Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1375497.html Matthews to challenge for Redskins' starting job -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com Just hours before he was to embark on a visit with the Cincinnati Bengals, and only days after coach Steve Spurrier publicly announced he would not pursue him, ESPN.com has learned that free agent quarterback Shane Matthews has reached contract agreement with the Washington Redskins. The deal, negotiated swiftly on Monday, is for one year. It came only one day after the Redskins concluded a mini-camp during which the quarterback play was spotty. Financial details of the contract were not yet available. Matthews, 31, was released by the Chicago Bears last week. He will be reunited with Spurrier, for whom he played at the University of Florida, and certainly will challenge for the starting job. The other quarterbacks on the roster include another former Florida star, Danny Wuerffel, second-round veteran Sage Rosenfels, 2002 first-round draft choice Patrick Ramsey, and journeyman Dameyune Craig. The team likely will release one of the quarterbacks after Matthews officially signs his contract. The one-year deal could be a benefit to Matthews, particularly if he wins the starting job, because it permits him to become a free agent again next spring. The Redskins had tried to trade for him earlier this spring and, had such a deal been consummated, would have wanted him to add an additional year to the one remaining on his past contract. An eight-year veteran, Matthews has appeared in 22 games and started 15 in his career. He has completed 366 of 599 passes for 3,461 yards, with 19 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions. His career passer rating is 75.1. Matthews began the 2001 season as the Chicago starter, then lost his job to Jim Miller when he sustained a rib injury. He engineered stirring comeback victories in consecutive weeks, though, over San Francisco and Cleveland. He completed 84 of 129 passes in '01, for 694 yards, with five touchdown passes and six interceptions. ESPN.com reported earlier in the day that Matthews was scheduled to fly to Cincinnati on Monday evening. He was to spend Tuesday visiting with the Bengals management team and, based on where negotiations with Gus Frerotte stood at the time, he could have been offered a contract. The deal with the Redskins came as he was packing for the trip to Cincinnati. Over the weekend, the Houston Texans also expressed an interest in Matthews. Being jilted by Matthews leaves the Bengals in pursuit of Frerotte, an unrestricted free agent, and player Cincinnati also pursued last spring. The Bengals want to have a veteran backup in place before they commence a mini-camp on Friday evening and Frerotte remains their first choice. The eight-year veteran and his wife visited with team officials last Wednesday and Frerotte spent the weekend mulling a contract proposal forwarded to agent Marvin Demoff last Friday evening. Frerotte told the Bengals web site Sunday he is excited by the opportunity to compete with incumbent Jon Kitna for the starting job, and emphasized he instructed Demoff to move ahead with negotiations. There are two issues, however, that could stall the talks. Because of a family matter, Demoff may not be available until mid-week to continue the discussions in a substantive manner. Second, the contract proposed to Frerotte appears to fall far short of appropriately rewarding him if he outs Kitna from the starting job. Cincinnati has proposed a three-year contract which, including a $500,000 signing bonus, totals only about $2.5 million-$2.7 million. Frerotte could earn between $250,000 and $1 million annually in incentives, provided he logged 80 percent of the snaps and the team won at least eight games. To earn the full $1 million, Frerotte would have to participate in 80 percent of the plays and the club would have to win 12 games. The Bengals have not won even eight games since 1996 and have not enjoyed a winning season since 1990. Frerotte, 30, has not been a full-time performer since he started 13 games for Washington in '97. In the succeeding four seasons, he has just 15 starts, including only one in 2001. The Bengals feel he could regain the form that made him a Pro Bowl player in 1996, when he started in 16 games for the Redskins, and threw for a career-best 3,453 yards. The team won't wait forever, though, to find out if Frerotte really wants the opportunity to post such numbers again. Former first-round draft choice Akili Smith, who underwent surgery late last season to repair a torn hamstring, certainly won't be ready for this week's mini-camp and might not be recovered in time for the start of July training camp. There is no plan to re-sign unrestricted free agent Scott Mitchell, a backup in 2001. That leaves inexperienced Scott Covington as the lone quarterback under contract after Kitna. Frerotte is expected to also discuss this week the possibility of returning to the Denver Broncos as the backup to starter Brian Griese, a role he filled the past two seasons. Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Boy Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 It's called insurance. Jerry must not be too thrilled with QC either.. He did sign Hutchinson to some big bucks, and you guys have SEVEN QB'S!! That might be an NFL record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 I was just about to say the same thing Rat Boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Author Share Posted April 29, 2002 Rat_Boy It's called insurance. Jerry must not be too thrilled with QC either.. He did sign Hutchinson to some big bucks, and you guys have SEVEN QB'S!! That might be an NFL record Wow, I thought from previous posts found on this forum, it meant Quincy Carter was a bust. "Double Standard" - in it's purest form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 That's right, you bring in Ryan Leaf? You bring in Hutch? that says little about the QB's in either city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 This is certainly very good news for us. It means we won't have to rush Ramsey into playing before he's ready and it allows us a modertately known quantity at the QB position, who, if nothing else, is a highly accurate passer. I was very concerned when Spurrier was saying he had no intention of going after Matthews. I felt we needed a veteran presense of some sort and while Matthews is not a great player, he will bring some level of comfort as a starter while Ramsey is brought along. This is certainly the end of Craig and probably signals a tough time for our favorite, Sage. This team just continues to make the right move this offseason. Not signing Matthews would NOT have been the right move for us and I'm glad we did it now rather than tempting fate with his availability later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 QCard - It's hardly a double-standard at all. Sorry. Jerry Jones committed to Quincy Carter as the franchise quarterback of the Cowboys. That the Cowboys released Tony Banks - who let the record show was having a better camp than Quincy - after signing him only months earlier to be their starting quarterback gave evidence to that. Jones went public regarding his choice of Quincy as QB. Conversely... the Redskins are UNDECIDED at this point who will open the season under center. Hence there's an open competition among 4-5 QBs for the position. Yes, the Redskins spend a #1 draft pick on Ramsey... but even SS mentioned just yesterday if the season were to open today... Sage Rosenfels would probably get the nod. And even Spurrier has acknowledged it takes a QB a couple of years before he's ready to start. And it's pretty evident Spurrier intends on nurturing Ramsey for succession... not rushing him into it as the Cowboys have done with Carter. That, my dense friend, is a committment on developing the QB of the future... and biding their time with a 1-year LEAGUE VET MINIMUM contract as a temporary QB until Ramsery is prepared. I think you need to seriously quit being such a friggin idiot and see things the way they actually are. I know you're a Cowboy fan... but it's becoming apparent you don't even have a basic appreciation for the game of football. It's too bad you're just a Cowboy fan... and nothing more. You might have add something to our conversations once in awhile.. instead of being an utter annoyance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Doesnt look good for the SpiceMan since S Double wants to prove Mel Kiper wrong about Waffle sucking as a NFL QB. Mel being somewhat of a homer could dance around the issue if waffle is cut and not do the I told you so he did to the colts. Best case scenario is Waffle suffering an injury that puts him on IR for the season and our QB depth would be Matthews, SpiceMan and Ramsey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Boy Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Scuse the language, but if there was a "****slap" of the week award, Die Hard would surely win it! Yeah, Jones says that QUINCEY IS MY MAN!!! Then he runs out and signs Hutchinson to a MULTI-MILLION dollar contract. Spurrier says we will have a competition! Then he signs people TO COMPETE! How are these the same again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsThug Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Wow -- a head coach saying one thing and doing another. ALERT THE MEDIA!!!!:party: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Skins Fan Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 This is HUGE news. I'm thrilled. It means the 2002 Skins team has a realistic shot of making the