It’s obvious who should take the first shot for the Washington Redskins next fall. The answer is so clear that anyone who thinks otherwise needs to have their brains examined. Maybe new head coach Joe Gibbs should order Patrick Ramsey to get a CT scan before minicamp takes place.
Mark Brunell should not only be picked as the starting quarterback right now, but he shouldn’t have to compete for the job until at least 2005. Simply put, Brunell is a proven quarterback in the NFL and Ramsey isn’t. is. Brunell has started eight seasons (excluding 2003), while Ramsey has yet to start 20 games. Owner Dan Snyder gave Gibbs an unspoken mandate to make the Super Bowl in the next three seasons. Who is he most likely to make it?
There is no legitimate argument anyone can make for Ramsey starting before a healthy Brunell in 2004. Let’s break down some of the reasons given why Ramsey should start:
– Ramsey is the quarterback of the future – There’s no question that Ramsey has the potential to solidify the Redskins’ quarterback situation for years to come. If the organization believes that Ramsey is the right person for the next few years, he will one day have to take over as the starter. However, he will have to endure growing pains if or when he takes over the job. Ideally, a third-year quarterback who has started parts of his first two years should be ready to start seasoning his game. In Ramsey’s case, you have to throw out everything he’s learned in his first two seasons. The coaching staff needs to handle Ramsey like he’s a rookie. This is not an ideal situation to claim a starting quarterback job. With up to a third of the roster changing, new players must transition with a proven quarterback.
-Ramsey has one big advantage: If this is a reason to give a quarterback a starting job, then Browning Nagle, Rick Mirer and Heath Shuler should be starters in this league. Ramsey has potential, but he’s not sure. Although he put up good stats when he played at Tulane, he did so on a pass-friendly offense against the top half of the competition. He can’t be fairly evaluated in his first two seasons because he didn’t receive legitimate NFL training and wasn’t in a proper offensive system. A year from now, after he’s been evaluated by an offensive staff with nearly 70 years of NFL experience, it will determine how much potential he really has. This determination must be made on the driving range, not the FedEx field.
-Ramsey’s toughness earned him the right to lead the team in 2004. -Since when are NFL games won by the ability to take a beating? There’s a lot more to being an NFL quarterback than sitting in the pocket and taking a beating. While his attitude and competitiveness were excellent in a very bad situation last year, that doesn’t mean he can be an effective quarterback in the NFL. Ramsey’s toughness put up with his teammates, but to maintain that respect, he’ll have to produce yards, points and wins. He’ll be in a much better position to produce in 2005 when he has a year under this coaching staff.
What hasn’t been mentioned is how Ramsey’s response to this situation makes it clear that he’s not ready to lead this team. After the Redskins announced they would acquire Brunell, Ramsey’s agent publicly campaigned for a trade, where Ramsey could start. Given that he stands to earn nearly $2 million in incentives, it’s understandable why he wants to start somewhere in the league. However, he accepted the contract when he signed it, and he may not want to risk his image for more than $2 million when he could make anywhere from $30 million to $100 million before he finishes his career. Any dispute should have taken place behind closed doors. The fact that he tried to force this publicly calls into question his ability to be a professional. Taking a beating doesn’t make a quarterback a pro. There are thousands of people who would have taken the same physical beating for his base salary last year.
Snyder has been scrutinized for many personal moves since owning the Redskins, and with good reason. Brunell could be the most expensive backup quarterback in the NFL next year. At least Ramsey will probably have a year to rest and learn how to be an NFL quarterback. He maybe he should learn to bite his tongue while he does it. If he’s going to be the quarterback people think he can be, it’s going to be a good lesson.