Coach Joe Gibbs used the Washington Redskins' spring workouts to drill his new offence into his players. Nonetheless, at one session, Mark Brunell looked at tight end Walter Rasby in the huddle and decided to make up a play.
"Ras, what do you think?" Brunell said. "You want to go right? You want to go left? You let me know. I'll let you be quarterback."
It was good for a laugh, and, more importantly, it helped the camaraderie the quarterback is trying to build with new teammates in a new city. Brunell, with his telegenic looks and impeccable lifestyle, might seem too good to be true, but the new faces around him say he's just plain good.
"Good guy, family guy, out in the community," Rasby said. "It's not that when you're around Mark you feel compelled to be some squeaky-clean person that you're not. You can be yourself. He jokes. He laughs.
"That's what you want out of a leader. Mark does a great job of keeping guys loose. We might not complete a pass for five plays, Mark is still loose. He doesn't feel pressured."
Receiver Rod Gardner smiled as he described Brunell as "laid-back and calm."
"You can tell he's a veteran quarterback," Gardner said. "Not too much excites him."
The 33-year-old Brunell began this weekend's training camp as the presumptive opening day starter, having signed a seven-year, $43 million-US contract with the Redskins seven months ago. That he is loose and relaxed indicates a full recovery from a year ago, when he stewed through a sour final season in Jacksonville.
For nine years, Brunell was Mr. Jaguar, the public face and starting quarterback from the franchise's opening day in 1995. He nearly led Jacksonville to a Super Bowl berth in 1996, its second season as a franchise. He started 117 games, went to three Pro Bowls and was twice named the team's Man of the Year for community service. He had four children. Everyone assumed he'd be there forever.
"My plans were to finish there," Brunell said. "And that was what I had hoped and what I had thought would take place. But it's a different business than it used to be."
But last year, he was knocked off his perch by a rookie, Byron Leftwich, and a new coach, Jack Del Rio, who demoted Brunell to third string. An early-season elbow injury set the process in motion, but it was clear the end was near even after it healed.
It made for a long goodbye, although Brunell figures it was better than being cut without notice.
"That was difficult," Brunell said. "But the fact that it took some time - over the course of most of the season we knew we would be going elsewhere - that made it easier. It wasn't something that happened suddenly. It's harder on the family than it is on the player. Your roots are there. You've got friends and a church."
The roots were finally cut when the Jaguars traded Brunell to the Redskins for a third-round draft pick, giving Brunell his desired fresh start.
But Washington is the land of endless quarterback controversies - 15 starters over the last 11 seasons - and Brunell finds himself in another one. Patrick Ramsey, the first-round pick in 2002, had been expected to be the long-term future of the franchise.
Although Gibbs has promised a fair competition, he likes veterans, making Brunell the overwhelming favorite to win the job. The young-vs.-old tables are turned from last season, but Brunell said he has no empathy for Ramsey.
"Not at all. This is a business," Brunell said. "And competition, I think, breeds success. It makes players better. We don't always like it. I was an old guy that had a young guy supplant me last year, but I understand that's part of the business."
Still, this will be one of the most polite competitions ever. Brunell and Ramsey are cut from the same mold - clean-cut, polite, community-orientated and religious.
"We're both believers. We both like the outdoors. We both like to golf," Ramsey said. "We have a lot in common, obviously."
Said Brunell: "He's a great guy to work with. He works hard, has a great attitude. He's got a bright future. We're becoming good friends. That's the environment that you want."
It takes nearly as long to read Brunell's list of community activities as it does his stats. In an era of year-round workouts - and with the responsibility of four children - how does he find the time?
"The season only lasts six months," said Brunell, shrugging his shoulders. "That's how I manage it. I think you can do too much, but I also think you can do too little. I think there's a responsibility for every guy to a certain degree to be involved in the community, make a difference. There's a lot of people who will listen to what we say."
During an otherwise relaxed interview, Brunell's voice quivered a little only once, when he began to describe how his community work began.
"Our second child, Jacob, was in the hospital for a respiratory infection," Brunell said. "He was six weeks old. As a parent, you're helpless, so when (wife) Stacey and I went to Jacksonville we wanted to do something."
Brunell's work - on and off the field - will continue in Washington, although it's far from certain how long he will be here. He'll turn 34 next month, but he's well rested from playing so little last season. Plus, he's modified his game as he's got older, using his smarts to overcome the fact that he can't scramble around as much as he once did.
"Someone said after Year 10, you take it one at a time," Brunell said. "But I feel great. And I still love the game as much as I always have."
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