Insider article
 

Here are some excerpts from scouts inc. via insider, they know their stuff:

It may be time for the Redskins to replace QB Mark Brunell. He had a miserable day against an undermanned Bears defense, completing only 8 of 22 passes for 95 yards. His decision-making has not been good, and what is even more alarming is how his declining arm strength is getting him in trouble. His ball floats, and defensive backs are jumping his routes on a regular basis. Patrick Ramsey has much better arm strength to take advantage of WRs Laveranues Coles and Rod Gardner.

Washington RB Clinton Portis was much more patient on Sunday. He let his blocks develop instead of hitting the hole too quickly, which he has been doing for most of the season. The Redskins' run game features traps and pulls, which take time to develop, and the timing is critical to the success of the play. Portis' 36 carries for 171 yards also show a renewed commitment to the run game by the Redskins.

i was talking on the other thread about playing ramsey, but i wanted to start a new one cause i thought this was good stuff..

i mean its true. brunell throws the ball away a lot and will take less sacks, but if u throw the ball 22 times...u gotta throw for triple digits. hes not what we need. we need a change.

I was skeptical when we signed Brunell for HOW MUCH MONEY? This guy couldn't win the starting job at Jacksonville? He was a great player, was. This is why Dan S. is not a great owner he overpays players that used to be good. He has done it for years now. What happened to getting your own talent? Look at the most successful teams in the last 5 years...Anyways, the offense is dreadful. We played the BEARS and almost lost w/ our defense giving up 3 points!!!!!!

Stop Blaming Dan Snyder
 

It was Joe Gibbs, ALL JOE GIBBS, who wanted Mark Brunnell. Please believe that. Im so sick of some of you Redskin fans blaming D. Snyder for all our faults. Granted we should have been had a GM but I would much rather have a owner who will Spend than one who will not. Alot of you people listen to these commentators on TV and you must realize these people dont even watch all the games before commenting. Alot of them go by what others say. In other words they no Crap. Realize this, Danny loves his team like a fan, like me and you, and he is just trying to do whatever he can do to Win......

[QUOTE=WashingtonWarrior]It was Joe Gibbs, ALL JOE GIBBS, who wanted Mark Brunnell. Please believe that. Im so sick of some of you Redskin fans blaming D. Snyder for all our faults. Granted we should have been had a GM but I would much rather have a owner who will Spend than one who will not. Alot of you people listen to these commentators on TV and you must realize these people dont even watch all the games before commenting. Alot of them go by what others say. In other words they no Crap. Realize this, Danny loves his team like a fan, like me and you, and he is just trying to do whatever he can do to Win......[/QUOTE]
First of all: Welcome to the Warpath! The BEST Skins fan site!

Second of all: Thank you. I have said the same thing numerous times, but some people just seem to have it out for Snyder, so anything bad is his fault, and anything good isn't, which is a load of crap. Yeah, the man has made his share of mistakes, but he brought Gibbs back...enough said.

[QUOTE=WashingtonWarrior]It was Joe Gibbs, ALL JOE GIBBS, who wanted Mark Brunnell. Please believe that. Im so sick of some of you Redskin fans blaming D. Snyder for all our faults. Granted we should have been had a GM but I would much rather have a owner who will Spend than one who will not. Alot of you people listen to these commentators on TV and you must realize these people dont even watch all the games before commenting. Alot of them go by what others say. In other words they no Crap. Realize this, Danny loves his team like a fan, like me and you, and he is just trying to do whatever he can do to Win......[/QUOTE]


Welcome to the warpath, warrior. Nice first post. I agree with everything you said.

