Sports Weekly: Learning by Example

[Kyle]

Ramsey points Redskins down Brady's path

From USA Today Sports Weekly - 9/24/2003

By Jim Corbett and Bryan Morry

One has been there, done that. The other is glad to be here and wants to do that. We're talking quarterbacks, and the two meet this weekend. New England's Tom Brady won a Super Bowl in his second NFL season (2001), while the Redskins' Patrick

Ramsey has looked sharp in his second year.

"He looks good and has a big arm," Brady says of Ramsey; "It's definitely a steep learning curve at this point. He's learning the tempo of things, the plays, the defenses, but he looks at Washington like hes done a great match up, job. It looks like he's in control.

"In that season opener, he showed he could play under pressure. He runs well, throws it well, and he's proven he's tough."

And he has proven that he is not afraid to say what is on his mind. Ramsey was on the Georgia Dome side-line two weeks ago frothing steam like a cappuccino maker. After a vicious early pummeling, it was riveting theater watching Redskins coach

Steve Spurrier hear anger hissing from his quarterback for a change. You never saw favorite son Danny Wuerffel raise his voice to the ol' ball coach.

"I was just frustrated," Ramsey says. "It was loud and I was hollering. Obviously, I may have done it in a forceful way. I didn't mean any disrespect. We had fumbled a couple of times, and I was trying to explain what happened and why. "It's incredibly intense out there, and you're violently searching for something to really put you on the right track."

The revealing vignette opened a window on the healthy dynamic between the rapidly maturing second-year quarterback and his

ever-demanding coach. For Spurrier's intricate Fun 'n' Gun offense to be successful, quarterback and coach must be of the same mind, same audible. That was not the case early on. Ramsey audibled twice to the hitch-and-go deep pattern. Problem was, he was unable to communicate the change to his running backs, who had blitz pickups. Ramsey paid a heavy price, including a second-quarter slam that sprained his non-throwing shoulder. But thanks to Ramsey's hot input, Spurrier

made the appropriate protection adjustments and changed Ramsey's dropback from seven to three steps during the second

half: It made all the difference as Ramsey and a swarming defense rallied Washington from a 17-0 deficit to a 33-31 win on Sept, 14.

Ramsey led by tough-guy example, hanging in the pocket to throw game-turning touchdowns to wideouts Laveranues Coles

and Rod Gardner, "Patrick had the game of his life," Spurrier said on The Steve Spurner Coach's Show, "He threw under pressure, " slid around and made some throws, We were really impressed with the way he played," Ramsey proved he has the necessary firewall to deal with Spurrier and NFL defensive heat after suffering a league-high 10 sacks through two games.

Veteran defensive end Bruce Smith says: "He does a great job of handling everything, He has a great mind-set, always willing to learn, I love Patrick's personality. "This guy has got a gun for an arm. He's got poise, He's going to be a good player," "The first time I met Patrick Ramsey, I immediately thought of Chad Pennington," says kicker John Hall, who played with Pennington on the Jets last season, "Chad's a great player and a great leader. Patrick is going to be much the same for us."

Spurrier yanked Ramsey like a chain saw at times last season, but they have renewed respect for each other. "You have to know why he calls plays," Ramsey says. "Not that I have a ton, but I think the biggest difference for me is just experience. I'm comfortable now. I drop back, knowing what I'm going to do and what we have if it doesn't work. "Last year, up until the ball was snapped, I was thinking about where everybody was going, how many steps to take, what I needed to do and where

my head needed to be. I was unable to react and just play and let my natural instincts take over.

"Not only did I get a tremendous amount of good coaching in the offseason, I was able to learn the offense." Ramsey receives a 10-13-page test on the upcoming game plan from quarterbacks coach Noah Brindise, who played for Spurrier at the University of Florida. The payoff is 704 passing yards the past two games. Brady's learning curve, however, is flatten

ing out after climbing a steep slope between his first and second seasons. After a rookie year in 2000 spent as the Patriots' fourth-string quarterback, Brady studied the offense until he knew it cold. He bulked up his frail frame. Then he shocked the football world when he capably stepped in for an injured Drew Bledsoe to lead New England to a Super Bowl title. Now, just two years later, Brady's game simply needs a little dusting off to uncover its shine.

"I think a number of things that were strengths then are strengths now," Patriots coach Bill Belichick says. "I just think they are stronger: Tom is the type of player that rather than seeing one thing in his game jump dramatically, you would see 10 different things improve incrementally." Belichick categorizes Brady's arm strength as "good" but says his true strengths lie in leadership, game management, accuracy, ability to perform under pressure and mental preparation.

Brady's steady progress in those areas coincides with his statistical improvement. He climbed from 2,843 passing yards in 2001 to 3,764 last year; his touchdowns rose from 19 to 28; and his interceptions went from 12 to 14 - despite 188 more passing attempts. Getting the ball downfield more could open things up for a failing rushing attack, which has put additional pressure on Brady. "The first one or two years you're learning the big-picture stuff" Brady says. "Now it's

about getting down to the details and techniques and better understanding defenses."