For Ramsey, A Time to Lead

[TK]

http://www.redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=12157

For Ramsey, A Time to Lead

10/24/2003

Inside Slant

By Gary Fitzgerald

Redskins.com

In times of adversity, leaders step up. And if the Redskins are to get back in the playoff hunt, then it will be up to players like LaVar Arrington, Bruce Smith, Jon Jansen, Laveranues Coles and Randy Thomas to lead them in the second half of the 2003 campaign.

At the forefront, though, is quarterback Patrick Ramsey, the second-year player who has shown strides as a passer—when he has had time to throw the ball. And when he doesn’t have time, he’s shown the maturity to escape the pocket and scramble for yardage when necessary.

This year, Ramsey has completed 130-of-237 passes for 1,633 yards, eight touchdowns, six interceptions and quarterback rating of 77.2.

But it can’t be said enough: Ramsey has started only 12 games in his NFL career. When he holds on to the ball too long or throws an errant pass into coverage, it can be chalked up to inexperience.

The offense’s struggles in recent weeks can also be attributed to going up against some of the NFL’s top defenses in Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Buffalo. Ramsey has shown that he can hang in and compete well against the best defenses in the league. That's something that consistently draws raves from coaches and teammates alike.

Ramsey's work ethic has drawn praise from head coach Steve Spurrier as well.

“Patrick leads by example,” Spurrier said a few weeks ago. “He does everything the coaches ask of him. He’s on time, he lifts weights, he goes to meetings and comes in on his off days. He does all the little things that you would hope your quarterback would do."

But, Spurrier added, "Patrick's not a very talkative guy, and he really should be. It’s his second year and he’s a young guy. He’s sort of a quiet leader.”

For the Redskins to become legitimate playoff contenders, Ramsey is going to have to grow up quickly—in short, develop more of a commanding presence on the football field.

Said third-year wide receiver Darnerien McCants, who has shown improvement each year in his NFL career: “I think in this league, everyone has the ability. It’s more or less the maturity level you have in the game. The more you play, the more you hopefully get smarter and understand better what the game is all about. It’s obvious that Patrick understands what he has to do for us to win.”

For his part, Ramsey recognizes that for the offense to get back on track, he and Spurrier are going to have to learn to beat the blitz. Until they do, defenses are going to keep sending linebackers and cornerbacks and safeties.

“Maybe [defenses] have an idea of what we’re trying to do,” Ramsey said last week. “But I think the key is how we react to that. We have to try and mold ourselves in order to beat it.”

That starts in earnest next week when the team begins to prepare for arch-rival Dallas, who are 5-1 and lead the NFC East. Get a victory in Big D, and suddenly the Redskins could be right back in the thick of the playoff hunt.

“This is a time for us to pull together,” Ramsey said. “There’s no other thing in our mind. I think we’ve had a couple good practices [last week]. We’re just going to keep working and take it one game at a time. We know we have the talent to be a playoff team.”