A Mark Of Excellence Former UW Standout Mark Brunell Is Turning Jaguars Into Winners

Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin chuckles when people liken his quarterback to Steve Young.

“We’ve got a ways to go before we can make that comparison,” Coughlin said Wednesday.

But it’s hard to ignore the similarities between Mark Brunell and the league’s MVP last season. Like Young, Brunell, is a left-handed passer. Like Young, Brunell wears No. 8. Like Young, Brunell can do spectacular things when he runs the ball.

“It just kind of happened that way,” Brunell said. “I don’t try to model my game after him or try to be like him. But it’s a great compliment.”

No one is suggesting the expansion Jaguars have found in Brunell the reincarnation of Young. Brunell, a backup the last two seasons at Green Bay, is only the 26th-rated passer in the NFL, having completed 51.6 percent for 636 yards - numbers that pale in comparison to Young’s 67.4 percent completion rate and 1,425 yards.

Brunell, however, has shown a Young-like knack for winning games. He came off the bench two weeks ago to guide the Jaguars past Houston 17-16 for the first victory in franchise history. That earned him the starting job over eight-year veteran Steve Beuerlein and he responded last Sunday with a strong performance in a shocking 20-16 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I feel good about how things are going right now,” Brunell said, “but obviously, there’s still plenty of work that needs to be done. I need to improve my game.”

One thing Coughlin would like to rein in is Brunell’s tendency to take off running instead of sitting in the pocket. He took a couple of brutal hits against the Steelers, including a head-on collision with Greg Lloyd that Brunell jokingly said took two inches off his height.

Brunell, who has rushed for a team-high 197 yards on 27 carries, said he realized at the University of Washington that he had a knack for carrying the ball.

“In college, I got faster and just started running,” he said. “When there was an opening, I took off. We ran a lot of options and stuff.”

Even though he is technically a third-year player, Brunell is actually a rookie in terms of playing experience. He played only two games in two years at Green Bay before he was sent packing to Jacksonville in April for a couple of draft picks.