Keeler: Banks works to become Spurrier's kind of quarterback

[Reaganaut]

(If already posted then mea culpa)

http://www.dmregister.com/sports/stories/c6902854/21511067.html

Keeler: Banks works to become Spurrier's kind of quarterback

By SEAN KEELER

Register Sports Columnist

06/15/2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember Frank Sinatra's "Duets" album, the one that came out in the twilight of the Chairman's pipes? The one with Frank singing his classics with today's pop stars?

That's what first popped into my head when Brad Banks signed with the Washington Redskins. Washington coach Steve Spurrier is Sinatra - substitute visor for bow tie, Bobby Bowden for Joe Kennedy, Danny Wuerffel for Ava Gardner. In walks Banks, the former Iowa quarterback. He's Will Smith.

At first sniff, tossing Spurrier a so-called "athletic" quarterback is like handing Da Vinci a Wagner Power Roller. And just what am I supposed to do with this thing?

Spurrier might be the only celebrity who despises bootlegs more than the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. If Shane Matthews tried a quarterback draw, he'd probably get a caning upon his return to the sideline, assuming he could walk once the play was dead.

Iowa ran plays that Banks did well. Spurrier runs plays that Spurrier used to do well. Iowa allowed Banks to scramble for yards. Spurrier wants you to scramble to buy more time to throw.

How is this marriage going to fly? Is there room for a thrower with legs to roam with a head coach who treats the pocket like his personal Popemobile?

"There is, there is," Banks said by phone from Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., where he's been training since late April. "Coach Spurrier said to me when they brought me in that they were going to try and do that."

Still, it's hard to run when you've got a 300-page playbook sticking out of your back pocket. Some coaches insert a portion of their plays at spring minicamp, maybe 55 to 65 percent, so as not to overwhelm first-year players and rookies, most of whom are working together for the first time.

Spurrier doesn't give a flip. Captain Visor chucks the whole book - or at least 90 percent of it - at his rookies upon their arrival.

""Coach Spurrier has always been one to teach "whole part whole," "" explained Washington quarterbacks coach Noah Brindise, one of Spurrier's prized pupils at the University of Florida. "Throw it at them in the first mini-camp, then in coaching sessions, we break it down for them a little bit more. They're thrown into the fire."

In other words, it's hard to get a fair read on how Banks, reigning Heisman bridesmaid, has looked.

"It's a slow process, a learning process," said Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president for player personnel. "Everything is probably so cloudy in his head. It's hard to do anything because you don't know yet what you're doing. It's almost, for him, like being a freshman all over again."

And, just as when he was a freshman at Central Florida, Banks is not expected to factor into the top of the depth chart. Second-year man Patrick Ramsey, who can move a little, is entrenched at No. 1; his backup is veteran Rob Johnson, who's spent the bulk of his eight-year NFL career entrenched. Banks will spend August duking it out for No. 3, the coveted "emergency" or "Akili Smith" quarterback slot, with fellow rookie Gibran Hamdan.

Hamdan is the latest example of how screwy pro quarterback scouting is these days. Like Banks, Hamdan started last fall for a Big Ten program, Indiana. Unlike Banks, his team stunk. Like Banks, Hamdan really only had one full season as a starter at the major-college level, his last. Unlike Banks, his numbers were pretty average - a Trent Dilferesque 2,115 yards, nine touchdowns, 14 interceptions. Hamdan's measurements in my Street & Smith's are 6 feet 6 inches, 240 pounds. Banks' measurements in my Sporting News Draft Guide are 6 feet ½ inches and 185. Gibby got drafted in the seventh round because he looked the part, while Banks was passed over.

"It was too bad I didn't get drafted," Banks shrugged, "but I find it all happens for a reason."

The Redskins were the first to call, and they did it early in Day 2. Brindise had scouted Banks at Iowa and remembered him as a prep in Belle Glade, Fla. When Banks' high school team played for the state championship at Florida Field in Gainesville, Brindise was among a group of Florida Gators in attendance. He was so impressed that he sought Banks out after the game, introduced himself, and wished him luck.

"I was kind of surprised he didn't get drafted," said Brindise, who projected Banks as a fifth- or sixth-rounder. "At Iowa, they didn't drop back and ask him to throw the ball 60 times a game. I think maybe it was a combination of that and the fact he's a bit smallish and doesn't have a huge arm."

Banks is getting the Spurrier makeover, although the tweaks are minor. For starters, Brindise has tightened up his mechanics a little in hopes of a more consistent deep ball.

"We'd like him to be able to throw the ball downfield a little bit better," Brindise explained. "He doesn't have a great arm, but it's good enough for him to make all the throws. He just needs to get comfortable in our offense."

