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Originally Posted by SUNRA
What I have heard over and over again is how strong Ramsey's arm is. How many long passes over 45yds are thrown on an average in one game? 2,3 or 4? The reality is the long pass is a low percentage play. What I think is being over looked in Ramsey is his lack of leadership, instinctive knowledge about reading defensive blitzes and his immobility. Ramsey also stuggles at getting the plays off in time. I'm certain that with this poor offensive line Ramsey will not be successful at this point. If he understood what he was doing in practice, he would be starting right now.
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But here's the thing, SUNRA: we're lucky if Brunell gets away ONE deep pass per game. He refuses to throw the deep ball, because he knows what will happen-- exactly what happened Sunday night. Why? Because he doesn't have the arm strength or the confidence to put the ball where it needs to be on the deep pass.
Let me ask you this: how many times did Mark Rypien throw the deep pass in a game? Two? Three? Four times? And he put it right on the money most of the time, because he had the arm-- and the confidence-- to get it there. Because Ryp was able to complete two or three deep passes a game-- often for game-changing touchdowns-- defenses were forced to respect the deep routes, which opened up things not only for Byner and the running game, but also for Monk and the tight ends on the short and intermediate routes.
It's also important to note that arm strength is critical not only for the deep pass, but also for those short and intermediate routes, where timing is critical. If the pass is a split-second late, it can be the difference between an incompletion or a first down.
As for leadership, instinctive knowledge, reading blitzes and mobility, how much have those attributes-- which I assume you're attibuting to Brunell-- helped the Redskins offense with Brunell at the helm? How many times has Brunell wasted timeouts this year because he couldn't get the right play off in time? How many times has he refused to throw the ball because receivers weren't wide open? How many times has he thrown 5 yard passes when 10 yards were needed?
People refuse to believe that Gibbs has anything to do with the problems this offense is having, but I'll tell you this: Gibbs has stressed to Brunell the importance of protecting the football, so much so that Brunell has followed that directive to a fault. Gibbs defends Brunells' performance every game, saying that Brunell "is doing exactly what we've asked him to do." Well guess what? It's not working. This offense is not moving the football-- and it's not for a lack of weapons-- it's for a refusal to use them for their intended purpose. There's no aggression in this offense, it's as meek as a lamb, and just as surely as a lamb thrown into a den of lions, this offense is being devoured by opposing defenses.