Brunell Keeping Jaguars In The Running Ex-UW Qb Triggers Jacksonville’s Strong Start

After the two can’t-miss franchise-saving prospects - Washington State’s Drew Bledsoe and Notre Dame’s Rick Mirer - most experts saw no quarterbacks of significance in the 1993 draft.

In fact, the next two quarterbacks taken shared playing time at the University of Washington.

Billy Joe Hobert went to the Raiders in the third round.

And way down in the fifth round, with the 118th pick, Green Bay took UW’s Mark Brunell, a slightly unorthodox lefty with a penchant for fleeing the pocket.

Today, New England’s Bledsoe and the Seahawks’ Mirer are near the bottom of the AFC’s quarterback rankings, with identical 62.4 ratings.

And Hobert is an unused third-stringer.

But Brunell, now with the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, boasts a rating of 75.8, with 10 touchdowns (one less than Mirer and Bledsoe combined) and just five interceptions.

On top of that, he’s the team’s leading rusher (323 yards).

“What he’s given us is leadership,” said Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin, who will rely on Brunell’s skills today in a 10 a.m. (PST) contest against the Seahawks.

“He’s a very courageous guy and an excellent competitor who has really given us a shot in the arm. Sometimes, when a play isn’t there, he makes something happen and that gives defenses a lot of trouble trying to control that.”

Actually, Brunell’s eagerness to take off on foot has been something Coughlin has tried to control, too.

“We want the plays he makes to be the result of design,” Coughlin said. “And his (increased) confidence in his ability to stay in the pocket has enhanced our offensive abilities.

“It really does give us another option, but if all phases of the offense are firing at the same time, he shouldn’t have to rely on that option,” Coughlin said.

Brunell, who has rushed for 111 yards in the past two games, said that it has all been a product of scrambling under pressure. “There are no plays designed for the quarterback to run,” he said.

Those improvised jaunts, though, have come at critical times.

“He’s won games for them with his running,” Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson said. “In that Chicago game, on third-and-12 and third-and-14, he ran out of the pocket for first downs that kept drives alive.”

And his reluctance to make the conservative slide at the end of the run has given the entire team a boost.

“With Mark, there’s a physical toughness that the entire team seems to rally around,” Coughlin said.

“What we need on offense is leadership, and Mark’s given us that with his actions,” Jaguars defensive end Jeff Lageman said. “Early on when he left the pocket, it was probably more of a detriment to us. Now, he uses it as a last resort and makes our offense that much better.”

Brunell, now 25, started as a sophomore at UW and was MVP of the 1991 Rose Bowl, but a torn knee ligament the next spring opened the door for Hobert, who was the offensive MVP of the next Rose Bowl.

In two years as backup to Brett Favre at Green Bay, Brunell threw a total of 27 passes.

“I didn’t want to be a backup another year,” said Brunell, whom the Jaguars landed by trading a third- and fifth-round draft pick.

And after two weeks of the season, Brunell beat out Steve Beuerlein for the start.

He’s been hard to contain ever since.

“They haven’t told me not to run,” Brunell said. “They just want me to be smart and be careful. I just know that if it’s third down and nothing’s open, I’m going to try to get the first down any way I can.”

As far as Erickson is concerned, the fact that Brunell is playing on par with many of the other quarterbacks in the league has helped the expansion team get its three victories.

It’s no secret, however, that free agency helped expansion teams to succeed quickly.

“If anybody thinks that you can go down there and get an automatic win because this is an expansion team, then they’re crazy,” Hawks offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said. “These guys have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.”

Early in training camp, one of the easy stories was that Coughlin, hired from Boston College, shackled the Jags with too many senseless “Joe College” rules.

But as the team defeated Houston, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, few have questioned Coughlin and his system.

“He’s a very driven coach,” Brunell said. “He demands a lot of his players - very similar to (UW coach Don) James - he runs a tight ship. But it’s nothing that is unfair or we can’t handle. It’s different than most teams in the NFL, but it’s working for us.”

The Jaguars have to keep their helmets on during practice, coaches can’t wear sunglasses during practice, players can’t have tape on the outside of their shoes, and players can’t wear hats during meetings.

No one would argue that these rules help teams win games. But as far as Coughlin is concerned, they establish a pattern of discipline.

“People are not going to know what is expected of them unless they are told,” Coughlin said. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HAWKS VS. JAGUARS The game: 10 a.m. (Pacific) Jacksonville Memorial Stadium. Coaches: Seattle - Dennis Erickson, 3-6, first season. Jacksonville - Tom Coughlin, 3-6, first season. The records: Seattle 3-6. Jacksonville 3-6. The series: First game. Last week: Jacksonville had a bye. The Seahawks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 30-28 win over the New York Giants in the Kingdome. The line: Even. On the air Television: NBC with Don Criqui and Beasley Reece. Radio: KXLY (920 AM) with Steve Thomas and Steve Raible.