Brunell is killing Portis

Maybe Brunell isn't the whole problem, but he is the main problem. I'm sick of him missing open receivers because he scrambles before pressure comes close to him. Him throwing it away on 3rd downs is inexcusable. I'm sick of Brunell and I'm sick of watching them lose every week.

I'm a "Brunell hater" right now. I want Ramsey in there right now. But I'm with matty, if it goes the other way, I'll eat crow. Hell, I dont care if they sign Danny Wurfell to come in here... whoevers gonna start winning ballgames. Right now, I belive that person is Ramsey, but if Brunell starts ringing off some good offensive drives consistantly, I'll be happy and eat crow.

I agree that Ramsey would be better at this point. Last night's Packers/Titans game was 34-13 when I turned it off, but I went to bed with the feeling that Farve could bring them back and win it....not that it would happen, but it could. Why? Because he has a strong arm and puts the ball down the field. Yeah, sometimes (like last night) it doesn't work and he gets like 3 picks, but the possibility is always there. I'm not saying Ramsey is Farve, but his strong arm gives him the chance to do the same type of things, and even the best have bad games with multiple INT's.
That said, if Brunell gets his shit together, I'm with Gibbs and believe that he can do the job. They just need to be successful on a couple long plays, which they've tried, but they haven't been.
If Brunell looks just as bad as last week this week at Chicago, I fully expect to see Ramsey after the bye. But even if we lose, but Brunell looks decent and DOESN'T TURN THE BALL OVER (his fault or not), I expect Gibbs to stick with him.

"Ramsey has a stronger arm than Brunell, but his weaknesses -- mobility and reading defenses -- are Brunell's strengths. However, Brunell has been criticized for no longer having a strong enough arm for Gibbs's offense, which calls for occasionally going downfield on play-action passes. Brunell is averaging only 5.6 yards per pass completion -- worst in the NFC -- and has completed only two passes for more than 30 yards." - Washington Post

"I was very impressed with Mark Brunell's arm" - Troy Aikman

I really think we have two major problems, the first of which is extremely high expectations for the team this season, leading to severe disappointment at the losses.

As a team, we are going through dramatic change with not only an entirely new system being put in, but really very different leadership in the organization. Joe Gibbs has come in and replaced a laizzez faire coach in Spurrier and really become the de facto leader of the organization. The buck stops with Joe Gibbs now, because Snyder had the wisdom to recognize he didn't have the answers.

If this weren't enough, I think it is clear that just as Gibbs had to adjust his strategy greatly 23 years ago when he first arrived and we were going through a similar period of crisis, Gibbs and the staff will have to make adjustments now. Part of the problem with our offense is that our system needs to be somewhat reenvisioned. Joe Gibbs and the staff are the smartest and most adaptable around, and they will find the answers.

Some folks here want to install Patrick Ramsey as quarterback. Perhaps he would make defenses somewhat more concerned about the deep ball. But with Ramsey in there, you have someone who is not experienced reading defenses and who is not as mobile as I think a quarterback needs to be right now for us given our overall issues as a team. I do think that Brunell's arm strength is adequate. If Ramsey goes in then teams will be able to take advantage of his inexperience. Until we can protect Ramsey better and still have enough receivers going downfield, his mobility and his tendency to hold onto the ball a long time to make a decision will be difficult issues. Brunell is an experienced leader as well and his leadership and determination to succeed here will help lift us.

"Patience is all the strength that a man needs" - Wise Man

I'll be more than happy to eat crow if Ramsey steps in and becomes the answer to our problems.

I would blame Brunell if he was the main problem, but he's not. He's part of the problem, but he's not the only one. It's not one or two things wrong right now, to say so is really oversimplifying things.

The O-line, Portis, the WR's dropping balls and not running precise routes, the playcalling, the system, etc. are all problems that need correcting and tweaking and it won't matter a damn bit who's behind center as long as these problems exist.

Ramsey isn't a quick fix, far from it.


