Titans’ Young, Jags’ Garrard Hurt In Monday Night Football Action

Added on Oct 19, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

One of the ugliest Monday Night Football matchups of the year going in wasn’t any better when it was finally played. The Tennessee Titans had no trouble with the Jacksonville Jaguars, moving the ball at will against their porous defense en route to a 30-3 victory that wasn’t even as close as the final score suggests. The game could have serious long term implications for both teams, however, as starting quarterbacks David Garrard for Jacksonville and Vince Young for Tennessee left due to injury. Young was replaced by Kerry Collins, who looked very sharp as he led the team to five consecutive scoring drives. Collins finished with completions on 11 of 16 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he played with confidence and didn’t force anything.

Young left with a sprained knee and watched the rest of the game from the sideline. He’ll be re-evaluated upon the team’s return to Nashville, but based on head coach Jeff Fisher’s comments it doesn’t sound particularly serious:

“He’s a little sore. He could have finished in shotgun.”

37 year old Collins threw a touchdown pass on his first series in the game and then turned the show over to the Titans rushing attack, led by Chris Johnson who ran for 111 yards and a TD. He was nonplussed by his solid performance in relief:

“That’s part of the life of a backup in the NFL. I’m a short-term fill-in.”

Things didn’t go as well for Jacksonville who lost starter David Garrard with a concussion. There was no immediate update on his condition, but given the NFL’s long overdue emphasis on preventing head injuries and based on recovery time for other quarterbacks with similar injuries he’ll very likely miss Sunday’s game at Kansas City. A more specific timeframe will be available once he’s examined by the team’s medical staff. Jags’ coach Jack Del Rio had no update on Garrard’s condition but didn’t mince words in observing that his team had a generally lousy night:

“Not the night we were looking for. We turned it over four times, lost our quarterback. … Not the kind of night we wanted to have.”

Jacksonville signed former Buffalo Bills starter Trent Edwards to be Garrard’s backup after he was cut by his former team. Edwards saw his first action since arriving in Jax and performed, well, like you’d expect a guy who’d just been released by one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL to play. Edwards went 14 for 24 for 140 yards, with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Not that he got alot of help from his teammates–Maurice Jones-Drew, who has apparently forgotten that he’s supposed to be one of the best running backs in the NFL, rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries. Then again, the inconsistent Garrard didn’t put up Peyton Manning-like numbers before he left going 7 for 12 with 49 yards and 1 interception.

The Jaguars may not have the worst record in the NFL but top to bottom they may be the worst franchise in the league. They’re having trouble selling tickets–they’ve been able to use the weak economy as a rationalization for the past few years, but its not like they’ve put a very compelling product on the field either. Really, Jacksonville wasn’t a particularly inspired choice for a franchise in the first place. I’ve got nothing personal against the city of Jacksonville and have been there many times, but with a metro area population of less than a million it just doesn’t scream ‘NFL market’. Considering the fact that there’s already two NFL teams in the state, countless high level college football programs and a big military presence (not necessarily a bad thing, but obviously a very transitory demographic segment) Jacksonville is an even more dubious choice for a franchise.

Curiously, Edwards may be playing himself into a job despite not playing particularly well. Jacksonville thought they’d found their franchise QB in Garrard and signed him to a 6 year, $60 million contract after the 2008 season. Garrard has been inconsistent at best and awful at worst since then. With no other immediate answer at quarterback (Luke McCown started the year as Garrard’s backup but was injured) the team may look to find a way to get rid of Garrard and that ridiculously big contract. NFL teams don’t pay quarterbacks $10 million a year to lose and Edwards is just as capable at losing and will play for far less money.