Brunell never had more than 20 TDs in a season with the Jaguars, and that was with Keenan and Jimmy in their prime. He was not elite then, and I doubt he'd be elite now. I'm not sure what the need is to try to make him elite. He was the best QB this franchise has ever had. That's what really matters. Like I said before, he was a very good QB in his prime when he was here. He wasn't elite. There were better QBs in the game at the time. He was in that 2nd tier of good QBs.
Top ten probably. Not "elite." A young Brunell in today's game would do well in the right system, though. For sure.
He was so fun to watch.
![[Image: Brunell-Flying-Leap.jpg]](http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000yw28HOgS3ac/s/650/520/Brunell-Flying-Leap.jpg)
Quote:Brunell never had more than 20 TDs in a season with the Jaguars, and that was with Keenan and Jimmy in their prime. He was not elite then, and I doubt he'd be elite now. I'm not sure what the need is to try to make him elite. He was the best QB this franchise has ever had. That's what really matters. Like I said before, he was a very good QB in his prime when he was here. He wasn't elite. There were better QBs in the game at the time. He was in that 2nd tier of good QBs.
I agree, if Brunell were one of the leaders of the league statistically year in and year out during his days here then it's likely he still would be today, but he was really rather mediocre as far as stats go, even with the mass of talent surrounding him.
If he played today I expect he'd once again be the franchise record holder over Garrard for TDs and completion percentage and such, but by no means would be be an exceptional player. He'd just be throwing 20-25 TDs a season instead of the 15-20 he normally threw during his heyday.
Quote:I agree, if Brunell were one of the leaders of the league statistically year in and year out during his days here then it's likely he still would be today, but he was really rather mediocre as far as stats go, even with the mass of talent surrounding him.
If he played today I expect he'd once again be the franchise record holder over Garrard for TDs and completion percentage and such, but by no means would be be an exceptional player. He'd just be throwing 20-25 TDs a season instead of the 15-20 he normally threw during his heyday.
That means Jimmy Smith would have went off the charts in numbers.
In todays game Jimmy wouod have put up Dez Bryant type numbers.
I think Brunell would have put up 30 Tds on a regular
With one of the greatest backs of all time, I think that messed with Mark's numbers atleast to some degree.
The 20 TD's as a career high really stand out for Brunell.
In the mid-late 90's, a lot of QB's had multiple seasons of more than 20 TD's.
Guys like Jeff George, Jeff Blake and Vinny Testaverde.
Looking back over
his numbers, I thought they would look better. He really was barely a top-ten QB.
But they didnt have a RB like Taylor.
Taylor was the center of our offense. Thats back when every team ran to set up the pass.
Quote:Top ten probably. Not "elite." A young Brunell in today's game would do well in the right system, though. For sure.
He was so fun to watch.
Those were AWESOME jerseys :thumbsup:
Jimmy never scored doible digit TDs, but in todays game I think Smith would have scored 15 TDs per season.
But again....Taylor was the focal point of our offense during those days.
Quote:Jimmy never scored doible digit TDs, but in todays game I think Smith would have scored 15 TDs per season.
But again....Taylor was the focal point of our offense during those days.
Not really. He wasn't on the team in 96-97 and missed half of the 99 season.
That "today's game" argument is so blown out of proportion. You play to your team's strengths. Not every team has a QB or offense that fills the air with footballs.
4300 passing yards back in the 90s was beast.
I think if he had more passing TDs he would be elite.
I remember talking heads said he adds another demension bc he keeps plays alive with his legs
Pre injury Brunell was elite. His ability to use his legs to extend plays and his fantastic accuracy throwing on the run is what got him the 4,000 yards. Post injury I would call him good but not elite.
I believe the fact that he didn't throw a lot of TDs had more to do with Coughlin's style of playcalling and scoring philosophy at the time than Brunell. Coughlin was a run to score type of coach. You have to remember Coughlin got a fairly average RB in James Stewart tied for the most rushing TDs in a game. He also relied heavily on the running of Stacey Mack in later years to score.
Quote:Pre injury Brunell was elite. His ability to use his legs to extend plays and his fantastic accuracy throwing on the run is what got him the 4,000 yards. Post injury I would call him good but not elite.
I believe the fact that he didn't throw a lot of TDs had more to do with Coughlin's style of playcalling and scoring philosophy at the time than Brunell. Coughlin was a run to score type of coach. You have to remember Coughlin got a fairly average RB in James Stewart tied for the most rushing TDs in a game. He also relied heavily on the running of Stacey Mack in later years to score.
Pass/Run %:
1996 - 57/43
1997 - 55/45
1998 - 49/51
1999 - 55/45
2000 - 55/45
During his heyday, the Jaguars skewed heavily toward the passing game, and even with 2,299 passing attempts, and almost 17,000 yards passing during that period with two of the best receivers in the game, he still only managed to average a little over 18 TDs per season, and only hit 20 twice during that stretch.
Sure, some of that was the result of the sphincter tightening on Coughlin's play calling when he got into the red zone, but seriously, when you're putting the ball in the air as often as this team was during that period, you should expect more passing TDs.
