Del Rio was right about Garrard and Leftwich. (1 Viewer)

[Da Guru]

So many times coachs are second guessed for bad decisions.

I remember Jack Del Rio taking quite a bit of heat for getting rid of Lefty and going with Garrard. Saying that in his heart he knew it was the right decision.

DelRio looks like a guru. Lefty was the same type of QB in Atlanta as he was in JAX, while Garrard has slowly turned into a very solid QB. Even having missed 4 games he has 16TDs and only two INTS. The last 4-5 weeks he has been very productive and he protects the football. I wish he could tutor John Kitna.

 

[patrickmcgroin]

At one point there was some talk around here of Del Rio not being back next season.

 

[Da Guru]

At one point there was some talk around here of Del Rio not being back next season.

Well, he would not be unemployed very long.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

He sure was right but I think the problem was the timing of the announcement.

 

[Jayrod]

At one point there was some talk around here of Del Rio not being back next season.

A lot of people around here don't like him for the way he handles the RB situation, but he is a heck of a coach and has his team in the hunt year in and year out.I would like to see them play in Foxboro at some point in the playoffs.

 

[JaxBill]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

 

[MDSkinner]

When they were sitting at 4-2, 5-3 I think people were pretty disappointed with them especially because MJD seemed to be underused and they got beat badly by the Colts yet again and lost to the Saints who were underachieving.

Since then they are 5-1, they have beaten the Steelers and though MJD still seems underutilized to us Fantasy folks, when Taylor is putting up the numbers he has put up over the last couple of weeks it is hard to argue with JDR. Garrard looks to be one of the better QB's in the league the defense is playing well, things are clicking. Can't argue with success.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

Truth be told... he was fighting against Gerrard and for Leftwich for a long time against his coaching staff.

The move and announcement could have come sooner but Del Rio wasnt relenting on his stance until the last moments.

 

[Ksquared]

Truth be told... he was fighting against Gerrard and for Leftwich for a long time against his coaching staff.The move and announcement could have come sooner but Del Rio wasnt relenting on his stance until the last moments.

I think this identifies part of the reason Del Rio was getting heat. Several issues since the end of last season created a lot of controversy and seemed to show an organization that was not sure where it was headed. Constantly hanging the WR out to dry during the offseason and preseason with calling them out in the press( I thought toward the end of last season, Williams and Jones started to look like they were getting it). Threatening in the press that they were on the verge of being cut, etc. Then you have all off season to atleast give Garrard equal practice/playing time and you wait until after the last preseason game to not only give Garrard the starting job, but cut Leftwich. I just feel Del Rio lucked out in this QB situation, because if he could recognize talent like some want to give him credit for, the QB change would have taken place early in training camp. I am also interested (hoping) to see Williams and Jones go elsewhere. I do not think the WR coaching at Jacksonville is worth anything. You look at their roster and I do not believe they have developed a single WR since Del Rio got there. The only top WR they had was Smith which was already a developed star before the current coaches arrived. Their other starters are all cast offs from other teams. Either their talent evaluation stinks or their WR development stinks.I will admit the season could have gone down the tubes and Del Rio has got them playing great ball, but a big part of the early season issues were created by Jack himself.

 

[FavreCo]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

Nope. He is Garrarbage. Without a stellar D, this team goes nowhere. You can have him, I'll keep Favre.

 

[Da Guru]

Truth be told... he was fighting against Gerrard and for Leftwich for a long time against his coaching staff.The move and announcement could have come sooner but Del Rio wasnt relenting on his stance until the last moments.

