BY RICH CAMPBELL

ASHBURN

--Joe Bugel paced at the far end of the practice field on a crisp autumn morning last week as players went through their daily stretching routine. He wore a Washington Redskins burgundy sweat suit and a Redskins winter hat pulled way down over his forehead. It obscured only a few of the many lines that have accumulated on his face over the course of his 32-year NFL coaching career.

Bugel's strides weren't smooth. With less than four months until his 70th birthday, there's bit of a limp in there. No matter. This was his element. In a few moments, the Redskins' 11 offensive linemen would belong to him.

"You've got to treat them as tough as possible in practice so they don't get surprised in a game on Sunday," Bugel later reflected in his gritty tone. "I'll never change that. We'll beat them to death during the week. On Sunday, make it a pleasurable day for them."

It's an approach with which Bugel built a legacy. As the Redskins' offensive line coach from 1981 to '89, he was the architect of "The Hogs"--the nickname he coined for the imposing line that served as the cornerstone of Washington's Super Bowl dynasty.

And he has used that mantra this season in trying to help the Redskins compensate for a dearth of talent and a surplus of injuries. The results haven't been glamorous, but the challenge has invigorated Bugel as his coaching tenure may be nearing an end.

"We took kids off the street and they're playing good ball," he said. "That's kind of a kudos you always like. You can coach them all-pros, you know what I mean? But you get the guys off the street and they come in and do a good job, then you feel proud walking off the field."

UP TO THE CHALLENGE

Bugel readily admits that this has been one of the toughest years of his career. He and his players didn't have much to show for their work before Washington used its fifth starting-line combination in a convincing win over Denver last Sunday. Lapses in pass protection and run blocking have crippled the Redskins' offense all season--even before starting left tackle Chris Samuels and starting right guard Randy Thomas suffered season-ending injuries.