David Garrard Hopeful to Remain a Jaguar in 2011

Filed under: Jaguars, AFC South

David Garrard's season is over a week early.

And while that means the quarterback won't play against the Houston Texans on Sunday in a game that could have playoff implications for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Garrard said whatever happens this weekend, he won't recall this season as a failure.

"I will remember this season as a season where this team continued to battle even when at times we had been written off; a season where we did a lot of great things, really remembering a lot of the positive things and then just battling through adversity," Garrard said Wednesday shortly after the Jaguars announced he will undergo season-ending finger surgery Thursday.

Garrard, who sustained the injury to the middle finger on his throwing hand on Dec. 19 in a 34-24 loss to Indianapolis, said he believed he was fine entering a home game against Washington this past Sunday.

At the time, Garrard said he believed he had a jammed finger.

Garrard threw a touchdown and two interceptions against Washington, with one of the interceptions leading to the Redskins' game-winning field goal in a 20-17 overtime victory.

"After the Redskins game, it hasn't come back to being the normal finger," Garrard said. "I can't get any bend in it at all. It's actually a little painful right now."

Trent Edwards, the Jaguars' backup since being signed in September following a season-ending injury to Luke McCown, is expected to start against Houston Sunday.

The Jaguars need to beat Houston and have Indianapolis lose at home against Tennessee Sunday to make the postseason as the AFC South champions.

Garrard said he won't be able to play even if the Jaguars make the postseason.

"I'm excited for the opportunity, first and foremost," said Edwards, who started the first two weeks of the season for Buffalo before being released. "We'd like to have Dave out there, unfortunately he can't be. I've been preparing all year for an opportunity to play again.

"Now the chance is there for me to step up and try to help this team get a W. Everyone in this locker room understands how important this victory is for this organization and this team."

Garrard has been under scrutiny and criticism at various times this season. He was efficient at times, setting a franchise-record with 23 touchdown passes and leading the team to an 8-5 record entering a road game at Indianapolis two weeks ago. A victory in that game would have given the Jaguars their first AFC South title.

But Garrard also has struggled at times, and since the loss to Indianapolis, the criticism he endured before the season and in September and October has returned to the point that Tania Ganguli of The Florida Times-Union asked him Wednesday if he believed he had played his last game in Jacksonville.

Garrard said he hoped not, and told reporters "it was a really memorable season."

 

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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/29/david-garrard-hopeful-to-remain-a-jaguar-after-2010/

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