I think this identifies part of the reason Del Rio was getting heat. Several issues since the end of last season created a lot of controversy and seemed to show an organization that was not sure where it was headed. Constantly hanging the WR out to dry during the offseason and preseason with calling them out in the press( I thought toward the end of last season, Williams and Jones started to look like they were getting it). Threatening in the press that they were on the verge of being cut, etc. Then you have all off season to atleast give Garrard equal practice/playing time and you wait until after the last preseason game to not only give Garrard the starting job, but cut Leftwich. I just feel Del Rio lucked out in this QB situation, because if he could recognize talent like some want to give him credit for, the QB change would have taken place early in training camp. I am also interested (hoping) to see Williams and Jones go elsewhere. I do not think the WR coaching at Jacksonville is worth anything. You look at their roster and I do not believe they have developed a single WR since Del Rio got there. The only top WR they had was Smith which was already a developed star before the current coaches arrived. Their other starters are all cast offs from other teams. Either their talent evaluation stinks or their WR development stinks.I will admit the season could have gone down the tubes and Del Rio has got them playing great ball, but a big part of the early season issues were created by Jack himself.

The Jags are still choppin wood!

 

[cstu]

I'm just surprised that all the Jags fans calling for Garrard were right. I have to say I was wrong about Leftwich but you can't teach heart.

 

[urbanhack]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

Nope. He is Garrarbage. Without a stellar D, this team goes nowhere. You can have him, I'll keep Favre.

 

[Wadsworth]

David Garrard is playing very well. But keep in mind Quinn Gray started 3 games for the Jags and won 2 of them. He beat 9-5 Tampa in Tampa(it's still there only home loss this season) and he beat 8-6 Tenn in Nashville. His only loss was also on the road against 7-7 New Orleans. He started 3 straight road games against teams with .500 or better records and won 2 of them.

Garrard is certainly playing very well, but there must be more to the Jags success if Quinn Gray can come in and have that kind of success. When all is said and done the Jags will end up with a regular season very similar to 2005. And if they have a similar early playoff exit all the hoopla right now will be meaningless.

 

[Chunky Soup]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

Nope. He is Garrarbage. Without a stellar D, this team goes nowhere. You can have him, I'll keep Favre.

Shtick?

 

[Wadsworth]

So many times coachs are second guessed for bad decisions.I remember Jack Del Rio taking quite a bit of heat for getting rid of Lefty and going with Garrard. Saying that in his heart he knew it was the right decision.DelRio looks like a guru. Lefty was the same type of QB in Atlanta as he was in JAX, while Garrard has slowly turned into a very solid QB. Even having missed 4 games he has 16TDs and only two INTS. The last 4-5 weeks he has been very productive and he protects the football. I wish he could tutor John Kitna.

David is playing great and that's enough to justify the choice. But there's no need to rag on Leftwich. In fact if you compare the the Jags 2005 and 2007 seasons they are very similar and Byron and David's stats are very similar through 10 games(remember David missed 3). David obviously has fewer INTs but not many fewer and he has been lucky. One of Byron's INTs was a hail mary at the end of the first half and another went through Wilford's hands, bounced off his chest and was intercepted. They had about the same yards, David has a few fewer picks and Byron a few more TDs. It's not night and day. And I would say the Jags have better offensive talent now and a much better coaching staff and OC. Praise David, don't rag on Byron.

 

[omally]

David is playing great and that's enough to justify the choice. But there's no need to rag on Leftwich. In fact if you compare the the Jags 2005 and 2007 seasons they are very similar and Byron and David's stats are very similar through 10 games(remember David missed 3). David obviously has fewer INTs but not many fewer and he has been lucky. One of Byron's INTs was a hail mary at the end of the first half and another went through Wilford's hands, bounced off his chest and was intercepted. They had about the same yards, David has a few fewer picks and Byron a few more TDs. It's not night and day. And I would say the Jags have better offensive talent now and a much better coaching staff and OC. Praise David, don't rag on Byron.

I remember you used to have a picture of Leftwich as your avatar. You've never seemed to care for Garrard.

 

[428143]

It's tough to sell an asset for 10cents on the dollar, good for him, that is why he makes the big bucks...

 

[Bri]

He was right but he should have done it sooner

 

[dotman]

So many times coachs are second guessed for bad decisions.I remember Jack Del Rio taking quite a bit of heat for getting rid of Lefty and going with Garrard. Saying that in his heart he knew it was the right decision.DelRio looks like a guru. Lefty was the same type of QB in Atlanta as he was in JAX, while Garrard has slowly turned into a very solid QB. Even having missed 4 games he has 16TDs and only two INTS. The last 4-5 weeks he has been very productive and he protects the football. I wish he could tutor John Kitna.

