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By ROY CUMMINGS
TAMPA – For a guy who is said to be “way ahead’’ of everyone else in the battle for the starting quarterback job, Jeff Garcia sounded an awful lot on Thursday like a guy who is way behind his competitors.
Though he says he feels very good about where he’s at physically, Garcia says his working knowledge and ability to successfully execute Coach Jon Gruden’s offense are nowhere near where they need to be.
“I feel like an old computer that just isn’t processing things fast enough,’’ Garcia said. “It’s coming along; I’m taking steps in the right direction; but I’m not where I want to be. It’s not all natural right now.’’
Garcia’s comments came in the wake of a claim last week by Gruden, who said Garcia had moved way ahead of everyone else in the battle for the starting quarterback’s job.
Garcia said he appreciates the fact Gruden seems to have so much faith in him, but he admitted he’s got a long ways to go before he’s ready to step into the huddle, call out a play and execute it properly.
“That’s one of the things I need to accomplish [next week during] mini-camp. I want to continue to be accurate, continue to eliminate mistakes and just step into the huddle with enthusiasm,’’ Garcia said.
“I think because I’m thinking so much right now, it takes away from my personality. I want to get to the point where I can step into the huddle, rally these guys and get to the line of scrimmage and run the play.’’
One reason Garcia is so behind mentally is that this is the fifth offense he’s been forced to learn in the last five years. He said this is “similar but different’’ than the others but that he’s catching on – slowly.
“There’s a lot I still need to get accustomed to and it’s coming; but it’s a work in progress,’’ Garcia said. “I’m not where I want to be. I need to make sure that mentally I grasp what [Gruden] is asking me to do so that when it comes game day or time to practice, I just react on the field and not think about things.’’
If Thursday’s workout is any indication, Garcia is sure to get the opportunity he needs to develop the comfort level he seeks. During 11-on-11 drills, Garcia got all but a handful of the snaps at quarterback.
Garcia, who wore No. 5 with the Eagles last year, is wearing his favorite No. 7 again. He switched with Bruce Gradkowski and while we’re still not sure of all the details we know now what it took for Garcia to lure that number away.
“Let’s just say that Bruce can tell time a little better now,’’ Garcia said of the deal he made to get No. 7 away from Gradkowski.
Posted by Patrick J Cerrone, Port Charlotte Fla. on 06/26 at 03:00 PM
Hey Kurt. Yeah Garcia is “GREAT”, and he’s right up there with Tom Brady and those SuperBowl wins. And being 37 and all, he hasn’t even tapped his potential yet for greatness. As far as numbers go, BIG deal. He is not the Quaterback to lead anyone to the SuperBowl(see Eagles). And as far as the draft picks, if You would do some research, 1st year secondary players don’t get a whole lot of playing time in the Bucs complicated Cover 2 scheme, so unless your Ronnie Lott, have fun on special teams in year one, although ANYTHING would be better then what we had at safety last year.
Posted by Kurt Hartless, Charlotte, NC on 06/24 at 10:47 AM
Patrick, take a chill-pill, then do some research dude. You are way out of line thinking 1) you know what is going to get B Allen his job lost and 2) criticizing a “very” accomplished QB who has been to Honolulu to represent his conference as the “best” QB that year. Besides stops in Detroit and Cleveland (which will make anybody look bad,) Garcia has a career QB rating of 88.6, and if you include those 2 unfortunate stops, he’s still at an 86.4. Tom Brady has an 88.4 career rating. As for safety, we did spend 2nd and 4th round picks on the position and hired the coach that took the same crew to a #1 ranking the previous year. It would be nice if people did a litte research before making blatently stupid comments.
Posted by Patrick Cerrone, Port Charlotte, Fla on 06/22 at 01:08 AM
I read on Buccaneer.com that Garcia was an accomplished Quarterback. Accomplished?????????? What in the heck has this guy accomplished? He’s a 37 year old, mediocre Quarterback with no real past or future to speak of. Then I read that GM Allen was happy where they were at, at Safety. Safety???! Good. 3 things going to get you shipped out of here pal; Garcia, Phillips, and Allen(the player). Good riddance buddy. Can’t happen soon enough, Everyone is either going blind, losing their memory, or flat-out losing their minds!
