Flagging Ramsey For A Personal Foul

[Jake]

Flagging Ramsey For a Personnel Foul

By Tony Kornheiser
Saturday, February 14, 2004; Page D01

I have two words for Patrick Ramsey:

Shut up.

(And I have two words to the Redskins about Champ Bailey: franchise tag.)

Enough already with Ramsey's complaints -- through his chatty agent, Jimmy Sexton -- about the Redskins' interest in acquiring Mark Brunell to come here and play quarterback. It seems as if Ramsey's position is that the Redskins aren't allowed to upgrade themselves at quarterback because that position belongs to Patrick Ramsey. Acquiring Brunell is being seen by Ramsey and his agent as a crime against Ramsey.

Really?

What exactly has Ramsey done to set himself in stone as a starting quarterback? Last season, just his second in the NFL, he started 11 games and won four. That's John Elway?

Ramsey has a big arm, a good head and a lot of promise. And he's probably, right now, somewhere in the middle in the pack of NFL starting quarterbacks. Is he appreciably better than Mark Brunell right now? No.

Who was at the meeting where it was decided that Patrick Ramsey would be the starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins? Steve Spurrier, right?

Well, things have changed dramatically at Redskins Park since Ramsey was handed the starting position. Mainly, the guy who handed it to him, Spurrier, is gone. The new coach is Joe Gibbs, who 1) likes veterans to start and 2) has three Super Bowl rings.

Let me ask you something. If you were to walk down the streets of Washington and randomly ask 100 people who they would side with, right now, in a dispute between Patrick Ramsey and Joe Gibbs, how many do you think would side with Joe Gibbs? How about, say, 100? Now, if Joe Gibbs loses seven of his first eight games, that number will change. But right now, at 0-0, Joe Gibbs is the greatest thing that has happened to Redskins football since, well, Joe Gibbs left Redskins football. So Patrick Ramsey and Jimmy Sexton aren't picking their fights smartly here. In this city, if Joe Gibbs says the tap water doesn't have any lead, we're all going to start guzzling it, no matter what the Water and Sewer Authority says.

We can't keep reading these stories that say Sexton has contacted Dan Snyder on behalf of Ramsey because Ramsey is concerned where he stands with the club. And then the next day Ramsey says, "Oh, I've talked with Joe Gibbs and everything is fine." And then the day after that Sexton says "If Brunell comes to Washington, then Ramsey would seek a trade." We can't keep having good-cop bad-cop stories with Sexton as the bad cop and Ramsey as the good cop, because after a week of this, we'll all realize that Sexton wouldn't be saying these things if Ramsey wasn't agreeing to these things.

If Patrick Ramsey wants to be the starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins, let him go to training camp and outplay all the other quarterbacks in burgundy and gold. He's a young and talented prospect at quarterback and he's got a long road in front of him; he turns just 25 today, for heaven's sake. If he wants that road to wind through this city, he needs to shut up about who else is coming here to play quarterback.

Wow, talk about brutally honest! This was pretty harsh.

[NC43Hog]

Harsh but accurate. Well said.

[hailskins666]

kornhieser is one of those guys you either love or hate, cause he dosen't beat around the bush.

[NC43Hog]

If nothing else he is entertaining.

[skinsfaninroanoke]

whoof - I hope Sexton or Ramsey or both read that and realize that they are barking up the wrong tree here

[redskin mark]

I completely agree w/Kornheiser. I love Patrick, but in retrospect the QB position is too important to have it occupied by an individual just because he has demonstrated the "promise" of being great.

As I sit here thinking about what must have gone into Gibbs' logic in going after Brunell so agressively... my sense is that he saw alot of game film on the guy and said to himself: This guy has alot left in the tank and has ALREADY shown the "promise" to be a good QB.

And who are we to question this coach's ability to evaluate talent, for goodness sake.

TK is right, PRam ought to just worry about beating out ALL the QBs in training camp and have his agent keep his damned mouth shut!

[hailskins666]

sad part is, ramsey very much has what it takes to beat brunell out in camp. so what if brunell is making more. gibbs won't give a rats ass whos makin what, he will start the best player. ramsey needs to keep his head up, and do what brunell does better, if in fact brunell even becomes a skin.

[PigSkin]

I've never cared much for writers with BYLINEs that are the size of headlines, but I'll agree with this: this is Gibb's football club now. Patrick Ramsey and every other Redskin have a new set of rules to play under.

[tcwest10]

Every once in a while, Kornheiser remembers that we don't always need him to be our Dave Barry, and he puts out a gem like this. The man has articulated my sentiments, exactly.

[Warmother]

I don't know why PRam is worried He has the talent to start, go to camp and beat out anybody who is brought in as a QB. If You don't win the job then learn what it takes from the starter to be a starter.

[DEHog]

Hey Boss, has TK been here lately this sounds like plagiarism to me...we wrote this stuff days ago!!

[gibbsfan]

kornhieser is one of those guys you either love or hate, cause he dosen't beat around the bush.

i have always like those pti boys. they don,t hold anything back . very well put in that article.nothing is etched in stone even for a 3rd year qb that thinks he should be the man no questions asked but think again.

very good article.

[AshlynSkins]

honestly other then a few players of course (Coles, Jensen, Thomas, Smoot, Bailey (if he's here still), Arrington) there isn't 1 roster spot that shouldn't be up for grabs come training camp, even the QB position, I for 1 haven't really seen much from Patrick other then the fact he can take a pounding and that he has potential, but potential is just that, (potential nothing more nothing less)

[BossHog]

honestly other then a few players of course (Coles, Jensen, Thomas, Smoot, Bailey (if he's here still), Arrington) there isn't 1 roster spot that shouldn't be up for grabs come training camp, even the QB position, I for 1 haven't really seen much from Patrick other then the fact he can take a pounding and that he has potential, but potential is just that, (potential nothing more nothing less)

Absolutely. The new sherriff in town is going to change a lot of things, and while whether it works or not remains to be seen, there is no doubting that Gibbs will put his stamp on this franchise.

And welcome to the board

[NC43Hog]

It may be in P-Rams best interest to tell Sexton to SHUT UP, since so much press is coming from him, not Ramsey. Last thing P-Ram needs is to be perceived as a whiner.

[hailskins666]

Last thing P-Ram needs is to be perceived as a whiner.

true dat.

[Robert K.]

kornhieser is one of those guys you either love or hate, cause he dosen't beat around the bush.

I have always loved Kornheiser, and when he takes a position on something I think he is pretty much always dead on.

[Justice Hog]

This article by Kornholio was dead on accurate. Kudos to him (for a change)!

[welch]

With Gibbs it's simple: if Ramsey deserves to play, he will. No blather, no hype, no "We spent a first round on Heath Shuler so he plays". And no agent bullies Joe Gibbs with "My man starts or we will sulk."

Ramsey should ask Stan Humphries for a quick course on Joe Gibbs.

[skinsfaninroanoke]

or any other player with a BAD attitude - Joe likes characters - just not p*ssy little people who don't wanna play more than they b*tch