David is playing great and that's enough to justify the choice. But there's no need to rag on Leftwich. In fact if you compare the the Jags 2005 and 2007 seasons they are very similar and Byron and David's stats are very similar through 10 games(remember David missed 3). David obviously has fewer INTs but not many fewer and he has been lucky. One of Byron's INTs was a hail mary at the end of the first half and another went through Wilford's hands, bounced off his chest and was intercepted. They had about the same yards, David has a few fewer picks and Byron a few more TDs. It's not night and day. And I would say the Jags have better offensive talent now and a much better coaching staff and OC. Praise David, don't rag on Byron.

You're crazy, what do you have against Garrard? Quinn Gray got a ton of help to win 2 of 3, and also threw 5 picks in 3 games. Gray had a QB rating of 64.4. Garrard's is 112.2. I love how you talk about Byron's hail mary INT but don't mention that Garrard's 1st INT of the season was week 13 and it should have been caught by a JAC WR but was instead tipped to a Colt. So Garrard didn't have his 1st real INT until week 15 and he's playing better than Byron ever has.

 

[Sweet Love]

I know this will sound nuts, but I think now that Garrard has his first INT of the season out of the way, he will open things up (as he has the past couple of weeks) and play more loose. Although the streak got some hype, you have to wonder whether he ever held back to keep the streak alive. I think he is going to be one of those guys that you can pick up each year as a QB2 (ala Delhomme) and ride him each year to the playoffs.

 

[Penguin]

I have to admit that I was way off on my projections for Garrard in 2007. I didn't have the Jags as a playoff team in the AFC either because of the move. It wasn't that I thought Leftwich was better and should have remained the starter, more because of the timing of it all, soo late in pre-season.

 

[az_prof]

How do you know that Leftwich wouldn't have done better this year with the same cast of characters?

 

[BigSteelThrill]

How do you know that Leftwich wouldn't have done better this year with the same cast of characters?

Because

Season Team Passing Rushing Fumbles

..........................................G GS Comp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Sck SckY Rate Att Yds Avg TD FUM Lost

2007 Atlanta Falcons .......... 3 2 32 58 55.2 279 4.8 1 2 6 34 59.5 6 7 1.2 0 6 2

2006 Jacksonville Jaguars 6 6 108 183 59.0 1,159 6.3 7 5 9 48 79.0 25 41 1.6 2 2 0

2005 Jacksonville Jaguars 11 11 175 302 57.9 2,123 7.0 15 5 23 110 89.3 31 67 2.2 2 8 3

2004 Jacksonville Jaguars 14 14 267 441 60.5 2,941 6.7 15 10 25 114 82.2 39 148 3.8 2 5 1

2003 Jacksonville Jaguars 15 13 239 418 57.2 2,819 6.7 14 16 19 90 73.0 25 108 4.3 2 11 6

TOTAL ................................821 1,402 58.6 9,321 6.6 52 38 82 396 79.7 126 371 2.9 8 32 12

2007 Jacksonville Jaguars 11 11 197 307 64.2 2,310 7.5 16 2 20 91 101.6 45 166 3.7 0 3 2

... he would have had to have done things he has never done before in his career. He has proven his quality and he is a "known".

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I have to admit that I was way off on my projections for Garrard in 2007. I didn't have the Jags as a playoff team in the AFC either because of the move. It wasn't that I thought Leftwich was better and should have remained the starter, more because of the timing of it all, soo late in pre-season.

I agree, also in light of Garrard's meltdowns last year that basically cost the Jags a playoff spot - he is a much better decision maker and passer this year

 

[Wadsworth]

How do you know that Leftwich wouldn't have done better this year with the same cast of characters?

