. Anyone of these three teams can still win the division. Quoting the Milwaukee Journal "the Redskins, outcharge, outfought, outsmarted, were hardly in the game. Except for a brief flurry in the third quarter in which they got their consolation touchdown, after Green Bay had rolled up 13 points, they spent the time trying to ward off the trip hammer blows that descended on them from a hard running backfield of Walt Schlinkman, Ted Fritsch, Tony Canadeo and Bob Nussbaumer. Lewis Atchison in the Wasington Star wrote "never before this season had the Redskins encountered the brusing brand of blocking, tackling, and running the Packers hurled at them. Curly Lambeau's crew hit harder than the Bears and played cleaner football. They simply kicked the starch out of the 'Skins and left'em groggy." The season ended with a debacle in the Polo Grounds at New York 31-0. Though Washington still had a chance to force a play-off with a victory you would not have guessed that based upon how easily the Giants dispatched Washington. The Redskins gained just 93 yards rushing as a team and Bill Paschal had 83 for the Giants. Summing up a season that began with so much promise, the words of Wilbur Moore ring true; "the big problem was inconsistency"!