Even before the knee injury, Brunell wasn't what I would categorize as being an elite QB. He was a young QB trying to extend plays on a team that really struggled to mount a viable rushing attack. He was throwing the ball all over the place in that 1996 season because there was no alternative. The Jaguars really didn't establish an effective rushing attack until late in the season with Natron Means.
Like I've said before, Brunell was a very good QB, and obviously to date the best QB this franchise has ever had. Was he ever elite? Not in my eyes. There were truly elite QBs during his prime years like Favre, Elway, Young, Marino, and Bledsoe, I'm a Jags fan, and I would love nothing more than to label Brunell in the same category as these other guys. He was never quite on that level. Close, but not quite.
Quote:Pass/Run %:
1996 - 57/43
1997 - 55/45
1998 - 49/51
1999 - 55/45
2000 - 55/45
During his heyday, the Jaguars skewed heavily toward the passing game, and even with 2,299 passing attempts, and almost 17,000 yards passing during that period with two of the best receivers in the game, he still only managed to average a little over 18 TDs per season, and only hit 20 twice during that stretch.
Sure, some of that was the result of the sphincter tightening on Coughlin's play calling when he got into the red zone, but seriously, when you're putting the ball in the air as often as this team was during that period, you should expect more passing TDs.
Even before the knee injury, Brunell wasn't what I would categorize as being an elite QB. He was a young QB trying to extend plays on a team that really struggled to mount a viable rushing attack. He was throwing the ball all over the place in that 1996 season because there was no alternative. The Jaguars really didn't establish an effective rushing attack until late in the season with Natron Means.
Like I've said before, Brunell was a very good QB, and obviously to date the best QB this franchise has ever had. Was he ever elite? Not in my eyes. There were truly elite QBs during his prime years like Favre, Elway, Young, Marino, and Bledsoe, I'm a Jags fan, and I would love nothing more than to label Brunell in the same category as these other guys. He was never quite on that level. Close, but not quite.
The bold part can not be denied.
It was kind of sad after his injury when if nothing was open, he couldn't scramble the way that he used to so it would be a sprint to the nearest sideline for him. That was especially true during his "later years" in the NFL.
Brunell was a good QB, but never "elite".
Quote:Pass/Run %:
1996 - 57/43
1997 - 55/45
1998 - 49/51
1999 - 55/45
2000 - 55/45
During his heyday, the Jaguars skewed heavily toward the passing game, and even with 2,299 passing attempts, and almost 17,000 yards passing during that period with two of the best receivers in the game, he still only managed to average a little over 18 TDs per season, and only hit 20 twice during that stretch.
Sure, some of that was the result of the sphincter tightening on Coughlin's play calling when he got into the red zone, but seriously, when you're putting the ball in the air as often as this team was during that period, you should expect more passing TDs.
Even before the knee injury, Brunell wasn't what I would categorize as being an elite QB. He was a young QB trying to extend plays on a team that really struggled to mount a viable rushing attack. He was throwing the ball all over the place in that 1996 season because there was no alternative. The Jaguars really didn't establish an effective rushing attack until late in the season with Natron Means.
Like I've said before, Brunell was a very good QB, and obviously to date the best QB this franchise has ever had. Was he ever elite? Not in my eyes. There were truly elite QBs during his prime years like Favre, Elway, Young, Marino, and Bledsoe, I'm a Jags fan, and I would love nothing more than to label Brunell in the same category as these other guys. He was never quite on that level. Close, but not quite.
Could you post the last few years of what the Jags ratio has been?
Good stuff
Brunell was a solid quarterback during his prime years with the Jaguars. However, he had a great surrounding cast to work with. I don't believe he would have won more than 6 games with the team they had the last couple of years. There are very few elite quarterbacks who could take a below average roster and turn them into a playoff contender. Of the current quarterbacks in the NFL, only Brady, Manning, Brees and Rodgers would fall into that category. On the other hand, there are probably 15 current quarterbacks who could have taken the 1999 Jags to the playoffs. That being said, Brunell was by far the best q.b. in Jags history, an excellent leader of the offense and very charitable to our community.
Quote:He had Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell and Pete Mitchell to go with Fred Taylor.
I think he could have put up Drew Brees type numbers in todays game.
I think he went for 4k yards in his second full season.
Just seeing what you guys think on this topic.
It's a team sport people seem to forget that, and when he went to Washington with a Hall of Fame Coach (Joe Gibbs) he wasn't as successful as when he was in Jacksonville.
On a few occasions a player / coach gets a chance to prove he is great despite talent or lack of talent surrounding him such as Peyton Manning going to Denver, or Bret Favre to Minnesota, or Joe Montana to the Chiefs, or T.O. from 49ers to Eagles to Dallas, etc
A great HOF player to elite multi-pro bowl player will be good on even the worse team but might not be as noticed, however a HOF player on a great team becomes a legend.
Certain HOF players (or future HOFers) like JJ Watt for example are great at even different positions, so different teams would make him shine even more (image JJ Watt in Seattle for example)?
I think Mark Brunell was the best Jaguars QB to date but he still wasnt HOF quality. We all hope Bortles will surpass Mark's talent in the future but he had a very rough start last season.