Because

Season Team Passing Rushing Fumbles

..........................................G GS Comp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Sck SckY Rate Att Yds Avg TD FUM Lost

2007 Atlanta Falcons .......... 3 2 32 58 55.2 279 4.8 1 2 6 34 59.5 6 7 1.2 0 6 2

2006 Jacksonville Jaguars 6 6 108 183 59.0 1,159 6.3 7 5 9 48 79.0 25 41 1.6 2 2 0

2005 Jacksonville Jaguars 11 11 175 302 57.9 2,123 7.0 15 5 23 110 89.3 31 67 2.2 2 8 3

2004 Jacksonville Jaguars 14 14 267 441 60.5 2,941 6.7 15 10 25 114 82.2 39 148 3.8 2 5 1

2003 Jacksonville Jaguars 15 13 239 418 57.2 2,819 6.7 14 16 19 90 73.0 25 108 4.3 2 11 6

TOTAL ................................821 1,402 58.6 9,321 6.6 52 38 82 396 79.7 126 371 2.9 8 32 12

2007 Jacksonville Jaguars 11 11 197 307 64.2 2,310 7.5 16 2 20 91 101.6 45 166 3.7 0 3 2

... he would have had to have done things he has never done before in his career. He has proven his quality and he is a "known".

Beause 17 TDs and 5 Ints in 10 games in 2005 is so terrible? Going into this season Leftwich and Garrard had performed very similarly. You compare Byron's stats from the last 4 season to David's this season when David's stats the last 4 would not look any better than Byron's. David has performed extremely well this season, Byron hasn't. David stayed in Jacksonville with a solid team and Byron was cut a week before the season and ended up on a team in freefall with a popular QB going to jail, players openingly questioning the rookie head coach and eventually the head coach quitting during the season. Don't be too quick to close the book on Byron. David has played extremely well this season and deserves all the props he is getting. But don't be surprised if history ends up teaching us that there where two good QBs on the Jaguars these past years.

 

[Mahoney]

Garrard is an awesome dresser.

A Fedora is always a good call on a winner.

 

[Wadsworth]

So many times coachs are second guessed for bad decisions.I remember Jack Del Rio taking quite a bit of heat for getting rid of Lefty and going with Garrard. Saying that in his heart he knew it was the right decision.DelRio looks like a guru. Lefty was the same type of QB in Atlanta as he was in JAX, while Garrard has slowly turned into a very solid QB. Even having missed 4 games he has 16TDs and only two INTS. The last 4-5 weeks he has been very productive and he protects the football. I wish he could tutor John Kitna.

David is playing great and that's enough to justify the choice. But there's no need to rag on Leftwich. In fact if you compare the the Jags 2005 and 2007 seasons they are very similar and Byron and David's stats are very similar through 10 games(remember David missed 3). David obviously has fewer INTs but not many fewer and he has been lucky. One of Byron's INTs was a hail mary at the end of the first half and another went through Wilford's hands, bounced off his chest and was intercepted. They had about the same yards, David has a few fewer picks and Byron a few more TDs. It's not night and day. And I would say the Jags have better offensive talent now and a much better coaching staff and OC. Praise David, don't rag on Byron.

You're crazy, what do you have against Garrard? Quinn Gray got a ton of help to win 2 of 3, and also threw 5 picks in 3 games. Gray had a QB rating of 64.4. Garrard's is 112.2. I love how you talk about Byron's hail mary INT but don't mention that Garrard's 1st INT of the season was week 13 and it should have been caught by a JAC WR but was instead tipped to a Colt. So Garrard didn't have his 1st real INT until week 15 and he's playing better than Byron ever has.

Well I may be crazy, but I have nothing against Garrard. He's the starting QB of my favorite team and playing very well. But this doesn't have to be an either or situation. It seems to be popular opinion that if you say anything good about Byron you hate David. The truth is that I saw Byron play some pretty impressive football games as a Jag and think he could be a very productive starting QB in the NFL. That has nothing to do with David and how impressive he's been this season. I cheer for David every week but don't feel the need to trash Byron to justify my support for David.