You know Matty I have to go with RF on this one, reason? I can't believe that our O-line is this bad, I just can't believe it, Doc walker has the opportunity to watch the game in person, he is able to see the field much better than those of us who don't have that opportunity, I am not saying our line can rival the hog's in any way, but I just can't believe that they are that bad, I just don't think defenses worry one bit about Brunell's passing ability, basically I think he hit the nail on the head, we only throw to back's, and end's, because Brunnel can't make the other throw's, let's face it, his bomb's to Gardner in the cowboy game were jump ball's, won by gardner making a spectacular catch, Ramsey will without a doubt will have growing pain's, and until he start's burning the D, and proves he can throw the ball down field, they will probably approach him the same way they approach Brunell, but I think that will be short lived, let's face it Brunell is going backwards in his progression as a QB in this offense, Ramsey will do nothind but go forward, I was never big on Brunell, even when he was putting up the number's in Jacks., I just didn't see him as a passer, he was more of a playmaker, and those guy's are usually shut down by a good defense, which is what you usually see in the playoff's, with his mobility on it's way out, I believe we are now seeing Brunell the thrower, and it's pretty ugly.

Gibb's has to swallow his pride right now, and make the switch, he's been out of the game for a long time, I don't think he really new enough about Brunell, he made a stat's decision, without really looking at how this guy has succeeded in the league the last decade, Brunell is nothing without his leg's, and he is no longer capable of running all over the field. He may not be the complete problem I agree, but we have to take into account that the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, and so on and so forth, the change has to be made, and made now, but I don't think Gibb's will make the switch, until the season is basically over for us.

Portis has no 'pop' in his running. Even the few times he seems to break into somewhat open field it seems as if he does not know what to do or where to cut. He just does not seem like the back the redskins thought they were getting when the traded for him.

You guys are excactly right. Brunnel is the main problem with our offense right now. If you look back two our first two games against the bucs and giants, they tried to stop us with 7 men and we absolutely just plowed right through them down the field. Then after that both teams said fuck this, were stacking the box, lets see you guys throw the ball. And to this very day we have not been able to do it. This is the nfl, you got to be able to pass and throw. Once we get a vertical passing game, i don't see us having much sucess.

If your'e gonna mention every game that Brunell has played in this year and say he hasn't been able to throw the ball down field, then what in the hell did he do against Dallas? I mean his connection to Gardner was exceptional and he deserved the credit for avoiding the sack and throwing the last TD to Gardner. See it's easy to point the finger at the QB when the passing game isn't successful. Gibbs has admitted that he is partly responsible with that problem. Gibbs is sending only two receivers on routes that make it easy to double cover them. He needs to get back to stacking four WR's and letting them three run short routes while one runs the long route. This is what he did against Dallas and it worked. Another point about Brunell is his leadership. The no huddle offense works but Brunell needs to be able to get into a rhythm and keep the defense off balance. This also worked against Dallas. No INTS against the CowBitches and 325 yds. in passing is not bad, so the blame still goes all around.

Portis has no 'pop' in his running. Even the few times he seems to break into somewhat open field it seems as if he does not know what to do or where to cut. He just does not seem like the back the redskins thought they were getting when the traded for him.

That's what I see. He's trying to be everything for the offense. Blocking, catching and not focusing on running. I tell you this. After the Giants game, Portis was not the same. The turnovers bothered him and it seems he hasn't shaken it off. Then it happened again in Cleveland. Brunell has to take the blame for everything that the involving the offense including challenging plays?

The way I look at it is if Brunell and Portis are struggling then theres only one person (or should I say group) to blame and that's the o-line. Portis can't run because he has no holes. Brunell sometimes doesn't have the time to throw downfield. Without the o-line clicking then you can forget about the whole offense. It all starts up front.

That being said, if the offense continues to struggle then I wouldn't be surprised if they do bench Brunell. But there is no way Brunell takes all the blame for Portis not being able to run the ball consistently.

Once Portis stops thinking so much and just starts running he'll be fine.