FINALLY a Patrick Ramsey article

Thanks, Dave Hutchinson.

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Ramsey's next knock might be opportunity

Sunday, May 14, 2006

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Patrick Ramsey remembers the conversation as if it happened five minutes ago.

It was a Monday morning.

Hours after a sprained neck forced him to the sidelines in a season-opening victory over the Bears.

The office of Redskins' coach Joe Gibbs.

Gibbs told the quarterback his reign as the starter was over after less than two quarters of football. Mark Brunell was his guy.

It was probably the quickest benching in the history of the NFL. For Ramsey, it was the lowest of the lows during a tumultuous four years in Washington.

"That was tough for me to handle," Ramsey told The Star Ledger this week in his first one-on-one interview since becoming a Jet. "He told me that was the gut feeling he had. He knew I felt it wasn't a fair chance.

"But that was the decision he made. I couldn't change it. It wasn't like I could argue or talk to him. ... I just had to wait my turn to get another opportunity."

That opportunity came in March, when the Jets obtained Ramsey for a sixth-round pick after a month of talks.

"I'm very excited," Ramsey said. "It has really been good for me to get a change of scenery and re-motivate myself."

It seems like the perfect opportunity for Ramsey, just 27. The Jets, with incumbent quarterback Chad Pennington having undergone two shoulders surgeries the past two seasons, need a quarterback.

Then again, Ramsey's short career in the NFL is filled with perfect opportunities.

A TOUGH BEGINNING
Draft day, 2002.

Talk about a perfect opportunity.

Ramsey, then a strong-armed prospect from Tulane that had zoomed up the charts during off-season workouts, fell to the Redskins with the last pick in the first round.

Or, should we say, fell to Steve Spurrier and the Redskins.

What more could a quarterback want?

Well, for starters, money.

Ramsey was involved in a nasty holdout that nearly resulted in him being sent to Chicago. When he finally signed, he found he was third in line behind two quarterbacks -- Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews -- that had played for Spurrier at Florida and understood his system.

They played and Ramsey sat.

"Patrick was young and we felt we had some guys who knew the offense and were more ready to play," said Noah Brindice, Ramsey's quarterback coach with the Redskins for two seasons who now serves as offensive coordinator at UNLV.

Then the Redskins learned the truth about Wuerffel and Matthews.

"They were backups," Brindice said, "and both got hurt."

Spurrier brought the radical, pass-happy offense he ran with smashing success at Florida to the NFL but it never took off. His offense often put five players in the pattern, required a seven-step drop and a progression of reads.

Problem was, with so many players in the pattern, there was little protection for the quarterback. Unlike Wuerffel and Matthews, Ramsey survived the punishment in his five starts as a rookie and 11 the following year. But he took an awful pounding -- 48 sacks in 21 games under Spurrier.

"We did send a lot of guys out there," Ramsey said. "He (Spurrier) did do a good job of getting guys open but at the same time, it was necessary to keep more guys in to protect."

Ramsey never flinched, however. He was determined to make Spurrier's offense click and won high praise for his courage.

He began his second season as the starter and led the Redskins to a much-ballyhooed season-opening victory over the Jets on national television. He also helped wide receiver Laveranues Coles earn a Pro Bowl berth, as Coles had 82 catches for 1,204 yards and six touchdowns.

The Redskins weren't as good. They finished 5-11 -- and then Spurrier headed back to the college ranks, taking over at South Carolina.

"You can't blame Patrick," Brindice said. "And you can certainly say we asked him to do too much. But he played admirably for us. He certainly wasn't the problem."

The solution was coming.

ACTING LIKE A PRO
Gibbs came out of retirement to coach the Redskins again.

The man who won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, the man who knows the NFL, was the new head coach.

Talk about a perfect opportunity.

What more could a quarterback want?

Well, for starters, to be the undisputed starter.

Gibbs' first move was to bring in Brunell. It was hardly a ringing endorsement for Ramsey.

"It wasn't personal," Ramsey said. "I can't blame a guy who has won Super Bowls with guys playing a certain way for not going away from it. But at the same time, it was just a difficult situation to be in."

Brunell, a former star with the Jaguars, looked every bit his then-34 years old during his first season and many felt he was finished. The Redskins finished 6-10 in 2004 and Gibbs reluctantly decided to go with Ramsey entering the 2005 season.

Right after that, the Redskins used a first-round pick on another quarterback, Jason Campbell of Auburn.

