Making The Case For Jeff Garcia
Hank Baskett, who is married to his very own reality show, got a whole bunch of reality on Tuesday when the Eagles couldn't trade him for even a fifth-round pick and had to cut him loose to make room for the addition of either Jeff Garcia or Michael Vick to the roster, however you choose to look at it.
Making The Case For Jeff Garcia
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Hank Baskett, who is married to his very own reality show, got a whole bunch of reality on Tuesday when the Eagles couldn't trade him for even a fifth-round pick and had to cut him loose to make room for the addition of either Jeff Garcia or Michael Vick to the roster, however you choose to look at it.
Whichever spot Baskett cleared, Shawn Andrews took care of the other one when he was placed on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season.
The Eagles have had a few strange days in the last few years, but this one might have been the strangest in which no player gave a press conference on his lawn while doing sit-ups.
How often can you add Jeff Garcia and Michael Vick to the active roster on the same day? How often would you want to?
The assumption is that Garcia is a short rental, like one of those carpet cleaners from the supermarket, but maybe not.
If the Eagles just want to get Donovan McNabb back on the field, still have confidence in Kevin Kolb's ability to become a good NFL quarterback and think Vick can run the team if necessary, then Garcia will be looking for work again in a month at the most.
But should McNabb be unavailable, who really gives the Eagles the best chance to win, which is supposed to be the point?
Garcia is 39, yes. But let's look at what he did last season with Tampa Bay. He completed 244 of 376 passes (64.9 percent), for 2,712 yards, an average gain of 7.2 yards. His passer rating of 90.2 was ninth-best in the league, better than Eli Manning, better than Jay Cutler, better than Donovan McNabb.
Garcia can still play and he can manage an offense. He can't throw downfield all that well, but we've yet to see Kevin Kolb do so, either. We're seeing an Eagles' front office attitude that has a short fuse at the moment. Andrews could have been given another chance to get healthy, but they had seen enough. How much rope will Kolb get this Sunday? Here's a guess. Not much. If the Eagles are losing and the offense isn't moving, Kolb's audition might not last more than a half. Reid wouldn't hesitate to go to Garcia. And, guess what, they might be better for it?
he gets one half. bye kendra— bigsteve
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- Any surprise Garcia put up better numbers than McBrittle last year? I think not. He has a grasp on this version of the WCO that McInjured could only dream of having.— Mark1npt
- Any surprise Garcia put up better numbers than McBrittle last year? I think not. He has a grasp on this version of the WCO that McInjured could only dream of having.— Mark1npt
- How must Hank feel? Well, they couldn't get even a bag of balls for him, but......he still got Kendra!— Mark1npt
- How must Hank feel? Well, they couldn't get even a bag of balls for him, but......he still got Kendra!— Mark1npt
- Mark1npt "balls and Kendra" in the same sentence???? Just a little suggestive?— mikey48
- What number will he get??— Phillyexp
- But what if Kolb has a really bad first half?— DerbyBound
- I bet my boy Koy Detmer has his tooth brush packed!— DerbyBound
- Me? Suggestive? Where'd YOU get that feeling when you saw that red dress?— Mark1npt
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- I think you are right. If Kolb plays poorly, I don't think Reid will wait too long to take him out of the game. There is an urgency this season I've never really seen with the Eagles before. The management really, truly means business more so than ever before. The moves have been coming fast and furious, and the Eagles do not seem concerned about whose feelings get hurt -- even some of the fans (I'm speaking about those upset with the Vick signing; I'm not one of those people). McNabb, meanwhile, really was playing a lot better Sunday than we've seen him play in a while. His numbers weren't spectacular, but his passes were sharp, and he did not hesitate to run with the ball when there was an opening. Although I can't wait until he gets back, I am very interested to see what Kolb is made of this Sunday. I have a feeling he's going to play great.— jimqk
- Garcia has been as good or better than McNabb over the last 3 years. AR failed Birds' fans by avoiding a QB competition in 2007 because of his loyalty to McNabb. Let's hope he doesn't fail us again by his vested interest in Kolb.— Joe Funk
