Garcia fires back

Jeff Garcia says he is healthy enough to practice and play this week and disagrees with Jon Gruden's decision to bench him.

Garcia, 38, wore no special support for a sprained ankle he suffered in Sunday's 24-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

But he acknowledged that he could've played better in the season opener and vowed to correct his mistakes while getting his body healthy.

Veteran Brian Griese will start Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

""Right now, having only played one game, I would've liked the opportunity to battle through whatever I'm going through,'' Garcia said. ""But coach made that decision early in the week and I have to live with it.

"I understand in the game on Sunday, there were a couple plays I left out on the field. And I'm hard enough on myself to know that they could've been difference-makers in the game. I know I can turn that around, I can learn from whatever I didn't do. And I think there's been some things that unfortunately have piled up injury-wise that I don't like to bring to anybody's attention because I always feel I can fight through it, that I can always get through those things and not have them be a factor. Well, coach feels like there's some things that are factors, that are taken away from what I bring to the table. So right now, it's his decision.''

Garcia has struggled through some injuries. He said he injured his back early in the off-season. He suffered a right calf injury Aug. 31 that forced him to miss most of training camp and has a jammed pinkie finger on his throwing hand. Now the ankle.

"I've played through a lot worse before and that's not anything new,'' Garcia said.

"It's just one thing after another and I know everybody will say, hey, well he's old and he's running out of gas and this is what happens to old guys...all I can do is focus on getting better and being supportive.''

Emotionally, Garcia says he's tried to move on from the disappointments of the off-season, including the Bucs' failure to make up for a missed play-time incentive bonus and the team's attempts to trade for Brett Favre.      

""I can't continue to focus or dwell on things that aren't positive for this team and those things aren't positive because if I dwell on that, that takes away who I need to be for this team,'' Garcia said.

""I feel like I'm emotionally stable. I'm not a basket case. I'm not somebody who's going to take away what this team's focus is. I don't know if coach believes that because things that have stockpiled it has seemed and that maybe I have allowed to stockpile have taken away from the edge that I normally have on the field. If that's what he believes, if that's what he feels, I need to do my best to get that back and prove to him that it's there.''

   

      

Comments

[don]

Bench the old fart.

[mh]

How many different QB has Gruden started since he has been here 10 is the answer counting Griese twice(left and came back). Ok I know pro football is a business but don't you reward a employee that performs for you? Without Garcia this team wouldn't of went to the post season last year. Garcia is a team player not a me and I player. He never complained when he sat at the end of last season when he was told don't worry we will take care of you. They never did take care of him. Garcia put that and the Farve ordeal behind him. I think Gruden's a good x and o coach But he will never be confused for a players coach. Loyality left with Dungy. Did Payton get benched after his bad showing last weekend? Nope wake up people Garcias done with this team!

[aaron]

who do you think we should blame for the Tom? george bush? for gods sakes man, he recruited Garcia here to Tampa. Gruden is the one to blame for this mess. you tell me who you would blame...everybody knew he would either get hurt or fade. looks like both has happened.

[aaron]

just for the record, tom, i was never thrilled Garcia was here. not last year, not this year never. he has never impressed me. well maybe when in SF....

[aaron]

SteveL, there is a long list of who i would rather have here: Lane Kiffin, Bill Cowher, Marty Schottenheimer, Raheem Morris as HC or even Monte.
I gues you really like Gruden high powered offense dont you? really gets your heart pumping when they trot on the field. we have to have the most boring offense to watch. 3 and out. 3 and out. 4 yrd pass, 5yrd run, incomplete pass. 3 and out. yeah SteveL that is fun to watch. we will go far with that.

[Ed]

Garcia's short stint in the preseason showed that he was not ready to start.Either give him more work in the last game or start one of the other two.I would have preffered the better athelete with the stronger arm,but Griese would have been acceptable to a rusty Garcia.Practice is important,look at this weekends results.

[aaron]

Tom you should really take it easy. you dont need to resort to name calling. disagree with somebody fine. everybody has a different opinion but you dont need to go there. relax. its footbal. i understand getting worked up, but not that much

[bill h]

i think garcia played like crap on purpose

[Ed]

Gruden is not a good head coach.I would have loved to sign Jason Garret.Gruden's offense avgs. less ppg than Dungy's.

[Adam]

The Bucs may think that they are handling Garcia properly, but it's actually the Bucs who are getting handled. All this public venting that Garcia is doing about his situation is doing nothing but damage to the Bucs' organization. What free agent in his right mind is going to want to sign here? This is how we treat the people who do RIGHT by the Bucs. We skim them out of money, invent injuries, embarass them in the press, and publically try to acquire their replacements. Good luck getting a top flight wide receiver next season!