The Danny has made some mistakes, but we can't blame him for everything. Gibbs went out and got Brunell himself. All Danny did was sign the check.

brunell misses the easiest passes i've ever seen! EVER. he almost threw about 7 or 8 picks that were dropped by the defense. oh, and lets not forget the, what has become standard, brunell giving the other team another touchdown on defense. absolutely UNacceptable!

i believe, please correct me if i'm wrong, that brunell has given the opposing defenses more scores than our offense. even if it's close, that's friggin' unbeleivably BAD!! brunell has got to go.

speaking of paying people, McCants(tied for most td catches last year) signed a 5 million dollar deal in the offseason and he hasn't even played a down this year! What's wrong with this picture???????????????

Here is Mike Wilbon and his weekly chat on the WPost.com talking about who we should be playing at QB.

[B]Washington D.C.: [/B] Is it just me, or does it seem like Mark Brunell cannot throw an entire game? I think he tries a couple deep throws in the first half just to keep the defense honest, but as the game progresses his arm is thrown out. Gibbs should get Ramsey ready these two weeks so we can have a decent passing attack. That is the strenght of the offense, our receivers.

[B]Michael Wilbon:[/B] Okay, as I look at the question que, I realize about 30 percent of these questions concern 1)Brunell 2)the offense 3)playing the third-string guy.
So, we'll do One Big Quarterback answer right here.
For starters, Brunell ain't what he used to be when he was a strong-armed, mobile machine of a quarterback who was leading Jacksonville to two AFC Championship games. At that time he was sort of a poor man's Steve Young, and I don't mean a real poor man. The guy was a stud. But injuries have taken away most of his physical attributes.
Now, I watch a lot of football and I know some stuff independently. But largely, I rely on listening to smart players and ex-players, coaches and ex-coaches...and I've had defensive players from the Giants, Browns and Bears tell me that this Brunell ain't the guy they played against six and seven years ago. They say they prepare, during the week, to stuff Clinton Portis because they see on film that Brunell cannot get the ball downfield with any accuracy or consistency.
Again, these are defensive players I trust telling me this, and in one case a coach.
Now, do I think Ramsey is the Big Answer?
I don't. The kid's got a huge arm and a huge amount of courage, the way he stands in there. But, opposing players don't think he has any feel for the game and they think he holds onto the ball way, way, way too long.
Why do you think Gibbs was intent on getting a quarterback when he came in. What, Gibbs didn't see the same stuff on film these defensive coaches saw?
Yes, I'd be getting Hasselbeck ready. I would. He's shown himself to be fairly mobile, like his brother. And while he doesn't have a cannon, he appears to be fairly accurate.
Having said all that, I wouldn't do anything going into the bye-week and coming off a victory but put Brunell back in there...I'd see what a week off and a week to prepare for another ordinary team--Green Bay--will do for Brunell. He's not that old, at 34. But maybe the injuries took more a toll than many folks (including me) expected.
By the way, Riggins says that Ramsey would be more certain of himself if he wasn't looking over his shoulder at Brunell or anybody else. Perhaps we'll see. Until then, it's defense, defense, defense and Clinton Portis...

i think its like 48-55 points off turnovers we've given up this year.... we're #1 in the league, sad sad stat...

I was trying to make the point that we overpay alot of players that used to be good. Most recently, Brunell. Hey, I know Dan S wants to win, but he has gone about it the wrong way in the past. Maybe Brunell was Gibbs, but its happened before. Its just frustration on my part and everyone that has to watch this offense.

this year besides brunell, the FO has done well... griffin and marcus are looking good... and williams has played bowen to his strengths so he looked 100x better than last year.

we got a lot of players making above standard wage, but thats nothing new...

Excellent Post, Redskins_P!
 

[QUOTE=Redskins_P]Here is Mike Wilbon and his weekly chat on the WPost.com talking about who we should be playing at QB.

[B]Washington D.C.: [/B] Is it just me, or does it seem like Mark Brunell cannot throw an entire game? I think he tries a couple deep throws in the first half just to keep the defense honest, but as the game progresses his arm is thrown out. Gibbs should get Ramsey ready these two weeks so we can have a decent passing attack. That is the strenght of the offense, our receivers.

