Garrard On the Clock

The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered a crushing defeat in their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals. The game was fully in hand by the middle of the third quarter when the Cardinals found it necessary to pull starting quarterback Kurt Warner from the game and play some prevent defense. Essentially, the Cardinals treated the game like a preseason game, and boy did it look like one.

This loss cannot be solely blamed on Jaguars quarterback David Garrard. He didn't get a field goal blocked and he didn't get shredded by Kurt Warner. That said, you've got wonder how much longer they can go on with Garrard at quarterback. He wasn't the sole reason for the loss, but he was far from a bright spot. Up until the point in which Kurt Warner was pulled, Garrard completed 13 of 21 passes for 119 yards, which is very similar to his game last week against Indianapolis. After Kurt Warner was pulled and Arizona essentially went in cruise control on offense and defense, Garrard magically completed 10 of 22 for 163 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception to end the game.

This type of production from the quarterback position simply isn't good enough, and we're not talking fantasy. Sure, he's getting some pressure from the opposing teams defenses and sure he's suffered with some drops, but, don't all quarterbacks in the NFL? Popular opinion says that Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner had all day to throw the ball in Sunday's game. Good quarterbacks make their "throwing time" look sneaky long. Kurt Warner gets the football out at the end of his drop. This is one of the biggest issues with David Garrard currently, and why so many people want to exclaim that he has no time to throw the ball. Generally speaking, a quarterback should get the ball out of his hand by the end of his three, five, or seven step drop. This is where the breakdown comes with Garrard, he simply doesn't do that. Couple holding the ball with the fact that most of the time he stares down his primary targets and if they're not open just dumps it to the running back, and you get what the Jacksonville Jaguars have on offense. It also makes the pass rush look much more intense than it really is. The Arizona Cardinals have a pretty good defense, but it's not like they're a premier pass rushing team.

The other popular argument, or excuse as it may be is that the Jaguars wide receivers are not getting any separation. There were receivers clad in teal running open all game long Sunday. The problem is that most of the guys getting separation are further down the route tree and never get looked at. Everyone wants to put a lot of the blame on the wideouts, and given off the field issues in the past it's semi-warrented, but with the play of the quarterback, how can anyone honestly say if the wide receivers are good enough.

When you have a quarterback who apparently can't go through his progressions, panics and tries to scramble instead of just stepping up in the pocket, and is oft to check it down.... how can you tell how good or bad your receivers are? They can't do anything if they're not thrown the ball.

It makes one wonder with the state that the franchise is in, and a possible 0-3 and beyond staring them in the face, how much patience does the coaching staff have before a switch to Luke McCown is made? He may not be the answer, but how much worse can it get?