Skins.com:Jackson: 'Future Is Bright' With Ramsey

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http://redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=12425

Jackson: 'Future Is Bright' With Ramsey

12/19/2003

From the Sidelines

With Hue Jackson

Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey had surgery on the bone bruise in his right foot last week, ending his season. Meantime, Tim Hasselbeck struggled in last Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson spoke with Redskins.com about the team’s quarterback situation heading into Sunday’s game against Chicago—and next year as well:

Q: We all know that Patrick Ramsey won’t be playing again this season. So now seems like a good time to ask: From a broad perspective, how would you evaluate Patrick’s second NFL season?

A: “It started off very promising. An injury resurfaced. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was as far as the injury was concerned. It had an affect on his ability to make plays, which caused our offense to slow a little bit. As you know, our offense goes as the quarterback goes. Patrick gained some valuable experience in the games he played. He showed the ability to make plays with his arm as well as with his feet. He showed the ability to lead the team and manage the team. I think he has a lot of the qualities we knew he did when we drafted him—and a little more. His toughness is unquestioned. He handles adversity extremely well.”

Q: It’s typically expected that the quarterback is the leader of the offense. Have his leadership skills grown as the year has progressed?

“No question. What we’re going to see is Patrick a year from now will be a more mature and more polished quarterback who understands the league and the demands of high execution at a high level. I think the future is bright with him.”

Q: Tim Hasselbeck obviously had a tough game last week against Dallas. How focused has he been in practice?

A: “Tim is a tough, quick-thinking kid. Obviously, what happened to him last week is something that all quarterbacks in this league at some point in time go through in their careers. I think he’s done a great job in practice this week. I’m sure he doesn’t want the same thing to happen—and that’s not to say he wasn’t focused the week before—or that he wasn’t prepared the week before. What happened was, we played against a very good team in some very tough conditions. We tried to throw it and good things didn’t happen. But he knows and we know there’s no sense dwelling on it. On we go.”

Q: Tim has been around the league for a few years, but is it easy to forget he’s a young quarterback just like Patrick Ramsey?

A: “No question about it. Eight weeks ago, this young man was sitting on his couch doing whatever he does. Now he’s our starter—and that says a lot. He’s been put in some very tough situations and as inexperienced as he is, he’s not playing against high school defenses out there. He’s going up against some very good defenses in Dallas, the New York Giants and Miami. Overall, he’s played remarkably well. Last week I’m sure there are some throws he wishes he had back. But you have those games happen as a quarterback. He’s rebounded this week. What happened last week is last week. I think he’s ready to go and he’s focused on winning this next game.”