Posts tagged JeffGarcia at FanHouse

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 Season Opener

Redskins at Giants: "Wah wah wah, we get no respect." The Giants can prove they really deserve that respect starting now. Not that the Redskins are world-beaters, they've got a few issues of their own, but the G-Men need to show everyone they can play like champions for more than just a small stretch of the season. I don't think they'll have a problem tonight.

The 1s

Cincinnati at Baltimore: Ed Reed is iffy for the Ravens, but Chad Ocho Cinco is literally insane, so that's a wash. The Bengals will be starting a converted tight end at fullback, so I hope Ray Lewis doesn't load up on pre-game carbs; he'll have a chance to eat Chris Perry on the field. Despite a new coach and rookie quarterback, the Ravens have had a more stable offseason than the Bengals, which I guess doesn't say much but could make a difference.

Jets at Dolphins: I think the storylines of this game have been discussed to the point of inducing nausea, correct? OK, good, let's just move on before my eyes start to bleed.

The Chris Simms era (if you want to call it that) in Tampa Bay has officially come to an end as the Buccaneers released the sixth-year veteran, as reported by Rick Stroud at the St. Petersburg Times.

Simms hasn't thrown a pass in a regular season game since week three of the 2006 season when he suffered a ruptured spleen.

As Stroud reports, Simms had been trying to convince Tampa Bay management to let him go throughout training camp, only to be refused due to the teams desire to seemingly carry as many quarterbacks as humanly possible at a given time (Actually, they were just hoping to trade him). The Buccaneers will enter the 2008 season with Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown and Josh Johnson on their roster, one of the few teams in the NFL to carry four quarterbacks.

So, where does Simms go from here?

Now that Jeff Garcia is healthy, ready to go, and has successfully survived the attempts of Tampa Bay's front office to acquire yet another quarterback, he made his preseason debut last night against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The initial reviews were less than stellar.

Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune writes that Garcia looked "corroded" in his two quarters of action, while Rick Stroud at the St. Petersburg Times describes the carnage -- or hilarity, depending on your perspective -- in great detail.

Garcia, 38, sprayed passes all over the field. He threw footballs too high. Too low. Too hard. Too soft. He threw them overhand and underhanded. His passes went behind receivers and in front of them.

One pass was floated too high to Maurice Stovall and intercepted by Reggie Nelson. He underthrew Michael Clayton in the back of the end zone. And Nelson looked like the intended receiver again, recording another interception.

It almost sounds like Garcia was playing quarterback in a Dr. Seuss book. Anyway, the numbers would seem to confirm those observations, as the 38-year old finished 11-of-18 for 79 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

It is very dangerous to attempt to trade for a quarterback like Brett Favre when you already have someone like Jeff Garcia coming off a Pro Bowl season as your starter. Not because Favre would hurt the team if he came in, but because if you whiff on the deal, it's egg all over your face and you have a ticked off old man running your team.

Which is what Jon Gruden has now, judging by Garcia's comments yesterday.

Garcia took another shot at Bucs Coach Jon Gruden when asked if he had any hard feelings about Tampa Bay's pursuit of former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre.

"I'm just a journeyman according to some people. Why should I have any hard feelings? I'm thankful to have this job.

"I might pay Bruce and Jon for bringing me out here," Garcia said after Monday afternoon's practice.

That sounds so evil, but I think he means he should hand over money for the opportunity to play football. Unless -- *gasp* -- he's actually planning on muuuuuurder. (Sorry, I've been watching too much Caruso on A&E lately.)

I get that the Bucs wanted Favre, but it's not like the Jets gave up that much to pick him up -- if you're Tampa and you've already shown your cards, don't you at that point go over top and make sure you lock the guy up?

Good thing Tampa has five quarterbacks in camp (and is kinda looking for a Brett Favre).

Starting QB Jeff Garcia suffered a calf injury during passing drills yesterday.

With Bucs officials initially holding their collective breath, Garcia's injury was determined to be not as serious as it appeared. While rolling out during a noncontact scramble drill, he tweaked the muscle and seemed to immediately feel discomfort.

Garcia, 38, was attended to by trainers for about 10 minutes. And when those efforts didn't lead to immediate relief, he was taken by cart to the locker room.

Coaches are expecting Garcia to miss a few practices ... which means Luke McCown and Brian Griese will step up their battle for the backup gig. The tradeable Chris Simms should also see his reps increase.

This adds onto a pile of Buccaneer starters who have been injured in camp ... a big enough pile that coaches have scaled back practices. They even cancelled this morning's practice.

Dallas has a Pro-Bowl quarterback ... and a fossil backing him up. Tampa Bay has their own 80-man roster of quarterbacks. Now, share nicely!

Those Chris Simms-to-Dallas rumors are kicking back up (via PFT) ... with Tampa wanting a third or a fourth round pick in return. Yeeeeeeah, right. Simms hasn't played since rupturing his spleen in Week 3 of the 2006 season and has thrown just 12 touchdowns to go with his 17 interceptions in his four-year career.