That will come, given enough time, repetitions, and perhaps a summer in NFL Europe. If Banks proved anything at Iowa, it's that a little patience can reap rewards.

"I imagine they'll invest time in him," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It will be fun to see what happens."

Who knows? If Banks catches fire in Washington as quickly as he did in Iowa City, Spurrier might actually get jiggy with it.

Hawkeye flavor at Redskins camp

At his first mini-camp as a member of the Washington Redskins, safety Matt Bowen kept having flashbacks.

Ladell Betts was catching swing passes out of the backfield. Zeron Flemister ran dig routes right in front of him at tight end.

Was this Redskins Park or Kinnick Stadium?

Suddenly, Ashburn, Va., home to the Redskins' headquarters, is Iowa City East. Bowen, Betts and Flemister were teammates at the University of Iowa during the 1998 and "99 seasons.

"When you come to a new team, it's almost like the first day of school," said Bowen, who became a Redskin in March after Green Bay declined to match a four-year, $6 million contract offer from Washington. "Having Zeron and Ladell here, it's more comfortable."

The number of ex-Hawkeyes with Washington hit four - most of any current NFL club - when the Redskins signed quarterback Brad Banks after the draft.

Banks and Betts played together in 2001; the reigning Heisman Trophy runner-up had met Bowen and Flemister during off-season workouts in Iowa City.

"You meet one Hawkeye, you've met them all," Banks said. "It's cool being around those guys again."

Bowen, who started six games for the Packers last fall, and Flemister will open preseason camp as the No. 1 strong safety and tight end, respectively.

Betts, who ran for 307 yards as a rookie last year, is the No. 2 tailback behind Trung Canidate. Banks is dueling with fellow rookie Gibran Hamdan for the third and final quarterback slot.

When the ex-Hawkeyes first got together, old friendships were rekindled. Old gags were excavated, too, like the one about Flemister's hands.

"I was a quarterback when I was a freshman," Bowen recalled. "I tell Zeron that he dropped so many balls (I threw), he made me switch to safety."

[

[EvilMonkeyBoy]

Originally posted by Reaganaut

"I was a quarterback when I was a freshman," Bowen recalled. "I tell Zeron that he dropped so many balls (I threw), he made me switch to safety."

[

I wouldn't doubt that at all.

[Novato]

I wonder to what position will Ramsey be moved is Flem keeps droping passes

[@DCGoldPants]

Originally posted by Reaganaut

(If already posted then mea culpa)

http://www.dmregister.com/sports/stories/c6902854/21511067.html

Keeler: Banks works to become Spurrier's kind of quarterback

By SEAN KEELER

Register Sports Columnist

06/15/2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember Frank Sinatra's "Duets" album, the one that came out in the twilight of the Chairman's pipes? The one with Frank singing his classics with today's pop stars?

That's what first popped into my head when Brad Banks signed with the Washington Redskins. Washington coach Steve Spurrier is Sinatra - substitute visor for bow tie, Bobby Bowden for Joe Kennedy, Danny Wuerffel for Ava Gardner. In walks Banks, the former Iowa quarterback. He's Will Smith.

At first sniff, tossing Spurrier a so-called "athletic" quarterback is like handing Da Vinci a Wagner Power Roller. And just what am I supposed to do with this thing?

Spurrier might be the only celebrity who despises bootlegs more than the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. If Shane Matthews tried a quarterback draw, he'd probably get a caning upon his return to the sideline, assuming he could walk once the play was dead.

Iowa ran plays that Banks did well. Spurrier runs plays that Spurrier used to do well. Iowa allowed Banks to scramble for yards. Spurrier wants you to scramble to buy more time to throw.

How is this marriage going to fly? Is there room for a thrower with legs to roam with a head coach who treats the pocket like his personal Popemobile?

"There is, there is," Banks said by phone from Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., where he's been training since late April. "Coach Spurrier said to me when they brought me in that they were going to try and do that."

Still, it's hard to run when you've got a 300-page playbook sticking out of your back pocket. Some coaches insert a portion of their plays at spring minicamp, maybe 55 to 65 percent, so as not to overwhelm first-year players and rookies, most of whom are working together for the first time.

Spurrier doesn't give a flip. Captain Visor chucks the whole book - or at least 90 percent of it - at his rookies upon their arrival.

""Coach Spurrier has always been one to teach "whole part whole," "" explained Washington quarterbacks coach Noah Brindise, one of Spurrier's prized pupils at the University of Florida. "Throw it at them in the first mini-camp, then in coaching sessions, we break it down for them a little bit more. They're thrown into the fire."

In other words, it's hard to get a fair read on how Banks, reigning Heisman bridesmaid, has looked.

