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.

---