FROSTY28 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I'm not Ramsey Still Must Prove Himself Ramsey will need to fight for starting job By John Keim -- Posted Feb 18, 2004 Let me say straight up that I've liked Patrick Ramsey from the start. I liked him when the Redskins drafted him. I liked him even more after talking to those who worked with him before the draft. And I've always liked his toughness in the pocket. I like what I see in his future. But he hasn't done anything yet. OK, he's done a couple things. However, he hasn't done enough to have his agent sit there and threaten a trade if the Redskins land veteran quarterback Mark Brunell. And that's what bothers me. I could see if Ramsey had led the Redskins to the playoffs this past season and firmly established himself among the best young quarterbacks in the game. Then he'd have a right to be irked by Washington's pursuit of another possible starting quarterback. That's not what Ramsey did. Not all of it was his fault, but some of it certainly was. He's a young quarterback who is still learning the game. Yes, Steve Spurrier's system made it difficult on him in terms of protection. But Ramsey's inexperience at knowing where the blitzes were coming from also hurt him. Ramsey led the Redskins to four wins this past season. Repeat that: four wins. That's hardly an eye-popping stat to put on his resume, and certainly not a number that warrants any special attention from a new coach. Nor does he deserve any special consideration when it comes to keeping his job. Why should he be any different than anyone else who is still proving himself? Ramsey has never played in Joe Gibbs' system; how long would it take him to learn it vs. a proven veteran? And please don't trot out how he graded out to a B+ by Spurrier's staff. What does that mean? Does that mean he played almost as well as he could and still finished with a 53.1 competion percentage and 76.4 rating (14 TDs, 9 INTS)? Come on. Besides, whose judgment would you rather have: Spurrier's old staff or Gibbs' new one? Here's the thing: Gibbs is in this for a short run, possibly as few as three years. That's just a hunch, not based on anything I've heard. But it's realistic. Which means Gibbs knows he needs a proven veteran winner at quarterback, like he's had in the past. And make no mistake about this: if they give Brunell an $8 million signing bonus, he's the starter. Try keeping that much money on the bench. If you do that, then you suffer elsewhere for devoting so much cap space to a backup. I'm also not sold on Brunell as even a short-term solution, mainly because of his health. Two concussions and a severe shoulder injury since 2001 is reason for concern. And I don't blame Ramsey for being upset if the Redskins went this route. But I'd expect him to say this: I welcome any challenge. Period. And I don't expect his agent to sound petty by threatening to demand a trade. Maybe it would be better if the Redskins did trade Ramsey should they land Brunell. Then you'd eliminate any hint of a controversy. However, I'd only do that if I could get Drew Henson. Let's say the Redskins get Brunell and Henson. Then they'd be set in the short-term and, perhaps, the long-term. If Henson comes through, he's awesome and would have been a No. 1 pick had he gone the football route. This isn't the second coming of Chad Hutchinson. If the Redskins made these moves, they could be set for a long time at this position (Gibbs has said they're not going to trade Ramsey). But if they stayed with Ramsey, I would say that's fine, too. I still like most of what I see in Ramsey -- his toughness, smarts and desire. He's a very good kid. He could also learn a lot from playing with Brunell and for Gibbs. He'd be much better for this experience. And I know he's not the one publicly saying anything about a trade. It's his agent. Still, his agent works for Ramsey. And until Ramsey takes the Redskins to the playoffs, his side is not in a position to make any threats or any demands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galentjm Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 And please don't trot out how he graded out to a B+ by Spurrier's staff. I thought it was Gibbs' staff that graded him at a B+. Spurrier didn't stick around long enough to grade out the players. Wasn't his exit meeting only five minutes long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Master Jay Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Not just Ramsey a lot of players have to prove themselves, Trotter, Jacobs, Betts, Noble, Bowensand Gardner there is a new sheriff in town. We can't have these slackers on the roster anymore. It's time to play Redskin football again. We need players with heart, character and brains. The nightmare is over and no more free paydays. They will have to earn their money now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Town Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 No Spurrier graded him a B+, he and his coaches, or some of them evaluated the team fro Gibbs and Snyder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUorFU Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Based on the fact that everything Spurrier touched turned to crap then his B+ grade is just that. Jacobs is a bust, and why draft Hamdan and waste a draft pick when he was not going to get drafted anyways. Damn SS ruined our team for a year or two. BTW that was a great article and i agree with it. Thanks for posting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galentjm Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Originally posted by WVUorFU Based on the fact that everything Spurrier touched turned to crap then his B+ grade is just that. Jacobs is a bust, and why draft Hamdan and waste a draft pick when he was not going to get drafted anyways. Damn SS ruined our team for a year or two. BTW that was a great article and i agree with it. Thanks for posting it. I think its a little too early to be calling Jacobs a bust. The kid was injured for a good portion of the year, and even when healthy didn't play much. Given that his lack of playing time when healthy could be an indication of his ability (or lack thereof) to play in the NFL, I think passing judgement on the kid after only his rookie season is a little hasty. Let's see how he does in Gibbs' system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chet06 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Jake Delhomme had how many wins on his resume prior to going to the Superbowl?? How about McNabb before he got the Eagles to the playoffs? