By Michael Wilbon
Washington Post Columnist
Monday, September 28, 1998; Page D1

What began as a bad start is now a state of emergency. As Redskins wide receiver Leslie Shepherd said, it's now time to look for the panic button. The Redskins are dreadful on offense, defense and special teams. And it's not like they're a break or two away from being any good, or like fixing one problem will help dramatically. At present the Redskins are bad to the bone, sorry and no-account through and through. For three straight weeks they have failed even to be competitive.

By the time the fourth quarter began yesterday, two-thirds of the fans who had come to Jack Kent Cooke Stadium had hit the exits. The ones who remained didn't dare sing, "We want Dallas" because anybody who has watched these Washington Redskins these first four weeks knows to be careful what you ask for. There's not a team in the league, other than maybe the winless Colts or Eagles, that the Redskins should be anxious to play. How long before more than a couple of people start wearing bags over their heads at home games?

Asked about the early departures and the booing, Coach Norv Turner said, "It's an honest reaction and I understand the reaction."

There's no positive spin to put on it, no silver lining, no bright spot that counts for anything. A team that some folks (starting right here) thought might win the worst division in the league, can't execute the most basic tenets of football. The difficult front end of the schedule is no excuse because the Redskins haven't even made the opposition sweat these last three weeks. It's difficult to know for certain whether a team is unprepared and uninspired or plain old bad, but the Redskins certainly look unprepared and uninspired.

"Unfortunately," Turner said of the opponents, "they're not the issue; we're obviously the issue. It doesn't matter whom the opponent is; it's us . . . and we've got to solve the problems."

Solving one major problem in the NFL is difficult enough. But the Redskins have so many glaring deficiencies it's tough to know where to begin. The Redskins can't protect their quarterback. The defense, which was supposed to be the strength of the team, has allowed a running back to rush for more than 100 yards three straight weeks. And the special teams seem to allow a big return every game. Last week it was the opening kickoff; yesterday it was the kickoff to start the second half.

The place kickers can't kick, the blockers can't block without holding, the defensive backs can't cover, the pass rushers can't pressure the quarterback. Who knows what's going on at halftime because the Redskins have been out-scored 56-10 in the third quarter this season, which indicts either the coaches' attempt to make adjustments or the players' ability to execute orders.

It's just a mess, all of it, from A to Z. Heck, the Redskins have been lining up for field goals the same way for four weeks and apparently can't get that right, since an illegal formation penalty yesterday negated an early field goal by Cary Blanchard. Even Turner admitted, "We could sit here a long time naming the problems we need to eliminate . . . " Later Turner added, "We can't [play well] for an extended period of time. We can't finish a drive, we can't make a play when we need to."

And consider this: The Redskins didn't even have to play against John Elway. Suppose they had? The Broncos appeared to go into a shell to start the fourth quarter or it might have been uglier than the 45-10 49ers debacle.

You can place the blame just about everywhere, any player or coach excluding punter Matt Turk. Everybody else is fair game. Talk about team efforts; even some old reliables are in a slump. Ken Harvey hasn't been able to generate his usual pass rush. Cris Dishman has been beaten badly, even by possession receivers on deep routes, such as yesterday by Ed McCaffrey. A 49ers player told me two weeks ago that it was so obvious that the defensive ends (Kenard Lang, Kelvin Kinney, Jamal Duff and Doug Brown) are overmatched to the point that teams with any speed can kill the Redskins by attacking the corners. Lo and behold if Denver didn't start the game by pitching the ball to Terrell Davis who busted outside for seven yards.

There's no sense in picking apart each facet of the offense; there's not much in the way of explosive talent and there's not enough space here anyway. But don't blame Trent Green. He could have been seriously hurt the way the Broncos teed off on him. The offensive line might be in the most serious need of repair. I don't want to hear one word about replacing Green at quarterback, because with this leaky line, the quarterback's first job is to run for his life. The Broncos recorded three sacks, but it would have been seven or eight with a less mobile quarterback. Green can run. Gus Frerotte can't. End of discussion.

So what can the Redskins, as presently constituted, do? "It comes down to an individual deal now," Turner said. "This is about what people are made of."

That's a pretty scary notion, too.

But that's what it does boil down to. Are there players who are ready to bail, and if so, how many? It's a sports cliche, but guts even more than talent determine so much. Particularly in pro football. "How much character is on this team?" asked Darrell Green, who we know has plenty. "That will determine what we are in the future. Who will maintain their position in the race?"

Ninety-nine percent of the time, 0-4 means the season is over. Only one thing prevents this season from being hopeless: the pitiful company the Redskins keep in the NFC East. Given how they have played so far, it's dumb to presume they can beat anybody. But the fact is, victories over a mediocre Dallas team and an equally pathetic Eagles team the next two weeks could put them in a first-place tie at 2-4.

That is not what the Redskins' coaches, club executives and players promised. Two and four is not exactly shooting for the stars. But for a team neck-deep in trouble, that might be the only life raft to which the Redskins can cling.