Posted by Patrick Cerrone, Port Charlotte, Fla on 06/22 at 12:55 AM
What is all this crap and excitement about Jeff Garcia being the starting Quarterback???? This clown has never done anything in this league, led a very good Eagles team to the playoffs and then LOST, and is an undrafted, career journeyman. Great football players don’t play for five different teams. I’m in footballs equivalent to Fantasy Island. Has everyone lost their minds????!!!!!???
Posted by Ricky Jamison, Eatontown NJ on 06/19 at 09:31 PM
Okay so Jeffery ain’t got it down pat yet, but for crying out loud it’s only June! Let not get our collective testicles in an uproar yet, we have plenty of time. What concerns me is that porous offensive line, no quarterback in the NFL can survive, if he’s always on his tokus. And the porous defensive line too for that matter, oh man that used to be our only saving grace, our pride and joy, our defense. Lets just hope free agency and the draft call fill in the holes, literally!
Posted by Joe Davis, New York, NY on 06/19 at 06:59 PM
Well Garcia, Gruden and the boys better be improving because I took a ton of crap from these dam Giant and Jet fans about my beloved Buccaneers. Please John, please make me able to wear my bucs gear in public without the fear of being laughed out of my favorite pizza place.
Posted by Kurt A Hartless, Charlotte, NC on 06/19 at 05:47 PM
Let’s not overreact; I’d much rather have a smart QB and a fairly complicated system than a simple one that D’s can easily read. I do believe, however, Gruden should have dummed it down a bit when he stuck the rookie in last year. But let’s face it; overall it isn’t rocket science anyway. We had productive offenses under Gruden when we had B Johnson & B Greise at the helm; hell, even Simms had his moments and he can barely spell his own name (sorry Chris.) Garcia will pick it up and this offense will be much improved this year I think. I expect and have heard that Gradkowski looks much improved this year too. The position overall is 100% stronger this year than last which should equate into additional wins.
Posted by Jason Jesse, Cocoa Beach,FL on 06/18 at 09:59 PM
Just a thought. If an intelligent veteran like Garcia can’t understand Gruden’s “system”, maybe the problem is the “system”
For being such an offensive mastermind our offense sure has sucked since he arrived. Me thinks Gruden needs to realize this is just footbal, not rocket science. Keep it simple and win!
Posted by Mike Gray, Gulfport on 06/18 at 01:04 PM
Get your facts straight he wore #5 everywhere else and went to #7 with the Eagles
Posted by Liquid Sunshine, Florida on 06/17 at 02:30 PM
Nice going, Garcia: “It’s the same, only different.” 
Posted by Michael Harris, on 06/16 at 05:00 AM
Garcia is a major upgrade at the QB position. But Gruden’s offense is the most complicated in the league. If I were Gruden, I’d have Garcia move in and eat his Cheerios with the family while going over the offensive signals. I’m still surprised the Bucs kept Simms. He’s proven himself so not right for Gruden’s offense. Perhaps Allen and Gruden wanted to deal him away and the Galzier’s said no. I’m anxious for football to start. Pretty bored with MLB and Golf.
Posted by Michael Rodriguez, pompano beach on 06/15 at 10:47 PM
yes sorry kat but Garcia wore number 7 in philly last year, A dude named mcnabb wears #5 over there, go bucs. he wore #5 in san fran, go bucs!
Posted by robert broughton, augusta, maine on 06/14 at 09:45 PM
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Posted by Patrick J Cerrone, Port Charlotte Fla. on 06/26 at 03:08 PM
Which brings me to this; BEING a season ticket holder and all, watching that travesty every week, Phillips and Allen looked mostly confused, burnt, and stupid. No help in the secondary? Bye bye Bruce. It’s been real, and a REALLY long time coming. And did any one ever notice why we never have a good young developing QB? One that plays for us for 10+ years? Because we never let one develop. Now we’ll give up on another. Jeff Garcia. Give me a break!