Maurice Jones-Drew didn’t touch the ball in Sunday’s loss to Tennessee until midway through the second quarter, a strategy that led to some criticism of the Jaguars coaching staff.
It turns out head coach Jack Del Rio wasn’t happy about the development either, partially blaming MJD’s lack of touches on quarterback David Garrard’s decision to audible called runs to passes. Del Rio was frustrated enough to limit Garrard’s ability to change plays late in the game.
“We took that privilege away or that ability away and said, “Look, just hand it to him and let him run the ball,’ ” Del Rio said.
Garrard changed some runs to passes in the team’s previous game against Tennessee to much better results, but he struggled badly in the rematch. Del Rio won’t take away Garrard’s ability to audible completely in the future, but he said there will be some calls that Garrard’s not allowed to change.
We wonder how Garrard feels about this. Del Rio is essentially giving his quarterback’s decision-making skills a vote of no confidence. Del Rio is also re-directing some of the blame for Sunday’s gameplan towards Garrard.
Garrard has thrown four interceptions with no scores in his last two games and his play has been uneven this season. The Jaguars owe him $7.975 million next season, and it’s fair to wonder if Garrard will be playing to keep his “franchise quarterback” status in the final half of the season.