[B]Michael Wilbon:[/B] Okay, as I look at the question que, I realize about 30 percent of these questions concern 1)Brunell 2)the offense 3)playing the third-string guy.
So, we'll do One Big Quarterback answer right here.
For starters, Brunell ain't what he used to be when he was a strong-armed, mobile machine of a quarterback who was leading Jacksonville to two AFC Championship games. At that time he was sort of a poor man's Steve Young, and I don't mean a real poor man. The guy was a stud. But injuries have taken away most of his physical attributes.
Now, I watch a lot of football and I know some stuff independently. But largely, I rely on listening to smart players and ex-players, coaches and ex-coaches...and I've had defensive players from the Giants, Browns and Bears tell me that this Brunell ain't the guy they played against six and seven years ago. They say they prepare, during the week, to stuff Clinton Portis because they see on film that Brunell cannot get the ball downfield with any accuracy or consistency.
Again, these are defensive players I trust telling me this, and in one case a coach.
Now, do I think Ramsey is the Big Answer?
I don't. The kid's got a huge arm and a huge amount of courage, the way he stands in there. But, opposing players don't think he has any feel for the game and they think he holds onto the ball way, way, way too long.
Why do you think Gibbs was intent on getting a quarterback when he came in. What, Gibbs didn't see the same stuff on film these defensive coaches saw?
Yes, I'd be getting Hasselbeck ready. I would. He's shown himself to be fairly mobile, like his brother. And while he doesn't have a cannon, he appears to be fairly accurate.
Having said all that, I wouldn't do anything going into the bye-week and coming off a victory but put Brunell back in there...I'd see what a week off and a week to prepare for another ordinary team--Green Bay--will do for Brunell. He's not that old, at 34. But maybe the injuries took more a toll than many folks (including me) expected.
By the way, Riggins says that Ramsey would be more certain of himself if he wasn't looking over his shoulder at Brunell or anybody else. Perhaps we'll see. Until then, it's defense, defense, defense and Clinton Portis...[/QUOTE]

However, I do not agree with Wilbon's assessment of Hasselbeck! At all! The man is not an NFL caliber QB!

My concern about Brunell going into the season was that I wasn't sure he wanted to win enough to be the guy we could hang our hat on for at least this season. I do believe however that he is "fighting his guts out" and that he is potentially still an excellent quarterback. I really doubt that injuries have permanently disabled his capacity to play with real effectiveness.

There is also a lot of talk about his arm strength, and I really think that it's baloney. Troy Aikman and Rod Gardner agree and I am sure Joe Gibbs as well that Mark can throw the hose. I am not impressed with these unnamed sources of Wilbon.

The offense has been struggling for a host of reasons, yet people seem to want to boil it down to one variable, the chosen scapegoat of the moment, Mark Brunell. All the other factors - the line, the running game, the receivers and the strategy - all of that is generally ignored. Right now Brunell is in there at an unfortunate time and it taking the criticism.

With the Chicago game, the Gibbs and the staff demonstrated, as I knew they would, a new strategy that has dramatically opened up the running game. With Brunell having more time to get healthy with the bye week, and other teams now unable to put so many players in the box, our passing game will likely begin to open up.

We will see, however. If it does come down to it, Joe Gibbs will make a change at quarterback if it appears that Brunell is no longer our best option.

If Gibbs had gone with Ramsey from the beginning this year he would have been traumatized. He is not developmentally ready to be the starter in my opinion and his career would have been badly damaged.

I do agree with Wilbon on one thing however, and that is that Ramsey is not the person I would turn to if I were to change quarterbacks. Hasselbeck has a lot of life, leadership and spark, and one day he will get his chance. I don't know how he will do, but he does deserve a very serious opportunity at some point to show whether he can realize his potential.