"It's a slow process, a learning process," said Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president for player personnel. "Everything is probably so cloudy in his head. It's hard to do anything because you don't know yet what you're doing. It's almost, for him, like being a freshman all over again."

And, just as when he was a freshman at Central Florida, Banks is not expected to factor into the top of the depth chart. Second-year man Patrick Ramsey, who can move a little, is entrenched at No. 1; his backup is veteran Rob Johnson, who's spent the bulk of his eight-year NFL career entrenched. Banks will spend August duking it out for No. 3, the coveted "emergency" or "Akili Smith" quarterback slot, with fellow rookie Gibran Hamdan.

Hamdan is the latest example of how screwy pro quarterback scouting is these days. Like Banks, Hamdan started last fall for a Big Ten program, Indiana. Unlike Banks, his team stunk. Like Banks, Hamdan really only had one full season as a starter at the major-college level, his last. Unlike Banks, his numbers were pretty average - a Trent Dilferesque 2,115 yards, nine touchdowns, 14 interceptions. Hamdan's measurements in my Street & Smith's are 6 feet 6 inches, 240 pounds. Banks' measurements in my Sporting News Draft Guide are 6 feet ½ inches and 185. Gibby got drafted in the seventh round because he looked the part, while Banks was passed over.

"It was too bad I didn't get drafted," Banks shrugged, "but I find it all happens for a reason."

The Redskins were the first to call, and they did it early in Day 2. Brindise had scouted Banks at Iowa and remembered him as a prep in Belle Glade, Fla. When Banks' high school team played for the state championship at Florida Field in Gainesville, Brindise was among a group of Florida Gators in attendance. He was so impressed that he sought Banks out after the game, introduced himself, and wished him luck.

"I was kind of surprised he didn't get drafted," said Brindise, who projected Banks as a fifth- or sixth-rounder. "At Iowa, they didn't drop back and ask him to throw the ball 60 times a game. I think maybe it was a combination of that and the fact he's a bit smallish and doesn't have a huge arm."

Banks is getting the Spurrier makeover, although the tweaks are minor. For starters, Brindise has tightened up his mechanics a little in hopes of a more consistent deep ball.

"We'd like him to be able to throw the ball downfield a little bit better," Brindise explained. "He doesn't have a great arm, but it's good enough for him to make all the throws. He just needs to get comfortable in our offense."

That will come, given enough time, repetitions, and perhaps a summer in NFL Europe. If Banks proved anything at Iowa, it's that a little patience can reap rewards.

"I imagine they'll invest time in him," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It will be fun to see what happens."

Who knows? If Banks catches fire in Washington as quickly as he did in Iowa City, Spurrier might actually get jiggy with it.

Hawkeye flavor at Redskins camp

At his first mini-camp as a member of the Washington Redskins, safety Matt Bowen kept having flashbacks.

Ladell Betts was catching swing passes out of the backfield. Zeron Flemister ran dig routes right in front of him at tight end.

Was this Redskins Park or Kinnick Stadium?

Suddenly, Ashburn, Va., home to the Redskins' headquarters, is Iowa City East. Bowen, Betts and Flemister were teammates at the University of Iowa during the 1998 and "99 seasons.

"When you come to a new team, it's almost like the first day of school," said Bowen, who became a Redskin in March after Green Bay declined to match a four-year, $6 million contract offer from Washington. "Having Zeron and Ladell here, it's more comfortable."

The number of ex-Hawkeyes with Washington hit four - most of any current NFL club - when the Redskins signed quarterback Brad Banks after the draft.

Banks and Betts played together in 2001; the reigning Heisman Trophy runner-up had met Bowen and Flemister during off-season workouts in Iowa City.

"You meet one Hawkeye, you've met them all," Banks said. "It's cool being around those guys again."

Bowen, who started six games for the Packers last fall, and Flemister will open preseason camp as the No. 1 strong safety and tight end, respectively.

Betts, who ran for 307 yards as a rookie last year, is the No. 2 tailback behind Trung Canidate. Banks is dueling with fellow rookie Gibran Hamdan for the third and final quarterback slot.

When the ex-Hawkeyes first got together, old friendships were rekindled. Old gags were excavated, too, like the one about Flemister's hands.

"I was a quarterback when I was a freshman," Bowen recalled. "I tell Zeron that he dropped so many balls (I threw), he made me switch to safety."

[

Did you watch Futurama last night?

[Reaganaut]

Did you watch Futurama last night?

My 4 year old graduated from Preschool last night. What'd I miss?

[@DCGoldPants]

There was an another unfrozen guy from the 20th Century. A guy from the 80's who was like SUPER 80's corporate guy. The suit, the slicked hair, everything. He said to Fry. "A couple of Reaganauts like us could rule this world!"