[mh]

hey bill you think he talk the o-line into letting the New Orleans defense pressure him all game long? He was rusty but he was under lots of pressure you think he sucked the game up for when he's a free agent next year, Oh wait word out from pro football.com the Bucs are trying to trade him. He crossed Gruden by talking to the press about his contract impass bad Jeff you can now go the path of K Johnson and K McCardell.

[mh]

Jason you are so right. Te free agents will be flocking to tampa to play ....Not!!!! Gruden is such a liar.
Garcia's not hurt. He is in the dog house. All you people that are happy Garcia's not starting hope Atlanta don't rush us cause Griese not at all mobil. He couldn't even beat Rex Grossman out with the bears.

[Mark]

Fucaneers Sure Like To Cry. We wasted our tax money on a stadium for these fools? Coaches and Player are all a bunch of over paid pre-madonas.

[Steve L]

Solution, aaron: don't watch.

[Steve L]

aaron, Lane Kiffin? Are you dyslexic? You may want to switch last year's record around before you start wishing for that kid. And the first game this season didn't bode well either.

[DR]

You’re all a bunch of morons on this site!!!! Every won of you, your just stuped.

[Jesse]

I don't see how this is "firing back" either, but Garcia should just be quiet & concentrate on football. I don't believe he's a basket case, even though he consistently played like one against the Saints. I hope he responds with the focus he needs to bring, for his sake. For now, we as fans should not remember any QB's, other than the ones on the roster. I support & believe in Griese. It's time for everyone on the team to focus. The Falcons have nothing to lose & will run the ball all day. The Bucs have to get a lead & keep it, force Matt Ryan to beat 'em.

One other thing, I've posted about the Bucs offense not ranking better than 10th in its history, which makes me cringe. I see guys like DeSean Jackson, who I had hoped Tampa would draft & said would challenge for ROTY, doing well, & Dexter Jackson is the same size & almost as fast as DeSean; players like these force the D to do different things, stretch the field & open up the running game. He needs to be in there at WR at some point; let's see what he can do. He was a 2nd Rd pick, after all.

Last week is gone, guys, we have to support these guys because they are very good. Can't wait for Sunday! GO BUCS!!!

[Rick]

Dungy was a great people person, but if you remember, that got kind of old when we couldn't get out of the first round of the playoffs. Gruden, not a great people person but it's getting old because we haven't moved past the 1st round of the playoffs. Garcia asked for this. He sat out of camp for that silly old thing that wasn't even his event. Then he hurts his calf, plays horrible in preseason, hurts his finger, plays not so good in the 1st game. What should coach due, let jeff lose a few games until he's his old self again? Then again, coach is partly to blame too. He should have played jeff the entire 3rd and 4th game of the preseason to shake off the "rust". This whole not playing starters for fear of them getting hurt is silly.

[AL]

THIS IS A GRUDEN ERA TREND, A QUARTERBACK COMES AND DOES'NT LAST MORE THAN 2 SEASONS. YOU CAN NOT BUILD A TEAM WITH THE REVOLVING DOOR APPROACH TO THE QUARTERBACK POSITION. LET'S FACE IT, QUARTERBACKS CANT' GET ALONG WITH GRUDEN.

[Falcons Fans]

Gruden should absolutely start Garcia. He needs to work through his issues on the field in a vital divisional matchup, it's the only logical thing to do.

[skp]

is gruden forcing these guys out? what have you seen out of brad johnson that makes you think we should've stuck with him? brian griese didn't want to leave and has said so before....simms couldn't have played even if gruden wanted to, and gradkowski? i don't think i need to go there....

so here we have garcia, who was in decline after the injury last season and is fragile (hence resting him) to begin with, and he looked like our last #7, bruce gradkoswki, out there....so where is the part where gruden is driving them away? those are all guys who played themselves out of the starting QB job....

AND WHY IS THIS A GRUDEN ISSUE?! the closest the bucs have come to a franchise QB since Doug Williams were steve deberg and trent dilfer. we have NEVER had a long-term answer at QB in this town, and aren't all that different from half the teams in this league since gruden got here...

[skp]

the above was a response to AL

[George Bush]

Everyone knows that Garcia was not ready to go last Sunday. We all saw it. Gruden gave him the benefit of the doubt knowing that Griese was more prepared and looked real good in the preseason. It's a good move on Grudens part to sit Garcia and wait until he gets his timing back. What happens if we go with Garcia this weekend and he performs the same way he did last week? That will be two losses. Not to mention, division losses. Then all of you Gruden haters will be lashing out at Gruden for starting a QB who was not ready. You haters need to relax and realize that it is week 2 and we have a real chance at winning the division. Look at it this way, the defense played its worst game, the QB was not ready, and we still had a chance to win. We gave them all they could handle. I bet the outcome will be different next time. Lets give our team a chance. They will gel and get it going. You watch!

