Nov. 3, 2004

Leftwich’s knee a touchy subject; Law out at least one month

ProFootballWeekly.com asks associate editor Jeff Reynolds for his thoughts on the hottest topics in the NFL.
 
Jaguars guarded about severity of Leftwich’s left knee injury

Internet reports claimed on Tuesday that Jaguars QB Byron Leftwich would be out at least four weeks and as many as six due to a severe sprain of the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee. Head coach Jack Del Rio wouldn’t rule Leftwich out for Week 10 — the Jaguars are on bye this week — but team sources said Leftwich was unlikely to play for at least two weeks.
 
PFW: How could the injury affect the first-place Jaguars?
 
Reynolds: We should temper any comments by conceding the severity of Leftwich’s left knee injury is not entirely clear. Noted sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews provided Leftwich a second opinion on Tuesday. Del Rio allowed that Leftwich had a sprain and is keeping Leftwich out of practice until at least next Wednesday — he is to be re-evaluated on Monday. Leftwich told Del Rio to give him the week and he’d be ready to go.

If Leftwich cannot go, however, the Jaguars’ offense would take a severe hit. Though David Garrard is one of the top five backup quarterbacks in the NFL — he’s mobile, has a very strong arm and understands the offense — he’s not Leftwich. Before the Jaguars shifted to a pass-first offense in Week Three, Jacksonville was 6-of-36 on third down. Attempts to establish the running game have turned away as Fred Taylor continues to find little room to run. The OG play has been average with Chris Naeole and Vince Manuwai playing hurt. Leftwich had completed 64.8 percent of his passes, leading the AFC with 177 completions and is considered an MVP candidate for the first-place Jaguars. Without him, Taylor has to be the central focus of the offense. As well as WR Jimmy Smith has played, Garrard’s complementary receivers aren’t good enough to carry the offense.

Law breaks foot, won’t play until December

LCB Ty Law will miss four to six weeks with a broken bone in his left foot. A Pro Bowl-caliber player, Law joins starting RCB Tyrone Poole (knee) on the injury report, meaning the Patriots could walk into the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis without their top two cornerbacks.

PFW: Are injuries getting to the Patriots?

Reynolds: History won’t help the Patriots get healthy, and the fact that Bill Belichick has coached around injuries in the past means very little to the 2004 club. The WR corps, O-line and secondary all have been seriously hampered. WR Troy Brown returned last week and might actually log snaps on defense this week.

Belichick needs to go to a ball-control offense vs. the Rams. The pitfall in that theory is RB Corey Dillon missed last week’s game with a thigh injury and the Patriots gained five yards rushing in the loss to the Steelers. If Dillon cannot go this week, Cedric Cobbs, a rookie activated from the physically unable to perform list last week, would be the likely starter. And he’d be running behind an offensive line that may or may not have OTs Tom Ashworth (back) and Matt Light, who left last week’s game with an injury.

Losing Law could be a death knell, but the Patriots can survive. If they can find a ground game this week, the Patriots have the front seven to get to Rams QB Marc Bulger. Bulger, when he doesn’t throw in rhythm, is erratic and mistake-prone. Even without the speed to cover the Rams' waterbug receivers, Belichick has a game plan that worked against this offense before — twice in fact — and should dust it off for this game. Patriots fans might be panicked with Asante Samuel and rookie Randall Gay lining up against Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, but don’t expect Belchick to put them in the position to fail. He’ll use soft zone coverage, forcing the Rams to pick up their yardage in smaller chunks and avoiding the big play. That will have a lot to do with FS Dexter Reid, who could start instead of Eugene Wilson. Wilson may be beckoned to cornerback, his college position, this week.