Redskins Hope New Tackles Will Make Instant Impact

With $13 million in signing bonuses alone riding on the broad shoulders of Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson, expectations are running high for the Washington Redskins’ pair of new defensive tackles.

The teammates, who were at Redskin Park on Thursday for meetings preceding the weekend’s minicamp, say they wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Once they brought me and Dana in and paid us the salaries we’re getting,” Wilkinson said, “of course people are looking for a big change.”

The Redskins’ ineffectiveness against the run has been a major stumbling block of late. they ranked 30th in the NFL in 1996, 28th in 1997. After vowing to bolster the defensive line in the off-season, team officials came up with two gems: Stubblefield, last season’s NFL defensive player of the year, and Wilkinson, the top pick in the 1994 college draft.

“Lord willing and they stay healthy, the impact could be astounding,” said former Redskins tackle Tim Johnson. “Their strengths are many. Their weaknesses are few.”

Coach Norv Turner said “there’s no question” the defense is improved vastly with the tackles, who’ll be backed by last season’s starter Marc Boutte. At the same time, Turner sought to temper expectations for a sudden turnabout.

“Those two by themselves are not going to be the difference,” Turner said. “Every dominant player you add is an extension of what you’re trying to do.” He cited Sean Gilbert’s impact two seasons ago (107 tackles) and the punch cornerback Cris Dishman added last year.

“Had we not lost a guy (Gilbert, to a holdout), you’d see the whole thing coming together now,” Turner said. “Sometimes people get fooled. They think there’s one addition that’s going to be the difference.”

Still, with Stubblefield and Wilkinson patrolling the line, the Redskins almost surely would have made the playoffs in 1996 and 1997. Boutte played much of 1997 with an injured knee. And with Gilbert sitting, a half-dozen players rotated in and out of service.

Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said it’s unfair to speculate how the presence of Stubblefield and Wilkinson might have altered matters. “It makes them sound like the saviors, and they really aren’t the saviors,” Nolan said. “They’re just two very good players that hopefully will mesh with some of our good players we have already.”

Stubblefield and Wilkinson should help the Redskins not only stymie the run but play tougher defense across the board. They should free up the linebackers, with fewer blockers getting to them. Pressure would be eased on the secondary and increased on the quarterback. “They can’t double team both of them,” General Manager Charley Casserly said.

Stubblefield (6 feet 2, 315 pounds), a three-time Pro Bowl selection, finished second in the NFL last season with a career best 15.5 sacks and recorded 247 tackles in five seasons with San Francisco. Having played on the 1995 Super Bowl championship team gives him a psychological credential, as well.

“We were always expected to win -- not just the regular season games, but the playoff games as well,” Stubblefield said of his tenure with the 49ers.

By most accounts, Wilkinson (6-5, 313) hasn’t realized his full potential since leaving Ohio State after his sophomore year. In four seasons at Cincinnati, he recorded 25 sacks and 177 tackles. But, as Turner notes, he has been asked to play both tackle and end under several defensive schemes.

Nolan said he sees both potential and inconsistency in his game. “What scares people is inconsistency, and that’s why they stay away from certain players,” Nolan said. “You have to take into consideration where he was, the situation he was playing in, the defensive scheme he was in.

“All of those things are a little bit projections for us to say it’ll be different here for him, but when you’re in need of a position such as that, there are some risks involved.”

The two players first met at a 1993 awards banquet in Ohio. Stubblefield was the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year; Wilkinson was coming out of college. Saturday morning, they take the next step.

“The greatest thing is him coming in for this minicamp and me being here as well,” Stubblefield said, “so we can get that relationship down, that timing we need and start getting a feel for each other and the whole defense as well.”

Added Wilkinson: “I’m looking to start fresh, start new and go from there.”