One of the underappreciated stories from our area is the emergence of David Garrard. The former Southern Durham and East Carolina standout has quietly grown into quite the NFL quarterback.
He has taken over for the oft-injured Byron Leftwich and is 2-0 this season, improving the Jacksonville Jaguars record to 5-3 and second place in the AFC South. Look at his last seven starts over the course of the last two seasons with the Jags, and he has lead the team to a 6-1 record and was responsible for 9 TD’s passing and rushing to 1 interception. That’s pretty darn good for a guy only one school wanted as a quarterback (Thank you, Steve Logan.) Byron Leftwich, on the other hand, has a respectable 4-3 record in his last seven games.
These two are no strangers to battling each other. In the 2001 GMAC bowl, Garrard and the Pirates faced Leftwich and the Thundering Herd of Marshall. It was a duel for the ages that produced the highest scoring bowl game in history, with Marshall winning 64-61 in double overtime.
Here we are now -- on the same team, battling for the same position.
The measurables: Both are sharp guys with good football I.Q.’s. Both can throw the ball a country mile. Both have the respect of their teammates. And both are really good at keeping their nose clean off the field. So you ask yourself -- why isn’t David Garrard playing more?
Here’s the problem … and to no fault of his own, it becomes a numbers game. David was a 4th round draft choice in 2002. The afore-mentioned Leftwich was Jacksonville’s 1st round choice of 2003. In short, Leftwich makes a ton of money for being a top draft choice, not to hold a clipboard. Anyone that runs a business expects investments to pay off, not sit on the shelf.
But as you know, in the game of football injuries happen, and that’s when opportunity knocks. Leftwich went down in the Jags’ sixth game with a leg injury, and in stepped David Garrard. At 2-0 since then, now head coach Jack Del Rio has quite the issue -- hot David Garrard or incumbent Byron Leftwich. It looks as if Coach Del Rio is leaning toward Garrard. Here’s to #9 taking advantage of this window of opportunity and parlaying it into a bright future as an everyday quarterback in the NFL
