Many experts thought the Jaguars were foolish in letting Byron Leftwich go in the off-season but they were proven wrong by David Garrard.  Garrard has been outstanding at moving the football around to a lot of receivers as the Jags lack a go-to receiver and he hasn’t thrown an interception yet this season.  Garrard has completed 136 of 209 passes (65.1%) for 1,626 yards with 9 TDs and 0 INTs (103.1 QB Rating).  He also is a good runner as he has carried the ball 36 times for 145 yards (4.0 ypc).  As long as Garrard stays healthy the Jags have a shot to dethrone the Colts in the AFC South.

The Jaguars smacked the Bills around all Sunday like a red headed step child.  David Garrard had another solid game as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 296 yards with 1 TD pass.  Fred Taylor turned back the clock and had a big game as he carried the ball 14 times for 104 yards (7.4 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards.  Maurice Drew had a rough time as he carried the ball 10 times for 10 yards (1.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  The Jags spread the ball around in the passing game and got good results.  Dennis Northcutt (5 rec, 65 yards), Ernest Wilford (5 rec, 60 yards) and Mercedes Lewis (5 rec, 57 yards) also did a solid job.  Reggie Williams only caught 1 pass….a 59-yard TD.  The Jaguars finished up with 124 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 37 passes for 292 yards.

Rookie linebacker Justin Durant led the way for the Jags defense with 9 tackles and a interception.  The Bills finished up with 94 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 40 passes for 203 yards.

The Jaguars played a solid all around game yesterday and the result was a nice win over a solid football team.  David Garrard had a solid game in his return to action as he completed 15 of 24 passes for 189 yards with 2 TD passes.  Fred Taylor (20 car, 85 yards) and Maurice Drew (12 rec, 33 yards, TD) both had solid games.  Reggie Williams pitched in with 2 catches for 62 yards (31.0 avg) with a TD grab.  The Jaguars finished up this game with 122 yards rushing on 37 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 24 passes for 189 yards.

The defense was led by the safeties as Reggie Nelson (5 tackles, interception) and Sammy Knight (2 tackles, interception).  The Chargers finished up with 79 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 40 passes for 309 yards.

These two teams run a very similar offense and defense so this should be a close ball game.  The Chargers will attempt to run the ball with LaDainian Tomlinson (733 yards rushing, 8 TDs) to control the clock but the Jags allow 102.7 yards rushing and 4.1 ypc so he might have a hard time rolling up a lot of yards.  Plus, the Jags defense is very physical and they will likely bring the fight to him.  If the Chargers get a running game going that will help Philip Rivers have the time needed to throw the ball to Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers.

The Jaguars are a running team and they will try to push the Chargers defense around.  The Chargers are allowing 119.4 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc so Maurice Drew (536 yards rushing, 5.3 ypc) and Fred Taylor (519 yards rushing, 4.2 ypc) should get their yards.  David Garrard is back at QB for the Jags this weekend and that’s a good thing as Quinn Gray kept throwing the ball to the other team.  Garrard has not thrown an interception in 148 passes this season and he has a QB Rating of 102.9 this season.

PREDICTION:  The Jaguars have the QB least likely to make a mistake so I will go with them.  JAGUARS 23, CHARGERS 20.

The Jaguars exacted revenge on the Titans for their earlier win against them.  Quinn Gray didn’t do a whole lot as he completed 13 of 23 passes for 101 yards with a TD pass and he also carried the ball 3 times for 13 yards (4.3 ypc).  Maurice Drew had an outstanding game as he carried the ball 19 times for 101 yards (5.3 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 28 yards (9.3 avg).  Fred Taylor was also busy with 16 carries for 45 yards (2.8 ypc) with a TD run.  Greg Jones didn’t get a lot of yards (1 rushing, 2 receiving) but he scored 2 TDs.  The Jaguars finished up rushing for 166 yards on 44 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 23 passes for 96 yards.

Mike Peterson was outstanding against the Titans as he compiled 14 tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.  DE Reggie Hayward also was hard to stop as he had 5 tackles and 2.5 sacks.  The Titans finished up with 62 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 41 passes for 230 yards.

The NFL has suspended defensive tackle Marcus Stroud for the next for games as he tested positive for steroids.  Stroud has 22 tackles and 3 sacks so far this season.  This will hurt the Jags despite the fact that they have just signed Grady Jackson.  Jackson is a good tackle but he’s not the kind of player that Stroud is.

The Jaguars have lost starting guard Chris Naeole for the season with a reptured quadriceps tendon.  This will hurt the Jags interior running game as he was a nasty blocker.  The Jags have re-signed OG Tutan Reyes to help replace Naeole but that’s a huge dropoff.  The Jags have also signed linebacker Jorge Cordova to give them some depth and help them on special teams.  Cordova has played in 13 games in his NFL career and he has 8 tackles and he’s defensed a pass.

The Jaguars defense was awful and the offense couldn’t make up for it.  Quinn Gray played his best game of the season as he completed 20 of 33 passes for 354 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions (one of which was a pick six by Mike McKenzie).  Fred Taylor got his work in as he carried the ball 13 times for 54 yards (4.2 ypc).  Maurice Drew was busy too as he carried the ball 5 times for 28 yards (5.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 31 yards.  Drew returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD in this game.  Reggie Williams had a breakout game against the Saints as he caught 6 passes for 128 yards (21.3 avg) with a TD.  Rookie John Broussard also made 2 nice grabs for 71 yards.  The Jags finished up with 88 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes for 344 yards.

Safeties Sammy Knight (11 tackles) and Reggie Nelson (10 tackles) led a poor effort by the Jags defense.  The Saints finished up with 103 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 35 of 49 passes for 435 yards.

The Jaguars have signed DT Grady Jackson to a 1-year, $1.1 million dollar contract.  Jackson was just recently released by the Falcons despite the fact that he had 21 tackles and a sack.  Jackson will be the #3 tackle in the rotation unless Marcus Stroud is suspended by the NFL.  If that happens Jackson would likely move into the starting lineup.

The Jaguars have placed defensive tackle Tony McDaniel on the Injured Reserve List with a wrist injury.  McDaniel finishes the season with a whopping 5 tackles.  The Jags have signed Grady Jackson to replace him in the D-Line rotation.