Posts tagged JeffGarcia at FanHouse

At his post-game press conference, following his teams 27-3 win, Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden announced that Jeff Garcia has earned himself at least one more start in what has been an early season carousel of quarterbacks for Tampa Bay.

Garcia didn't put up huge numbers, but he was an improvement over the turnover prone Brian Griese, and completed over 75% of his passes for the second consecutive game. He remains the Buccaneers best quarterback, and barring injury, should remain the teams starter the rest of the season.

Reading Gruden's comments after the game, however, you have to wonder if Garcia isn't just keeping the seat warm for another switch at the position later this season.

"We're going to start Jeff," Gruden said. "Brian was still unable to be active today. We have a lot of respect for our quarterbacks. We realize it's a hard game to play when you're not healthy. We'll try to get Brian back as soon as we can. In the meantime, Josh and Luke and Jeff have to pick up the slack."

Pick up the slack? I'm not sure what that means. Assuming "Josh and Luke and Jeff" don't throw three interceptions every week, they'll not only have picked up the slack for Griese, they'll have been a pretty sizable upgrade.

Tampa Bay ended a five-game home losing streak against Carolina, and in the process took over the top spot in the NFC South with its 27-3 victory on Sunday. And it was all thanks to Jeff Garcia!

Well, not really, but Garcia reclaimed his starting job and played like you would expect Jeff Garcia to play. He was accurate, didn't turn the ball over, and even threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Alex Smith.

In all honesty though, if there was an offensive star for the Buccaneers, it was probably 33-year old running back Warrick Dunn, as the 12-year veteran picked up 115 yards on 22 carries for his first 100-yard game of the season. Actually, it was Dunn's most productive day running the football since week two of the 2006 season when he picked up 134 yards as a member of the Falcons.

In news that should be a surprise to no one, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brian Griese is inactive for today's potential first-place battle with Carolina. Jeff Garcia, as expected for much of the week, will get the start. Josh Johnson will dress as the Buccaneers No. 3 quarterback, as reported by the Tampa Tribune.

Griese was injured in last week's 16-13 loss to Denver, when Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey planted him into the turf on a corner blitz.

It will be Garcia's first start since the teams week one loss to New Orleans. He also relieved Griese this past Sunday and completed 13-of-17 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Wide receiver Joey Galloway is also out for Tampa Bay, and will be replaced by Antonio Bryant.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Cincinnati (0-5) at NY Jets (2-2): I'm just going to quickly put this on the table -- when the highlight of your season thus far is your "star" wide receiver kissing the head coach on the head, things are not going well. The Bengals look to me a lot like the cast of "Entourage" looked last week trying to "act" on mushrooms. There is no way bad actors should be forced to act like they're on drugs, unless the point is to make them look very, very stupid. This goes for the Bengals. They have acted like a football team for years, but haven't really produced much, and now we get to see them on mushrooms. It isn't a pretty picture. Also, did you notice I went this entire paragraph without mentioning B _ _ _ _, F _ _ _ _? This is me, taking a stand.

Pick: Jets

Way back in May, during the 49ers minicamp, tight end Vernon Davis got in a scrape with teammate Parys Haralson. After practice, the Press Democrat's Matt Maiocco jokingly asked Davis if he was acting out of frustration built up from the offense-less team Mike Nolan put on the field last season.

The team has it's fourth offensive coordinator in as many seasons, and this one, Mike Martz, is known for matriculating the ball down the field, primarily through the air. Good news for Davis, right? Eh, maybe not. Through five games, he has five catches for 87 yards. I'm guessing the 49ers (and Davis, judging from this) were looking for more production from the former sixth-overall pick.

Sorry, Vernon, Martz doesn't care.

Q: But is there a sense that Davis is starting to get antsy with his production?
Martz: Is this a serious question?

Q: Yeah - he has five catches in five games.
Martz: I have no idea what he has. I don't think about those things to be honest with you. I'm sure anyone with five catches - I don't care who you are - is probably not satisfied. It's not the point, though, probably, is it? We're just trying to win. His time will come

Okay, so it's not that Martz doesn't care, he's just more interested in winning. Fair enough, particularly for an outfit that hasn't had a winning season Steve Mariucci, Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens were on the premises seven years ago. Plus, if Davis is more valuable as a run blocker then, well, that's okay, too. At least as far as Frank Gore is concerned.

