Booing Won't Make It Better, Hopefully Time Will

Offensive coach Joe Bugel, left, and Coach Joe Gibbs discuss ways to get the Redskins on track despite the team's 392 yards of offense. (By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)

Patrick Ramsey embarked on another wild ride, another engaging yet flawed performance that has to make Joe Gibbs think.

Balls Ramsey threw that could have been tucked away. Balls he didn't throw that he wished he had. The softly thrown touchdown tucked in by James Thrash between two defenders. Two inexplicable interceptions in the red zone. Long bombs to new wideouts, short wobblers to the other team.

Nothing Six Flags could erect was as adventurous as Gibbs's starting quarterback last night.

To boot, Mark Brunell got two quarters of action, raising speculation that the coach may be evaluating the position more than he has let on. After all, he has a right to do so.

But you people, the ones who have an abundance of patience and tolerance for the homespun coach but none for his players, what's with you?

You create handmade placards that read, "In Gibbs We Trust," but siphon that trust away from the player who needs it most.

You whoop and holler for a defense already considered among the NFC's best. But you jeer a revamped offense that still has nearly a month to find its bearings.

Marcus Washington, good. Patrick Ramsey, evil.

You know who you are, the pathetic lot booing Ramsey in a 24-17 preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, cheering him, booing him some more, shuffling out of FedEx Field thinking the job may now be Brunell's to lose.

You people. It wouldn't be so bad if the jeering did not begin on the team's second possession of its second preseason game. But that's where we are with this franchise.

No one is worried about Gregg Williams's defense giving up 52 points in two weeks, that an exposed rookie cornerback like Carlos Rogers has a long way to go to replace Fred Smoot. It's all about the offense.

Co-workers and season ticket holders gave Ramsey no credit for learning the subtleties of a slightly tweaked system, learning the nuances of an overhauled receiving corps. He hit five receivers, including two not on the team a year ago, for 190 yards on nine completions. Ramsey looked less robotic and more freewheeling, more natural and less skittish when the pocket broke down.