Then I saw your name today and just laughed.

[DeathByLinebacker]

So, is the team the Redeyes or the Hawkskins now?

[bulldog]

I was really surprised that Banks signed with Washington. Knowing the numbers crunch here the best he could hope for was the #3 spot, and he had a 23 year old qb drafted in round 1 ahead of him for the future.

At the same time players like Banks see what Spurrier did at Florida and figure that he may be able to work some magic for them as well.

[@DCGoldPants]

Originally posted by bulldog

I was really surprised that Banks signed with Washington. Knowing the numbers crunch here the best he could hope for was the #3 spot, and he had a 23 year old qb drafted in round 1 ahead of him for the future.

At the same time players like Banks see what Spurrier did at Florida and figure that he may be able to work some magic for them as well.

It can't hurt to spend a year or two learning under an offensive coach. Even if it means he's fighting for a career as a backup going from city to city. The money is excellent and he get paid to workout, stay in shape.

[Skeletor The Invincible]

I'm rooting for Banks to make the team... but it will be hard considering it looks like Spurrier really likes Hamden.

[chiefhogskin48]

That quote about Flemister's hands couldn't be more true. Thanks for telling it like it is, Dave Bowen. Flemister can't block and he apparently can't catch either- can someone tell me why he got an extension?

[panel]

Originally posted by Skeletor The Invincible

I'm rooting for Banks to make the team... but it will be hard considering it looks like Spurrier really likes Hamden.

The only reason that anyone likes Hamdan at all is because he is big, if he were Banks' size, he would never made it to any NFL camp. Banks has a lot in common with Doug Flutie, both are small scrabling QBs who are are skilled enough for Heisman connsideration, but not tall enough to be Drafted. Just Imagine if Flutie were drafted, developed and played in the NFL all that time he was in Canada, some team would have had a lot of fun the last 15+ years! Hopefully we don't repeat history.

[GURU]

Well, to be fair, Indiana didn't suck because of Hamden any more than Tulane sucked because of Ramsey.

Hamden is raw, raw, raw -- mostly because he thought his future was in baseball, not football. But he has more than size. He's got a tremendous arm, and he's very smart and seems very coachable. That's what the Skins liked about him in the first place. The fact that he is so raw is probably one of the main reasons Hamden appealed to Spurrier. He's got the tools, and he is a very mold-able piece of clay. His lack of experience means Spurrier doesn't have years of technique and tendencies to overcome while teaching Hamden his way of playing quarterback.

I like Banks, too, because he's got great intangibles. Spurrier has become intreagued with mobile QBs since moving to the NFL, and I'm sure he'll figure out ways to take advantage Banks ability to run. But Banks still has to figure out how to mesh his abilities with Spurrier's way.

I think the competition for the 3rd quarterback slot should be one of the most fun and interesting things to watch about the preseason.

[bulldog]

the comparisons to Flutie are in my mind misplaced.

Flutie was 5'9 but had a stronger arm than Banks and had the ability to not only be mobile but MAKE PLAYS when on the run in the passing game.

And you have to consider that Flutie took a lot more reps and knew the position a lot better at age 23 than Banks does now, having only started for one season at Iowa.

And with all those extra advantages Flutie still had to go to Canada and hone his game for several years before he made a successful re-entry into the NFL.

I am rooting for Banks, too. And I agree that Hamdan is very raw and probably not a guy that will ultimately pan out.

At the same time, let's be realistic. Not too many free agent qbs make it in the NFL.

If the rate of success for #6 or #7 picks is 10%, then consider wha the odds are on a guy that didn't even cost the team a pick.

All that said, I think Banks has a good chance of being the #3 in 2003.

What he does after that is anyone's guess

[RabidFan]

Wouldn't the "redeyes" technically be Dallas ha ha

[Reaganaut]

Originally posted by Bufford T Justice

He said to Fry. "A couple of Reaganauts like us could rule this world!"

Then I saw your name today and just laughed.

Buford, where did you see this? I thought I was original with that name. I actually meant to use that from the beginning when I joined, but was locked into Reagan for many moons.

Just so you know, I greatly admire your name as well. Buford T. Justice is my favorite character in my favorite movie of all time. The best line was when the trucker took off his door and he started screaming "I saw that!!!! I'm gonna bahbacuuue yo a** in molasses!!!!"

[NavyDave]

Cartoon networks adult swim at 11pm then the death by bonitis.

I see either guy on the practice or IR so we can continue grooming them because Rob (duck n cover) Johnson is here for a year or so and if both guys do pan out we have backups that can give defenses things to game plan for especialy the scrambling attribute.

I always root for the local boy to have success