A story on Nola.com has confirmed that Mark Brunell will get his first start as a Saint on Sunday @ Carolina, and his first start in the NFL since November 2006 when he was a member of the Washington Redskins. Drew Brees will officially be listed as the #3 quarterback in the game, but he’ll sit it out and not risk injury in the meaningless game. It’s also been confirmed that Chase Daniel has been added to the roster and will back up Brunell for the game, though no corresponding roster move to make room for Daniel has been announced. I’d assume that the game is Brunell’s to play almost entirely, unless he gets hurt or the game gets out of hand. Still, it would be nice to see the youngster get some snaps and experience since he could possibly be Brunell’s heir as Brees’ primary backup.
Personally, I’ve been calling for the decision and I love it. Brees has played solid football all year, and it isn’t likely he’ll suffer any rust from taking a week off. The possibility of injury in a meaningless game far outweighs any possible benefit the Saints could gain by playing him. My guess is the Saints will be VERY committed to the run, but it’ll be interesting to see how efficiently Brunell runs the offense.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
