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Raiders' Jeff Garcia is a backup with a plan

The 39-year-old quarterback is No. 2 on the depth chart and working on a 'blue-light special' one-year deal, but that doesn't mean he's conceding anything to starter JaMarcus Russell.

As a new quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, Jeff Garcia will be playing under a black flag now.

And he won't be waving a white one.

So don't expect the 39-year-old Garcia, a scrapper throughout his career, to back off one bit, even though he's second on the depth chart behind JaMarcus Russell, selected No. 1 overall in the 2007 draft.

Nor is Garcia going to gingerly tiptoe around the question of which quarterback he thinks should be starting when the season rolls around.

"Not knocking JaMarcus or anybody else on the team, but I just have a belief in my own abilities; those things have me feeling that I am the best quarterback on the team," Garcia said in a phone interview from his home in San Diego. "That's just how I approach the game. That's how I approach my situation."

That's not to say Garcia is ready to grouse about his role, even though he said the Raiders got him on a "blue-light special," signing him in April to a one-year, no-frills contract. He's happy to be playing within an hour's drive of his family in Gilroy, and hopes to finish his NFL career across the bay from where he began it.

But he doesn't question the notion that he's got something valuable to offer a franchise that hasn't won more than five games in a season since 2002 and a young quarterback who has yet to prove he has the work habits to match his enormous contract.

"I feel like I can help in how I approach the game, how I approach every single day," Garcia said.

"I have a certain work ethic that is a part of me. When I step on the field, there is no 50%. It's 100% all the time. It's sprinting from drill to drill. It's doing everything full speed. It's, when I throw an incomplete pass, showing that I care that I threw an incomplete pass. Not just, 'Oh, shucks, I just didn't throw the ball as well.' I'm very critical of myself. Because I'm critical of myself . . . that's where I feel I help myself."

Garcia definitely has had his ups and downs over the past decade, amassing a 58-58 won-lost record with five teams. After five seasons with the 49ers, he spent one forgettable season each with Cleveland and Detroit, filled in brilliantly for injured Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia, and spent the last two years with Tampa Bay. At his best, he's a galvanizer who can make a good team even better.

"Even though the last five years I've played for four different teams, I try not to look at myself as one of those guys who's just looking for an opportunity to be a part of a team," he said. "I feel like I'm still a guy who can be a difference maker.

"Now, how the management or people above us look at me? I've had to fight that battle throughout my career: I'm not big enough, I'm not strong enough, I don't fit the stereotype that they're looking for, whatever it may be.

"But when I come into a situation, I feel like I inspire people."

That's why as the season nears, Russell's biggest challenge might not be the competition that he can see in front of him, but the player who will be there every time he turns around.

By Sam Farmer, On the NFL
9:50 PM PDT, July 4, 2009
Raiders' Jeff Garcia is a backup with a plan - Los Angeles Times

Start him.

"Even though the last five years I've played for four different teams, I try not to look at myself as one of those guys who's just looking for an opportunity to be a part of a team," he said. "I feel like I'm still a guy who can be a difference maker.

If he were a difference maker he probably wouldn't be changing teams every year.

Gannon played for 3 teams if my memory serves me right. I know he didn't become great until he became a Raider and was under Gruden. Garcia is a guy we need right now because Russell isn't showing us that he cares for the game. I want to see him as a leader and wants to win the big one. I'm not seeing that.

__________________
PEACE RAIDER NATION!

...precious development process should include: "If 100% isn't within your grasp, then maybe that clipboard is."

If the team thinks there is a legitimate chance that they are superbowl contenders, and Garcia gives them the best chance to win this season, then I can understand playing him. If the superbowl seems beyond reach, and even Al himself stated that the team isn't there yet, then sitting the franchise QB on the bench to watch a journeyman with a 1 year deal makes absolutely no sense at all.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - IMO Garcia being on the roster has nothing to do with Russell, and everything to do with Andrew Walter, Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye and any other backup who the staff has insufficient confidence in to trust the team to in case of injury.

Of course it is. The only reason Russell will start is because of the salary that he's making. Al says he cares about winning first and foremost, but he's also an owner. He made a huge investment on this guy and wants to see a return. He's also a the GM who chose Russell. If Garcia ends up as the starter, not only will Al have to waste a ton of money, but he'll also have to admit he was wrong in drafting Russell. And we all know how much Al hates to admit when he's wrong. If he only cares about winning, then Garcia should be the starter.