Skeletor The Invincible Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 http://www.nfl.com/news/story/6381938 Catching up with ... Patrick Ramsey By Dave Richard NFL.com (May 22, 2003) -- There sure are a lot of new faces in Washington after a busy offseason, something Redskins fans know all too well. Last season, three different quarterbacks divvied up 16 starts for the 7-9 Redskins. The constant change under center may have been part of the problem. Patrick Ramsey finished his rookie year in 2002 as the starter, winning the team's last two games, and it appears he will be handed the reins entering 2003. Assuming he avoids a slew of injuries and interceptions, Ramsey could be the only quarterback in Steve Spurrier's stable of gunslingers. With a huge season coming up for the 23-year-old passer out of Tulane, Ramsey gave NFL.com a good chunk of time to talk about the upcoming season, the Redskins' busy offseason, coach Spurrier and what makes a good war movie. Where are you right now? Ramsey: I'm at my house in Northern Virginia. I'll go back to Louisiana for a little while in July, but otherwise I'll be here. The moves made by the team this offseason must have you on cloud nine. Let's start with Trung Canidate -- how did you hear about that trade, and what was your reaction? Ramsey: You know, I heard about it on the radio when I was on my way up here to my friend's wedding -- he got married in Gatlinburg and I just went straight from there to our offseason workouts. I called my agent and he told me about it and that we were about to sign (guard) Randy Thomas, so I found all that out in about an hour's span. I was pretty excited about those acquisitions. Then the Redskins signed receiver Laveranues Coles away from the Jets. At this point, your mouth must have been watering. Ramsey: Well, sure. He's a guy who has obviously proven himself and played extremely well. He's a speed player -- anytime you can get a guy who has played well at this level, you just made yourself much, much better. I understand that you're a war movie fan. What are some of your favorites? Ramsey: Well, I read Band of Brothers prior to the series coming out, and I love that series. I love Braveheart, The Patriot and We Were Soldiers -- I know those are all Mel Gibson movies, but I love them. I liked Platoon, I read Black Hawk Down before seeing that movie. Those stand out in my mind; I've seen so many. In your opinion, what are the most important things that a war movie absolutely has to have in order for it to be good? Ramsey: Good question. Hmm. History -- a war movie has to be based on true history, and it needs to be accurate. To me, it's not so much the entertainment aspect but that it's based on fact. Do I have this right -- you once took part in a track competition in Havana, Cuba? Ramsey: I did. The Junior Pan-American Games in Havana the summer right before I started college. I won the state meet throwing the javelin, then I went to the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, and I won that meet. Then I was invited to compete to be on the Junior Pan-Am team. I qualified for the team and won the bronze medal. What was Cuba like? Ramsey: You know, you could see the potential for it to be a great place. But it was one of those deals where it was a great experience, you loved what you did, but probably would never want to go back. It was unbelieveably hot -- we were rationed water. It was really tough but a lot of fun at the same time. Two Tulane questions: Can you name any famous alumni besides yourself, and what exactly is a Green Wave? Ramsey: Famous alumni (laughs)... I could offend some people here, but I know Jerry Springer went to Tulane. The guy who started Yahoo.com went to Tulane. Athletically, we've got Shaun King, Dub Jones (former Cleveland Browns great and father of former Baltimore Colts QB Bert Jones) and kicker Eddie Murray, who mainly played for the Lions but was on the Redskins and some other teams too. As for the Green Wave, I cannot answer that, sadly enough. I would imagine it has something to do with the water down there. I've been asked that question numerous times. My wife might know (Ramsey asks his wife, Ginny). Nope, we can't answer that one. (laughs) What are the pros and cons of having a birthday on Valentine's Day? Ramsey: The main pro is that it's not necessarily around another gift-giving holiday. And it's not necessarily a con, but if you have a girlfriend or wife, you spend more time worrying about their presents than you do your own birthday. My wife does a great job. She gets a Valentine's card and then gets a birthday card, and then usually we just do one present. I have to say that I'm guilty of picking out the present though. I'm not real crazy about surprise presents. And my wife always makes a heart-shaped