Are Redskins Tough or Hard-Headed?

A review of Week 13 in the NFL, and for years we have heard about players who would be willing to run through a brick wall if only asked. Washington’s Gus Frerotte is the first known player to try it, and without prompting.

Dumb and Dumber

It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to see in one of the “Airplane” movies with maybe Leslie Nielsen or Jim Carrey playing the part of Gus Frerotte.

To celebrate scoring a touchdown, Frerotte went looking for a concrete wall beyond the end zone, and while reports suggest it was padded--the wall that is--he head-butted it. (We’re not making this stuff up.) Frerotte injured his neck, was later taken to a hospital before being released with a diagnosis of a sprained neck and acute stupidity.

“I’ve never thought to tell a guy not to hit the wall after a touchdown, so we’ll put that in our preseason plans next year,” Washington Coach Norv Turner said.

No telling yet if Michael Westbrook will be included in those preseason plans. Westbrook, who sucker-punched teammate Stephen Davis before the season, outdid Frerotte.

Westbrook, angry when an official ruled he had not caught a pass, ripped off his helmet in overtime and received a mandatory 15-yard penalty, taking the Redskins out of field-goal range in a game that ended in a tie.

“That might be an all-timer,” Washington cornerback Darrell Green said.

He’s Infallible

Minnesota’s chance to tie the Jets and move into overtime with a two-point conversion ended with quarterback Brad Johnson handing the ball to running back Robert Smith for a dive into the heart of New York’s defensive line--for no gain. The Vikings have two of the best wide receivers in the game, including the very best at leaping high over cornerbacks in the end zone in Cris Carter, but Coach Dennis Green called for a run.

“I have not allowed you [reporters] to question calls since I’ve been here and I’m not going to start now,” Green said.

Where’s Walter?

Mike Ditka, at a loss without Walter Payton, Buddy Ryan and Mike Singletary, suggested he might call it quits after the season because he can’t get a rise out of the corpses on his roster.

Ditka might deserve coach-of-the-year honors for squeezing four victories out of this team, but he is the guy who traded for Heath Shuler and drafted Danny Wuerffel, and the NFL might never have seen two worse quarterbacks on the same roster.

And now because his team won so many games, he probably has no chance to land Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf.

“I’m probably not the answer they need,” Ditka said. “I don’t have it anymore. Maybe the game has passed me by. Maybe all the experts were right.”

Ditka changed his tune Monday and said he was sticking around.

Lost in Space

Chicago linebacker Bryan Cox, fined $10,000 earlier this season for throwing his helmet, earned a 15-yard penalty for yelling at an official, then exchanged words with teammates and Coach Dave Wannstedt on the sideline during Sunday’s game with Tampa Bay.

Afterward, Cox renounced his team captaincy, which is very funny, because Chicago has only honorary captains selected for each game.

Don’t Try This at Home

Seattle punter Rick Tuten was in tears a couple of weeks ago, after punting against the Chargers with a pulled pelvic muscle. To take his place, the Seahawks signed Kyle Richardson, two of whose punts were blocked a week ago. Another was blocked this week, and Richardson suffered a concussion as well.

Tuten, pressed back into duty and in obvious pain, lofted a punt almost straight up. When the ball landed, it retreated, resulting in a punt of minus-six yards.

Statistics to Ponder

Minnesota was one for 11 on third-down opportunities; the Packers were nine for nine in the second half against Dallas. . . . The Chiefs have not given up a touchdown in the second half of any of their last seven games--which is the only way they can win with Rich Gannon at quarterback. . . . Buffalo, which features Thurman Thomas and Antowain Smith, ran 14 times for four yards against Houston. . . . Opposing kickers are 26 for 26 on field-goal attempts against the Seahawks this season. . . .

Philadelphia remains the only NFL team--yes, even New Orleans has done it--not to score 24points in a game this season. . . Easy to figure out if the Patriots are going to win each week. When they have scored first, they have gone 6-0.

They Say the Funniest Things

* The Bears won, running their record to 2-10, prompting running back Raymont Harris to proclaim, “It proves that we’re not dead.”

* Although Cincinnati scored 31 points in beating Jacksonville, Jaguar Coach Tom Coughlin said, “We went out and beat ourselves.”

Three Teams to Watch Closer

1. Dallas--No last rites quite yet: If the Giants lose one of their next three, and the Redskins lose one of their next four, and the Cowboys win their next three, they play the Giants for the NFC East title in Dallas in the season finale.

2. San Francisco--Steve Mariucci’s first pop quiz, a game in Kansas City, and then consecutive meetings at home with Minnesota and Denver.

3. Pittsburgh--The Steelers and Jaguars lost and remain tied, but the Jaguars’ loss was more devastating because it was against a division opponent, shifting the tiebreakers in Pittsburgh’s favor.

This Week’s Kevin Butler Goof Award

Pittsburgh running back Jon Witman gets it. The Steelers, losing all day to Philadelphia, climbed back within a touchdown at 20-13 and recovered the ensuing on-side kick.

There was only one problem: Witman was caught jumping offside. The Eagles went on to win the game.

MVP Honors

Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer. Making like John Elway in “The Drive II,” Plummer took his team 55 yards in five plays and 31 seconds to give kicker Joe Nedney three seconds to boot a game-winning 43-yard field goal over Baltimore, formerly known as the Cleveland Browns, who know all about “The Drive.”

If the Planets Are Aligned . . .

Frerotte scores against St. Louis, and won’t take no for an answer, determined to batter that wall until there’s a breakthrough.