Jaguars quarterback David Garrard gets paid big money to produce on the field and show leadership.
After a forgettable performance against Tennessee Sunday in a 24-14 loss at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Garrard now must focus on the second part of his responsibility during the coming days.
Garrard will have to try to keep his teammates focused on making a late-season rally with the Jaguars 4-6 and nearly out of the AFC playoff race.
"We still have a lot of young guys on this team and we don't want any one of those guys checking out,"
Garrard said. "Personally, I'm going to make sure I lead by example the right way. Be here on time, do my job and do all the things I'm supposed to do. Hopefully, all the other guys will follow suit."
Garrard remained somewhat optimistic following a performance in which he easily set season lows in passing yards (135) and completion percentage (43.3). The second-year starter completed 13-of-30 attempts against the Titans and was sacked four times.
"I'm definitely not giving up,"
Garrard said. "We've still got a lot of football to play, but it's dwindling."
The Tennessee defense gave Garrard and his teammates a lesson in fierce competition.
After building a 14-3 halftime lead, the Jaguars were held to 84 total yards in the second half and never pushed further than Tennessee's 43-yard line.
Garrard was completely shut down in the second half. He hit 5-of-14 attempts for 45 yards.
"David will be the same leader and same fighter he's always been,"
Jacksonville receiver Dennis Northcutt said.
Part of Garrard's ineffective play can be traced to his supporting cast. The Jacksonville receivers were well contained by Tennessee's secondary and the Titans consistently generated a pass rush.
"It's disappointing we lost,"
Jacksonville offensive tackle Tony Pashos said. "We wanted this win bad. We did some good things in the first half, but then we didn't convert and execute as well as we should have in the second half."
The Jaguars will have to find a way to get Garrard in position to operate at a high level on Sunday against Minnesota. A loss would be a crippling blow to Jacksonville's already feeble playoff chances.
"We have to step up every time we have an opportunity,"
Garrard said.
