As the gathering of reporters and cameramen parted, Mark Brunell emerged and offered one more line as he ducked into the locker room.
“It’s been nice talking to you guys this year,” Brunell said.
The veteran quarterback knows his time this season has passed, barring an injury tonew starter Jason Campbell.
And now Brunell reverts to the life of a backup. Before he exited, though, he said he disagreed with the decision to bench him.
“I feel like I have a big target on my chest, but I’m not saying I’ve been made the scapegoat,” he said. “We’re 3-6 and naturally the person who gets the blame is the quarterback. Whether it’s fair or not, that’s the way it is.”
Brunell even said he felt he had played well. At least one member of the coaching staff backed up that assessment, pointing out that he has the NFL’s 10th-best passer rating (86.5), partly owed to his having thrown only four interceptions. But his eight touchdowns were the second fewest among quarterbacks with at least 250 attempts.
“I can think of some plays I’d like to have back,” Brunell said, “but for the most part, I feel pretty well about how I played. Certainly it could have been better.”
Brunell did not lack the support of the players, who even privately expressed strong support of him. In some cases, they spoke about his on-field leadership; in other cases, they worried if Campbell was truly ready.
At 36, Brunell also knows his days as a full-time starter could be over.
“My future isn’t important right now,” Brunell said. “It doesn’t help our situation for me to be thinking or talking about what happens after this year.”
But Brunell has handled this situation well in the past, remaining upbeat when benched two years ago. He plans to be the same this time.
“Mark has been messing with me all day trying to calm me down,” Campbell said. “[Brunell and No. 3 quarterback Todd Collins] understand I’m at the beginning of my career and they’re toward the end of theirs. They want to do everything they can to get me started off right.”
Said Brunell, “Jason is going to do well. I’m going to be there for him. That’s part of the role change, notjust as a backup but as a guy who has a lot of respect for him.
“Football is a great game; it’s a horrible business. That’s just the way it is right now and I’m going to be ready if I have to go in.”
Week 11 Notes
» The Redskins placed Clinton Portis on injured reserve, thereby ending his most frustrating, and injury-filled, season.
Portis will undergo surgery on his left shoulder, which he originally hurt in the preseason, in a couple weeks. He had surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand Monday, an injury that director of sports medicine Bubba Tyer said would have sidelined him for three to four weeks. However, Portis said he wasn’t sure if he would be ready for a couple weeks after that point. Portis has a torn labrum in his shoulder and will need four to five months of rehabilitation after the surgery. “It’s been good enough to play,” Portis said of the shoulder, “but at same time, I think I protected the shoulder and tried to keep it from getting hit. I never really could jam or have any quick-twitch movements with it. I just knew my limits with it.”
The Redskins signed tight end Brian Kozlowski to fill Portis’ roster spot.
» Receiver Santana Moss (hamstring) and tight end Christian Fauria (ankle) both are questionable. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said Moss’ hamstring remains sore and should know his status better later in the week. Fauria is unlikely to play.
