Dear Mark, I'm sorry...

[MTK]

A part of me would almost like to see Brunell start, play well all season and shut up people like Lenny P. who said he was washed up.

[irish]

That's my point, PR will stink it up. I dont think the skins will go 0-4 but no matter what the record, I dont see PR getting the job done. Gibbs has no faith in him at all and PR has done nothing to change Gibbs view. MB will be the starter for game #4 and next season it will be Campbell. I dont see PR even being on the squad next year.

[MTK]

Well, 8/12 for 77 yards isn't exactly horrible, especially considering how bad he was last year at this time.

He'll have to be alot worse than that to lose the job.

[Gmanc711]

I'm not ready to see Brunell in a regular season game. He will have to do alot more than a few nice drives against the Panthers 2nd/3rd stringers, for me to calll for him. Keep in mind, I'm/was a huge Brunell fan. I still like the guy, but not as the player anymore. I hope he stays on the bench unless PRam goes down with injury.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

A part of me would almost like to see Brunell start, play well all season and shut up people like Lenny P. who said he was washed up.

I'm kind of with you on this one. I don't doubt that most people aren't really upset that he played so poorly last season. Sure, that was unsettling, frustrating even. But what really gets to people is his big contract and the fact that the Skins gave up a 3rd round draft pick for him. However, to blame him for agreeing to that contract (which he later restructured anyway), and making that trade seems sort of ridiculous to me. So does the impression some seem to have that he played poorly on purpose.

[BrudLee]

Those who are beating up Patrick for not performing well (which is an arguable point) should keep in mind that our run-first offense was primarily passing. In fact, since Portis (1 carry) and Betts (4 carries) were done very early, the "first team offense" was playing with the third-team RB (Cartwright) - which was an easy tell as to what type of play was coming next. Carolina's defense rarely rushed more than the front four, allowing the LBs to drop into coverage. That made for a crowded secondary, and a more difficult passing game.

[Longtimefan]

Joe Gibbs had been out of coaching twelve years and before knowing the names of a half dozen players, he felt the need to acquire a veteran QB that could run his offense the way he wanted. I'm sure when Bugel decided to follow Joe back to Washington the two of them had a long discussion relevant to Patrick Ramsey. Bugel had been brought in the year before at the behest of Snyder to access the team and it's struggles under then coach Spurrier. I feel safe in beleiving that after Buges had the opportunity to observe Ramsey from a distance he saw enough to convince Joe that it may be wise to make an attempt at a veteran QB with the tools to run the system. While things didn't work out really well last year, this is a new year and it's not Brunell's fault the team decided to pay him what they did. Further, there are players (not fans) on the team who have readily admitted the fact that much of their struggles early on last year did not rest at the feet of any one individual.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by irish

Gibbs has no faith in him at all and PR has done nothing to change Gibbs view.

I think it's a little overboard to say that Gibbs has no faith in PR. Though he may have some reservations, which will play themselves out on the field this year, I don't think it's safe to say Gibbs has no faith in PR.

[irish]

I think trading draft picks for a borderline over the hill qb then the next year drafting a qb with the teams 1st pick all the while having a qb with 3 years in the league tells me Gibbs has no faith in PR. If he did there would have been no need to draft Campbell. Gibbs will give PR his shot but he wont stick with him too long when/if things go bad.

[BossHog]

Agreed. But let's not ruin Ramsey's trade value by giving him a bad name like we did with Gardner. Catch my drift? Oh. He dropped it, again.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by irish

I think trading draft picks for a borderline over the hill qb then the next year drafting a qb with the teams 1st pick all the while having a qb with 3 years in the league tells me Gibbs has no faith in PR. If he did there would have been no need to draft Campbell. Gibbs will give PR his shot but he wont stick with him too long when/if things go bad.

I've said this before though, what would have been our QB options if Ramsey didn't get the job done? I think that Gibbs saw a value in Campbell (rather than drafting maybe Leinart next year for triple the money) that we couldn't ignore. I know the price may seem high now, but he may turn out to be a bargain later on.

[MTK]

If Gibbs has no faith in Ramsey, why not have an open QB competition? Why did he name PR the starter way back at the end of the 2004 season?

[irish]

He did that to try to give PR some confidence and to deflect the media that loves to create a QB controversy. A good move on Gibbs part.

[irish]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I've said this before though, what would have been our QB options if Ramsey didn't get the job done? I think that Gibbs saw a value in Campbell (rather than drafting maybe Leinart next year for triple the money) that we couldn't ignore. I know the price may seem high now, but he may turn out to be a bargain later on.

That proves my point exactly, Gibbs is getting ready because he is betting that PR wont get the job done. If Gibbs was confident PR is the man he would not have needed to use his 1st pick in the draft on a contingency plan.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by irish

He did that to try to give PR some confidence and to deflect the media that loves to create a QB controversy. A good move on Gibbs part.

Why give confidence to a guy you have no faith in?

Seems kinda silly that Gibbs would put the entire season on the line just to give confidence to a QB he supposedly has no faith in.