Wilbon was on the right track until he suggested Hasselbeck.

hasslebeck is the only of the three QBs to throw more ints than TDs, and he has a short arm too :(

he'll never be a starter, though right now he'd beat brunell...

shane, i seriously doubt ramsey would be traumatized, how can you say that and then suggest hasslebeck? ramsey's had way more experience and has done better across the board in comparision.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Wilbon was on the right track until he suggested Hasselbeck.[/QUOTE]

Exactly! I dont understnad how everyone has these knocks against Ramsey already. And really, who gives a sh*t if the other teams dont think he has a feel for the game, maybe he does. Then when he torches their a$$ for 400 yards they will know why. Heres the bottom line, we have a guy on the bench in Ramsey who has a TON of potential, A TON. Now potential is nothing more than potential, but lets find out what hes made of right now, so we know if hes the awnser or not. I do know that Brunells not our awnser, so lets see if your awnser is on our team right now or not.

[QUOTE=Gmanc711]Exactly! I dont understnad how everyone has these knocks against Ramsey already. And really, who gives a sh*t if the other teams dont think he has a feel for the game, maybe he does. Then when he torches their a$$ for 400 yards they will know why. Heres the bottom line, we have a guy on the bench in Ramsey who has a TON of potential, A TON. Now potential is nothing more than potential, but lets find out what hes made of right now, so we know if hes the awnser or not. I do know that Brunells not our awnser, so lets see if your awnser is on our team right now or not.[/QUOTE]
I agree with you Ramsey has a TON of potential. I don't agree with Wilbon n his sources that Ramsey holds on to the ball too long and is not a good QB. In Spurrier's system he had to hold on to the football for the deep routes to open and now he is learning a new system. Give him some time.
When he got in the game against Giants we were down by 14 and he brought us close and created drives for us. Yes he threw 3 INT, but then he had'nt practised all week. He has'nt had that many starts. Brunell will have his last chance against Green Bay and most likely will have a similiar performance, which will bring PR in the picture. The defenses don't respect brunell's arm, he is not accurate at all!! There have been times the WR's have been open, yet he has not been able to connect with the WR's.
He was brought in for his consistency. He CAN'T EVEN COMPLETE 35% OF HIS PASSES FORGET 50%!! This is pathetic. Last time I checked the Bears had one of the worst passing defenses in the league. He even had protection in that game n he still goes 8/22!!!!!!!! THAT'S PATHETIC!!! I don't know how Gibbs can sit there and say that brunell is gonna be the starter if u look at those stats and see the film.

[QUOTE=That Guy]hasslebeck is the only of the three QBs to throw more ints than TDs, and he has a short arm too :(

he'll never be a starter, though right now he'd beat brunell...

shane, i seriously doubt ramsey would be traumatized, how can you say that and then suggest hasslebeck? ramsey's had way more experience and has done better across the board in comparision.[/QUOTE]

You are correct that Ramsey has had more NFL experience. His overall history as a quarterback is not likely as long however. There was a Thomas Boswell article on Ramsey in August that explained Ramsey's limited experience with the position.

Ramsey was thrown into the fire with Spurrier in a system that was not an NFL system and as a result his growth as a quarterback has been stunted. He is having to learn an entirely new system and there isn't evidence that he is comfortable with it yet based on preseason play and what we have seen in the regular season.

Ramsey may develop into a fine quarterback and I realize he has a passionate following. I do think that if you were to put him into the fire right now, he would be unlikely to play very well and this may well damage his confidence and the faith the organization has in him. Brunell is Ramsey's best friend right now because Brunell is having to play when everyone is learning the new system, the fan expectations are stratospherically high, and the system being employed is going through major modifications. Far better for Ramsey to play at a time when there is stability and he will have protection when he wants to throw the long ball so many fans long to see him throw.

Hasselbeck is a quick learner who has a natural feel for the position and has a lot of good qualities and leadership ability. I think he has a lot of potential and I think he may prove that good quarterbacking runs in the family.

