Why Brunell is Struggling

[Schneed10]

Not that we need more Mark Brunell threads, but I wanted to post this as a piece of information that not a lot of us, if any, have picked up on. We've all noticed Brunell's suckiness but it's been tough to pinpoint the exact problems.

From today's Washington Post:

The coaches want to work more closely with Brunell, especially on his dropbacks on passing plays and his reading of defenses. While Brunell is a more accurate passer this year than a year ago, the coaching staff wants to emphasize to him that, in associate head coach Al Saunders's offense, decision-making must be immediate. Brunell's habit of dropping into the pocket, scanning the field and then patting the football has disrupted the timing of the offense, coaches say, and forced him to throw to a safety-valve receiver, most often a running back.

This is a good explanation for why Brunell is always checking down to underneath stuff. We know he's been checking down, but we didn't really know why. He doesn't have the timing part down yet, and he's missing his window of opportunity to throw to the WRs. He should have it down by now, IMO.

Good reporting by the Post.

Redskins Assess the Damage - washingtonpost.com