"I think Jeff Garcia does deserve a new contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because he's a good player and deserves better."
Garcia needs a new team
"I was saying to my friends that Jeff Garcia shouldn't get a contract because he should go back to the Bay where he started from, because he's from Gilroy ..."
Green Phone:
Thanks for the calls football fans. Jeff Garcia has quieted down since doing national interviews in which he voiced his displeasure with Bucs management, refusing to discuss a new contract. But that won't stop Green Phone from sharing its own two cents on the situation.
Millionaires are rarely underpaid and the 38-year-old Garcia is set to make $2 million for this upcoming season. But when you compare his contract with other quarterbacks in the NFL, he's not just underpaid, he's flat-out getting no respect. In just base salary, which doesn't include bonuses, 17 quarterbacks made as much or more money in 2007 as Garcia will make this year. The list includes prime-time players such as Rex Grossman, Josh McCown and the Bucs' Chris Simms, who didn't even play last season due to injury (Simms also has stated emphatically that he wants to be traded or cut).
Many have said that Garcia's age and durability are a factor in a lack of progress being made towards a new contract, but neither stopped Garcia from making his fourth Pro Bowl last season. Go back another year and the Philadelphia Eagles wouldn't have made the playoffs unless Garcia was there to right a sinking ship. He has proven that he is a winner and leader, regardless of age. Maybe if the Bucs didn't keep five quarterbacks on the roster last season, they could afford to pay Garcia more. But that's irrelevant because the Bucs are comfortably under the salary cap. It looks more like they're just cheap.
On the point of durability, Garcia might have played all 16 games if he wasn't stuck behind the youngest and most inexperienced offensive line in the league. Considering the team lost its best running back in Cadillac Williams and best lineman in left tackle Luke Petitgout to injury, all the pressure was on Garcia and he still led the team to an NFC South title.
Let's focus on the biggest factor as to why Garcia deserves a new deal.
The Bucs held him out of the final six quarters of the season to rest up for the playoffs, which not only threw the offense out of rhythm by the time Tampa Bay played the New York Giants in a first-round game, but it also denied Garcia a signing bonus that Green Phone hears was worth $1.5 million.
Imagine you worked your tail off and had the biggest impact in making your company more profitable than it had been in years, but when you needed one more day of work to earn a hefty bonus, the company ordered you not to come in. Would that be fair? Would it be ethical? Would it make you feel appreciated?
Garcia added in one of those national interviews that he might think about retiring after this season. That seems unlikely considering how well he has played in the last couple years and the type of competitor he is.
As one caller noted, maybe he should come back to the Bay Area to play after this season. That could be a possibility if the 49ers' experiment with Alex Smith at QB continues to go nowhere and coach Mike Nolan is shown the door after missing the playoffs once again. A steady signal-caller could make all the difference.
It wouldn't be an ideal situation for Garcia, who would like to finish his career in Tampa after a couple more seasons, but it might come close to making up for the Niners foolishly letting him go the first time.
Then the Bucs can talk about how great it is to have Brian Griese as their starting quarterback.
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