[sportscurmudgeon]

Folks:

I did not say that Ramsey was never going to improve. What I said is that if you assume that he will be a star sometime in the very near future, you are drawn to a single conclusion. But that assumption is merely that - an assumption. And assumptions are sometimes right - and sometimes they are dead wrong. How many teams in the NFL assumed that Jeff George would blossom into a star only to realize that he would not?

If you make the assumption that he is a star ready to burst onto the scene, then you are simultaneously indicting the coaching staff for being a bunch of blind and prejudiced and incompetent boobs who can't recognize this imminent greatness. And that gives me a lot of hesitation...

Several NFL teams have gone with young QBs and the results are mixed. Ben Roethlisberger has been super; of course Pittsburgh had no choice but to play him since Maddox was going to be out for 6-8 weeks. Leftwich has the Jags winning in Jax. But Tim Rattay isn't getting it done. The Browns have an improved record and they went out to get an old QB to replace their young guys.

My point is that some young QBs are their teams' best option and they produce success. Others may be the best option a year or two from now, but they aren't all that ready to play just yet.

Lots of people here are 100% sure that Ramsey is ready to play and ready to become a star in the near future. I'm not. I don't know if he will be a star; I think the jury is out unless you are looking at the world through burgandy-and-gold tinted glasses.

Will Ramsey be a better QB than Brunell next year? Maybe.

How about the year after that? Probably.

Will Ramsey be an elite QB in the NFL (in the same category as Manning, McNabb, Culpepper, Brady..) by 2006/07? I hope so, but I have seen nothing that makes me confident of that.

What Brunell brought with him to Jax that Ramesy has not had yet is the chance to be on the sidelines with and to learn from a real pro. It is not Ramsey's fault, but the QBs on the team with him thus far in his NFL career have not exactly been of the Brett Favre/John Elway/Joe Montana caliber. In fact, he might have learned more from Yo Yo Ma than he could have from some of his previous teammates/mentors. And his coaching in terms of the fundamentals of NFL football has been "suspect" up until March 2004.

If I count correctly, Brunell has lost twice as many games as he has won during his Redskin career. I believe that Ramsey has just about the same record. So yes, the discussion started because the Redskins did not come out of the gate with a 5-1 record; but let's be clear about the records of Brunell and Ramsey and Hasselbeck as Redskin starting QBs. None of their records is anything to be proud of.