Byron Leftwich Has Nothing to Say to You

You would think that after being named starting quarterback for a potential playoff contender in 2007, Byron Leftwich would step forward and say something about how he's glad to put his differences with head coach Jack Del Rio behind him and looking forward to leading his team back to the playoffs.

You would be wrong. Florida Times-Union columnist Sam Borden noted today that Leftwich has been conspicuous by his silence this week. He hasn't made any comment to the media about returning as the Jags' starting quarterback. In fact, he hasn't said anything to the Times-Union for about three months.

The last time Leftwich was quoted in the Times-Union was mid-November, after making a visit to a local school. At the time, he demurred when asked about the status of his injured left ankle, and since then, he hasn't offered anything more. Amazingly, he's actually offered less.

This isn't about Leftwich being "unavailable." He isn't scaling Mount Everest or even Stone Mountain, and nobody with the Jaguars is saying that he's playing with koalas in Australia or adopting children in Africa. He could speak out if he wanted to.

He just doesn't want to.

Borden goes on to suggest how poorly this reflects on himself and everyone else in the Jaguars organization. Brooding is not a particularly good trait for a quarterback, especially one who got what he wanted after a long disagreement with his coach. On the other hand, maybe Leftwich is waiting to give an exclusive to Deion Sanders or something. Maybe he just doesn't feel like trotting out the old go-team cliches and would rather focus on enjoying his offseason.

Either way, the press gets neurotic and gossipy when it gets ignored, and Leftwich would be wise to squash this sort of talk sooner rather than later.