Bucs

Backup won't satisfy Garcia

The Bucs quarterback says he didn't enjoy being on the sideline in Philadelphia.

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published May 22, 2007

TAMPA - Jeff Garcia signed with the Eagles last year knowing full well Donovan McNabb would be the starting quarterback in Philadelphia.

What Garcia learned later is that sitting on the bench would drive him to utter misery.

"Even though we were winning, it was different being on the sideline, " Garcia said Monday while addressing a group of prominent local business leaders. "It wasn't anything I showed in the locker room or with my teammates. I wasn't a problem or anything. It's just that I wasn't having fun playing the game anymore. I was not enjoying it."

Chris Simms had better watch his back. Because based on Garcia's distaste for being a backup in Philadelphia, he has no intention of doing so in Tampa after joining the Bucs in March.

When Garcia became the starter after McNabb's season-ending injury in November, it was akin to being reborn. He went 5-1 as a starter and led the Eagles to the playoffs.

"I was resurrected last year, " Garcia said. "When I got back on the field, the game started to come back to me. I started having fun. I was starting to be a kid again. The players around me, the coaching staff around me, they trusted me. They believed in me."

Garcia, 37, spoke at length Monday about the many obstacles he overcame before becoming an NFL quarterback. He told members of the Circle of Influence - a group of local CEOs - about attending junior college because big schools didn't want him, about his Canadian Football League stint, about his days backing up the unflappable Steve Young in San Francisco.

But Garcia looked ahead as well, talking about the state of the Bucs and where he sees himself fitting in.

"As much as I'm a 37-year-old quarterback standing here who's not that big or fast, it doesn't matter. I don't even think about that, " he said. "I bring an emotion that is unmatched - except maybe by coach Jon Gruden. I know the starting job isn't given to me, but I plan to compete. I know I have what it takes to be the starting quarterback here."

Garcia won a CFL championship with Calgary, but he has never come close to winning a Super Bowl. Considering their 4-12 record last season, the Bucs wouldn't seem the ideal team to get him there any time soon. But Garcia sees progress.

"This team needed to improve the offensive line, and I think it made some major strides, " Garcia said, noting the signing of tackle Luke Petitgout and the drafting of Arron Sears in the second round. And Garcia touted the draft as a major step toward regaining the defense's dominance.

All the moves, he thinks, will bring the Bucs closer to where he wants to ultimately be.

"When people ask me what my greatest experience as a professional player has been, I have to be honest with them: My greatest achievement was winning a Grey Cup championship in Calgary, " Garcia said. "That's what I want to help achieve. I think that this team has the ability. There are guys here who have been there. This team can do what it wants to do."

Stephen F. Holder can be reached at (813) 226-3377 or sholder@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 21, 2007, 23:21:16]