The last time Todd Bouman won a game as a starting quarterback was on Dec. 9, 2001. Bouman's next chance might come on Sunday, when the 3-3 Jaguars attempt to bounce back from an embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football. The Jaguars' opponent will be the 3-2 Kansas City Chiefs, who are on a two-game losing streak.
To put Bouman's timeline into perspective, the last time he won a game as a starting quarterback, George Bush was president, the United States was recovering from terrorist attacks two months earlier and had yet to invade Iraq, Tom Coughlin was the coach of the Jaguars and Mark Brunell was their quarterback.
"I've got all these guys around here. Let them make plays and get them the ball," Bouman said of his personal game plan. "At my age, you just go out, play and have fun. The next play may be your last play. You just never know."
At Bouman's age, 38, the likelihood is that his next start would be his last. He was signed by the Jaguars this week because David Garrard and Trent Edwards each sustained significant injuries in the Jaguars' 30-3 loss to the Titans on Monday night. The Jaguars also signed Patrick Ramsey, who might be the Jaguars' number two quarterback in Kansas City.
"I think we can certainly find a comfort zone, things I'm comfortable with and familiar with and concepts that I've run before. They have a game plan to execute and it's my job to learn it," Ramsey told reporters shortly after signing a contract on Wednesday.
Garrard sustained a concussion in the first half of Monday's game and was ruled out of action this week by coach Jack Del Rio, following practice on Friday. Garrard will not travel with the team to Kansas City.
Edwards sprained his right thumb after replacing Garrard at quarterback on Monday. He did not participate in practice until Friday, though it was in a limited basis. He is listed as "questionable" on the Jaguars injury report, which means there's a 50 percent chance Edwards could play on Sunday.
"Whoever is back there, we're going to protect them; we're going to do whatever we can to make plays for them. Monday, we didn't do a great job of that so we have to continue to work hard and make better plays," running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. "It's a fight. That's what it is now. We're one game back in our division and we're going against a tough team that's very physical."
Jones-Drew wants the Jaguars to commit more energetically to the running game, which would make sense for a team with an unsettled quarterback situation, but the Jaguars will need a much better performance from its defense to allow that kind of commitment.
Kansas City is statistically similar to the Jaguars. The Chiefs are number one in rushing; the Jags are number three. The Chiefs are 27th in pass-offense; the Jags are 26th. The Chiefs are fifth against the run; the Jags are 12th. The Chiefs are 27th against the pass; the Jags are 29th.
The Chiefs could very easily be 4-1. They lost in Houston last Sunday when a late-game Texans rally was aided by a mysterious pass-interference penalty.
One of Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley's biggest problems in preparing for the Jaguars was finding tape on Bouman.
"We're still working on that. I'll check with my coaches and see if anybody's crossed paths or crossed with other guys," Haley said.
Bouman's last start in the NFL was in 2005, while with the Tampa Bay Bucs. He's 1-5 as a starter.