 

[perry147]

Truth be told... he was fighting against Gerrard and for Leftwich for a long time against his coaching staff.The move and announcement could have come sooner but Del Rio wasnt relenting on his stance until the last moments.

I think this identifies part of the reason Del Rio was getting heat. Several issues since the end of last season created a lot of controversy and seemed to show an organization that was not sure where it was headed. Constantly hanging the WR out to dry during the offseason and preseason with calling them out in the press( I thought toward the end of last season, Williams and Jones started to look like they were getting it). Threatening in the press that they were on the verge of being cut, etc. Then you have all off season to atleast give Garrard equal practice/playing time and you wait until after the last preseason game to not only give Garrard the starting job, but cut Leftwich. I just feel Del Rio lucked out in this QB situation, because if he could recognize talent like some want to give him credit for, the QB change would have taken place early in training camp. I am also interested (hoping) to see Williams and Jones go elsewhere. I do not think the WR coaching at Jacksonville is worth anything. You look at their roster and I do not believe they have developed a single WR since Del Rio got there. The only top WR they had was Smith which was already a developed star before the current coaches arrived. Their other starters are all cast offs from other teams. Either their talent evaluation stinks or their WR development stinks.I will admit the season could have gone down the tubes and Del Rio has got them playing great ball, but a big part of the early season issues were created by Jack himself.

Maybe the reason behind not naming Garrard as the starter in the early preseaon is that this would have created a lot of press because of a perceived QB controversy. Del Rio didn't want to deal with that and decided he would wait thereby avoiding all the press circus that would have ensued.

 

[brobe4]

All i know is the jaqs are a good football team right now they can play with anyone in the nfl. I believe garred has some things to do with that.

 

[JaxBill]

Garrard is an awesome dresser.

A Fedora is always a good call on a winner.

Several Jags fans are planning on wearing a fedora to Sunday's game:

http://mb.jaguars.com/Topic436984-6-1.aspx

 

[gregjcross]

At one point there was some talk around here of Del Rio not being back next season.

I posted in Sept that Del Rio might be hearing calls for his job. Only because of the loss suffered to the Titans week 1 -- getting ran over by Chris Brown of all people *170 yrds rushing) the Jag's cornerstone D was made to look bad. They had a terrible Summer. Then they were facing the trainwreck in Atlanta week #2, Del Rio's future, with an 0-2 start, was anything but certain. That's how quickly things change in the NFL. If Jags get flushed week 1 of the playoffs, really, who knows.....Yes he is safe and did a great job, but I think its a team that needs to prove something in the big games.

 

[burd]

If DelRio thought Garrard was going to be a snappier dresser than Leftwich, then he was absolutely right.

 

[mozzy84]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

 

[Tom Servo]

Truth be told... he was fighting against Gerrard and for Leftwich for a long time against his coaching staff.The move and announcement could have come sooner but Del Rio wasnt relenting on his stance until the last moments.

I think this identifies part of the reason Del Rio was getting heat. Several issues since the end of last season created a lot of controversy and seemed to show an organization that was not sure where it was headed. Constantly hanging the WR out to dry during the offseason and preseason with calling them out in the press( I thought toward the end of last season, Williams and Jones started to look like they were getting it). Threatening in the press that they were on the verge of being cut, etc. Then you have all off season to atleast give Garrard equal practice/playing time and you wait until after the last preseason game to not only give Garrard the starting job, but cut Leftwich. I just feel Del Rio lucked out in this QB situation, because if he could recognize talent like some want to give him credit for, the QB change would have taken place early in training camp. I am also interested (hoping) to see Williams and Jones go elsewhere. I do not think the WR coaching at Jacksonville is worth anything. You look at their roster and I do not believe they have developed a single WR since Del Rio got there. The only top WR they had was Smith which was already a developed star before the current coaches arrived. Their other starters are all cast offs from other teams. Either their talent evaluation stinks or their WR development stinks.I will admit the season could have gone down the tubes and Del Rio has got them playing great ball, but a big part of the early season issues were created by Jack himself.

