Washington Redskins

I was skeptical of this signing when Joe Gibbs first came back. I was a fan of Patrick Ramsey's and thought that signing Brunell was completely unnecessary. However, everyone knows that Brunell as the Redskins starter is the right decision. Ramsey has not looked comfortable in Gibbs' offense and anyone watching could clearly see his missed throws against the Rams. About the only good pass he had was the rollout to Rod Gardner, which I believe was his first throw of the night. By the way, that rollout looked fantastic. I really missed rollouts during the Steve Spurrier era.

Ramsey has a cannon of an arm, is tough and smart. If Brunell lasts the whole year healthy and the Redskins are successful, it begs the question, "What should they do next season?" That's when Ramsey will be entering his fourth year, usually a player's contract year, after which they become eligible to exercise options for UFA. Playing that dilemma out assumes many things - 1) Brunell will play well, 2) the Redskins will succeed, and most importantly, 3) Brunell will stay healthy the entire season.

For the time being, it would be nice to see those assumptions play out one game at a time. Let's settle for Brunell playing well for his first regular season game, the Redskins succeeding for one game (the season opener against the Tampa Bay Bucs), and Brunell remaining unscathed throughout that game.