Garrard, Jags, Test Mettle Against Titans

Sep 7, 2007, 16:36 GMT

- Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio has invested a lot in David Garrard, and he will get a chance to see what his new starting quarterback can do under the new title this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Garrard beat out former first-round draft pick Byron Leftwich, who under-performed in four injury-plagued seasons with Jacksonville. Leftwich was released by the team last week after he completed 19-of-38 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown in the preseason. Garrard, however, ended 36-of-47 for 456 yards and a score.

Del Rio attributed Garrard's quick release and ability to run as the main reasons why he made the shocking decision. The sixth-year pro passed 1,735 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions while Leftwich missed 10 games with an ankle injury last season. Leftwich also had his differences with Del Rio, including questions surrounding his health.

The durable Garrard went 5-5 as a starter last season and is 10-8 in his brief career. Now he has nobody looking over his shoulder to snag some playing time.

Jacksonville finished 8-8 last season and dropped its last three games to close out the 2006 campaign, missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. Del Rio is entering his fifth season as head coach of the Jags, but has little to show for it except a playoff loss to New England in 2005. He is hoping a nasty defense and an offense led by Garrard and running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew will lead Jacksonville back to the postseason.

Tennessee will try to top Del Rio and Co. with an athletic quarterback of its own in 2006 AFC Rookie of the Year Vince Young. The mobile Young rallied the Titans from an 0-5 mark to begin last season to finish one win away from the playoffs, as the team ended 2006 season with an 8-8 record. After passing for 2,199 yards and 12 touchdowns and running for 552 yards with seven scores last season, Young will strive for an encore performance this year.

Along with Young, Titans head coach Jeff Fisher wants to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Fisher is entering his 13th season as Tennessee's sideline general and will try to avoid his team getting off to such a poor start like in 2006.

Fisher's patience has definitely been tested this offseason with the trouble cornerback/return man Pacman Jones has gotten into. With Jones suspended for the season, now is the best time for Tennessee to forget about what happened off the field and focus on the Jaguars for a Week 1 battle.

SERIES HISTORY

Tennessee leads the all-time regular season series with the Jaguars, 13-11, including a 24-17 home win in the most recent meeting during Week 15 of last season. Jacksonville won the front end of the 2006 home-and-home, 37-7, in Week 9, and swept the Titans in 2005. Tennessee is 0-2 in Jacksonville and has been outscored 77-20 at ALLTEL Stadium since earning an 18-15 victory there in '04.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have met once in the playoffs, with Tennessee scoring a 33-14 road victory in the 1999 AFC Championship.

Fisher is 14-11 versus Jacksonville all-time, including the aforementioned playoff win. Del Rio is 4-4 against both Fisher and the Titans in his career.

WHEN THE TITANS HAVE THE BALL

Young is a modern-day Randall Cunningham, and opposing defenses must be wary of his ability to escape the rush when pressure starts to build. The second- year standout will not have veteran wide receivers Drew Bennett and Bobby Wade to throw to this season, though, after the Titans decided not to re-sign the two. Now Young must work with an inexperienced group of wideouts that includes Brandon Jones (27 receptions, 4 TD), Roydell Williams (8 receptions) and rookies Paul Williams and Chris Davis.

Jacksonville finished 10th against the pass last season thanks to the solid play of cornerback Rashean Mathis, who recorded 63 tackles and a team-high eight interceptions. Mathis should present a problem to an offense which was 30th in passing a year ago.

Now that running back Travis Henry is carrying the ball for Denver, Chris Brown could get most Tennessee's reps at running back. Brown recorded just 156 yards rushing last year because Henry was the main focus in Tennessee's fifth- ranked rushing attack. LenDale White (244 rushing yards) is a nice change-of- pace back for Fisher's squad, which also has rookie running back Chris Henry.

It will likely be hard for Tennessee to run the ball against Jacksonville's big front line on Sunday. The Jags had the fourth-best rushing defense in 2006 and bring back mammoth tackles Marcus Stroud (21 tackles, 2 sacks) and John Henderson (51 tackles, 4 sacks). Starting middle linebacker Mike Peterson (32 tackles, 1 INT) played only five games last season due to injury, but is back to team with holdovers Clint Ingram (71 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT) and Daryl Smith (88 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT) to form a strong group.

WHEN THE JAGUARS HAVE THE BALL

Garrard will handle the starting quarterback duties, he can relax and perform the way that landed him the job in preseason. Jacksonville's passing attack finished 24th in the NFL a year ago, but the receivers are more experienced and should give offense a nice balance. Reggie Williams (52 receptions, 4 TD), Ernest Wilford (36 receptions, 2 TD) and Matt Jones (52 receptions, 4 TD) will put Tennessee's secondary to the test early. especially considering Pacman Jones' unavailability.

In an emergency effort to sure up the defensive backfield, the Titans signed ex-Colts corner Nick Harper (75 tackles, 3 INT) during the offseason and used their 2007 first-round draft choice on Texas safety Michael Griffin.

Titans veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck is back after posting a team-high 144 tackles in 2006. The weakside starter will play a big role in keeping Jacksonville's deadly ground duo of Taylor (1,146 rushing yards, 5 TD) and Jones-Drew (941 rushing yards, 13 TD) at bay. Jags offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter must find a way to get the ball into their hands at an even rate, though Jones-Drew appears to be ready to take the reigns as an every-down back. He scored 16 total touchdowns in 2006 as a running back, receiver and returner.

FANTASY FOCUS

There are a lot of fantasy points to be claimed in this matchup. Young will probably produce more points than Garrard, since Del Rio likes to run the ball regularly with Taylor and fantasy stud Jones-Drew. Del Rio's defense is stout and always rated as one of the best, a complete opposite of Fisher's defense. The only receivers worth noting for fantasy value are Matt Jones and Reggie Williams of the Jaguars. With Bennett and Wade out of Tennessee, Fisher's wideouts are an average group at best. Young and Chris Brown are the fantasy studs for the Titans, but don't expect to much from the latter in this week's matchup.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Tennessee and Jacksonville both came up short in the hunt for the playoffs last season. Losing four of the last six games of the 2006 campaign certainly didn't help the Jaguars, but they figure to rebound with a victory on Sunday. Although Young is a very talented player in this league and can do so much with his arm and legs (just ask the New York Giants), the same can be said for Garrard. However, the real battle will be won on the ground, where Taylor and Jones-Drew will be too much for Tennessee to handle early on. The Titans have opened the season on a poor not in back-to-back years. Look for that trend to continue on Sunday.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Jaguars 28, Titans 14

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