red velvet cake every year. What did she get you this year? Ramsey: A Benelli 12-gauge shotgun. Ahh, yes. I heard you were an avid outdoorsman. What are some of the best harvests you've had? Ramsey: Well, this year we played Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. We had Friday and Saturday off following the game, so I went to Ruston, La., and I killed an 11-point that weighed 225 pounds and scored 150 points or so. I can't remember, but it was the biggest deer by far I've ever seen or killed. And then ducks... I mean, you don't measure their size, it's numbers, and there's limits, but I've killed the limit so many times. And then bass fishing, the biggest bass I've ever caught is 11 pounds. That's a good fish. Have you ever encountered people who are against hunting? Ramsey: I am an outspoken guy about my hunting, but no one's ever really challenged me about it. I'm a conservationist -- I seldom shoot deer. It has to be a pretty good deer, or I'll help the population if there are too many. I usually watch 10 times as many as I shoot. If you had to hunt one NFL mascot, which would it be and why? Ramsey: Oooh. Let me think here. Is there a team with a snake? I really dislike snakes. I wouldn't want to hunt anything endangered... I've never hunted bear or had a strong desire, but I guess that's the only huntable mascot. Or a ram -- that wouldn't be a bad thing to do, go up into the mountains and such. I guess I would say a ram for the experience of being in the mountains. I've never done any mountain hunting. I thought you might have said a giant, an eagle or a cowboy... Ramsey: Nah, I'm from the South, I like cowboys. (laughs) Have you gotten a grasp on the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry? Ramsey: I don't think I've gotten intensely involved in the rivalry itself just because I've been there such a short time. Having grown up about four hours away from Dallas, I was always aware of what was going on. I'll say this -- the rivalry is the most pertinent thing that I hear about from a lot of Cowboys fans, including those who live in the South and the surprising amount of Cowboys fans in D.C. Did you root for the Cowboys growing up? Ramsey: I was never a Dallas fan or a fan of one specific team, but I liked the Redskins when Doug Williams was there because he was from Northwest Louisiana. I was more of a quarterback fan. I loved Dan Marino, John Elway, Troy Aikman and Joe Montana -- those were the guys that I watched to see what it was that made them so successful because all my life, my goal was to get to where I am. I also understand that golfing has become one of your newest hobbies and that you're about to participate in a Pro-Am in Memphis. What advice can you give to folks who are just starting to take up golf? Ramsey: Don't play. (laughs) Don't even start. Just stick to whatever hobbies you have. I've been fortunate enough to get a lot better in the past year. If you do decide to play, get lessons before you play or else you will reinforce bad habits. Once you do learn to swing, just hit as many balls as you can to produce muscle memory and be consistent. And remember it's a game and to have fun. Sometimes it's hard to have fun when you're not playing well. Can you even come close to taking Spurrier in a game of golf? Ramsey: Nooo. I'm not on his level in any way. He's a good golfer; he would have to give me 10 strokes to make it competitive. Which was a bigger adjustment during your rookie season -- being married or dealing with Spurrier? Ramsey: Wow. Both of them bring their own adjustments. My wife and I had been dating for five years and had been dating long distance, so being able to live together was a positive adjustment. If I didn't have her around, I would have gone crazy last year. Working under coach Spurrier wasn't much of an adjustment, but playing in the NFL was. The length of the season was one of the biggest things, for example. It's a long season, and the schedule that comes with it is equally difficult. What's the best Spurrier story you've been telling friends this offseason? Ramsey: There's so many, but it's hard to draw just one. He calls me "Jay-Patrick," which is kind of funny because my name is "Patrick Allen." I don't know where the Jay comes from or why he calls me that. One of my teammates doesn't have an easy name -- Darnerien McCants. Coach Spurrier has called him "Darkerien," "Darquerien," never quite getting it right. So now he's called "Dar" because coach can't say "Darnerien." And Darnerien doesn't mind as long as he gets to play. Lastly, your goals for 2003? Ramsey: To win a championship. First, we want to win the NFC East championship, then the NFC championship and then the Super Bowl. I want to win games, play well and lead my team. I think that's something I can continue to get better at, even past this year because you can always improve at something. This year, I'll be able to lead our team and I think we've got a talented team. Barring any injury, I think we'll be able to win at least one of those championships I mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 Ramsey is the man.... Glad to hear he's a Marino fan too.. Great minds think alike.