Skins place high hopes on Marshall

WASHINGTON Coach Joe Gibbs says he doesn't expect WilberMarshall to play like Superman this season for the WashingtonRedskins, despite the $6 million, five-year free agent contractawarded to the two-time all-pro linebacker.

"We don't expect Superman, but we'd take Batman," Gibbs said."We're expecting him to be awful good."

It's safe to say the Redskins have high expectations forMarshall after making him the highest paid defensive player in NFLhistory, luring him from the Chicago Bears as a free agent.

"If he plays just the way he did against us when he was with theBears, he'll fit in real well," Gibbs added.

Marshall is also setting lofty goals for himself.

"I want to be the best linebacker in the league and, hopefully,the best defensive player in the league before I get out of thisgame," Marshall said. "Obviously, I'm going to be here the next fiveyears, so this is the place to do it."

The Super Bowl champions hope Marshall can provide them with adominant defensive player in the mold of Lawrence Taylor of the NewYork Giants, although Marshall's role likely will be more restrictedthan Taylor's free-wheeling style.

Marshall, a rare package of speed, power and intensity, hasearned his way into the NFL's corps of elite linebackers in his fourNFL seasons, earning Pro Bowl berths the last two seasons with theBears and helping Chicago to its triumph in Super Bowl XX. Now theRedskins are waiting to see how quickly Marshall, 26, picks up theteam's defense and how well he meshes with his new teammates.

Marshall has been generally well received by the Redskinsplayers, despite some initial resentment over the size of hiscontract. Marshall, whose placid personality seems to fit in betterwith the low-key Redskins than with the high-strung Bears, has beenslow to develop friendships with his new teammates.

"I don't hang around a lot of guys. I don't go out drinking ordoing all that stuff with them. I don't care to do all that stuff,"Marshall said. "That's just the way I am. I just kind of cool outand do my own thing. When it's time to play, time to be with theguys, I'm there for them and they're there for me. That's how itshould be.

"I'm a quiet person, anyway, so I just do my job and that's goodenough for me," Marshall added. "I get my job done, go home and rest,listen to a little jazz and take it easy."

It's a lot easier to take it easy under Gibbs and the Redskinsthan under Coach Mike Ditka with the Bears. Gibbs consciously triesto avoid any public airing of differences within the team, whileDitka thrives on trying to rile up his team with comments to the press.

Marshall said he is happy to be away from that kind ofenvironment.

"This is nothing like the Bears," Marshall said. "They try tomake stories during the week - somebody says something or somebodydoes something really wild, like (quarterback Jim) McMahon. Everyonehere is pretty low key and trying to get it together."

Marshall said he was not close to Ditka, the fiery coach andHall of Fame tight end.

"I never talked to him. He was busy fighting with McMahon.Those guys stayed together, fighting with each other all the time,"Marshall said. "I played my heart out for the Bears and never saidanything. But to keep the players sharp after I left, he'd say,`Wilber ain't so-and-so. He didn't want to play for the Bears.' It'sjust the way Ditka is. He'd just make up a lot of stuff. He's acharacter."

Marshall said he was comfortable with the Bears, but couldn'tpass up the kind of money the Redskins offered.

After he signed Washington's $6 million, five-year offer sheetin March, the Bears refused to match the offer, making Marshall thefirst player in 11 years to change teams as a free agent under theNFL's restrictive free agency policy.

The Redskins surrendered first round draft choices in 1988 and1989 to the Bears as compensation for signing Marshall.

"I'm thinking about my future. My future, just like everyoneelse's, is in the money you make," Marshall said.

"I don't think anyone could ever have imagined that this couldhave happened. I just play as hard as I can and I guess that's myreward for just hustling and trying to be the best outside linebackerthere is. "As long as you bust your rear end and play as hard asyou can, good things will happen for you," he said.