It seems that people find it impossible to have good thoughts about more than one quarterback at a time. Folks seem to hate and dismiss one quarterback and champion another. Why not see the good qualities in all of them and consider that your crystal ball for the future isn't so crystal clear?

[QUOTE=Shane]You are correct that Ramsey has had more NFL experience. His overall history as a quarterback is not likely as long however. There was a Thomas Boswell article on Ramsey in August that explained Ramsey's limited experience with the position.

Ramsey was thrown into the fire with Spurrier in a system that was not an NFL system and as a result his growth as a quarterback has been stunted. He is having to learn an entirely new system and there isn't evidence that he is comfortable with it yet based on preseason play and what we have seen in the regular season.

Ramsey may develop into a fine quarterback and I realize he has a passionate following. I do think that if you were to put him into the fire right now, he would be unlikely to play very well and this may well damage his confidence and the faith the organization has in him. Brunell is Ramsey's best friend right now because Brunell is having to play when everyone is learning the new system, the fan expectations are stratospherically high, and the system being employed is going through major modifications. Far better for Ramsey to play at a time when there is stability and he will have protection when he wants to throw the long ball so many fans long to see him throw.

Hasselbeck is a quick learner who has a natural feel for the position and has a lot of good qualities and leadership ability. I think he has a lot of potential and I think he may prove that good quarterbacking runs in the family.

It seems that people find it impossible to have good thoughts about more than one quarterback at a time. Folks seem to hate and dismiss one quarterback and champion another. Why not see the good qualities in all of them and consider that your crystal ball for the future isn't so crystal clear?[/QUOTE]


I think you're right about Hasslebeck. I don't feel so negatively about him as others do. I know he had a 0.00 rating against Dallas last year, but so did Jeff Garcia this year right? I mean it happens. It's not like Hasselbeck is constantly laying goose eggs.

I'm just not sold on his arm, which is what I think this offense really needs. Someone with a strong arm. I think I need to go back and look at some old tapes of Timmy in action

[QUOTE=WashingtonWarrior]It was Joe Gibbs, ALL JOE GIBBS, who wanted Mark Brunnell. Please believe that. Im so sick of some of you Redskin fans blaming D. Snyder for all our faults. Granted we should have been had a GM but I would much rather have a owner who will Spend than one who will not. Alot of you people listen to these commentators on TV and you must realize these people dont even watch all the games before commenting. Alot of them go by what others say. In other words they no Crap. Realize this, Danny loves his team like a fan, like me and you, and he is just trying to do whatever he can do to Win......[/QUOTE]


Well said!

Ramsey is smarter, as well he's more of a natural QB than any QB Gibb's has had, other than Joey T., to say this kid can't learn, or progress, is a joke, I believe that Ramsey will make mistakes when he get's in there, but he will also make big play's for us as well, and with our D we should still be in much better shape at the end of the game under Ramsey, than with Brunell, and with every game Ramsey will become more comfortable, and commit less mistakes as he learn's, but for us to go forward we need Ramsey in there!

Gibb's has a tough pill to swallow right now, benching Brunell is pretty much admiting we made a huge mistake with him, but not benching him is only compounding the problem.

ramsey does need some speed training though... ever try a fake FG run with him?? omg he's soo slow... he can break tackles though.

Not to beat a dead horse...Chris Landry a former NFL scout was on the Mark Patrick Show on Fox Radio this morning. He said doesn't know what's wrong w/ Brunell, only that he is awful and thinks a change probably needs to take place. He agreed w/ the caller that the offense was bland, but stated thats most likely a confidence factor and that in our 2 WR packages, our WR's are just not getting open consistently. I know i'm restating what we've talked about.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Wilbon was on the right track until he suggested Hasselbeck.[/QUOTE]

Matty, that does not add up. You say you agree with everything until this - so do I. Synopsis of his statements:

- Brunell is washed up. (Obvious to the most causal observer.)

