Why Gibbs is Sticking with Brunell..my opinion that is.

Im trying my hardest to put all of my faith in Gibbs, but doesnt this remind anyone else of the Ravens in 00? The most encouraging part of this team is that we have defense and a running game, and thus we could easily gain some momentum and go on a winning streak. But how much worse could Ramsey do? Sometimes a QB change will energize the offense and spark something, I think more so then any changes they could make with Brunell still in there. And thats a great point hogskin, there is going to be a QB controversy if we dont make a change, the media is going to start asking the players and so on...
Hopefully they can figure all this out over the bye week

If I had to guess why Gibbs is sticking with Brunell here are some of my guesses in no particular order

--He's trying to establish some continuity and stability at the position, we've played musical chairs at the QB position for 12 years now and look where it got us. What if we go to Ramsey and he's worse, then do you go back to Brunell again after a few weeks? It doesn't really send a message of stability to the team, perhaps he's trying to help put an end to all the constant change. Changing QB's can divide a team, we've seen it many times and not just with the Skins.

--Maybe Brunell is hurting a bit more than we know and that's contributing to him throwing off balance and not setting properly? Gibbs mentioned something about having Brunell back healthy after the bye, that kinda led me to believe Brunell may be hurting a bit more than he's let on. Again, just a thought.

--Part of Gibbs success is attributable to his all-out committment to his players, that's also been part of his downfall at times. He'll let guys play out of slumps.

--Let's not forget Gibbs sees these players up close and personal, it's easy for us to sit here and second guess every move and decision he makes, but the fact is we're not there for every meeting and practice and we really can't judge the true pulse of the team. I laugh when someone questions Brunell's leadership. Unless you're in the huddle how do you know what kind of leader Brunell really is??

I'm not supporting Brunell at this point and I'd like to see a change, but I can understand why Gibbs is sticking it out with Brunell, and I really don't think it comes down to his contract or Gibbs trying to prove people wrong, that's just silly, Gibbs is back to win games not to be on an ego trip. I'll respect the decision and root like crazy for Brunell.

I really hope by year's end we can look back and say damn, Gibbs was right, Brunell is a nice fit for this offense, I'm glad he stuck by him.


Excellent post Matty, about time we had some rational thoughts on the QB position. I'm still on Brunells side, 6 games is way too early to be making drastic changes. I've said it before but it's worth repeating, as long as Joe Gibbs is happy with Brunell as starter so am I.

Looks like dragon beat me to the punch and hit on some of the same basic points with his opening post, nice post dragon and welcome to the board!

Brunnel missed two long throws that would've gone for TD's yesterday. If we were playing one of the better teams in the league those missed opportunities would've cost us the game. I mean we just can't expect the defense to win every game for us (3pts allowed awesome) but it was the anemic bears. Take a look at our schedule and draw your own conclusion. If we could hold any of those teams to 3pts it would be a longshot. I'm just tired & I know a lot of other fans are tired of having to bite our nails at the end of every game, because either we have a crucial turnover or we give up a big play on special teams. Yesterday's game should've been over by th 3rd Quarter. Instead we had to watch in agony as our offense faded (Portis not included) and the bears with a QB that's probably not going to be playing in hawaii, drive & have a chance to tie (or maybe win) in the 4th quarter. The only defense I have for Brunnell is that he can scramble, but correct me if i'm wrong when was the last time he won a game for us because of his wheels? Bottomline is with Brunnel in there we have no chance in hell to beat the playoff caliber teams unless Portis goes for 300yds or our defense scores 3TD's (not likely) With Ramsey in there ???????????? Guess we'll just have to wait & see.


:twocents:

Put Ramsey in blah blah blah He would hit the long ball blah blah blah Gibbs is just sticking with his 8 million dollar man blah blah blah look at other quarterbacks stats this week in other games - Pennington passed for twenty more yards blah blah blah im so angry blah blah blah just put Ramsey in.....

I hate to come off so negetively, but I think our defense is selling out and IMO defenses like this could go a long way in the postseason. We just need consistancy on the part of the offense. I hope i'm wrong because if Brunnel could get it back and we could get in as a wild card, anything could happen.

Timing, chemistry, and consistency. THese are all things the skins have lacked on o over the last few years. Pulling the QB after 6 games isn't going to help with that. And, as has been pointed out, Gibbs always sticks with his QBs when the rest of the known univerese is ready to dump them (see Theisman, pre-leg injury, and Rypien at various times). So we're gonna see Brunnell for a while.

As for Ramsey, I really hope the kid is learning, so when he does get his shot, he kicks ass and ends this farce.

But, to repeat my mantra this year, Gibbs has won 3 superbowls with 3 QBs. So he knows just a bit about QBs and how to get the most out of them. I'll take his word, for now. But, man, if the passing game stays like this, it's gonna get ugly.

For all of you who are willing to give Gibbs/Brunell a chance, here's my thoughts: Starting with the 5 preseason games and going through 6 regular season games, Brunell simply hasn't gotten the job done. That's 11 games, for God's sake, nearly 3/4 of a season.

How much more time should we give him before making a change? Should Gibbs wait until the season's a complete washout or should he try and do something, anything, to fire up this offense? Me, I vote strongly for the latter.

I love Gibbs just as much as anybody, but he's turning a blind eye to what is obvious to everyone else. I think some of it has to do with his traditional committment to his players. But, in all honesty, I also think a lot of it is due to the fact that he, personally, pursued and got Brunell, to the tune of millions of bucks. And, he just can't admit that it was a mistake.

I wouldn't feel so strongly about replacing Brunell, if I saw even the slightest glimmer of improvement from week to week. But, if anything, things look worse now than they did weeks ago.

Hey Joe - Wake up and smell the coffee before we having no season left to salvage!

it'd be a lot easier if ramsey were a bit better... i don't think brunell can be much worse...

We'll never know if Ramsey can be the answer, unless he's given a chance. If he's not, then we've got a major problem at the most important position on the team.

But, at this point, after 11 games pre and regular season, I think a change is long overdue.

If Ramsey can't hack it, try Hassellback or else admit the season is a wash and make a major effort to get a top-flight QB next year. But don't simply stick with someone who isn't producing out of some misplaced sense of loyalty.

Where is Gibbs' loyalty to us fans who have to sit and watch this terrible play from a veteran QB week after week? Where is his loyalty to the rest of the team, particularly the D, that plays its heart out only to see it all for naught because Brunell is performing so poorly?