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Backup ballyhoo for Brunell

By Skin Patrol

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I know this won't go down with some reader(s), especially pookskins as he is (perhaps justifiably) exasperated with Mark Brunell, but Clark Judge ranks him among one of the better backups in the league. He only lists 5 guys, in this order:

  1. David Carr
  2. Brian Griese
  3. David Garrard
  4. Chris Simms
  5. Charlie Batch
But had he listed 6, it would've been Mark Brunell, who has to settle for Honorable Mention Honors instead:
Honorable mention
Mark Brunell, Washington

Yeah, he's near the end of the line. But he's not there yet. Which means he can still win ball games. Sure, he doesn't throw the ball down the field, and he can't move as he once did. But Brunell is smart, tough and accurate, and all three qualities were there when he led Washington to a 36-30 overtime upset of Jacksonville last season. But he also turns 37 and is worn down by years of getting hammered in and out of the pocket. He doesn't make many mistakes, but he doesn't make a lot of big plays, either. In only one game last season did he run for more than seven yards, and in only two did he throw more than one scoring pass. Nevertheless, he provides enough leadership and sound play to qualify here. If Washington loses Jason Campbell for a series of games, I'd have no reservations about having to win with Brunell.

I have more reservations than Clark, but a lot less than I would sans a veteran quarterback who knows the offense and has won games recently with this team. His days are quickly coming to a close, but if I lose JC for a few weeks to a Mustache related injury, Mark Brunell works nicely. That probably means curtains for Todd Collins, who may or may not have much to say on the subject.

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