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Leftwich's shadow looms over Jags QBs Posted: Thursday July 10, 2003 3:02 PM
By B. Duane Cross, SI.com It was just a little more than a year ago that rookie QB David Garrard announced his presence with authority. Well, in his mind anyway. "I'd like to give him a sense of urgency, knowing he has a guy behind him," Garrard said after the Jaguars drafted him in the fourth round. "I want him to know I'm right on his heels, I'm ready to go, ready to play." The "him" Garrard was referencing is Mark Brunell, the franchise QB who still runs the show. "I think I'm capable of doing pretty much what a lot of the top NFL quarterbacks do," Garrard said in 2002. "I can lead an offense up and down the field, take it to big games, take it to the Super Bowl someday. I think I can do it early. I'm not sure how early. I'd love to get time in the first year, but with Mark there ... " What a difference a year makes. With the arrival of Byron Leftwich, the bloom is off Garrard's rose. He will have to either a) beat out the No. 1 draft pick or b) opt for another team via free agency at the end of his contract. In short, the Jags will soon be Lord Byron's domain. But first, Brunell must play the role of lame-duck QB. Entering the final year of his contract, Brunell recently said, "I'm going to go out and try to have a good year, and we'll deal with it in February." For his part, Leftwich is playing the role of understudy, a job he sounds resigned to at least for a year. "I want to learn all I can as quickly as I can," Leftwich told the Orlando Sentinel. "I just want to be prepared for anything that comes up. I don't have time for much else in my life now." Rest assured, there is no quarterback controversy. Says Del Rio of his rookie QB: "He's the guy we wanted. And he's the guy we got." And if you cannot read between the lines, owner Wayne Weaver says bluntly: "We've got our quarterback position fixed now for the next 10 years."
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