Why Gibbs is Sticking with Brunell..my opinion that is.

[4TH RING]

I hate to come off so negetively, but I think our defense is selling out and IMO defenses like this could go a long way in the postseason. We just need consistancy on the part of the offense. I hope i'm wrong because if Brunnel could get it back and we could get in as a wild card, anything could happen.

[JWsleep]

Timing, chemistry, and consistency. THese are all things the skins have lacked on o over the last few years. Pulling the QB after 6 games isn't going to help with that. And, as has been pointed out, Gibbs always sticks with his QBs when the rest of the known univerese is ready to dump them (see Theisman, pre-leg injury, and Rypien at various times). So we're gonna see Brunnell for a while.

As for Ramsey, I really hope the kid is learning, so when he does get his shot, he kicks ass and ends this farce.

But, to repeat my mantra this year, Gibbs has won 3 superbowls with 3 QBs. So he knows just a bit about QBs and how to get the most out of them. I'll take his word, for now. But, man, if the passing game stays like this, it's gonna get ugly.

[LadyT]

For all of you who are willing to give Gibbs/Brunell a chance, here's my thoughts: Starting with the 5 preseason games and going through 6 regular season games, Brunell simply hasn't gotten the job done. That's 11 games, for God's sake, nearly 3/4 of a season.

How much more time should we give him before making a change? Should Gibbs wait until the season's a complete washout or should he try and do something, anything, to fire up this offense? Me, I vote strongly for the latter.

I love Gibbs just as much as anybody, but he's turning a blind eye to what is obvious to everyone else. I think some of it has to do with his traditional committment to his players. But, in all honesty, I also think a lot of it is due to the fact that he, personally, pursued and got Brunell, to the tune of millions of bucks. And, he just can't admit that it was a mistake.

I wouldn't feel so strongly about replacing Brunell, if I saw even the slightest glimmer of improvement from week to week. But, if anything, things look worse now than they did weeks ago.

Hey Joe - Wake up and smell the coffee before we having no season left to salvage!

[That Guy]

it'd be a lot easier if ramsey were a bit better... i don't think brunell can be much worse...

[LadyT]

We'll never know if Ramsey can be the answer, unless he's given a chance. If he's not, then we've got a major problem at the most important position on the team.

But, at this point, after 11 games pre and regular season, I think a change is long overdue.

If Ramsey can't hack it, try Hassellback or else admit the season is a wash and make a major effort to get a top-flight QB next year. But don't simply stick with someone who isn't producing out of some misplaced sense of loyalty.

Where is Gibbs' loyalty to us fans who have to sit and watch this terrible play from a veteran QB week after week? Where is his loyalty to the rest of the team, particularly the D, that plays its heart out only to see it all for naught because Brunell is performing so poorly?

[dragontat7169]

Everyone has made some valid points. I read that some of you posted that Brunell hasn't shown a "gllimmer of improvement" well, I beg to differ. I seem to remember a game where there were 7 turnovers and 4 of them he was involved in. Last week he got sacked and fumbled a ball that resulted in a TD. Yesterdays game, yes he threw an interception that resulted in a TD but I will go on record saying it was NOT his fault. It was due to a O line that broke down consistantly on pass protection. Even though they were 4 man rushes, he was still getting constantly pressured and the key was HE didn't make a mistake. So that is your improvement. IMO Brunell is playing extremely timid and without confidence but hopefully that will change after this weeks win. Unfortunately his stats have suffered because of his lack of confidence but he didn't make any "unforced errors" or mistakes throughout yesterdays game. Yes he missed a wide open Coles..but he isn't perfect and as they say..hitting a wide open receiver is sometimes the hardest. Also don't forget that at the end of the game, they still had 3 timeouts remaining. Hmm..that seems to have been a huge improvement over the last 3 games.

All in all, I have seen some improvement with Brunell. Either way he has 2 weeks in order to heal and get his confidence back before he suits up against Green Bay. If he hasn't shown significant improvement by the end of the Green Bay game then I say do what needs to be done..but changing QB's now when you have Philly in just 3 short weeks would be a drastic mistake. I know our defense is good..but Philly's O is awesome. We will definitely need to score more than 13 or 16 points against Philly to win.

Once again I have typed a long winded post..LOL..enjoy

Go Skins!!!

[skinsguy]

"Starting with the 5 preseason games and going through 6 regular season games, Brunell simply hasn't gotten the job done. That's 11 games, for God's sake, nearly 3/4 of a season."

Nah, you can't really count the preseason because Brunell didn't play five full games in the preseason. Brunell does need to become more consistant and I, too, am wondering if Brunell is hurting more than what he lets on. This COULD be reason, although we have to remember he threw a couple big passes in the Dallas game. Now, yesterday, certainly I saw some bad passes from MB, but he started out pretty decent with the short passes, or the 10 to 12 yard passes. Heck, if all he can complete are 10 yard passes, at least we get 10 yards and a fresh set of downs! I believe what will also free up the passing game is for Portis to continue to have the type of game he had yesterday. If Portis continues to be consistant, then its going to open up play action down the field and defenses are going to have to respect the run much more. Portis hadn't really contributed much since the first game up until yesterday...so this can also contribute to the performance in the passing game...since defenses didn't have to respect the run as much...freeing them up to go for Brunell. I also feel that a constant change at QB does nothing to improve matters. Once Ramsey does finally get into the game (and he will just be patient), by Gibbs sticking with MB, this will give Ramsey confidence in knowing he's not going to get yanked after one or two bad performances.