- Ramsey can not do the job. (Also obvious)

Hey, if you agree with these two assessments (I do, too), then there IS only one answer. You have to go with the unproven guy, who so far has shown a TON of promise. Why go with one of the guys you agree can not do the job?? Logic does not allow that.

yeah... we got good WRs, but they aren't exactly holt/bruce, which makes it harder...

hogskin, if ramsey has proven he can't do the job, then hasslebeck has already proven that he REALLY REALLY can't do the job. he's our QB with more INTS than TDs, and the one with the most INTs against third stingers in the preseason.

you guys are way off base with your hassleback bashing. look at what he did last year when ramsey was out. is your memory that short? i think anybody on the bench could play better than brunell at QB...... that includes, tom tupa, ola kimrin, the waterboy, cheerleaders, cameraman....

[QUOTE=d151b]you guys are way off base with your hassleback bashing. look at what he did last year when ramsey was out. is your memory that short? i think anybody on the bench could play better than brunell at QB...... that includes, tom tupa, ola kimrin, the waterboy, cheerleaders, cameraman....[/QUOTE]

Brunell has been horrific thus far, but in Ramsey's one appearance this year he didn't exactly set the world on fire. I don't think Brunell is done, our scouting department did an excellent job on the other acquisitions this year and I don't think they completely missed the boat on Brunell. I do think stability for sake of stability is a good thing. If the running game continues to improve the passing game can't be far behind.

[QUOTE=Hogskin]Matty, that does not add up. You say you agree with everything until this - so do I. Synopsis of his statements:

- Brunell is washed up. (Obvious to the most causal observer.)

- Ramsey can not do the job. (Also obvious)

Hey, if you agree with these two assessments (I do, too), then there IS only one answer. You have to go with the unproven guy, who so far has shown a TON of promise. Why go with one of the guys you agree can not do the job?? Logic does not allow that.[/QUOTE]
Let me clarify a bit, here's my view of our QB situation. Brunell is struggling I agree, Ramsey has also struggled but I believe he can still be our guy someday, Hasselbeck is a decent backup but if we have to go to him for any length of time we're in big trouble.

Brunell is currently playing like he is "washed up", but that doesn't mean he can't turn it around. Over the past few years there have been quite a few QB's that were thought to be done, but came back to perform well.....Warner, Vinny, Maddox, Collins, Gannon, etc. It can happen. I don't necessarily believe Brunell can do it, and would like to see what Ramsey can do, but I'll stick by Gibbs decision (like it even matters what any of us think). Tim Hasselbeck is a great #3, and a decent back-up, but that's it. Like Matty said, if we need him to play for an extended amount of time, we're in trouble anyway.

Just to elaborate on your point SkinsRock, I find it hard to believe at 34 Brunell is totally washed up.

I really think right now he's hampered by that bad hamstring which is seriously effecting his arm strength and accuracy. I just find it really hard to believe a guy with a career 60% completion percentage has all of a sudden just completely lost it.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Just to elaborate on your point SkinsRock, I find it hard to believe at 34 Brunell is totally washed up.

I really think right now he's hampered by that bad hamstring which is seriously effecting his arm strength and accuracy. I just find it really hard to believe a guy with a career 60% completion percentage has all of a sudden just completely lost it.[/QUOTE]

Maybe I am missing something, but just how long has Brunnell had this hamstring injury? Is this the same injury that knocked him out of the Giants game? How serious is it? If it is affecting his accuracy and arm strength, why the hell is he playing? Is Ramsey THAT far behind?

The irony in all of this is that Brunell was signed to avoid us having qb play like this. Not only did we sign him to a big deal, $8 mil upfront but we also traded a 3rd round pick for him. Plus, he was pegged by Gibbs himself to be the guy, so we have a lot invested in Brunell.

I think his hamstring hurts a lot more than he's letting on. That has to be it, because I refuse that we would sign a guy this bad to a deal that big. Scratch that, I forgot about Dana Stubblefield.