Seriously, Booing Ramsey Won't Help Him Develop

Mike Wise of the Washington Post picks up on the theme that I posted last week (on Carlos Beltran): Booing only hurts your team.

Booing Won't Make It Better, Hopefully Time Will

By Mike Wise
Saturday, August 20, 2005; E01

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

...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...

...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.

"One thing I observed after the picks," said David Patten, whom Ramsey hit with three passes for 109 yards, "he was still upbeat. He still took charge in the huddle. Bottom line, Patrick Ramsey is our starting quarterback. We believe in him. We trust in him. We hold him accountable."

You people, the same ones who booed Brunell less than a year ago, the same people who chanted "We want Ram-see!" until you finally got him, now you want Gibbs's proclaimed starter wearing a headset again? Either this is a Philly envy thing or you people are more fickle than Jude Law.