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Ramsey had maintained all along he would be in the lineup for Sunday's game against the New York Giants but may have eased some concerns yesterday about how effective he will be with the injury to his non-throwing shoulder.
"I was able to participate fully," Ramsey said. "I was able to hand off with my left hand, which I didn't expect that I was going to be able to do. It feels fine, it really does. . . . It certainly didn't limit me. I ran every rep with our offense. ... I threw the ball better than I expected. I threw the ball as well as I did against Atlanta."
Said head coach Steve Spurrier: "He was close to full speed. He should be fine."
Ramsey had sat out the full team drills during Wednesday's practice while backup quarterback Rob Johnson ran the offense.
"It definitely improved," said Ramsey. "Maybe from Tuesday to Wednesday, it didn't improve as much as it did the previous two days. But from [Wednesday] to [yesterday], it improved quite a bit."
Also on the injury front. ...
Tight end Zeron Flemister remained sidelined by a strained Achilles' tendon and likely will miss a second straight game, with Robert Royal penciled in to start and rookie Kevin Ware likely to be promoted from the practice squad.
Trung Canidate (ankle), Ladell Betts (hip) and Laveranues Coles (neck) all returned to practice Wednesday and all three -- listed as probable on this week's injury report -- are on track to start and play as usual Sunday.
Taylor Jacobs (pancreas) has been ruled out for a third straight week.
Other notes of interest. ...
In an article published Monday, Pro Football Weekly, citing team sources, reported that even though Canidate remains the starter at this point, Betts could move ahead of him on any given Sunday.
Apparently, coaches don't want to give up on the big-play ability of Canidate, who has the potential to take one all the way on any given carry. But they realize that he has too slim a build and does not run well enough inside to handle the ball 25 times a game. Betts does, but he lacks home-run threat, even though he has more speed than most people realize.
Chad Morton, the third-down back, also will get his share of touches, but he is not going to take many carries away from Betts or Canidate. Fullback Rock Cartwright will continue to work as the team's goal line specialist. ...
Also according to PFW, sources close to the Redskins say it’s a mystery why second-year receiver Cliff Russell has disappointed, but he clearly has lost the confidence of the coaching staff. Russell hasn’t been the same since suffering through a disastrous final preseason game.
And finally. ...
The Falcons’ defense reportedly got some help from Doug Johnson, who informed his teammates about the audible system used by Spurrier, Johnson’s college coach at Florida.
If Ramsey called an audible and made hand signals, it meant that a pass was coming. If Ramsey called an audible without using his hands, it signaled a run. Spurrier stuck with the system, giving the Falcons’ "D" a bit -- but obviously not enough -- of an advantage last Sunday.