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallyG3 Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 Awesome. But - he rooted for Aikman!? :doh: He's still new, I'll forgive him. Man am I excited about this year (again)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 and the surprising amount of Cowboys fans in D.C. This is a sad truth. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&G Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hey Code, if you had to pick one, would it be the Lab or Anna? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSF Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 "One of my teammates doesn't have an easy name -- Darnerien McCants. Coach Spurrier has called him "Darkerien," "Darquerien," never quite getting it right. So now he's called "Dar" because coach can't say "Darnerien." And Darnerien doesn't mind as long as he gets to play." That is really funny in many ways! :laugh: I'm not sure what's worse, Darkerien or Darquerien. Ramsey is the man. He's smart as he11, and he is a champion javelin thrower. I was trying to imagine Wuerfull throwing the javelin, and I kept thinking about Lamar's javelin in Revenge of the Nerds. It's hard to not be completely stoked about next year. I haven't been this excited about Redskins football since the Gibbs days.:thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 I'd go with the Lab:rolleyes: Anna K is by passing the French open limiting the amount of Ovas to ogle. Then again there could be a catsuit sighting in the finals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Good article. Ramsey's a smart, confident, level-headed guy. I just have a feeling about him. As for Anna versus the dog, split the difference: Anna doggy style. BTW, Code, I'm not one to drool over Anna like some do, but those pictures show her about as hot as anything I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaganaut Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 The fact that Ramsey's best friend on the team is Jon Jansen was the best news I got this offseason. You don't get more level headed that that. Chad Pennington impressed me in a recent interview and I think Ramsey shows that type of leadership skill. He's still young and will make mistakes, but you gotta love him. Spurrier said he played like a rookie last year and is playing like a sophmore now, BUT that he expected him to play like a four or five year guy by the beginning of the season. I believe him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Hog Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Originally posted by Skeletor The Invincible Ramsey: Nah, I'm from the South, I like cowboys. (laughs) Watch your mouth, young man ! !:asta: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidFan Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Kid just says all the right things without endless use of cliche's.....hard to teach that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Originally posted by codeorama Ramsey is the man.... Glad to hear he's a Marino fan too.. Great minds think alike.. Code, what happened to that other picture you had of Anna that was the best one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Consigliere Posted May 24, 2003 Share Posted May 24, 2003 What a refreshing interview! You know, that's one of the saving graces w/being a Redskin fan during the dark decade ('93-'02). Virtually all the QB's we've had during this era have been genuinely good guys, guys who didn't get in trouble and were by and large class acts (probably because w/the exception of Shuler, nearly all of them were low draft picks or undrafted rookie free agents so maybe that helped). Ryp, Gannon, Conklin, Freisz (well I got no clue what kind of guy he was), Frerotte, T. Green, B. Johnson, Ramsey, Wuerffell. The only guys that were definitely jerks were George, Matthews, and a few maybe's like possibly Frerotte at the end, maybe Shuler, maybe Banks, but that's more a case of me not knowing whether they were class or not. I'm just happy that we've got a hard worker, w/an excellent foundation of skills to build on, a great attitude, and a good heart. It always helps to know that team you love is populated w/great world class guys like Ramsey, just makes having a passion for the team that much nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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