Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

Pro Sports Wrap - Sports Personality of the Day:Sidney Crosby

I continue my recent string of Jaguars-themed Historical Player Profiles with their former star quarterback; Mark Brunell. The now-bankrupt backup Jets quarterback is probably shaking his head at the team's most recent loss. The lefty has lost most of his former glory, so I'm just going to focus on his notable seasons with the Jags and Washington Redskins.


Brunell is currently in his 17th season, and the three time Pro Bowler was a 5th round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks made a mistake in taking highly-regarded Notre Dame product Rick Mirer instead of waiting for Brunell to tumble. The Packers already had their answer in Brett Favre, and Brunell and the Jaguars struck gold when he was traded for a 3rd and fifth rounder.

The greatest quarterback in team history, Brunell would be named to the '96,'97, and '99 Pro Bowls. He was simply sensational in 1996, as he led the league in passing yards (4,367) and also led the NFL with 7.8 yards per attempt. This was made all the more impressive when you consider he was sacked a league-leading 50 times. It was the best season of his career, and he even had a league-leading three fourth quarter comebacks to show for it. Despite the 63.4 completion percentage, Brunell did throw 20 picks that year.


A season later, Mark Brunell still made the Pro Bowl- and was the game's MVP- on the strength of just seven interceptions. He also averaged 7.6 air yards per attempt and had a 91.2 QB Rating.

A devout Christian who is known as one of the nicest players and best mentors in the league, Mark Brunell threw for under 3,000 yards in 1998 but came back in 1999 with 3,060 yards and another Pro Bowl appearance (the last one of his career). Only two percent of his passes were picked off, and Brunell had another solid season.

Two interesting statistical streaks emerge when looking at Brunell's career, and these are his six straight seasons of at least 200 passing yards per game (1996-2001) and his streak of eight consecutive seasons with a QB Rating of at least 82.0 (1995-2002). Brunell has a career AV of 120, a QB Rating of 84.0, 6.9 yards per attempt, and 22 game-winning drives. Pro-Football Reference's Fan EloRater has him as the 374th best player in NFL history as of November 9th.

Known as a good scrambler, Mark Brunell was dealt to the Washington Redskins after the 2003 season when Byron Leftwich was named the Jaguars new starting quarterback.

However, Brunell got off to an awful start with his new team in 2004. In 2005, he turned up the heat to the tune of an 85.9 QB Rating and was third in the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award voting. He came up big with two key touchdown passes in an MNF game against the 'Skins most hated rivals; the Dallas Cowboys. His two bombs to the elite Santana Moss in the final four minutes gave them an incredible 14-13 victory. Although they were knocked out in the playoffs, they were able to take down the Tampa Bay Bucs in the Wild Card game.

Brunell set the record for the most consecutive complete passes in a game (22) in a game against the Houston Texans in 2006. However, eight weeks later, David Carr tied that record. What makes this all the more interesting is the fact that those 22 passes were his first attempts of the game.

That game was the only high point of a poor season for Brunell, as he was surprisingly benched in favor of first round pick Jason Campbell. Although Campbell would go on to have a decent career- up until his unfortunate injury this season- many people believed that this was an imprudent move and that the usually classless Redskins made Mark Brunell their scapegoat.

The Whataburger owner and Madoff/Dykstra investor signed on with the New Orleans Saints to back up superstar QB and franchise savior Drew Brees. This turned out to be a great move for the holder, as he won a Super Bowl ring thanks to the prolific play of Brees under center in 2009. The former Ed Block Courage Award winner and "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year did play a role as one of the main advisers to Drew Brees that season.

Mark Brunell signed a two-year deal with the New York Jets in 2010 to back up and mentor Mark Sanchez. Although a solid backup, Brunell was released after the 2010 season and was forced to take a reduced pay cut. He did, and Brunell has filed for bankruptcy since; mainly thanks to some ill-advised investments. It is a somewhat sad story, but at least he has that ring and those 11 Whataburgers won't be closing either.

Although Mark Brunell wasn't a great quarterback by any measure, he was a solid player and is a great person. Everybody will tell you that he is one of the best mentors around, and he is a very religious person whose attitude made him an ideal leader. The problem is that his life has been ridden with bad-luck, and it has costed him what would have certainly been a better career. However, Brunell was able to win a Super Bowl with the Saints and has had a nice 17-year career thus far.
108 AY/A-plus for his career



41
Vote
   


9/2011 QB Rankings

September 29th 2011 18:27
1. Aaron Rodgers- The NFL's version of The Machine
2. Tom Brady- Look past the four picks; he owned the Bills
3. Drew Brees- He rips up secondaries
4. Peyton Manning- MVP
5. Philip Rivers- Repeat after me: 4,700
6. Tony Romo- Kevlar baby
7. Ben Roethlisberger- Can't believe dude got married
8. Michael Vick- He ain't whining, the complaints are legit
9. Eli Manning- Peter Keating has it right; Eli is underrated
10. Matt Ryan- Matty Ice is melting
11. Matt Schaub- This guy
12. Joe Flacco- QBR has him as the best QB, why is this a bad stat again? Oh yeah, cause Brady's been better
13. Josh Freeman- The reason why the Bucs don't suck
14. Matthew Stafford- He's fo real
15. Jay Cutler- How many hits does he have to take? Memo to Bears' line: Get your hands out of your ass and get to work!
16. Kevin Kolb- Levi Brown is his worst enemy, but at least he has a BFF in Fitzgerald
17. Ryan Fitzpatrick- Who said the smart guys can't play ball?
18. Sam Bradford- If only he had receivers....
19. Cam Newton- Disappointing against the Jags
20. Colt McCoy- West Coast we mash up!
Have you seen his line?
23
Vote
   


2011 NFL Kick-off preview

September 7th 2011 16:40
As I sit here in my comfortable abode on an all too crappy netbook typing this post out while blaring Tool, my mind is busy contemplating the rigorous ahead of us (NFL fans). The parity in the NFL makes predicting a difficult task, but I do know one thing for sure; this is going to be one hell of a season. Don't believe me? Well, why don't you just take a look at the season's first game between the Packers and Saints? I don't need to tell you how great these two teams are, and just how great these two teams will be in February. Oh wait...this is the NFL, where crazy happens.

