David Garrard. Making the Best of Cheap Ingredients.

[Editor Note: Arthur Hardie weighs in on David Garrard. He shares my opinion, it is easy to blame the quarterback. It is also intellectually lazy to do so. David Garrard is a fine quarterback and if he had a supporting cast, watch out! Well, let’s let Arthur tell his story. The picture is from YardBarker] 

Let’s hear the complaints.

He overthrows receivers. True. Open receivers sometimes go unnoticed. True. He holds the ball too long, increasing the opportunity for fumbles. True.

Now, let’s hear the accolades.

He’s as tough as nails. True. He can throw homing missiles. True. He’s mobile. True. His team believes in him. True.

However you do the math, either choosing the route of addition or subtraction, you must consider the alternatives and examine exactly where the Jaguars’ weaknesses lie. Need I mention last year’s defensive collapses?

Hence, stranding Mr. Garrard on an island is tasteless and naive. As the great former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said, “The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done.”

So let’s examine the circumstances. Two rookie offensive tackles. A fading center. A guard in training, and a guard coming off a major injury. A former great at wideout (now departed.) An unproven #1 receiver. Sprinkled with a host of rookies. Mmm….tasty right?

No, friends. Not tasty. And it gets worse. These offensive experiments allowed defenses to regularly call forth a Thai-hot blitz. Or to grease-up the middle lanes and send our bowling ball careening into the gutter. So is Garrard really to blame really for this flavorless broth?

If he is to blame, then I say, somewhere along the line, you’ve forgotten that football is a team sport. The television often only shows five or six offensive players at a time. The eye naturally follows the ball. Much of the game passes blindly by viewers. But memory clings mainly to what we have seen. And when our leader falls, or makes an errant throw, certainly your blame attaches accordingly.

Let’s not be so short sighted. Let’s look past the simplicity of a successful highlight, and delve into the individual ingredients necessary to transgress from porridge to bisque.

First, only following the ball while viewing a game is an amateur’s folly. In fact the editor of this site has illustrated on many occasions how plays have actually broken down. How the offensive line has shirked assignments. How they’ve folded. He’s done this through actual still-photographs and trusted statistical sources. The evidence exists. And so does the talent at our quarterback position.

Like a fine wine somalie, you must know what you are tasting. Understand the flavors of the game. Understand what makes a play work, and what makes a play fail. There is more to football than the quick flicker of televised MSG.

If your taste buds have not yet soured at these suggestions, then try this flavor. Imagine Mr. Garrard steering the Titans’ ship. How would you like that “Throwdown” (as in Bobby Flay) coming to town? With Chris Johnson as running back, a young and productive Kenny Britt at wideout, and our man David ready to avoid trouble when necessary and distribute the ball to these talents. Does that sound like a soup you’d like to swallow? Not me.

I’ll take our current head chef to set the offensive menu for 2010. I trust the flavor he brings to our offense. And I trust Gene Smith to bolster the kitchen with talent that will solidify the line. It’s a team effort. Hasn’t Gordon Ramsey made that clear to us here in the States? Yes, Chef!

– Arthur Hardie