Choosing Garcia makes perfect sense for Bucs
So now Jeff Garcia is the front-runner for the job as starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Bucs. OK, fine. But what's the big deal?
The minute the Bucs signed the guy, I figured Garcia was the front-runner. I think a lot of people did.
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| Jeff Garcia targeted the Eagles and then the Bucs as good offensive systems. (US Presswire) |
Gannon was Gruden's reclamation project in Oakland. He acquired him when Gannon was a 33-year-old backup few wanted and turned him into one of the most efficient and successful quarterbacks in Raiders history.
Gannon could run. He could improvise. He knew how to make plays outside the pocket. He knew how to lead.
He was accurate. He was tough. He was resilient. He was smart. And he was a veteran who would flourish in the right offense.
Maybe it's me, but that sure sounds like a description of Jeff Garcia.
He was supposed to be washed up in Detroit after the Lions floundered in 2005, but people forgot that it wasn't Garcia who screwed up the Lions; it was the Lions who screwed up Garcia. The guy could still play, and he proved it once he left Detroit and landed in Philadelphia -- taking over when Donovan McNabb suffered a season-ending knee injury last year.
All Garcia did was win six of eight starts, take the Eagles to their fifth division title in six years and ignite a quarterback debate that wouldn't quit until Garcia left town.
"The reason Jeff considered returning to Philadelphia was that it was a system he felt fit him well," Garcia's agent Steve Baker said. "And that's the same reason he signed with Tampa Bay. It's a system where he can thrive."
Until this week Tampa fans were wondering: Garcia or Chris Simms? Please, people. The Bucs never were sold on Simms, and the proof is the signing of Garcia and the trade for Jake Plummer.
It doesn't matter that Plummer won't play. What matters is that Tampa Bay felt compelled to acquire him. Honestly, do you think the Bucs would have made that move that if they were sold on Simms? I think you know the answer.
"Jeff Garcia is smart. He's competitive. And he's mobile," an AFC player personnel director said. "I think Gruden feels he needs to win this year, and he isn't confident that Chris Simms is the guy who can do that for him. So he goes out and gets Garcia and hopes he can get one or two years out of him before turning it over to the young guy (Bruce Gradkowski)."
