David Garrard isn’t Jacksonville’s only problem. The team’s secondary is among the league’s worst. Maurice Jones-Drew has yet to get going.
But Garrard is Jacksonville’s biggest problem, and he needs to turn things around quickly or the team will get buried in a difficult AFC South. Garrard threw four interceptions in Week Two; it was a game Garrard said he wanted to erase from his memory. Things got worse on Sunday against the Eagles.
Garrard went 13-for-30 for 105 yards with an interception against the Eagles. Vic Ketchman of the team’s website called the effort the “worst performance” Garrard has endured since taking over the starting job in 2007. The Jaguars needed Garrard to pick up his play this year, but he’s rapidly devolved instead.
“I don’t want to speak for David, ... but he was ineffective today,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “A lot of things go into it, attempts at passing and not much productivity in passing. We weren’t very good at throwing the ball today.”
If Luke McCown hadn’t torn his ACL, we’d probably be talking about a possible quarterback change about now. But that would have only covered up the real problem.
The Jaguars invested true franchise quarterback money in Garrard in 2008 (six years, $60 million). They haven’t tried to develop any young players behind him. Garrard is Del Rio’s guy, for better or worse. At least for 13 more games.
“This is definitely a tough pill to swallow. That was really embarrassing out there,” Garrard said.