Two BRIGHT spots from PIttsburgh game

[joecrisp]

Originally Posted by irish

That's why Gibbs does not trust him to be his QB. Forcing one in there that results in a drive killing and potentailly game ending play just wont cut it in Gibb's eyes.

I think Gibbs will probably chalk that one up to poor pass protection and Ramsey's learning curve. All quarterbacks-- even seasoned veterans-- make stupid mistakes like that, and it's usually when they're under pressure and trying to make a game-winning play.

Let's put this in perspective-- Ramsey was up against the #1 defense in the league, a defense that leads the league in sacks, and his team is down 16-7 with 4:48 remaining in the game. He's already been sacked 5 times, including once on this particular drive, and he should have been sacked several other times, but was able to elude the pass rush and get the ball away. His team needs two scores, and his defense is showing signs of wearing down under the Steelers rushing attack. His offense has never scored more than 18 points this season, and they need 17 to win this one. He needs to put points on the board NOW. That's pressure.

Did he make the right decision? No. Could he have taken the sack and put his team in yet another 2nd-and-long situation with time running off the clock? Yes, but either way, you're talking about a very bad situation, with very little evidence that the rest of the offense was up to the task. Gibbs won't put all the blame on Ramsey-- just as he didn't with Brunell-- and he shouldn't. Ramsey never would have been in that situation if the pass protection had been anywhere near adequate, if his receivers could catch passes that hit them in the hands, if the punt coverage team could stop Randle-El, or the team as a whole would stop committing stupid penalties.

Sound familiar? It should, because those are the things that have killed this team this year, even when Brunell was quarterback. Only difference is, with Ramsey at quarterback, the Redskins passing offense was actually able to outgain their opponents' passing attack-- even if it was only by a few yards. Without that third quarter scoring drive-- which is where the bulk of those passing yards came from-- the Redskins never would have been in the game to begin with.

So, I think, in Gibbs eyes, Ramsey broke even in this one. He threw a stupid pick, but he also put together a scoring drive against the league's top defense. It was the myriad other issues that have plagued this team all season that lost this game for the Redskins-- not Ramsey.