You've got questions. I've got answers. If not, I'll make them up. Each Thursday, I answer your queries on all things related to the NFL. If you have a question, send it over to NFLMailbag@gmail.com. Don't forget to include your name and location. Click here for the archives. Rock'n'roll.

I don't understand. The Saints let fan favorite John Carney go because he was "losing his leg." With Martin Gramatica cut, Taylor Mehlhaff will be their third kicker in 21 games. Please explain the logic?
- Roy H., Jackson, MS

I have to admit: I've held a longtime grudge against Carney for botching the River City Relay, and was glad that he was let go before the 2007 season. But that turned out to be a colossal mistake. He's been 24-of-26 in various stops since leaving New Orleans, while Olindo Mare and Gramatica went a combined 21-of-32 as Saints. It's been so bad I was even hoping for the team to re-sign Carney with his release from the Giants looming. Alas, they went with their 2008 sixth-round pick, who lost his job in the summer to Gramatica. So I'm not sure how much confidence that inspires, but the Saints drafted Mehlhaff originally to solidify the kicking game for a long time, and he'll have another chance at that.

The revolving door that is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback position appears as if it's about to take another turn this Sunday, as all signs are pointing to Jeff Garcia taking back his starting job. We knew this was a possibility earlier in the week, but as Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune explains, we're one step closer to it becoming a reality.

Griese sat out the morning walkthrough and will skip today's practice as well. He said he could return to work on Thursday but it may not matter. The feeling here at One Buc Place is that the Bucs have already decided to change quarterbacks for the second time this year. All indications then are that Jeff Garcia will be back at the helm when the Bucs take on the Panthers in their critical matchup Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

As I've said before, I think this is a good thing for Tampa, and this situation is almost identical to the scenario that led to Brian Griese taking over the job following the team's week one loss.

Cummings also suggests that Jon Gruden is unhappy with Griese's habit of throwing passes to guys wearing different uniforms, as well as his inability to hit open receivers. That's quite a 180 from what the Buccaneers coach argued at his press conference a week ago.

While there's been no official word from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at this point, there is a very good chance that Jeff Garcia could be returning to the starting lineup this coming Sunday, thanks in large part to Champ Bailey's dismantling of Brian Griese's arm/shoulder/elbow in Tampa Bay's 16-13 loss.

Garcia came off the bench after being relegated to backup duty following the first game of the season, and completed 13-of-17 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, pulling Tampa Bay to within three points late in the fourth quarter.

"It felt good to have the old me back again," Garcia said. "In terms of the movement and finding receivers and having receivers making plays and just stringing together a drive in a difficult environment, it was good."

I still think Garcia is the best quarterback on the roster, so this probably isn't a bad thing for the Buccaneers. Especially since Griese entered Sunday's game tied for the league lead in interceptions, which didn't seem to be much of a concern to Head Coach Jon Gruden.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:

Here's Week 5 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Brandon Jacobs, RB NYG (15 rushes, 136 yards, 2 TDs) -- Remember back when you were in fifth and sixth grade and there was that kid who was bigger, stronger and more athletic than you and all your friends? Yeah, well that's Brandon Jacobs, except he's the best running back on the best football team in the world. A dominating performance against Seattle that was highlighted by a 9.1 yards per carry average has the Giants ... umm .... giant?

After watching the Vikings offense settle for field goal after field goal -- and ultimately lose -- on Sunday against Indianapolis, Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress finally started to back away from his young quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson. Today, he backed away even further, placing his third-year starter on the Minnesota bench and replacing him with 37-year old Gus Frerotte.

Jackson has been brutal through two games this year, completing just 50% of his passes while posting a 64.8 passer rating, numbers that weren't all that different from what he put up in 2007.

Trouble is, it remains to be seen how much of an improvement Frerotte will be at this point in his career. The 15-year veteran played eight games for the Rams last year and put up a passing line that was actually worse than Jackson's.