TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Henderson: Gruden Should 'Marry' This Quarterback

The Associated Press

Bucs QB Jeff Garcia gets pressure from Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers during Sunday's game.

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2008

TAMPA - The Bucs were already ahead by a touchdown late in the first quarter Sunday when Jeff Garcia dropped back to pass from Carolina's 2-yard line. He was pressured, but deftly bought time by moving around until tight end Alex Smith got open in the end zone. Garcia found him easily, and the Bucs had another score.

It's the kind of play that could get lost in what was eventually a 27-3 victory by the Bucs, but it illustrated that Garcia still can make a difference in this offense. He is more mobile than Brian Griese, the man he replaced at quarterback, and he has a stronger arm that allowed the Bucs to go a little more vertical in their passing game.

Most importantly though, Garcia didn't turn the ball over against Carolina, and that was a problem that plagued Griese until he was hurt last week at Denver. So given this result, there can be no doubt that the revolving door in the Bucs' quarterback room has spun again. The job seems to be Garcia's now, for as long as he can hold it.

"Jeff is a great quarterback, and I believe in him," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said after Sunday's game. "I just think that [Sunday] he showed you his mobility and his ability to throw the ball and work the pocket. He's a guy that's a creative player, and he's won four or five games in a row I think against Carolina, and that's a great accomplishment."

Garcia has shown a tendency to speak his mind since arriving here in time to lead the Bucs to playoffs last season, but he mostly kept his feelings to himself after being benched following an opening-game loss at New Orleans. He basically played the good soldier, even while falling to third on the depth chart and serving as scout team quarterback.

To be honest, a lot of people figured we'd never see him on a football field wearing pewter again. Football is a sport of mercenaries though, and the oft-traveled Garcia and Gruden may be the ultimate union in that regard.

Gruden falls in and out of love with quarterbacks, it seems, from practice to practice (remember Garcia's line in training camp during the Brett Favre debacle: Gruden only wants to date quarterbacks, not marry them), but it's pretty clear now that Garcia gives the Bucs their best chance to win.

Of course, it wasn't easy for Garcia to sit behind Griese and Luke McCown. Talk about a swift kick to your ego. And make no mistake, Garcia's ego is the size of Montana. That's not a negative, by the way.

"I feel like my preparation and my work ethic over the past four weeks have been good, and I did not want to be that guy who is going to turn it around and say, 'Why me?' [and] not be selfish in any sort of way, but be positive and supportive toward my teammates and toward Brian when he was in the game," he said.

"I had to realize that because the way this game is, that opportunity can present itself again, and when it does present itself, do what you have done in the past and take advantage of the opportunity."

Well, we'd all have to agree he took full advantage, completing 15 of 20 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown. He was not sacked. He had no turnovers.

So, perhaps, the game ends now.

Perhaps it's back to the future, and Garcia is the unquestioned starting quarterback, just like last year. That would be one more positive to come out of Sunday's win, which left the Bucs at 4-2 and in a three-way tie for first place in what is shaping up as an extremely competitive NFC South.

"This is just one game," Garcia said. "We don't know what is going to happen next, but to be out there on the field today was exciting for me. It felt great. It felt great to be at home in front of a great crowd and playing against a good football team. Now if we can just build on these things, we have a lot of good things to look forward to."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT