**2007 AFC South Thread**

[Needle77]

Cody,

The second that Leftwich was no longer named the starter he became useless to the Jaguars. He was owed 5 million this season. That would make him the highest paid backup QB. No team is going to want to give up a draft pick for a one year QB. Leftwich would not have fixed his contract for the Jaguars.

He had 0 value, none.

Edit: BTW, a local radio station in JAX reported that Detroit is interested in Leftwich and also the Redskins(Leftwich's hometown is Washington, maybe a hometown discount??). I'm assuming its between Det, TB, Atl though.

[PokerFink]

[ QUOTE ]
He had 0 value, none.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah this is probably correct for reasons stated. Plus the Jags have absolutely no leverage in a trading situation.

Tampa doesn't make sense to me since he won't start over Garcia on short notice, ditto Detroit with Kitna, but if Leftwich is content sitting on the bench a year he could go to either of those places. Atlanta is probably the only place he could start.

[Needle77]

Fink,

I am under the impression that he will not be starting this year. Not getting in any offseason workout with a team, plus learning a new playbook(especially TB), and no previous work in any of the teams preseason games I just have a hard time believing that he could start for any team this year prior to week 8 or 9 at the earliest.

[Richard Tanner]

[ QUOTE ]
He had 0 value, none.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
BTW, a local radio station in JAX reported that Detroit is interested in Leftwich and also the Redskins(Leftwich's hometown is Washington, maybe a hometown discount??). I'm assuming its between Det, TB, Atl though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Does...not...compute.

Cody

[Needle77]

Cody,

The teams knew that Jacksonville had 0 leverage when it came to Leftwich. He was no longer a starter, he was due 5 million dollars and only under contract for this season, an UFA, and had about 24 hours to make him change his contract and make a deal with a team. So yes, he had 0 value.

Now teams will be more than willing to negotiate with him now that he is a free agent. Jaguars had no chance of trading him, Leftwich would have never adjusted his contract for the team, his agent said so.

BTW, John Clayton reported this morning that the Ravens are another team on that radar. Ravens seem like a good fit to me. Offense is similar to Jaguars(JDR was on the Ravens before Jax). I can see Billick being a Leftwich guy, and let's be honest McNair is most likely in his last year as a starter(didn't we say that about Favre 3 years ago though?)

[Sluss]

[ QUOTE ]
Sluss, how are they more one dimensional with Garrard in?
Byron probably was the better passer but he didn't look good in the pre-season.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly that Garrard is not as good of a passer and they are forced to rely on the run. Granted their WR blow and their running backs are really good so that doesn't seem like too bad of a strategy. But, I think if they ever go down two scores I have very little confidence in Garrard being able to move the ball well enough to mount a comeback. It would go square onto the defense.

I have also never been a fan of QBs who when they get under pressure instead of looking down field, look to run. The more confidence in their legs than their arms theory.

[Richard Tanner]

[ QUOTE ]
Cody,

The teams knew that Jacksonville had 0 leverage when it came to Leftwich. He was no longer a starter, he was due 5 million dollars and only under contract for this season, an UFA, and had about 24 hours to make him change his contract and make a deal with a team. So yes, he had 0 value.

Now teams will be more than willing to negotiate with him now that he is a free agent. Jaguars had no chance of trading him, Leftwich would have never adjusted his contract for the team, his agent said so.

BTW, John Clayton reported this morning that the Ravens are another team on that radar. Ravens seem like a good fit to me. Offense is similar to Jaguars(JDR was on the Ravens before Jax). I can see Billick being a Leftwich guy, and let's be honest McNair is most likely in his last year as a starter(didn't we say that about Favre 3 years ago though?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Ahh, my fault, I'd heard that they cut him for underperforming, not as a cap trimming. That makes more sense now, though I'd still think they could get a 4th for him or something. If nothing else the team that signed him could give him the same treatment "renegotiate or get cut".

Also, I'm assuming when you say "owed 5 million" you mean salary and not roster bonus. If it's a roster bonus then yeah, there's no way to move (or keep him) they literally had no options.

Cody

[Needle77]

A couple of things from Vic's column today that I feel people should read. Column is at jaguars.com and a direct link is: Ask Vic 09/03. Just two things.

[ QUOTE ]
Daniel from Austin, TX: Why didn't the Jaguars wait until the regular season starts and see how Garrard plays before they released Byron Leftwich?
Vic: The answer to the question “Why did the Jaguars cut Byron Leftwich?” is very basic. People love conspiracy theories but there was no conspiracy involved in this situation. Very simply, Jack Del Rio came to the realization he wanted David Garrard to be his starting quarterback. Del Rio decided he was going to bench Leftwich. At that point, Byron’s $5 million salary became too much to absorb for a backup quarterback and the Jaguars had to cut Leftwich because as a vested veteran his full salary would’ve become guaranteed if he was on the team’s active roster on opening day. That’s why they couldn’t wait to see how Garrard plays.

[/ QUOTE ]

That does a better job of answering why Leftwich had to be released. Secondly...

[ QUOTE ]
Bill from Orange Park, FL: Do you think Dirk Koetter will have to customize or revamp the offense to suit David?
Vic: Based on Garrard’s performance in the preseason, it would seem Koetter’s offense is a good fit for Garrard. I will, however, tell you that Garrard’s strengths lie in the short-passing game, not the deep-down-the-field vertical game. I think Garrard is great for finding the tight end in the seam, the back swinging out of the backfield and the wide receivers curling up. I had David pegged wrong for a long time. I thought of him as a deep-drop vertical guy when, in fact, he’s more of a West Coast nibbler.

[/ QUOTE ]

That was basically my thoughts on Garrard as well. That's why I loved when JDR said Leftwich was the starter that getting Koetter was a great fit. Yeah, Garrard did well in preseason but I feel like David and the system will eventually clash. This is gonna open up for so many more of those damn stupid passes that Garrard loves to make. Ugh...maybe drafting Quinn instead of Reggie wouldn't have been that bad of an idea.

In other news, Donovan Darius was cut by the Raiders. Yikes, talk about someone on their way out of the NFL.

Edit to add: Yikes, almost forgot, Jaguars signed Aaron Glenn. DB depth was an issue I had with the roster trim, at least that adds some more of that, though I'm never that fond of adding a 35 year old when we could have Gattis or Fudge on the active roster.

[Needle77]

I have some scary news. Jaguars have not yet sold enough tickets to lift the blackout in the area. This is an opening game and they might not be able to lift the blackout restrictions. So embaressing. If I have to do my own part I'll buy two cheapest tickets just hoping that they won't have to blackout the game. This is the reason this team could be in LA soon.

[Billy Bibbit]

Man, I'm usually not a very emo person but I expect that I'm gonna cry like a baby when the Colts raise the banner on Thursday. I've been looking forward to it for weeks.