playoffs. I personally had thought that was a long-shot without Matthews. Craig was obviously going to be cut anyway. I'm still unconvinced that Sage is any kind of answer -- I just have a feeling that he's not a "gamer", that he performs worse rather than better under pressure. He might have the tools -- arm, brains -- but every opportunity he's had to step up under pressure (last pre-season, last weekend's mini-camp), he's stumbled. Wuerffel seems ideal as the team's permanent #2 QB. He's more of a gamer according to reports, and knows Spurrier's system well. He's just the guy you want to step in when needed, but doesn't have the arm to make him a franchise QB. Ramsey could be that franchise QB, but he woudn't be that in 2002 and might not even be that by 2003. That leaves Matthews -- the only option who has shown he can win in the NFL, who has performed well under pressure, and knows Spurrier's system. He's a *great* choice for 2002. My only disappointment is the one-year contract. I would have preferred a two-year contract that would enable serious competition between Ramsey and Matthews in next year's training camp. With a one-year contract, the Skins will be stuck in a bad situation if Matthews performs well. He will have the negotiating strength to demand a multi-year, lucrative contract (assuming he does well), which the Skins will be reluctant to offer with Ramsey in the wings. So we lose Matthews at the end of the year one way or the other -- either he stinks and is cut, or he does well and gets the big contract elsewhere next year. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Author Share Posted April 29, 2002 QCard - It's hardly a double-standard at all. Sorry. Jerry Jones committed to Quincy Carter as the franchise quarterback of the Cowboys. That the Cowboys released Tony Banks - who let the record show was having a better camp than Quincy - after signing him only months earlier to be their starting quarterback gave evidence to that. Jones went public regarding his choice of Quincy as QB. Wrong buddy. In your opinion Jerry Jones commited to Quincy as the as the "Franchise QB". In Jerry Jones opinion with input from QB coach Wade Wilson and H/C Dave Campo, Quincy Carter showed more leadership than Tony Banks. Therefore jerry decided to let Quincy learn under fire because he knew Quincy's attitude and confidence would not be shattered by poor performances. Jerry Jones was right because Quincy improved drastically by seasons end. He went public regarding his choice for Carter inorder to speed up his transition. Conversely... the Redskins are UNDECIDED at this point who will open the season under center. Hence there's an open competition among 4-5 QBs for the position. Yes, the Redskins spend a #1 draft pick on Ramsey... but even SS mentioned just yesterday if the season were to open today... Sage Rosenfels would probably get the nod. And even Spurrier has acknowledged it takes a QB a couple of years before he's ready to start. And it's pretty evident Spurrier intends on nurturing Ramsey for succession... not rushing him into it as the Cowboys have done with Carter. This is where the double standard is evident. Who said all rookie QBs have to learn while riding the bench. Certain rookie QBs ala Troy Aikman, John Elway and Peyton Manning did not require bench warming ala Patrick Ramsey. Coaches make the decision based on the rookie QBs mental toughness. Patrick Ramsey may surprise the coaching staff during Training camp and win starting job. Does that mean Snyder or the coaching staff are proclaiming Ramsey as the future QB for the SKins. No all it means is that Ramsey has what it takes to learn under fire. Some rookie Qbs have "IT" some don't. That, my dense friend, is a committment on developing the QB of the future... and biding their time with a 1-year LEAGUE VET MINIMUM contract as a temporary QB until Ramsery is prepared. Therefore the Broncos, Cowboys and Colts where dense when they tossed their respective QBs to the wolves. Die Hard, there is no single blueprint to finding a franchise QB. Your dense Homerism is clouding your judgement. But I understand where you are coming from. I would have same dense view if my team had lost 9 straight to their biggest rival. I think you need to seriously quit being such a friggin idiot and see things the way they actually are. I know you're a Cowboy fan... but it's becoming apparent you don't even have a basic appreciation for the game of football. It's too bad you're just a Cowboy fan... and nothing more. You might have add something to our conversations once in awhile.. instead of being an utter annoyance. Thats cool!!. I prefer conversing with ART anyway. Though homerish he appears to be the most knowledgable and informed extremist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Boy Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Dude. You