The Eagles, Falcons, Saints, and Packers are the NFC's undisputed Big Four heading into the season. They have very little questions surrounding their teams, and these are the guys who you put your sports' dignity on the line when you make your predictions. But with a full season looming ahead, injuries, poor execution, and the usual unexpected twists and turns that happen during 16 weeks of football will make the guessing game an even more difficult affair. For now, I'll just stick to one game and break down how I think things will end up between the Packers and Saints.

Last year, I did an opening day preview that also involved the Saints, but they were playing against a different marquee franchise; the Vikings. My preview was right on, but the Vikings' season was far from a planned occurance. They were one of the biggest disappointments in football, and they gave rise to the surprise Bears. I don't think either of these two teams will have an epic collapse, but the important thing is that this is definitely the game to be watching.

Everybody raves about the Saints offense, and that's definitely for good reason. Drew Brees is unquestionably one of the elite quarterbacks in the game right now, and he has seven legitimate receiving threats to help him out. Jon Stinchcomb was a huge liability at right tackle, and Zach Strief should be an upgrade over him. Strief is relatively unknown, and he is an underrated player who you should become familiar with soon.

As far as the other parts of the line, Jerome Bushrod is a poor left tackle who was one of the two reasons- Stinchcomb was the other- why Brees had more picks than he should have last season. The man was constantly on the run because of pressure from the outside, but the interior remained calm thanks to one of the top guard tandems in the National Football League. The veteran Olin Kreutz replaces Jonathan Goodwin at center, and there really won't be a noticeable upgrade or downgrade at the position.

Defensively, I don't think the Packers line is going to win their battle against the Saints O-Line. Clay Matthews should be able to get some pressure on Brees, but I think the Saints interior should be able to get the better of the Packers D-Line. There isn't a huge disparity between both lines, but I like the Saints just a little bit better.

While the Saints have a plethora of receiving weapons, the Packers have enough talent in their secondary to mitigate their opposition's passing attack. Great passing offenses always beat great secondaries, but I honestly don't expect this to be a game where Brees completely rips the Pack apart. What should worry Saints fans the most is if Matthews forces Brees to make bad throws downfield that can get sucked in by Nick Collins, Tramon Williams, or Charles Woodson. And heck, Sam Shields isn't a guy you want to mess with either.

People talk too much about Gregg Williams's complex blitz schemes, and they don't realize that the Saints just don't have much of a pass rush at all. Roman Harper and Cameron Jordan are their only two legit QB threats who are healthy, and Harper is a safety who won't blitz all the time. I pointed out his ability to force quarterbacks to make mistakes in last year's preview against the Vikings, and a Harper hit on Favre caused a key interception for the Saints. And really, that's all the Saints want when they blitz; they want to make the opposition give them a gift (so to speak).

However, Aaron Rodgers doesn't waiver under pressure. It's yet another reason why I believe that the-guy-who-needs-a-way-bette r-nickname-than-A-Rod is the best quarterback- nay- best player in the game today.

While I do think that the Saints secondary is a tad overrated, they're still pretty good at the back with guys like Jabari Greer and Malcolm Jenkins. However, I do think that Rodgers will rip these guys apart because there are way too many weapons to cover.

These are two great teams and picking a winner between the two of them is a daunting task, but it has to be done otherwise this whole post is pretty pointless. Aren't you glad I didn't say "moot"? Man I hate that word, and it also reminds me of Fred Smoot. If you actually know who that is, then I think you need to stop being like me and get a life.

Anyway, I see the Packers taking this game in a relatively close game. I still think the Packers are the best team in the NFL, and that has a lot to do with the fact that they have Aaron Rodgers leading this badass bunch. My final prediction is 30 Packers 21 Saints with Aaron Rodgers being the game MVP.

Other Week Predictions

Titans over Jaguars
Texans over Colts
Bengals over Browns
Chiefs over Bills
Steelers over Ravens
Falcons over Bears
Eagles over Rams
Lions over Bucs
Panthers over Cardinals
Seahawks over 49ers
Giants over Redskins
Chargers over Vikings
Cowboys over Jets
Patriots over Dolphins
Broncos over Raiders
Best player in football
38
Vote
   


8/2011 QB Rankings

August 24th 2011 14:50
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Peyton Manning
3. Tom Brady
4. Drew Brees
5. Philip Rivers
6. Tony Romo
7. Ben Roethlisberger
8. Matt Ryan
9. Michael Vick
10. Matt Schaub
11. Eli Manning
12. Joe Flacco
13. Josh Freeman
14. Jay Cutler
15. Matthew Stafford
16. Kyle Orton
17. Matt Cassel
18. Sam Bradford
19. Kevin Kolb
20. Colt McCoy
21. Mark Sanchez
22. Donovan McNabb
23. Ryan Fitzpatrick
24. David Garrard
25. Jason Campbell
26. Chad Henne
27. Alex Smith
28. Matt Hasselbeck
29. John Beck
30. Tavaris Jackson
*Rookies Not Included
Not Overrated
39
Vote
   


Joe Soriano's Blogs

153 Vote(s)
7 Comment(s)
4 Post(s)
26729 Vote(s)
81 Comment(s)
294 Post(s)
78 Vote(s)
0 Comment(s)
3 Post(s)
Moderated by Joe Soriano
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]