The Mark Brunell Era unofficially ended today when, two days after his contract was voided, Washington re-signed Todd Collins and installed him as the primary back up to Jason Campbell.
And so ends Brunell's four seasons with the Redskins. When Joe Gibbs came here, Brunell came here. When Gibbs left, Brunell left.
For untold millions (the number is near-impossible to figure out with all of the renegotiaions), Brunell produced a 16-19 record, 38 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Some of his (least) greatest hits:
Week 5, 2004: vs. Baltimore (L): 13 of 29 for 83 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and a 49.1 rating.
Week 6, 2004: at Chicago (W): 8 of 22 for 95 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and a 46.6 rating.
Week 9, 2004: at Detroit (W): 6 of 17 for 58 yards and a 45.7 rating.
Week 10, 2004: vs. Cincinnati (L): 1 of 8 for 6 yards, 1 INT and a 0.0 rating. This was the first time Brunell lost his job.
Week 8, 2005: at NY Giants (the 36-donut loss): 11 of 28 for 65 yards, 1 INT and a 32.4 rating.
Week 14, 2005: at Arizona (W): 18 of 28, 122 yards, 3 INT and a 34.2 rating.
Week 17, 2005: at Philadelphia (W): 9 of 25 for 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and a 52.3 rating.
First round playoff, 2005: at Tampa Bay (W): 7 of 15 for 41 yards, 1 INT and a 25.7 rating.
Week 1, 2006: vs. Minnesota (L): 17 of 28 for 163 yards and a 76.9 rating.
Week 2, 2006: at Dallas (L): 18 of 32 for 197 yards, 1 INT and a 61.6 rating.
Week 5, 2006: at NY Giants (L): 12 of 22 for 109 yards and a 68.2 rating.
Week 10, 2006: at Philadelphia (L): 16 of 31 for 132 yards, 1 INT and a 49.4 rating. He was benched the last day and did not throw another pass for the Redskins.
Comments (7)
My opinion is that the 2005 season in which Mark played at a Pro Bowl level, led us into the playoffs, and led the legendary Dallas comeback, was worth the cost of bringing him here.
I also must commend him on his handling of the ups and downs in his time with the Redskins. I was particularly impressed with his being able to put aside his ego, take less money, and be a third stringer last season. How many players/coaches in recent Redskins history have been willing to do that for the team?
Posted by Jason | February 29, 2008 7:26 PM
I am glad the Redskins kept Todd Collins. The reasons are straight forward that this is a good decision. 1) His ability to actually play is now proven. 2) Despite his time in the NFL as a backup, he came prepared each week. That is dedication. 3) Jason Campbell has stated that he likes Collins and has learned alot.
What will be interesting is whether Zorn will have time to work with Collins.
A very interesting tidbit is that Campbell played QB at Auburn, which ran the west coast type of offense his senior year. Maybe, that helps him transition this coming year.
Posted by saratogan | March 1, 2008 12:30 AM
I think Brunell played admirably during his time in D.C. Did'nt he set the league record for most consecutive passes completed against Houston last year? And that was w/ a bum shoulder that he had surgery on during last offseason. He may have not won any championships while he was here, but he was better than a lot of other stiffs that have been in D.C. since Gibbs first era ended and thats a pretty big list.
Posted by Todd | March 1, 2008 12:40 AM
Thank goodness that Collins re-signed and good ridance to Brunell. Overall, he was a complete bust for the Redskins. Everyone in the league, except the Skins brain trust, knew that his arm strength was gone and he had lost a step in scrambling ability before the Skins signed him. Good ridance and put the salary cap dollars to good use!
Posted by viera skinsaholic | March 1, 2008 8:50 AM
Ryan,
while you are clearly justified to make us remember the bad times of the Brunell era (I was at the Baltimore and Cincy games and at the time thought Mark's career had gone the way of the noodle-arm) he will always be remembered for the 14-13 game in Dallas and the great performance against the Jags in 2006.
While I liked Mark, just like Coach Gibbs, it's time for him to go b/c we're not going to get to the next level with him.
Thanks Mark,
good luck in your future.
Posted by Walking Deadman | March 1, 2008 9:38 AM
wow how quick we are to judge. brunell did what he could and setting the record for most consec completions was a great feat.u think its easy to compete in nfc .try it when your front four cant buy u time to throw the ball. to you mark i say thank you for all u have done and sorry for what u couldnt thank u for helping team get under cap . it took a big man and a small ego to do that.to me a true skins fan i say good bye mark but not good riddence u will be a redskin for life like all the great ones.to all u haters stop picking on brunell and focus on task at hand the super bowl go skins go treskins 28 ps rip taylor u are sooooo missed
Posted by treskins | March 3, 2008 9:10 PM
Brunell is underrated, and was a GREAT quarterback, people are quick to judge him easily forgetting the 2005 year where he played like a pro-bowler.... all i have to say is mark, ur better than a back-up Q.B. and u need to go somewhere that will allow u to start, cuz i know there are a lot of teams that would love to have u...
Posted by Tim | March 7, 2008 5:34 PM