Three and Out: Ramsey, Rock, and Ricky

A fast look at the Skins' QB, a fullback who wants to hang on and the third member of the Posse.

1. Ramsey—In case anyone hasn’t figured it out yet, Joe Gibbs doesn’t have much confidence in Ramsey as his team’s starting quarterback. First it was the veteran Brunell, now it’s the draftee Campbell. Once might be a fluke, twice is a trend. Your guess is as good as anyone’s as to why. Perhaps it’s his career passer rating that hovers in the low 70’s. Maybe his short passes aren’t as sharp as Gibbs thinks they need to be. Or is it that his willingness to take a hit in the pocket scares Gibbs to the point where the coach doesn’t think that the quarterback will survive. The thinking here is related to the last possibility. Gibbs has come to realize, perhaps as early as a few weeks after he returned to the job in 2004, that a quarterback has to be mobile to be successful. Brunell is mobile to an extent, Campbell is to a much greater one. Ramsey is a statue who can’t throw on the run. In Gibbs’ mind, that may be a fatal flaw.

2. Rock—He was a nice story with a great name when the fullback came out of Kansas State as a sixth-round draft pick. While Cartwright did get it done while toting the rock (small “r”) in short yardage situations in 2003, converting 11 third and ones in 14 attempts, he didn’t get the short-yardage back job under Gibbs last year. When the team drafts a fullback, Manuel White, with its third pick, it’s probably time for Rock to polish up the 2003 highlight films to try to land a job elsewhere in the NFL.

3. Ricky—There can be a lot of debate as to who is the best #2 receiver of all time is; there’s the 49ers’ John Taylor, Pittsburgh’s John Stallworth and the Redskins’ Bobby Mitchell (after Charley Taylor came aboard and moved to WR). However, there is a very short list of the best #3 receivers of all time and Ricky Sanders has to be one it. The MVP of Super Bowl XXII should have been a three-headed monster—Doug Williams, Timmy Smith, and Sanders. If he doesn’t beat press coverage by the Broncos on the first play of the second quarter and break free for an 80-yard touchdown catch to get the Skins on the board and ignite The Quarter, it’s quite possible the Joe Gibbs has only two Super Bowl rings.