ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—The Denver Broncos remember what Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard did to them last year. They didn’t need to be reminded that Garrard’s skills haven’t diminished this year.
“We saw how he ran effectively against Houston and Tennessee when he had to make big runs,” cornerback Champ Bailey said Friday. “He’s capable of doing it.”
The Jaguars beat the Broncos 23-14 a year ago, and Garrard did as much damage to the Denver defense with his feet as he did with his arm. He was completed 14 of 20 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 52 yards on 12 carries.
“Oh yeah,” Bailey said of that performance. “We talked about it all week.”
The Broncos especially remember a lengthy 18-play drive Garrard directed.
“I remember Mercedes Lewis made a couple of big plays and Garrard made big plays off a couple of big bootleg plays,” cornerback Karl Paymah said. “They had a dominating offense.”
Garrard has another element that separates him from most NFL quarterbacks. He is 6-foot-1 and weighs 245 pounds.
“He’s bigger than their running backs,” Bailey said. “We know that he’s a load to take down.”
Bailey doesn’t recall Garrard going down with a slide in any of the video he watched of the Jaguars.
“And I don’t expect him to this week,” Bailey said.
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DOING THE TALKING: Guards Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper won’t talk. Center Casey Wiegmann and tackles Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris pick their spots when they talk about the offensive line.
Jay Cutler isn’t as shy about complimenting the quintet lining up in front of him, particularly Clady and Harris.
“They have protecting really well,” Cutler said. “The two outside guys have been learning on the run and picking it up really well.”
Cutler has been sacked only once this year.
“I can’t do my job without those guys up front, and the receivers can’t do their job without those guys,” said Cutler. We kind of struggled with that last year.”