are a firggin moron and you don't even know YOUR OWN TEAM!! The MOMENT after Carter was drafted, they took the camera to the Cowboy War Room at the draft. Jerry Jones said RIGHT THEN AND THERE that QC is a QB that they viewed as the future of the franchise. Then, he signs Hutchinson a year later to MILLIONS OF DOLLARS the next season. Please. I have said it once, and I will say it again. A Dallas fan has NO BUSINESS arguing about two things: 1) QB's 2) Drafting in general Why? Because Dallas has not shown the propensity to do either one really well since the glory years. Hell, you guys had your FIRST GOOD DRAFT in YEARS this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Well, it's not quite at sh!t-eating grin I'm sporting ... but it's not bad. Haggis, perhaps. My feeling from the day SS was hired was that I'd be happy with one of two scenarios; either we'd break the bank for someone like Brunnell (my no. 1 choice among vets) or Bledsoe, and probably wait a year to draft the future starter, OR, we'd go with a middle-of-the-road vet like Matthews and try to bag the future QB this year. While I suspect NOT bringing in a Brunnell of Bledsoe will cost us any realistic chance (spare me the "anything can happen" posts, please ... I know) at being anything more than a potential wildcard-type club, I'm satisfied that Matthews will get us headed in the right direction this year ... while serving as the steward until Ramsey is ready. And if things break right in terms of injuries and chemistry by midseason, I don't see why we couldn't come down the stretch as a team nobody in contention wants to see on the schedule. To me we're on a 2-year cycle here. Matthews starts this year, with either Sage/Danny as the backup, with Ramsey charting plays and camping out next to SS 24/7. By next fall, Ramsey heads into camp with the starter's job as his to lose. With Ramsey in the fold, and Matthews here to provide a port in a storm this year, the boiled goat-parts ain't tastin' so awful this afternoon. * Only guy I feel bad for right now is Sage. This might well have cost him any real chance to show his stuff in Washington (not that drafting Ramsey didn't do that already). Hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised. SS would realy show me something if he played Sage much over Danny. Here's hoping Sage doesn't end up a Cowboy. They could use a decent young QB ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins24 Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Didn't Aikman go 1-15 his first year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Author Share Posted April 29, 2002 Dude. You are a firggin moron and you don't even know YOUR OWN TEAM!! The MOMENT after Carter was drafted, they took the camera to the Cowboy War Room at the draft. Jerry Jones said RIGHT THEN AND THERE that QC is a QB that they viewed as the future of the franchise. Then, he signs Hutchinson a year later to MILLIONS OF DOLLARS the next season. Please. I have said it once, and I will say it again. A Dallas fan has NO BUSINESS arguing about two things: 1) QB's 2) Drafting in general Why? Because Dallas has not shown the propensity to do either one really well since the glory years. Hell, you guys had your FIRST GOOD DRAFT in YEARS this year. Knuckle head all teams(most) have press conferences for their 1st pick. The key words in your rant" QC is a QB that they viewed as the future of the franchise.". HMmm I suggest elementary English courses to further advance your undestanding of the English language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Originally posted by Qcard Wow, I thought from previous posts found on this forum, it meant Quincy Carter was a bust. "Double Standard" - in it's purest form. Desperation in its purest form! QC has already demonstrated that he sucks. We're giving Ramsey and Sage all the time they need to show what they have. Meanwhile, as our squad actually has a chance to compete and win, we've brought in a veteran to take the helm for a year or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Author Share Posted April 29, 2002 quote:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Qcard Wow, I thought from previous posts found on this forum, it meant Quincy Carter was a bust. "Double Standard" - in it's purest form. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Desperation in its purest form! QC has already demonstrated that he sucks. We're giving Ramsey and Sage all the time they need to show what they have. Meanwhile, as our squad actually has a chance ART, Help this guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RySkins Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Actually Steve Walsh got that one win in 1989. He is a pathetic example to use if you are talking about short term success because he was god awful for two seasons and much of his third (remember it was Beuerlein who keyed their run in 1991). