Tennessee Titans Play Cheap . . . Or Do They?

Tennessee Titans Play Cheap . . . Or Do They?

Vick-tory Is Not An Option For The Jaguars

There is no need to reiterate the fact that Michael Vick is the hottest quarterback in the NFL after only two weeks.There is no reason to state the obvious--the Jaguars need to prevent Vick from running down the field. It would be a waste of HTML to write the Jacksonville secondary needs to prevent the 105.5 passer rating, 456 yards, and 3 TD throwing Eagle's quarterback from spreading the ball around the field like they allowed with Phillip Rivers.

Jack Del Rio already knows this; the media reminds him of it multiple times throughout the day.

However, what seems to be overlooked in all the hype of the greatest return to the game by an NFL quarterback is a true rushing threat lurking in the shadows of the spotlight. That's right, LeSean McCoy is probably foaming at the mouth and stomping at the gates to be unleashed against the Jacksonville Jaguar's run defense.

While everyone is yelling about Vick's return to form McCoy has been running over any and all defenders that stand in his way.

The Philadelphia Eagle's running back is second in yards per carry for backs with over twenty touches. Tim Hightower leads the way with 7.0 YPC, but McCoy is right behind him with 6.7 YPC on only 23 carries. Some may argue that he had it easy with the Detroit Lions allowing the majority of his gains, however do not forget that he racked up 5 YPC against the Packer's defense in week 1; needless to say, Green Bay's run defense is a far cry better than anything the Jaguar's have shown us.

So, while it is true that the majority of eyes will be on Michael Vick and whether he performs well enough to keep Kolb on the bench, let us hope that Del Rio has not lost sight of the fact that the Eagle's true rushing threat still lines up behind the shadow of the ominous quarterback.

Has Garrard Lost His Touch?

Nobody believes that David Garrard is the most prolific quarterback of all time. There has never been any speculation that he would go into the NFL Hall Of Fame based upon overwhelming statistics. Not even the local media will give him the amount of coverage and respect they might give to say, oh, I don’t know, one Tim Tebow. However, fans and professional football analysts alike do expect him to keep his interception numbers lower than that of most quarterbacks in the NFL.

Coming into the 2010 NFL season David Garrard was tied 4^th among active quarterbacks for having the lowest number of interceptions with a minimum of 900 passing attempts. To put that in perspective just take a quick glance at the numbers of four of the best quarterbacks through the 2007-2009 NFL seasons and compare them to David Garrard.

•         Phillip Rivers             35 INT
•         Peyton Manning        38 INT
•         Kurt Warner              45 INT
•         Drew Brees               46 INT
•         David Garrard          26 INT

So what happened against the Chargers last Sunday? How did one of the lowest interception throwing quarterbacks in the NFL manage to place the ball into the hands of the opposition four times; three of which were in the first half?

Two interceptions were clearly Garrard’s own fault. He took too long to make his decision and under threw the ball down the field. He is going to have to remember that Underwood is not fast, he is real fast. The second one is almost inexplicable, simply because I have no idea where Garrard was trying to place the ball. It was way behind Lewis and I do not know how he missed Brandon Spiler. (Although, Spiler will make sure Garrard gets a real good look at him later on, causing yet another interception.)

There were two other interceptions that he does not deserve all the blame for, though. They are clearly due to the ineptness of the Jaguar’s offensive line. One was a tipped pass by the Charger’s Shawn Phillips. Phillips was able to jump up into the passing lane thanks to the fact that the Jacksonville o-line had four players sitting on top of one defensive tackle. At least one of the lineman should have tied up Phillips.

The final interception Garrard would be given “credit” for came when a clearly blitzing Brandon Spiler was left to the sole responsibility of Jones-Drew to pick him up with no help from the line. Jones-Drew was unable to make a block and Spiler hit Garrard just before he released the ball. It should be noted that no one came over to help Garrard up after the hit. It was soon after this that David was taken out of the game and replaced by the soon to be injured Luke McCown.

Sure, David Garrard did make two clear mistakes, but the fact that he is still getting no help from his offensive line accounts for the majority of the problems the Jacksonville Jaguar offense faces. Given their lack of intelligent play and minimal support for their quarterback (Did I forget to mention none of them helped Garrard up after they let Spiler run over him?) it is no wonder that David Garrard led the NFL league in rushing among quarterbacks (during Vick’s absence as a starter) and truly a surprise that he does not have some of the highest numbers for interceptions thrown.

What do you think, am I giving Garrard too much credit or being too harsh on the lack of teamwork from the rest of the squad?