On a day full of "oohs" and "aahs" emanating from the assembled throng of fans, perhaps the loudest reaction at the Washington Redskins training camp came when Patrick Ramsey tried to thread a pass over the middle and was intercepted by Matt Bowen. It was only an hour into the first practice of the 2004 season, yet the way the crowd responded, it was easy to think Ramsey had just lost the quarterback battle to Mark Brunell.
Asked yesterday whether he would be able to deal with life as a backup quarterback, the veteran replied somewhat sarcastically. "I was real good at it last year," Brunell snapped, adding: "If I had to, I'd do it again." Ramsey, meanwhile, stated in no uncertain terms his desire to retain his status as a starting NFL quarterback, even if it doesn't happen overnight. "It's important to me to win the job," he said. "But I think regardless of what happens, I'm going to be a good quarterback in this league. I think I'm going to be successful, whether it's this year, next year, the following year, whenever."
It sounds like Ramsey has the right attitude. I think Brunell's experience will be the deciding factor in who performs the best. He will probably pick up the offense a little faster. But, Ramsey will catch up and supplant him sooner or later.