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Boy Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Knuckle head all teams(most) have press conferences for their 1st pick. The key words in your rant" QC is a QB that they viewed as the future of the franchise.". HMmm I suggest elementary English courses to further advance your undestanding of the English language. Man, I have posted with some deuche bags in my day, but this takes the cake. First, all teams have press conferences 5 seconds after they pick? Really? I don't recall seeing one for all 32 1st picks this year. And if they did, they certainly weren't IMMEDIATELY after the pick. But that point is moot, because that is not the argument at hand. Second, what is wrong with the English in that sentance? Third, The FACT REMAINS that JERRY JONES said "QC IS THE FUTURE OF THIS FRANCHISE." Then he signs Hutchinson the next year to MILLIONS? Can your dumb @ss dispute this without LYING? NO. You said in your post that you only wanted to here from Art because he was "smart" or something like that. Well, compared to you, a damn brick is smart, so why don't you go find one of those to argue with. You MIGHT stand a chance of not looking like a dumb @ss, but I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hangman55 Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Posted by QueerCard This is where the double standard is evident. Who said all rookie QBs have to learn while riding the bench. Certain rookie QBs ala Troy Aikman, John Elway and Peyton Manning did not require bench warming ala Patrick Ramsey. Coaches make the decision based on the rookie QBs mental toughness. Patrick Ramsey may surprise the coaching staff during Training camp and win starting job. Does that mean Snyder or the coaching staff are proclaiming Ramsey as the future QB for the SKins. No all it means is that Ramsey has what it takes to learn under fire. Some rookie Qbs have "IT" some don't. What? In todays NFL you don`t have time to wet nurse your QB when you are freakin paying him 30-40 million like the three QBs you listed. But if you do have that benefit the better, for your QBs health and development. Ramsey is going to be a dam good QB and we didn`t have to pay through the nose. Lastly, I`ll say what the other civilized skins fans hear won`t say. Why don`t you drive your trailer down here to crofton(only 20 min away)so I can show you what it felt like to be Troy Acheman when Lavar crashed his skull in. I might be dropping to the lowest common denominator but I sure love beating Cowgirl @ss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Author Share Posted April 29, 2002 Your first quote: The MOMENT after Carter was drafted, they took the camera to the Cowboy War Room at the draft. Jerry Jones said RIGHT THEN AND THERE that QC is a QB that they viewed as the future of the franchise. Your second quote: Third, The FACT REMAINS that JERRY JONES said "QC IS THE FUTURE OF THIS FRANCHISE." get your facts straight, then I'll think about debating with you. If you can not tell the elementary difference between "viewed as" and "is the future " then you have a very serious comprehension problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Boy Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Oh please. I am threw playing tiddly winks with your stupid @ss. As I said, you CAN NOT DISPUTE that he said something about Carter and being the future of the Cowboys. Just because I don't have the EXACT quote from over a year ago is irrelevant. Your organization told Tony Banks he would start. Then they draft QC and labeled him "the future." Then they screwed Tony Banks. Then they signed two more QB's, one to MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. So, the difference, to get back to the original argument, is that Spurrier has said from the get go that the Redskins will have a competition in camp. Jerry Jones just said a bunch of BS time after time. And you notice something else? Spurrer - Coach Jerry Jones - Owner. Does that moronic puppet Campo even have vocal cords? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcard Posted April 29, 2002 Author Share Posted April 29, 2002 Rat_Boy Oh please. I am threw playing tiddly winks with your stupid @ss. Hahaaha. I am serious about the elementary English courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Boy Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Oh I LOVE this ploy. It is the typical Dallas/Philly fan ploy. When they KNOW they are wrong, but don't feel like admitting it, they quickly switch subjects to my spelling. I know I suck at spelling. I also know that you are a douche bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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