(12-23-2021, 08:35 AM)JagFanatic24 Wrote:

(12-22-2021, 07:04 PM)Caldrac Wrote: I don't understand why though. I never had a problem with Leftwich. I blamed Harris and Jack Del Rio more than anything during those years as a teenager. It always bothered me that they shipped off Brunell, drafted Leftwich and completely erased the fact that Garrard had potential much earlier on in his career. 

They never really gave these guys a chance. I think it was just for the sake of being edgy or splashy at the time. Brunell took the Washington Football team to the play-offs with Joe Gibbs so he still had some football left in the tank then. 

Garrard could have developed into the next McNair or McNabb. I still remember that run he broke off in a blowout loss to the clots on the road where he was so strong from pulling away from a defender on a crazy run downfield that his jersey was ripped off partially. 

I will say this though about Harris and Del Rio. They were never this awful over the last 10 years. They also tried to add pieces around their QB. Reggie Williams, Ernest Wilford, Greg Jones, Matt Jones, Marcedes Lewis, Maurice Jones-Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, Mike Thomas, Zach Miller, Cecil Shorts, Justin Blackmon, etc. 

They took some shots. They missed some. They won some. They also picked up some pretty solid defensive players here and there as well. Looking back on it, as much as we may have [BLEEP] and complained. They were at least consistently showing some level of competency in, let's be honest, a much, much more difficult AFC South to compete in during that time. You still had Manning in his prime and McNair to contest with around those days. The tinhorns also had a formidable offense for a good stretch.

I still haven’t got over them letting Brunell go. I remember when he injured his left elbow or some crap, which sidelined him. I always thought that was him being benched for Leftwich. Brunell went to Washington in his first year and took them to the playoffs. He outplayed Leftwich. 

Then our offense became shotgun because Byron was too clumsy. He threw a screen pass so weird. It was like he was throwing an axe. 

I’m not buying that he can coach. He has Tom Brady!

Yes, he has a great QB, which makes things easier.  

On the other hand, that same great QB thinks BL is a great offensive coordinator, meets with him extensively in the offseason, and likes the way he calls the plays and designs the offense.  If you watch the interaction between the two of them during and right after games, you can tell that Tom Brady thinks the world of Byron Leftwich.

And, the head coach, Bruce Arians, says he does nothing with the offense, and it's all Byron Leftwich.

So, yes, Leftwich has a great QB.  Doesn't every offensive coordinator who is perceived as such have a great QB?

---