Simms has taken limited or no reps in seven-on-seven and team drills since starter Jeff Garcia arrived in training camp Monday.

"I understand the situation," Simms said Tuesday. "I don't know what the plan is, but I understand the situation.'

Simms, 27, has been throwing after practice with quarterbacks coach Greg Olson and rookie QB Josh Johnson. Simms is among five quarterbacks in training camp, including Brian Griese and Luke McCown.

I can see why the Cowboys would be interested in acquiring Simms. The former Texas Longhorn has always had "potential" linked to him and the team has a guru in Jason Garrett to work with him. Tony Romo's backup, Brad Johnson, will turn 40 in September.

Dallas knows -- like the rest of the league -- that Simms has no real value and are all waiting for the Bucs to waive him. Tampa has five QBs in camp, including likely starter Garcia and not including the possibility of adding Brett Favre.

Brian Griese (remember him), rookie Josh Johnson and Luke McCown are all fighting for backup roles.

FoxSports.com's Alex Marvez thinks today's the day -- Brett Favre should be a Buccaneer before midnight. Whether that happens is another issue.

And while Tampa Bay will likely get rid of one (or more) of the five quarterbacks currently on the roster, head coach Jon Gruden is in no mood to answer your stupid questions about what the future holds for his team, particularly when it comes to Favre. So, um, beat it.

, "You can talk to Brett, yourself. If we have permission, I"m sure you do, too," Gruden said in his media huddle after the first workout. "I don't have any reports on Brett, okay. There'll be some more opportunities to write stories on this situation. It's a great story to cover. I wish I had time to cover all the things that are going on. His situation is going to handle itself."

The primary issue for the Bucs -- at least right now -- is what this all means for incumbent quarterback Jeff Garcia. Presumably, he's less excited than, say, Gruden about the possibility of Favre coming to town. No worries, though, Gruden's got a handle on it.

Thanks to the reminder from eagle-eyed reader Paula LaBourdette, I owe ESPN's Chris Mortensen an apology for questioning his reportin' skillz. Earlier this month, Mortensen said Brett Favre was contemplating un-retirement, Favre denied the rumors, and I accused Mort of being wrong (again).

That's what I get for putting all my eggs in the "No way Favre comes back" basket. In any event, Chris was right, I was wrong. Virtual high-fives and group hugs all around.

Related to all this, Joe Theismann, who has been hiding in a bunker somewhere since he left the WWL last year, has some thoughts on where Favre will likely end up. Jeff Garcia will not be happy.

"I think the odds are better than 50-50 Favre ends up with the Bucs," former Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Theismann said Wednesday. "If Brett Favre plays football in 2008, I think it's in Tampa."

The Tampa Tribune's Ira Kaufman writes that the Buccaneers have done nothing to quell the rumors which, again, can't make Garcia all that jazzed about the current situation. In fact, during a Tuesday conference call, general manager Bruce Allen "had every opportunity to declare ... Garcia will remain the starting quarterback this fall after leading Tampa Bay to an NFC South title in 2007. ... Instead, he suggested that reporters should talk to the Packers or Favre himself."

Who knows what Chris Simms' game looks like these days -- he missed most of the 2006 season after having his spleen removed, and then lost his job last year to Jeff Garcia -- but as long as he can walk, he's a prime candidate for the Bears' quarterback job.

Last week, I mentioned that the Cowboys had shown interest in Simms -- and, according to friends, he reciprocated -- but Chicago and Detroit are also in the mix. Which means that Simms, Tampa Bay's former starter, would be buried on the depth chart behind Garcia, and Brian Griese and Luke McCown and rookie Josh Johnson would also be vying for roster spots.

Pretty sure head coach Jon Gruden wasn't keeping five quarterbacks on the roster, which is why Simms won't be in Tampa Bay come September.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
NFC South defending champs! I say that with sarcasm because, well, it just doesn't seem plausible. With the exception of one computer (whose owners didn't really even believe it), almost no one saw the Bucs' season coming. Especially after Cadillac Williams went down for the season. But they did it anyway. The problem now for fantasy owners is that very few of the Tampa Bay players will sneak up on anyone. Earnest Graham, in particular, is already being targeted in the second and third-round range.

The Breakout
Ugh. Really? I mean, come on. I guess if we're saying "sleeper" here, I'll take Cadillac, just for the upside. I was going say Michael Clayton, but that just seems lazy. Cadillac reportedly has gotten a lot healthier since last season, but hey, there's this Graham guy. Graham can't be a breakout simply because he's going relatively high, and it seems like the Bucs won't give him enough touches to make anything more than a RB2.

The Bust
Which is why he lands here. Garcia's only worth using frequently in two-QB leagues and Galloway will again be a frustrating WR2 or No. 3 that goes off/on depending on whether he's active or not in your lineup. Graham on the other hand is going somewhere from the late second to third round. Simply based on that and the potentially crowded backfield, he's the only guy on this team that can bust.