Maybe the reason behind not naming Garrard as the starter in the early preseaon is that this would have created a lot of press because of a perceived QB controversy. Del Rio didn't want to deal with that and decided he would wait thereby avoiding all the press circus that would have ensued.

And here I thought it was just a ploy to motivate David Garrard...

 

[Jiggyonthehut]

If Jags get flushed week 1 of the playoffs, really, who knows.....Yes he is safe and did a great job, but I think its a team that needs to prove something in the big games.

Getting to the playoffs is a huge deal for the Jaguars. Knowing that they field a better team than both the #3 and #4 teams (SD and Pitt- whom the Jags beat during the regular season) gives reason to believe that we can advance past the WC game- something we haven't done since 1999.These are exciting times to be a Jags fan.

 

[The Football Freak]

If Jags get flushed week 1 of the playoffs, really, who knows.....Yes he is safe and did a great job, but I think its a team that needs to prove something in the big games.

Getting to the playoffs is a huge deal for the Jaguars. Knowing that they field a better team than both the #3 and #4 teams (SD and Pitt- whom the Jags beat during the regular season) gives reason to believe that we can advance past the WC game- something we haven't done since 1999.These are exciting times to be a Jags fan.

:X

 

[ninerfanatic492000]

yes how quickly that we forget that Del Rio WANTED Leftwich and management wanted wanted garrard starting. the switch wasn't a genius move by Del Rio-his hand was forced. he got lucky and managment proved to be correct

 

[urbanhack]

I just bought a Fedora to wear this Sunday.

S

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

yes how quickly that we forget that Del Rio WANTED Leftwich and management wanted wanted garrard starting. the switch wasn't a genius move by Del Rio-his hand was forced. he got lucky and managment proved to be correct

You've got your facts backwards here.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

I just bought a Fedora to wear this Sunday.

S

Was it this one?Lid

 

[pizzatyme]

While I was never a Lefty fan, I see no reason to rip on him either. That dude has a lot of heart and finished more games injured against the Colts than most QBs in the league would have.

With that said, Garrard is having a nice year. I'm not sure I'd want to rely on him to make a comeback in a critical game, but he is doing what they're asking him to do.

Someone said he is one of the better QBs in the league. I'd have to refute that at this point. The guy has thrown 15 TDs this season.

 

[radiohead417]

Checking in to eat my crow. I was absolutely wrong on this one - I thought Leftwich was 'the guy', but even more, I just thought Garrard was a career backup. I just wish they had been smart enough to do it more than a week before the season started.

 

[Da Guru]

Garrard got it done..made some mistakes but that was a huge run late in the game.

 

[Phlash]

While I was never a Lefty fan, I see no reason to rip on him either. That dude has a lot of heart and finished more games injured against the Colts than most QBs in the league would have.

With that said, Garrard is having a nice year. I'm not sure I'd want to rely on him to make a comeback in a critical game, but he is doing what they're asking him to do.

Someone said he is one of the better QBs in the league. I'd have to refute that at this point. The guy has thrown 15 TDs this season.

Obviously, you could have never predicted this... but damn Garrard did a good job on the comeback.

 

[bryhamm]

He did it twice against PIT when the momentum had swung away from them each time. Shows great poise.

 

[Da Guru]

He did it twice against PIT when the momentum had swung away from them each time. Shows great poise.

How much does Garrard weigh? When he got into the open field he looked like Brandon Jacobs, the guy is huge!

 

[FavreCo]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

Based on what? His 1 TD, 2 INT sub 50% completion game where if he didn't run (like I knew he was going to) on that play, they lose? Pittsburgh blew it. Quinn Gray would have done the same as this bum if not better. His passing abiltiy is far greater.

 

[FavreCo]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

You wish. 9-21 with 2 INT's and a win not becasue of Garrabage but in spite of the suckage of Garrabage.

 

[ChampBailey24]

Hey FavreCo,

Time to take out the "Garrabage"

You wish. 9-21 with 2 INT's and a win not becasue of Garrabage but in spite of the suckage of Garrabage.

OK, lod2005.