Jansen Injury Could Benefit Ramsey
Gary Cope, SkinsGridiron.com, Aug. 10, 2004

Ashburn - The Washington Redskins quarterback controversy and competition may have settled itself Monday night when right offensive tackle Jon Jansen was lost for the season after rupturing his left Achilles tendon.

Jansen is a bookend right tackle. He's big, 6-6, 306 pounds, and he's solid. With him on the right side and Chris Samuels on the left side, it didn't matter which quarterback Gibbs put in, he could trust both would protect the blind sides.

A quarterback's blind side refers to side of the offensive line that he has his back to after taking the snap. Mark Brunell is a left-handed quarterback, so when he takes the snap, his back is to the right side of the line. That means the right tackle must be exceptionally strong and quick to make sure a defensive end, linebacker or blitzing safety or corner doesn't get the sack. Ramsey, on the other hand, is a right-handed quarterback, so Samuels, the left guard, must protect the blind side.

With Jansen gone for the year, protecting Brunell just got a lot more difficult. The Redskins have several option to replace Jansen on the right side, although none will likely foster as much confidence with Brunell or the coaching staff.

Derrick Dockery, a second-year guy out of Texas, could move from left guard to right tackle. He has the size (6-6, 345 pounds) and started half a season at the right tackle position during his senior year with the Longhorns. However, he's not the quickest offensive lineman and maybe if he didn't have to protect a blind side he'd be okay, but probably not ideal for Brunell.

Of course, if Dockery moves, that shakes up the rest of the line as well. Lennie Friedman, who is currently listed first on the depth chart at center, would take over for Dockery at left guard and that would mean Cory Raymer would take over for Friedman. Raymer, though, has had a tough time staying healthy.

The more likely move may give the starting job to Ramsey by default. If offensive line coach Joe Bugel plugs Kenyatta Jones in at right tackle, it would allow the other four O-lineman to stay at their natural position, thus giving the line some much-needed consistency. The only problem is: Jones didn't play at all last season because of a pectoral injury. In 2002 however, he started 11 games at right tackle for the New England Patriots.

The Redskins drafted two offensive lineman, Mark Wilson or Jim Molinaro, but it's very unlikely they'll be used much this season. They were drafted with the intent of learning from Bugel and developing them for down the road.

So, it would appear that Ramsey has taken the lead in the quarterback competition, which has been less than stellar. Tim Hasselbeck has looked very sharp in both practice and Monday night's preseason opener. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Gibbs benched both Ramsey and Brunell in favor of the underdog Hasselbeck. Talk about getting blindsided…think anyone would see that coming?