[Al Gore]

Cut his azzzzzzzzzz.

[Kris]

The rumor is true. The Bucs are shopping Garcia. He will likely end up back as a 49er, or play for the Chiefs. There is also a small chance (very small) he may end up in NE.

My sources say the Bucs are seeking a 5th or possibly a 4th round pick in exchange for Garcia.

[boltcc]

So the question is, is Garcia benched for a week?? Or is it permanent.? Who starts game #3? IF Griese has a big win on sunday..is the job his rest of season?
Or if they lose does it go back to Garcia?
Don't make more drama on the team..keep Garcia as #1..if the team is 0-4 then we can change. Lots of teams are 0-1 this week

"John Gruden doesnt marry QB's, he only dates them" -seems pretty accurate to me!

[Joe Maddon]

Gruden saw me bench Upton. BJ responded like a pro and he expects the same from Garcia. Garcia sounds like he's hungry and ready to scrap. Now we start to win.

[Darren]

Do you think Tebow will enter the NFL draft after his Jr. year?

[KG]

Griese has never performed well for the Bucs so it's a joke that he is the go to guy...LUKE MCCOWN is a far better choice...PLAY HIM!!!

[Gaston]

The worst thing the times ever did was allow people to post comments to articles. That's why we get buffoons like Mark giving us their childlike comments. And for the record Mark, it's "prima donna". A pre-madonna, as you so eloquently typed would be someone who came before Madonna.

[rod]

The Jets have no QB issues...thats all

[CP]

DR posted:
You’re all a bunch of morons on this site!!!! Every won of you, your just stuped.

Let's go through this slowly. It should read: Every one of you, you're just stupid. Not won, because we have not won anything. You should have used you're instead of your (contractions can be difficult). And stupid was mispelled.

If you are going to call everyone here out for being stupid, at least use proper grammer and spelling. It will make your case much stronger.

Just trying to help.

[CP]

See, it is confusing. I didn't spell misspelled or grammar right.

[I hate Madden09]

Guys this is more than just a benching. This is the fallout of why you cannot, as a leader of a team, go to the media concerning in-house issues. Garcia, brought scrutiny on himself and Karma is alive and well. I saw a issue last year in the Washington game when he hurt his back on that scramble. Gruden jokes about his reckless play at times but truly does not like it, who would? This team looks like the team that lost to the Giants (demeanor wise) and we have to infuse a confident leader that has no recent memory of last year's results.
What better experienced QB than Griese? Luke is talented but cmon' guys this player is not ready yet to lead, this is not a rebuilding project, the BUCS are a potential playoff team. It wasn't the loss that cost Garcia it was the detail in the loss. Several misthrows and reads are not something that a qb at his level should be making, even with limited practice. With that being said, we either sink or swim with his injuries if we ride the ship with him.
Griese may not throw deep all of the time but I guarantee that the reads will be made and the throws will be on the money.
The most untalked about aspect of the game was the O-line, those guys did their job and Garcia made them look skiddish. The Saints have a good pass rush and with a rookie in there and a second year Sears, they fared decent. We can build on that. We keep saying that we must get more rush but with the same linemen, that doesn't quite add up. Hovan is not a sacker, Haye is solid at best, White is a sacker but not premier and Adams ability is still coming to form. WHERE IS THIS EQUATING TO PASS RUSH? That is the definition of insanity, expecting different results from the same actions. The Bucs still will have a good season but we must have effiecient QB play. This offense has to be more explosive and opportunistic, meaning play those type of players...(i.e. Jackson, Bennett, Galloway, Troupe) The players are here to have a good offense but we must play them. i am still saying a 11-5 season. Bucs win in the playoffs, adversity breeds greatness or bust pipes. Lets see how the team responds.
I am disappointed in our D-line, if anything///

[Billy Madison]

The D let us down and the offense was rusty, but we only lost by 4. New Orleans is going to turn out to be a very solid team, and we had them. We will turn this ship around and be a solid team, whether Garcia or Griese is at the helm.

[nick]

WHAT RUST??? did Brad Johnson show rust when he didnt play for ONE MONTH and then lit up Garcia's 49ers in 2002? Did Garcia have rust when he came in the middle of the season for Phily when McNabb went down?

There is no RUST!

We are all seeing things Backwards...its GRUDEN and ALLEN that Saved GARCIA's career and got Garcia the fat contract, not vice versa. No one wanted Garcia after 06, not even the team he led to a division crown in the toughest division, Beat The Giants in the Playoffs, and was NOT WANTED BACK! No one wanted Garcia, but us, and we paid him well!

Lets see how much RUST Brian doesnt show.