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesome Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Yes, I agree with Keim-- Ramsey doesn't have much to stand on as far as being declared the undisputed starter. But Keim contradicts himself. He basically agrees with the move and says that Brunnell is the starter b/c putting that much money on the bench will hurt other areas of need. But he also says that Brunnell is a gamble b/c of durability issues, acknowledging the strong possibility of Brunnell landing on the bench at some point. So on one hand he tells Ramsey to keep quiet, to embrace the competition, and praises Gibbs for bringing in a proven guy, while also admitting that it's a hefty price to pay, especially for a 34 year-old who hasn't been healthy in three years, which brings me to my point. The Redskins need experienced depth at qb, and Ramsey should benefit from an element of competition that has not existed during this two years with the team. BUT, the investment is too much, especially considering Brunnell's past and penchant for getting hurt recently. I don't care how you feel about the move, you have to acknowledge the likely possibility of Brunnel getting hurt. A more prudent solution, IMO, is to bring in someone like Trent Dilfer, a guy who Ramsey can learn from but who, if injured or **SHOCK** gets out performed by Ramsey, won't be eating up a lot of cap space on the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Originally posted by Jay Master Jay Not just Ramsey a lot of players have to prove themselves, Trotter, Jacobs, Betts, Noble, Bowensand Gardner there is a new sheriff in town. We can't have these slackers on the roster anymore. It's time to play Redskin football again. We need players with heart, character and brains. The nightmare is over and no more free paydays. They will have to earn their money now. While I agree with the notion that everyone needs to prove themselves, this is an interesting list of "slackers". Trotter and Bowens are among the hardest workers on the team. Jacobs suffered a freak injury that curtailed his first season - my recollection was that he wanted to get back in action before the doctors thought it prudent -what indications do we have that he was a slacker? Before Noble's knee injury he was considered a hard working, blue collar (Joe Gibbs-type?) guy who made up for lack of natural talent with a great work ethic. Betts and Gardner -maybe - they seem to have natural talent that hasn't been fully realized, but I don't know if slacker is the right term. . . Joe Gibbs gets the most out of the people around him. Let's see how he does with these so-called slackers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins11 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Originally posted by FROSTY28 Maybe it would be better if the Redskins did trade Ramsey should they land Brunell. Then you'd eliminate any hint of a controversy. However, I'd only do that if I could get Drew Henson. Let's say the Redskins get Brunell and Henson. Then they'd be set in the short-term and, perhaps, the long-term. The author lost all credibility at this point. What, we could be set with Henson?? This guy says Ramsey has only 4 wins this season, but how many does Henson have???? How many college games has Henson played in? How long has he been away from COLLEGE football? College ball is not equal to pro ball, as we all know from traumatic experience! And we should be satisfied gambling on Henson while we trade away Ramsey?? Geez what a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Jeez. If we land Brunell, we've got two capable quarterbacks. Joe Gibbs can handle any resulting bruised egos, simmering controversies, or other problems real or perceived. The bottom line is he wants two capable guys, and if he gets Brunnell, that's what he's got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljer Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Yeah...let's run right out and snatch up Drew Henson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galentjm Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Maybe Ryan Leaf is available :shot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeNoRevs Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 good articale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Originally posted by Dan T. aka Dan g slice Jeez. If we land Brunell, we've got two capable quarterbacks. Joe Gibbs can handle any resulting bruised egos, simmering controversies, or other problems real or perceived. The bottom line is he wants two capable guys, and if he gets Brunnell, that's what he's got. But what does Coach Gibbs do if PR mopes and pouts while riding the pine? I would hope PR would be in there supporting MB but what if he doesn't. If the reports of his desire for a trade are true then the team should trade him before his sour grapes divides the locker room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Pretty good article, Ramsey still has a lot to learn about the pro game, needs more experience reading defenses, has to be able to know where a blitz is coming from, that surely is his weakest point. He is a good young QB but he is young and relatively inexperienced, I don't think any team will just hand him the starting job, he needs to suck it up and act like a man not a spoiled little brat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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