[That Guy]

Yesterdays game, yes he threw an interception that resulted in a TD but I will go on record saying it was NOT his fault. It was due to a O line that broke down consistantly on pass protection.

i watched the replay, he should have seen that guy... the guys hand was up BEFORE he tossed a ball right into his arm

skinsguy, the problem i see with the 10-12 yard passes is that they still allow Ds to stack the line (2 WRs go out, leaving 8-9 guys free)... if brunell could play like gannon and toss out 10 yard passes constantly and consistantly i wouldn't care... but a 35% completion percentage and an affinity for 4 yard passes is killing me (although this game he was at least throwing 10 yarders instead... that was nice, but most of them still missed )

[dragontat7169]

skinsguy...your post is exactly what I have said in several posts except for the part about being 11 games. But I am going to sum it up in this one is a quick manner...(I hope...LOL)

1. Portis's Preseason is finally over. He only played one series in all the preseason games except for the hall of fame game.

2. Now that the running game is working better, the offense should open up a bit.

3. Brunell has not played in 11 games. Don't forget Hasselback actually played more than Ramsey and Brunell in all the 5 Preseason games. Brunell is under a complete NEW Offensive System that is under a NEW coaching staff with a NEW RB and other New Players..anyone notice how many times I said NEW.

4. Brunell is playing without confidence because of his past performances and mistakes. Give him a chance to adapt to the NEW system. I know he has made poor throws. I think part of it is his timidness and the fact he is also playing somewhat hurt. I do remember him getting hurt in a game earlier this season and Ramsey had to come in and finish. (so that actually takes more than half a game away..making his total about 6.5 games this whole season under a new system. And that's including the Preseason.)

5. And remember this most importantly. I am NOT a Brunell fan..but I do think he has improved over the course of the season and CJG (Coach Joe Gibbs since I was hounded for saying JG earlier and I wasn't giving him the proper respect he deserves) must see something in Brunell, that we as fans don't see.

My faith lies with Coach Gibbs decisions and I know he is doing what is best for the team.

Also, thanks to everyone who has welcomed me to the boards and I look forward to discussing the Skins with each and every one of you.

GO SKINS!!!

[SkinsRock]

I am wondering if this hamstring injury is actually keeping him from being able to get his feet set properly when throwing. We all know how Ramsey was affected by the foot injury last year, so maybe Brunell's "lack of arm strength" is more from an inability to properly plant his feet and wing it. Which leg is it? I don't really know a lot about these things so it is just a guess, and I'd appreciate any input from anyone more knowledgeable in these areas.

[dragontat7169]

Skinsrock- I would say that a hamstring injury is definitely going to hurt a QB when throwing. Especially when it is the long ball. Which leg it is doesn't really matter, since both legs help the QB get into the position to be able to plant and then throw. However, the long ball will definitely be affected by his back leg and the front leg is going to affect his accuracy.

The back leg gives the drive needed to throw the ball long.

The front leg allows followthrough which is where your accuracy comes from.

[That Guy]

i think it was a hamstring... more than once... if you throw with your arm and not your body, you lose a lot of power (and consequently, speed) which affects accuracy too... brunell goes from somewhat average to horrible when throwing on the run/ not planted (most of the time)...

he may also be throwing out his arm trying to make up for his lack of lower body strength going into his throws... i don't know... it needs to be fixed or he needs to be yanked though.

[SmootSmack]

I think you could be right SkinsRock. But then what I want to know is how bad does he think Ramsey is if he's letting Brunell keep on playing instead of getting healthy. Or is Ramsey also hurt?

[redwagonskins]

Maybe the Skins don't want to draft a QB (not that many that are really impressive this year and I don't want to hear about the guy from Purdue). Maybe Joe wants to shoulder the pressure rather than heaping onto a young, already beaten QB. Maybe he's waiting for the offense to start clicking, the line to be solid both rushing and passing, receivers to get their reads down etc.. before putting Ramsey in there so he is totally set up for success. Maybe!! But I just hope we don't have a losing season or squander this defense to get there.

[LadyT]

Everyone keeps on saying, give Brunell more time, wait for him to get comfortable in this offense, patience, patience.

What if that never happens? What if what we're seeing is as good as it will get?

When do we finally reach the point that enough is enough?

Is it after 3 or 4 more losses and the season is a wash?

Or do we bite the bullet now and commit to letting Ramsey start the rest of the games?

I'm not advocating a constant QB shuffle. I'm suggesting Gibbs make a permanent change to turn things around, NOW, when there is still something left to salvage of this season.

And a final note, I was very disappointed to hear Gibbs point the finger at the O-line and at receivers not running proper routes. I heard absolutely zero blame placed on Brunell by Gibbs. Gibbs is either in denial or being very hard-headed here. What good does it do to finger other parts of the offense? Hasn't Gibbbs always been a coach who preaches that a team lives and dies together? Funny that his criticism doesn't extend to Brunell.