@DCGoldPants Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2002/preview/news/2002/07/25/king_postcard_redskins/ overall, he's being quite nice this time around. weird. Wednesday, July 24 Team: Washington Redskins The Redskins' training camp in Carlisle, Pa., on the campus of Dickinson College. Nice day (mid-80s, sun darting in and out of the clouds) for two-a-days, at one of the classic settings in the training-camp tour. I'm surprised at the lack of crowds on the second full day of work, especially with Steve Spurrier as the main event. The bleachers on either side of the field were no more than half full for either practice, though the fans were spirited. They broke into a chorus of Hail to the Redskins when the team walked off the field late Wednesday afternoon. 1. I think if I had to plunk down money in Vegas right now for a winner of the quarterback race, I'd bet on Danny Wuerffel. That is quite possibly high folly for Spurrier -- Wuerffel would probably be cut by 28 NFL teams if he were in their camps this summer -- but Spurrier loves the kid. And I'll say this: In an afternoon 11-on-11 drill, Wuerffel completed two 20-yard-plus out patterns on consecutive plays with strong throws. Aren't those the throws he's not supposed to be able to make? 2. I think the Washington linebacker corps -- Jessie Armstead, Jeremiah Trotter and LaVar Arrington -- could be rare. Trotter made a nifty interception Wednesday, and Arrington plays every down like it's his last. The only linebacker I've seen who plays harder in July camp is Carl Banks. 3. I think I like Jacquez Green's chances of being an impact player, finally. I don't like Reidel Anthony's chances of doing the same. I do, however, like the chances of Chris Doering, speaking of ex-Florida receivers. The guy dives around like he's playing for his football life, which he is. 4. I think Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels are the best bookend tackles in the game today. 5. I think the Redskins could win five or they could win 12. You tell me how they'll play on offense because I have no idea. Spurrier will win here eventually; I have little doubt of that. I just don't know if it's this year, next or 2004. Wide receiver Justin Skaggs, a former soccer player who went to the football power of Evangel (Mo.) University and languished on Washington's practice squad last year. I'm not saying he'll make it, but he's the type of hard-trying, special-teams-kamikaze player that Spurrier has begun to take note of. At 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, he has the size and speed to be this squad's James Thrash. At quarterback, obviously. When Sage Rosenfels takes the first snap of training camp, you know there's improvement to be made. I can't believe Patrick Ramsey is holding out. The first-round pick (No. 32 overall) is missing a great chance to win a great job. Sometimes you have to know when a holdout is a smart idea, and this is not one of those times. Ricky Hunley, whose holdout with the Bengals I covered as a rookie beat man with the Cincinnati Enquirer in 1984, is the defensive line coach. Spurrier calls him "Coach Hunley" or "Coach Ricky" when he's feeling affectionate. I left a few sections about the food out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 this is the first article I have seen King write that I am in agreement with. 1. Spurrier will win here over time. 2. The Skins have the best set of tackles in the NFL and should keep them intact. 3. Green looks to be the standout receiver so far. 4. Ramsey is stupid for holding out when the competition at qb is so thin. 5. The linebacking corps could be very special. 6. Wuerffel, sans Ramsey, could be the starter come September 8 as Matthews hasn't shown us much at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen-like Todd Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 Big shock, Skaggs forces people to notice him. Reinforcement of Jacquez kicking *** in training camp. On Jansen/Samuels, no duh. On the linebackers, no duh. On Chris Doering... scary. Overall, I'm not surprised, but its nice to hear. BTW, I'm going to admit at this point that the QB situation bothers me, right behind the interior line concerns. The two dont make for a good combination. If Ramsey had gotten his *** into camp on time, he would have had a much better chance to earn SOME playing time during the year. I think he's hurting himself more than anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 the shame of it is that once Ramsey comes in and struggles and finds himself behind he will only then realize the chance he missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Skins Fan Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 I can't believe Patrick Ramsey is holding out. The first-round pick (No. 32 overall) is missing a great chance to win a great job. Sometimes you have to know when a holdout is a smart idea, and this is not one of those times. This gets at a key psychological problem that Ramsey is creating. After a holdout, a team is