[Paul]

Is Steve DeBerg in town?

[Tom]

Aaron, Lane Kiffin for coach instead of Gruden? Wow, you've reached a whole new low. No comment on that comment.

I am assuming that the coaching staff sees something Griese is doing and what Garcia is not doing in practice that warrants this benching. If it's purely based upon Garcia's performance last week, it is a premature move.

[RD]

And Chuck, who at this point is happy with the current condition of their team? The Patriot’s? The Colts? The Chargers? Losers all the first week. The Cardinals won though, perhaps they’re happy.

Posted by: Steve L

Umm, the Pats won actually. And by the way, Graham got the Bucs to the playoffs, not Garcia. Garcia is gulf alpha yankee.

[Steven]

To all Bucs fans, this is what we like to call a trial phase to find a starting quarterback, if griese does well this sunday and out plays the falcons, guess what time to go out and buy a new jersey and hang up the 2nd string number. Sorry to say that, but welcome to a team and a coach that want to win games, not squeak by each time, sure nice to have clutch players, but only when that clutch is needed, not the whole game!

[Sound Off]

Garcia it's not about YOU & your MASSIVE ego. It's about TEAM. We saw you "struggle through it" last year. It didn't work. You haven’t been 100% your injury. You're pouting around like some h.s. titty baby ever since you didn't get a contract extension. You're under contract. You didn't play during camp and it showed. You're not the same QB who came here over a year ago. Griese gives this team the best chance to win NOW. The Bucs can't afford to lose two or three games, while you "play through it." Either get ON this team or ask to be traded.

[Tom]

Bucs fans have short term memory

[Justin M]

There is something else going on behind the scenes. Holder questioned Galloway's desire after the NO, and while I agreed with that to a point I believe the same could be said for Garcia. Jeff Garcia was NOT prepared for that game, and its was 100% on him. Not Gruden.

[tnucbmud]

I support Gruden's decision. Garcia looked horrible vs. the Saints and we lost. Period. He has too many issues: back, pinkie finger, calf, ankle and hurt feelings over the FAVRE deal. Sit him out, let him heal and re-evaluate later.

As far as Favre goes...this is to YOU, Mr. "tradewinds loser boy moser", FAVRE is NOT the answer. He is just as old as Garcia. He and Jets beat the WORST team in NFL last week. By the end of the season when the Jets don't make the playoffs, Allen will have last laugh. I'm glad we didn't sign Favre. Kudos to Bruce Allen! Go BUCS!

[Steven]

It also has nothing to do with being yankee? That is so not even a point. I believe New York won it last year, and the colts, then My Pittsburgh Steelers, so when you get a *yankee* player, he has to go against some pretty tough players. But the South has alot of Studs to. Anyway, the thing i like to make fun of and should tell you Bucs fans, this is expected from Garcia. As mention im a Steelers fan, he was a browns quarterback, DONT EXPECT ALOT WHEN THEY COME FROM THE BROWNS, jsut like music artists and one hit wonders, thats what kind of players come out of cleveland.

The guy has one off game and you say bench him please he was your stud last year give him a couple more games and if the rust is not gone bench him. Wasn't it Griese that wanted to punch Gruden for bringing him back to the Bucs? Ask any offensive player that left what they think about Gruden don't think anyone has anything nice to say. Why if your QB is "rusty" do you keep throwing the ball when your averaging over 9 yards a carry. Run the dam ball until they stop you.

[Joe]

The Bucs suck hope they lose a bunch of games so I can see some of my fav teams come the end of the season when people jump off the bandwagon and give tickets away

[Rick, Clearwater Beach]

Remember Jeff John is the coach (Boss) and there are very few jobs in the world that pay like yours and never in any breath should you be compared with Brett Favre. Furthermore prople who get paid to play a game should appreciate their situation shut up and perform. I wish Griese all of the best, and remember Garia if you want to play.......pay attention, work, quit whining, and Shut up. Kudo's to Jon for taking action because what I saw last weekend reminded me of Bruce Gradkowski.

[Kevin]

This is where it starts with Garcia. Look back at where he's played and how these things turn out. WHen is the last time he played a full season anyhow?

Trust me he'll start throwing people under the bus before this season is over..if you think my comments are crazy or untrue go back and look at Philly Cleveland Detroit and San Fran...at least 3 of the 4 he's done it

[shane]

part of me says brian was not brought back here to warm the bench. If anyone says garcia was rusty then we need to scrap him because things that are that rusty tend to completely fall apart and ruin anything around them. Not that I don't like Garcia but Brian seems to be a better fit to this offense than he does and if Brian can avoid the costly interceptions then he will be the starter for the bucs for the rest of the year(barring injury) and probably next year(once again barring injury)