"Bert said, 'I like the guys you're looking at, but I think there is someone else who might be better for you,' " Ramsey said. "So we interviewed Jimmy and he's been great for us. We have a great relationship."
For all of their time spent together, Jones and Ramsey have tossed the football around only once, this past summer back in Ruston. Jones's youngest son, Beau, is a freshman quarterback for Davidson College, and the three of them played catch and worked on fundamentals. Ramsey occasionally asked Tram -- whose grandfather, W.A. "Dub" Jones was a running back for the Cleveland Browns from 1948 to '55 after playing for LSU and Tulane -- about Bert, and he recalled vague memories of life in Baltimore and Los Angeles, where Jones played his final season.
The Sporting News named Jones college player of the year for 1972, and he entered the NFL in the most daunting way possible -- as a replacement for Unitas, an icon in Baltimore. Like Ramsey, Jones spent much of his rookie season as a backup and became the starter in his second season, 1974, only to later lose the job. Jones led the Colts to three straight AFC East titles from 1975 to '77, but the franchise suffered from poor ownership, the roster rapidly deteriorated and Jones began to take a beating each Sunday from the Memorial Stadium crowd and opposing teams. In 1981, Jones's final season in Baltimore, the Colts went 2-14.
In 1982 a spinal injury limited Jones to four games and ultimately ended his career, a subject Ramsey has not fully discussed with him.
"I know how much he gets talked to about football," Ramsey said, "and I know how much I get talked to about football, and we just never really talked about it too much. I always had other things I wanted to ask him about and I'm sure it's not one of his favorite things to talk about. He ended his career as one of the best pro quarterbacks, but I think it might be a little painful for him to talk about."
It was all the more painful for Jones to watch the Redskins last season, Ramsey's first as a starter. Pass protection was an afterthought in Coach Steve Spurrier's system and Ramsey was left alone to fend off linemen and linebackers. Gamely, he fought through the weekly barrage, taking 30 sacks in 11 games before finally having his season cut short due to a foot injury.
When Spurrier left the club and Joe Gibbs replaced him, Jones breathed easier. He knew Ramsey would be much more comfortable under Gibbs, who emphasizes pass protection.
"I wish he would have been sitting out last year," Jones said, "because that probably took a few years off his life in the NFL. But he has fully recovered and he'll do fine in there."
Ramsey enters tonight's game against Philadelphia coming off his best game as a professional, completing 19 of 22 passes for 174 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 31-7 thrashing of the New York Giants. He feels more comfortable than ever in the pocket, with tight ends and H-backs helping to protect him.
"Everyday I get more and more comfortable and more and more excited about the future of this offense," Ramsey said. "I like what we're doing and I just think that being in this system is suited for my skills. I truly want to win and to be able to play however my coach wants me to play; I want to mold my game to whatever my coach thinks makes the team best. However he wants me to play, that's what I want to do. I've been asked to be a 'gunslinger' in the past and now I'm being asked to not do so much of that and just take chances when it's there and be careful with the football, and I'm perfectly happy to do that."
That reality is sinking in, and Ramsey could end up being the long-term solution to the quarterback quandary that has plagued the Redskins for the last 10 years. But should he falter, or ever need advice, there is a former Pro Bowl quarterback in Louisiana just a phone call away who has lived through all of this before, and has the knees to prove it.
