(05-18-2024, 11:55 AM)jaglou53 Wrote: [ -> ]Boselli
Taylor
Jimmy Smith
Wayne Weaver
Tom Coughlin
These 5 are no-brainers for the obvious reasons. I considered adding Mark Brunell, but he just falls short. Much of his success was due to having weapons like Taylor, Smith and McCardell plus a superior offensive line. Had he taken the Jaguars to at least one Super Bowl, I'd have included him. Still a great Jaguar and best quarterback in team history (hopefully not for long).
Mark was robbed of a Super Bowl in 1999. Went into the locker room at halftime with the Rams on his mind. Then the bottom fell out, starting with a defensive stop in the 3rd quarter on 3rd down which forced the Titans to punt it back to the Jaguars….which was muffed, it was all over after that.
Mark was also robbed of a Super Bowl in 1996, down 13-6 with the ball at the goal line and a chance to tie the game he threw a pick and then we had a chance to go back down and tie the game but James Stewart coughed up the rock and stuck a fork in the coffin and a nail through my heart.
Chris Berman is my all-time favorite announcer, and he said Brunell was playing like an MVP, and was one of the best QBs in the NFL, at a time when guys like Steve McNair, Peyton Manning, Steve Young, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Kordell Stewart, Rich Gannon, Brett Favre, Drew Bledsoe, Dan Marino, and John Elway among others were around.
Brunell was also robbed of a Pro Bowl in 1998. In 1997 he threw 18TDs to 7 ints, with a record of 9 and 5, while missing 2 games. In 1998 he threw for 20 TDs to 8 ints, with a record of 10-3 and a career high 4 game-winning-drives, while missing 3 games.
Probably should have been selected as an All-Pro in 1996 as he led all QBs in rushing yards and passing yards.
Possibly on the verge of a Pro Bowl season in 2000, but the 7-9 record didn’t cut the mustard.
Who remembers his legendary ‘return’ against the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997, after injuring his knee in a preseason game and was rumored to be lost for the entire season. He went 44 days from that injury until the the Steelers game. Brunell led the team down for a Touchdown on the first drive of the game. He finished the game with 306 yards passing, and finished the season even stronger with his 2nd Pro Bowl selection and a trip to the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year in franchise history. After starting the season with back to back games as an inactive, Mark was selected as the 1997 Pro Bowl MVP.
Brunell was a bonafide hooper, he was that dude.
I still hate the Vikings for what they did in that 2003 draft when they let the clock expire which led to the Jaguars drafting Byron Leftwich. Leftwich left Jacksonville after getting beat out by David Garrard in 2006, and Leftwich never won another game as a starter after that. Yep…he played another 5 seasons after he left Jacksonville and never won another game as the starting QB. Del-Rio should’ve kept Mark around until the end of the 2007 season, heck maybe even Jimmy hangs around another couple years to give Fred, Mark and Jimmy 1 last shot at the Super Bowl. But all good things come to an end, and sometimes sooner than anticipated. Jack messed up, and shouldn’t have been in that spot because Weaver should have kept Coughlin around until the end of that 2007 playoff run but at minimum the 2005 season. After all, Tom had his hand in drafting/acquiring guys like Henderson, Stroud, Mathis, Meester, Spicer, Fred, Brady, Naeole, Maurice Williams, and Jimmy Smith.
If Mark stuck around until the end of the 2007 season, he would’ve once again faced off with the New England Patriots in 2005 and again in 2007. This meant Brunell would have faced off with the Patriots in the playoffs in 1996, 1998, 2005, 2007.
Pretty cool to think about.
Brunell is #1 on my Mount Rushmore. I’ve been a fan since 1993. If you followed the team since the beginning, Mark was everything to this team and at one point he was the leading rusher, passer, most first downs, most touchdowns. He helped get us that 1st franchise win up in Houston. He was the face of our franchise in mid to late 90’s. All the First Union and Burger King commercials. He was exciting to watch when he would tuck it and run. He was compared to Steve Young.
Yeah, he’s #1 on my Rushmore.