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"I think David has continued to be the young man that we've always known him to be. He's very dependable, very solid in his approach, and I think when good times or bad come you get a reflection of a guy and his character and what he's made up of, and I feel very good about his makeup and the type of young man he is."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on QB-David Garrard taking most of the blame for the sacks last season and not passing blame onto the offensive line)
"I think we all understand that the quarterback and the head coach are the guys that are tied to the wins and losses. I think, certainly, David understands that there are things he can do better and certainly good line play and people getting open could help out with that. I think it's a good sign to see that he's not afraid to say, 'Hey, this is something I can do better, too.' I think together we want to be a better football team. We want to do things better. We want to execute at a better level, and that's what we've been working so hard to do."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on if he feels better about the offensive line this season after all the injuries it had last season)
"Absolutely. It's a good group, it's a deep group. We've got some youth in it, but we feel like we're coming out of camp with a much improved offensive line and defensive line, for that matter. It all starts up-front, and it's going to be key to anything we get done."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on RB-Maurice Jones-Drew and how he's feeling and if he's playing Sunday)
"He's good. There's really nothing to it. There's not a whole lot to add. He's excited to get started. He's a great young man and very competitive. I know he's looking forward to getting the season started. I think, obviously, he's one of our better players, and we're glad to have him back to practice."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on how different he thinks the Colts' defense will be)
"I think one thing we all know is that coming out of preseason you're going to have some un-scouted looks. We just need to play our game and be ready to adjust to anything that we may get. I think you get that across the league. There's potential for un-scouted looks early in the season, and that's just something you have to respond to."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on if his defense will have some new looks)
"We're going to be pretty steady at what we do and how we do it and continue to teach technique and fundamentals and be better at it. We just came off the field from walkthrough and we're going to practice later this afternoon, but the energy is good and the guys are excited to get going."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on if he concerns himself with the possible home game blackouts in Jacksonville)
"For me, I appreciate the fans that can make it out. I know it's tough times economically. So, we just know that those people that do show up for us, all during camp, the scrimmage we had, the first couple preseason games at home, they've been really, really good. We appreciate the support. The people that do show up are excited and passionate about football. We're going to appreciate those fans and hope that times get better and more people can get out to see us."
HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO (on WR-Torry Holt)
"Torry has been a nice addition to our wide receiver corps. He's going to be a Hall-of-Fame guy when he retires. He's been a great addition to our team. He brings veteran savvy, veteran leadership. He still has some burning desire to do some things in this league, and we're really happy to have him aboard."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on being excited to start a new year)
"Very excited. I'm sure pretty much everybody around the league is excited right now. Definitely down here we're excited to get things kicked off in '09."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on having some new players on offense this season)
"We do. We have a few new weapons down here and we have some weapons that have been here and can hopefully break out this year."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on WR-Torry Holt)
"He has been around and knows exactly what to do. He still (has it). He has great hands and great route running, so we're excited to have him."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on the difficulty of finding a go-to wide receiver)
"It is (difficult to find) guys that you can count on every play, to you, nobody can cover them and to them, nobody can cover them. That's what we've needed around here, and Jimmy (Smith) was the last guy we had around here that could really do that. I really believe that Torry has a lot of those abilities. I also believe Mike Sims-Walker has those same kind of abilities, too, and once he's healthy and on the field, he's a great receiver, he's probably one of the best. He's feeling good right now, and he's healthy. I'm excited about that and excited about him having his breakout season."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on if he expects some tweaks to the Indianapolis defense)
"They are a little bit different. They still have their Tampa-2. They'll change it up a little more, put more guys in the box, but they'll still play those two high safeties, but a little bit more quarters now. They tried to change it up a bit. They are bluffing their linebackers and bringing a couple of guys, but they still have good players, guys that fly around the ball, and they still make you want to check the ball down, so that they can come up and make the tackle and get you off the field. They still have some similarities, but they have changed quite a few things, too."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on being sacked 42 times last season)
"No, I never did, but it's part of the game and it happens. You don't want it to happen to you. You'd rather read about it happening to somebody else, but it's just something we have to be better at. I have to be better at getting the ball out of my hands faster. Aa lot of times I'll try to scramble around and (I) get a few sacks that way. I have to be more conscious of getting the ball out of my hands once I get out of the pocket. If that's getting it down field to a receiver or just throwing it away and not taking those unneeded shots. I have to be better myself, the line has to be better, the running backs have to be better at picking up blitzes. Everybody has to be better, not really pointing any fingers at anyone, but just saying that we all as a whole on offense have to be better at protecting the QB."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on if being sacked so much tested him)
"It definitely tests you mentally, because you don't want to start feeling shell-shocked, that around every corner there is a guy about to hit you and you get the ball out of your hands too fast. It does test you a little bit, but going into this season, I plan on getting the ball out of my hands and getting it to my receivers or throwing it away, because throwaways aren't bad, especially when you're taking shots off your body."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on getting older and not wanting to take as many hits)
"You get smarter. You learn how to play the game and learn how to get the ball out of your hands and not take those unwanted and unneeded shots."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on Jacksonville not getting a lot of preseason hype after a 5-11 record last season)
"Well, we're not getting a whole lot of talk, but that's alright. I think we have to set our own agenda this year. I know (Head Coach) Jack (Del Rio) has said that quite often. It's really about us and what we need to do and going out an operating and winning ballgames. That's really what it's about. We can't worry about media and fans and what everybody else is saying. We have to go out and do our own job."
QB-DAVID GARRARD (on RB-Maurice Jones-Drew)
"He's been looking good to me, but I'm not the doctor of the team, and I'm sure Jack and the team physician and our trainers will make sure that he is ready to go, or if not hold him out. I'm not sure what they'll do, but I hope he's out there for my sake. I'm counting on him a lot this year, but I'm really leaving that up to Jack and our training staff on the best call for him."
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