Martin Steps Into Brunell's Shoes
He's an unknown, a journeyman, a guy just happy to be hanging on the fringes of the NFL fraternity.
And finally, Jamie Martin will be rewarded for never giving up.
A pro football career that has led Martin from St. Louis to The Netherlands and from the nation's capital to north Florida will result in his first NFL start Sunday.
Coming off an unexpectedly strong relief performance last week, the fifth-year quarterback will replace the injured Mark Brunell when the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Tennessee Oilers.
The Jaguars (10-3) need a victory to clinch the first AFC Central title in their four-year history.
Oddly, it will be an unknown product of Weber State -- whose resume includes stints with the Rams, Redskins and the Amsterdam Admirals of the World Football League -- trying to salt away the division instead of Brunell, the $31.5 million franchise cornerstone.
"If I thought about it, it could make me nervous," Martin said. "But I've started games before. Not in the NFL but in high school, college and the WFL. That's your job. No matter what the level is, you get used to it."
In the off-season, Martin came ever so close to falling completely off the NFL ap.
He had thrown only 34 passes in his NFL career. In 1997, he was waived in the preseason by the Rams, then spent three months unemployed. The Redskins picked him up as a third-string emergency quarterback in December.
He
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| Jamie Martin earned his keep with a breakout game last week against Detroit. (AP) |
Known for his relentless film study and refusal to let any player slip through the cracks, Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin salvaged Martin's career for at least one more season.
"It was just digging," Coughlin said. "It was doing homework and research, taking time to bring in people to work out. We felt at that time, he was the right guy for what our design was for our backup quarterback."
Coughlin's vision of a backup was not anyone who would challenge Brunell. The Jaguars simply wanted someone to play caretaker for a game or two should their starter go down.
Of course, they never expected the injury to come in December with the team primed for a deep run in the playoffs.
Brunell suffered a high ankle sprain. He could be ready to play as soon as next week.
But Coughlin would love to buy some additional recovery time for his top quarterback, especially if the Jaguars can clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a first-round playoff bye. They lead Miami and the Jets by one game in that race.
"Mark's our quarterback, without a doubt," Coughlin said. "The faster we get him back, the (better) we're going to be. But we have some guys who have to step up now if we're going to accomplish our goals. That's all I'm concerned about now is the one-game-at-a-time business."
Called on after Brunell went out on the second play of last week's game, Martin finished with 228 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-22 victory over the Detroit Lions.
This week, he'll go up against an Oilers team that, at 7-6, trails the Bills and Patriots by one game in the race for the final AFC wild-card spot.
Coach Jeff Fisher says Tennessee won't prepare much differently for Martin than it would for Brunell. That's a good idea.
Adding last week to the first two games of 1997, the Jaguars have scored 28, 40 and 37 points ithe three games Brunell has missed due to injuries.
"It's a compliment to the offensive system, to the players they have in the system and the job the coaches are doing," Fisher said.
As he prepares for his first start of any kind since the spring of 1995, when he was playing for Amsterdam, Martin concedes he's no Brunell. But he doesn't think that will prevent him from doing a good job running the Jaguars offense for a week or two.
"I've never had doubts I could play," Martin said. "I have had doubts about whether I would get a chance, because I know that other people can do what I can do, too. I'm just happy to get a shot."
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