not in the mood to reward the player -- especially not with the starting job at the game's most important position. This becomes a problem if it looks like Ramsey *is* the best QB in mid-August. I can very easily see Spurrier giving the job to Wuerffel in that situation, simply because he doesn't want to compound the huge risk of starting a rookie QB with the bad karma of rewarding a player who held out of camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted July 25, 2002 Author Share Posted July 25, 2002 I was thinking the same thing Bulldog. If he showed up at day one, he had an outside chance of starting. Now he has nearly none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 what is it about the Skins and quarterbacks? this team has been cursed for years at the position. draft picks that are busts. veterans that are on the downside. other veterans that are team cancers. a guy last year that couldn't seem to complete a forward pass for quarters on end. now another rookie with big britches. :mad: what does it take to get a guy with a good arm and some common sense in here, an act of God? man alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted July 25, 2002 Author Share Posted July 25, 2002 just like San fran with 20 years of good QB's, we've had 20 years of CB's. It's just our stupid luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maanders Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 Holdout or not, it would be a VERY long shot for Ramsey to win the starting QB job this year. Remember, the keys to the QB executing Spurrier's offense is to know the plays and variation on the plays based on diferent defensive sets, and then calling an audible if necessary to the correct variation, making the right reads on a 3-step or 5-step drop and delivering the ball to the open receiver...or throwing it away if nothing is open. That is why the smartest QBs at Florida have always succeeded strong arm or medium arm (e.g., Grossman - strong arm, Wuerffel and Matthews - medium arms) and rocket-arms with less QB smarts (e.g., Doug Johnson) were often in Spurrier's dog house. I think Ramsey will find that it is one thing to learn Spurrier's play book (not as hard as people think) and quite another thing to be proficient at making the quick decisions to audible all the variations and check-off the various reads...especially with the faster speed of the NFL vs. college. Even Wuerffel, who Spurrier claims is the smartest QB he ever coached, said that it took him a while to adjust to reading NFL defenses at the increased speed required. (And that's in the limited playing time he got at New Orleans.) Ramsey has the physical tools and may have the mental tools to excel in Spurrier's system, but I doubt he would be proficient enough to do it all in his first year to execute the system to Spurrier's satisfaction. That is what it would take for him to win the job outright. I don't know which of the other 3 may win it, but they would all have to tank for Ramsey to be the cream of the crop this year. And that's the problem with him holding out. The longer he holds out, the longer it will take him to reach the level where Spurrier would trust him with the offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 I still remember, many years ago, when I worked in DC, a Skins-hating co-worker's comment that the Skins "got the wrong Joe from Notre Dame". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanbu Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 If you saw Doering play as a Gator, his performance would not be a mistery. He has always given it up in the middle, always caught the third and 8. If he makes the team the closest player you'r remember would be Art Monk. HTTR, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 Originally posted by skinsfanbu If you saw Doering play as a Gator, his performance would not be a mistery. He has always given it up in the middle, always caught the third and 8. If he makes the team the closest player you'r remember would be Art Monk.HTTR, Uh, no. But if he looks like Ricky Proehl, I'll be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 About Skaggs, Has he lined up on teams going the other way? I know he could have skills as a return man but how about as a gunner? Since he'll be at best the #5 or 6 reciever, it'll be his teams performance that'll win him a roster spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey T Posted July 26, 2002 Share Posted July 26, 2002 I think Ramsey and his agent are playing it VERY smart. Considering the plight of our interior OL (as it stands), what thinking QB wants to stand behind those shmucks:laugh: Hold out 'til it's too late to get thrown to the wolves this year and hope Danny & Co. improve upon interior o-line protection. That's smart, in my book:cool: Let's face it, Ramsey is no Peyton Manning! So, let's cool our jets, kick back and see what the Florida connection can do.:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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