What will Happen to Jack and David post 2010?
By Luke Sims
I love the beginning of the football season. We’re tied with the Colts for first place in the division, we can mock the Texans until their offense proves (once again) how dominant it is, and laughing about Tennessee’s quarterback situation has become an annual event to look forward to. But it’s also a time to dream, speculate, and ponder how our team will look at the end of the season and what changes may be made.
The coaching situation in Jacksonville is very unstable. I love Jack Del Rio, I like his mind, I like his attitude, and I like his preference of defense. But unless the Jaguars go 11-5/win the division or better this season, it’s time to hire the 3rd head coach in franchise history. That is my standard. Period. And that new head coach should be Vikings Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier. The Bills have alread
My expressed interest in Frazier and have had him visit for interviews. The Jaguars have expressed no interest in moving away from Jack, but if they let Frazier slip through their fingers this year they will have missed a huge opportunity. And by bringing in a new head coach during the same year that the Jaguars should draft a new quarterback (more on that later), they will hopefully promote a good relationship that allows them to grow and get used to each other until they are both able to shine week in and week out. Which brings me to the quarterback position:
The 2011 draft class is deep at the quarterback position and will probably yield Jacksonville’s QB of the future. With that in mind, many people think it is time to take a good hard look at David Garrard and see if he is worth keeping. I detest that attitude. It is foolhardy, at best. As the quarterback of this team for the past 3 seasons, and sitting the bench for many more before then, Garrard has an intimate understanding of this organization and how it runs. He knows his receivers, he knows the lineman, and he knows how to run an offense. Not to mention that David’s mechanics have very rarely been under question. With this in mind, I don’t think we should get rid of David (and his rather large salary), but rather draft a QB that he can train, nurture, and eventually bring up to usurp his position like Aaron Rodgers did to Brett Favre, or Tom Brady to Drew Bledsoe, or Kevin Kolb to Donovan McNabb; need I continue? We do not want to replicate what the Texans did to David Carr (76 sacks his first year) who had more talent than most quarterbacks but was squandered by being thrust in too early. Sure, there are exceptions (Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Peyton Manning), but they are few and far between. It is not advisable to gamble in such a way. We don’t want a Leinart, or a Couch, or even an Alex Smith. So, rather than saying goodbye to Garrard and replacing him with a gamble, I say keep him on for a 3 year minimum and let him train his replacement. Lord knows we don’t want another Leftwich that wastes our teams money and hopes year after year.
– Luke N. Sims