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| No. 12 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1957-03-24)March 24, 1957 (age 67) Sellersville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Henderson (West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College: | Delaware | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1980: 6th round, 145th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Scott Lee Brunner (born March 24, 1957) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) for theNew York Giants from 1980 to 1983, theDenver Broncos in 1984, and theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1985. He playedcollege football for theDelaware Fightin' Blue Hens.
Brunner was born in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and grew up inMiddletown, New York. By the time he startedhigh school, the family had moved toWest Chester, Pennsylvania.[1] Brunner playedhigh school football atHenderson High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania andLawrence High School inLawrenceville, New Jersey, where the family had moved before his junior year.[2]
Brunner played underhead coachTubby Raymond and led theDelaware Fighting Blue Hens to theNCAA Division II Football Championship in his only year as astarter in 1979. Brunner earned first-teamAll-American honors by theAmerican Football Coaches Association and was theEastern College Athletic Conference All-East Player of the Year in 1979 when he threw for 2,401 yards and a then school record 24 touchdowns in leading Delaware to a 13–1 record and a national title game win overYoungstown State University. He also served as a backup in 1978 (behind future NFL playerJeff Komlo) and helped UD advance to the NCAA Division II championship game. Brunner was selected to the NCAA Division II Hall of Fame in 2002.
Brunner was selected by theNew York Giants in the sixth round of the1980 NFL draft. He replaced an injuredPhil Simms during the1981 season as the starting quarterback for the Giants. With Brunner leading them, the Giants beat thePhiladelphia Eagles 20–10, but subsequently lost to theSan Francisco 49ers 17–10. The Giants defeated theLos Angeles Rams 10–7 and theSt. Louis Cardinals 20–10, setting up a season finale against theDallas Cowboys, in which a win would clinch their first playoff berth since 1963. The Giants won the game 13–10 inovertime that gave the team their first playoff game in eighteen years. In the Wild Card game versus the Philadelphia Eagles that year, Brunner went 9-of-14 for 96 yards with three touchdowns and one interception whileRob Carpenter ran for a game-high 161 yards as the Giants forced two first quarter turnovers to build a 20–0 lead in an eventual 27–21 win over the Eagles, which was their first road postseason win in franchise history.[3] In the Divisional Round versus theSan Francisco 49ers, Brunner went 16-of-37 for 290 yards to go with three touchdowns and two interceptions to go with two fumbles as the 49ers led for most of the game in a 38–24 result.[4]
The Giants were unable to build on their success in1982, mainly due to the1982 NFL Players strike that reduced the schedule to nine games.Ray Perkins left the Giants after the 1982 season andGeorge Young's choice to replace Perkins wasBill Parcells, the Giants'defensive coordinator. Brunner was named the starter for the1983 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Parcells chose Brunner over Simms,Jeff Rutledge and Mark Reed.
Brunner was traded to theDenver Broncos on April 27, 1984, in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick (used to select linebackerGary Reasons) to serve as backup quarterback toJohn Elway.[5] Brunner was placed oninjured reserve with a knee infection, however, on August 29, 1984.[6] He was traded to theGreen Bay Packers on April 26, 1985, in exchange for a1986 sixth round draft pick (used to select tight endOrson Mobley),[7] but was again traded, this time to the Cardinals on August 26, 1985, for another 1986 sixth round pick (used to select linebackerBurnell Dent).[8] After backing upNeil Lomax in1985, Brunner was released by the Cardinals on August 27, 1986.[9] In his NFL career, he played in 72 games and threw for 29 touchdowns. He rushed for one touchdown and passed for 6,457 yards.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | Yds | ||
| 1980 | NYG | 16 | 3 | 1-2 | 52 | 112 | 46.4 | 610 | 5.4 | 50 | 4 | 6 | 53.1 | 10 | 18 | 1.8 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 76 |
| 1981 | NYG | 16 | 6 | 4-2 | 79 | 190 | 41.6 | 978 | 5.1 | 43 | 5 | 11 | 42.8 | 14 | 20 | 1.4 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 67 |
| 1982 | NYG | 9 | 9 | 4-5 | 161 | 298 | 54.0 | 2,017 | 6.8 | 47 | 10 | 9 | 73.9 | 19 | 27 | 1.4 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 130 |
| 1983 | NYG | 16 | 12 | 3-9 | 190 | 386 | 49.2 | 2,516 | 6.5 | 62 | 9 | 22 | 54.3 | 26 | 64 | 2.5 | 12 | 0 | 31 | 218 |
| 1985 | STL | 16 | 0 | 0-0 | 30 | 60 | 50.0 | 336 | 5.6 | 40 | 1 | 6 | 33.1 | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 27 |
| Career | 73 | 30 | 12-18 | 512 | 1,046 | 48.9 | 6,457 | 6.2 | 62 | 29 | 54 | 56.3 | 72 | 137 | 1.9 | 23 | 1 | 71 | 518 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | Yds | ||
| 1981 | NYG | 2 | 2 | 1-1 | 25 | 51 | 49.0 | 386 | 7.6 | 72 | 6 | 3 | 89.2 | 8 | 9 | 1.1 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Career | 2 | 2 | 1-1 | 25 | 51 | 49.0 | 386 | 7.6 | 72 | 6 | 3 | 89.2 | 8 | 9 | 1.1 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 13 | |
For 15 years, Brunner served as vice president for an institutional stock research and portfolio management firm onWall Street, and he is currently the executive vice president of Net Worth Management Group.[10] He is a private quarterback coach and offensive coordinator of the TEST Football Academy inMartinsville, New Jersey. He tutored former Delaware quarterbackJoe Flacco before the2008 NFL draft,[11] in which he was selected 18th overall by theBaltimore Ravens. Brunner had lived inCranbury, New Jersey[12] and lives with his wife inMillburn, New Jersey.[13] He has three children.[12]