Ramsey didn't play particularly well in the preseason and Gibbs was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

Gibbs felt Ramsey was mistake-prone. He felt the quarterback didn't make good decisions and often tried to force the ball because of his strong arm. Some said Ramsey held the ball too long and took unnecessary hits.

"The best play a quarterback makes are the plays he doesn't try to make," Gibbs would often say.

Some say he was looking for a reason to bench Ramsey for Burnell and found it when Ramsey got hurt in the opener.

Then Brunell recaptured his touch. The veteran teamed with ex-Jets wide receiver Santana Moss to spark the offense and lead the Redskins to a playoff berth with a 10-6 record -- and a playoff victory in a wild-card round game against Tampa Bay.

Though it all, Ramsey never uttered a bitter word. He was the consummate team player and even became close friends with Brunell. The class with which he handled the situation impressed onlookers, including the Jets, who have lauded Ramsey's character.

"To be honest, it was very difficult," Ramsey said. "But I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Football is a team sport."

Bill Musgrave, his quarterbacks coach with the Redskins last season, lauded Ramsey for the way he handled the situation.

"When Patrick got injured, he was playing well," Musgrave said. "But Mark got in there and got hot. ... A lot of things in life aren't fair. You just have to be ready for your next opportunity."

The next opportunity is now.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE
The Jets have struggled to find a quarterback since, well, Joe Namath.

Pennington, their latest hope, struggled with arm strength before his two surgeries.

Talk about the perfect opportunity.

What more could a quarterback want?

For the first time in his pro career, nothing.

The Jets passed on the chance to take Matt Leinart with the fourth pick in this year's draft. Then, unlike the Broncos, didn't trade up for the chance to take Jay Cutler.

And, while Pennington must be considered at the top of the depth chart because of his time with the Jets, new coach Eric Mangini has declared it's an "open competition."

"I want to prove to everyone that I can do it and I want to enjoy the experience," said Ramsey, who has a career 55.7 completion percentage with 34 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in 34 games, 24 starts.

Ramsey has the size at 6-2, 225 pounds. Some believe he just needs someone to believe in him.

"Patrick has had a tough road," Musgrave, now the quarterbacks coach with Falcons, said. "He was with coach (Steve) Spurrier right out and got knocked around and physically beaten up.

"But I don't think it's a thing of him salvaging his career. He's still young. He's just getting started. ... He's big, durable and has a very strong arm. He knows defenses like the back of his hand. I think he just needs to be allowed to play, make mistakes and learn."

Brindice said Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is perfect for Ramsey. Schottenheimer's philosophy isn't yet clear but protecting the quarterback is important, as the Jets showed in drafting franchise left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson fourth overall.

"Patrick is going to play with a big chip on his shoulder," Brindice said. "He'd love to prove the coaches, the Redskins and everybody wrong. It seemed like no one believed in him. He's going to be driven."

 

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Ramsey helped bring relief after Katrina
Sunday, May 14, 2006
DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans and left the city in ruins, the Tulane University football team found itself homeless -- players and coaches alike.

But offensive coordinator Frank Scelfo and his family found a safe haven, thanks to Patrick Ramsey, a former star at the school.

Shortly after Katrina hit, the Tulane football team relocated to Jacksonville, Fla. Then, several days later, it had to move to Dallas. Finally, the team found a temporary home at Louisiana Tech after nearly two weeks of searching.

Ramsey was raised in Ruston, La., where Louisiana Tech is lo cated, and has a home there with his wife. Once he heard the Tulane football team was going to spend the season there, he called up Scelfo, his former quarterbacks coach, and offered his home to the man who recruited him to the school.

At the time, Ramsey and his wife were living in a Virginia suburb near Redskins Park, where the team trains.

"We had no clothes, no pots and pans, no place to live and we were going to a strange place," recalled Scelfo, whose home near New Or leans was damaged by flood waters. "To get a phone call from Patrick was unbelievable. We were making calls trying to find an apartment (near Ruston). Some people ended up living 20 and 30 miles from the school. Families were split up.

"For my wife, my son and myself to have a place to live was a life-altering experience, a breath of fresh air. For Patrick to step up like that .... he came down said, 'Here are the keys, the garage door opener, everything, and you don't have to pay me a cent.' I'll never forget that. What he did for us was remarkable."

Scelfo and his family stayed at the Ramsey home from mid-September until the Wednesday before Christmas.

"Obviously, I would've done it for a lot of people but Coach had been so good to me and helped me get where I've gone," Ramsey said. "That was the least I could do. It was a no-brainer."