Is Ramsey Going To Get A Fair Shot?

Of course, Gibbs will provide the open competition as promised. What you are hearing is due to the expectations. Virtually every expert has seen both guys in action and expects Brunell to win based on what they have shown in the past. Could Ramsey turn it around and take the job? Sure - but not extremely likely.

- Ramsey has a great arm.

- Ramsy has an extremely slow release - did you notice the difference in sacks when Hasselbeck was the QB?

- Ramsey "thinks" too slowly - again, leading to many sacks.

I sure hope the new coaching staff can teach Ramsey to speed up his footwork, thinking, and overall release. If so, he can be among the best someday. If not, his offensive lines will get tired of taking all the blame.

John Shaffer
National Fantasy Sports Leagues
Home of "The Best Game In Town" since 1990

To be honest, I don't care which one starts as long as that they can prove to us fans, and Coach Gibbs that they can lead the Skins' to Championships. It would really do Ramsey some good to sit out for a season and see how Gibbs' offense is ran. Even though Gibbs' offense is "user friendly" like Theismann put it, still, I think sitting out a season and learning the offense from practice and from watching on the sidelines would prove to be in Ramsey's favor come the next year.

...And the experience factor doesn't mean squat to me. If so, we'd be refering to Bledsoe as 2 time Superbowl MVP instead of Brady. Money wont mean squat when it comes to game time. Coach Gibbs will do what is best for the team to win. All smart coaches do.

I agree with you, level of play is more important than experience. However, when it comes to level of play on the field, Ramsey's style of play is more similar to Bledsoe than Brady. Ramsey, like Bledsoe, has a very strong arm, but they both hold on to the ball way too long. They are both slow at reading defenses and deciding the correct place to throw the ball. Slow to release the ball. They are also both very slow footed and not very good at avoiding the rush. They both get sacked alot because they are not good at sensing the pass rushers around them.
Brunell, is more like Brady, they do not have the strongest arm. But they both are very good at scrambling to create more time to throw. They sense the rush around them better than Ramsey and can often escape. But most importmant they just win. It may not be pretty, but they just win.

Ramsey's clear weakness' are the only reason why I not yet ready to call him the next great Redskins QB. He needs to overcome these problems in his play before we make him our fulltime starter. It is the main reason why I think Gibbs paid a hefty price get Brunnell. Gibbs came in and saw the film of Ramsey and realized he is not yet ready to take us to the playoffs and beyond. He needs a year of coaching to get rid of his bad habit of holding the ball too long.
Having said all of this, I want Ramsey as our future QB more than anyone else.

- Ramsy has an extremely slow release - did you notice the difference in sacks when Hasselbeck was the QB?

- Ramsey "thinks" too slowly - again, leading to many sacks.

Ramsey does have a slow release, but Spurrier changed his system when Hasselbeck was in. He made most of the plays 3 step drops, which I think with Ramsey would have worked VERY well. The people bringing constant Blitz packages would get trounced by a bunch of short/intermediate passes which in turn would have given him more time. The reason Hasselbeck didn't get as dirty was a change in the game plan, not a change in QB.

Ramsey is a very smart kid. He is young, and you need to be in a position to read a defense to learn it. He'll be ok. I bet he can recognize a blitz package now. He's an extremely intelligent guy, although that doesn't translate to football, it shows that he has the ability to pick things up.

As far as a fair competition. No shot at one. Gibbs is already set on Brunell, I'm sure of it. I think that this is Ramsey's team to lose, not Ramsey's team to win. I think Brunell should play exceptionally in order to steal the starting job. Ramsey is a real Redskin, Brunell is just a cash chaser. Maybe he'll get injured early.

Assuming Brunell gets the start, then assuming he gets injured and Ramsey steps in and plays well. Im wondering how Gibbs would handle a QB coming back from an injury. We've definitly got the making for a QB controversy in DC, and thats not somethign that will help us grow as a team. I know Gibbs is a good coach but its never easy when you have two starting QBs to pick between them.

As far as a fair competition. No shot at one. Gibbs is already set on Brunell, I'm sure of it. I think that this is Ramsey's team to lose, not Ramsey's team to win. I think Brunell should play exceptionally in order to steal the starting job. Ramsey is a real Redskin, Brunell is just a cash chaser. Maybe he'll get injured early.

i hope brunnel doesn't get injured early cuz he's the better of the two qbs right now. it's look like ramsey was an absolute look just because he had 2 or 3 good games last year and got up after get beaten every game. that doesn't translate into a good qb. he needs some time to flush spurriers schemes out of him, he still needs to recover from his foot, and he needs work on his awareness of how long he has to throw the ball instead of looking and looking and looking, until he gets clobered from the backside and loses the ball. ramsey still has a lot of developing to do so why not let a more proven qb help the team out while ramsey gets to be the qb we all want him to be?

Because this is Ramsey's team and it's a shot in his pride and will make him resent the orginization. Don't give me that "well, it's the NFL" type of shit. He gave his all for this team last year and I think he deserves to be the incumbant starter. As I said, it's his team to lose. Not his team to win.

I don't agree with the knock that Ramsey is 'slow' in reading a defense or has a slow release. I think it has more to do with the fact he is too willing to hang in the pocket until the very last second to deliver a throw (much like Bledsoe), when instead he needs to learn when to dump it off and keep the chains moving. Of course in Spurrier's offense there weren't many dump off options for him anyway.

Brunell's experience is what Gibbs wants in there. But if for some odd reason Brunell struggles and Ramsey shines, Ramsey will be the guy. Gibbs will play the guy that's best suited to lead the team, but Brunell has the early inside track.

As for Ramsey deserving to be the starter based on last year, I don't really agree with that either. Nobody deserves anything especially under a new coaching staff. Everyone has to go out there and earn their playing time and earn the respect of the new staff. Nothing will be handed to anyone under Gibbs, nor should it be.

If it's a close race, I feel as if Ramsey should get the nod, seeing as this is his team. If one player obviously outshines the other then it's not a question as to who starts. However I think it will be a tough competition and Ramsey won't get enough consideration.

Ramsey does have a slow release, but Spurrier changed his system when Hasselbeck was in. He made most of the plays 3 step drops, which I think with Ramsey would have worked VERY well.

Actually, over the course of the season, Ramsey ran many plays with a 3-step drop. It did not help him. When you think slowly as well as move slowly, you are not going to do well with the 3-step drop which is designed for very fast-developing plays. I'm sure Gibbs' staff will have routines designed to attempt to improve his speed. Maybe the thinking will speed up with some time behind Brunell on the sidelines. It will require more of what he sees down the field triggering automatic responses.

John Shaffer
National Fantasy Sports Leagues, Inc.
Home of "The Best Game In Town" since 1990