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Garrard leads Jaguars into season opener against Titans

Sep 9, 2007 - 10:27 AM Tennessee (8-8) at Jacksonville (8-8) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- There is no doubt who the quarterback of the Tennessee Titans is. Jack Del Rio finally answered the questions surrounding the quarterback situation of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fresh off being named the club's starting quarterback, David Garrard leads the Jaguars into their season opener against the AFC South rival Titans on Sunday.

Del Rio had said all preseason that Byron Leftwich would be his starting quarterback. But the coach abruptly changed his mind, naming Garrard the starter over Leftwich, who was released during final cuts.

Garrard is not without experience, having started 15 games the last two seasons. He completed just over 60 percent of his passes for 1,735 yards and 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions in 10 starts last season.

Even with Garrard under center, the Jaguars remain a team built on their running game and defense.

Maurice Jones-Drew, who rushed for 941 yards and 13 touchdowns as a rookie, and veteran Fred Taylor pace the ground game for Jacksonville.

Defensively, the Jaguars ranked second overall last season. They held six opponents to 10 points or fewer and also recorded a pair of shutouts at home, where they went 6-2.

The Titans are built around second-year quarterback Vince Young, who was the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. The dynamic signal-caller went 8-5 as a starter last season after replacing Kerry Collins, helping the Titans rebound from an 0-5 start to a .500 campaign.

Young threw for 2,199 yards and 12 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. He also was his elusive self, rushing for 552 yards and seven scores.

The Jaguars' defense frustrated Young in the contest here last season. Young was intercepted three times - twice by cornerback Rashean Mathis - as the Titans endured a 37-7 loss on November 5.

In the second meeting between the teams on December 17, the Titans received a big performance from the now-suspended Adam "Pacman Jones" en route to a 24-17 win. Jones returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown and broke off a long kickoff return to set up another score.

Cornerback Cortland Finnegan returned a fumble 92 yards for a touchdown and linebacker Chris Hope brought back an interception 61 yards for a score for the Titans, who converted four turnovers into 21 points.

Jacksonville lost the second meeting despite controlling the ball for nearly 45 minutes, holding a 396-98 advantage in total yards and garnering 23 first downs compared to five for Tennessee.