WON'T BE TAKING SEPTA TO THE LINC
Terrell Owens got paid ... by the Cowboys.
Jeff Garcia wants to get paid, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do not seem as interested.
Garcia is seeking an extension of the 2-year contract he signed with the Bucs after the 2006 season, when he helped the Eagles reach the postseason following Donovan McNabb's knee injury. Garcia is scheduled to make $2 million this season, plus a $750,000 roster bonus that already has been paid.
Garcia suggested in one interview that a "drastic decision" might have to be made and talked about being mistreated and seeking appreciation. He even suggested not playing football anymore.
That was clarified by the St. Petersburg Times a day later: Garcia was talking about retiring after the 2008 season.
Garcia did take the Bucs to a division title and the playoffs last year and he is the starting quarterback, although Jon Gruden seems to be collecting QBs this offseason. The Bucs could almost have a baseball starting rotation that includes Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown, Chris Simms, Josh Johnson.
We harken back to what he told Les Bowen in February 2007, shortly after he received a letter from the Eagles informing him that they were pursuing a contract extension with A.J. Feeley and not him. He said he was surprised and hurt that there were no negotiations with the team, but also talked about how he was embraced by Eagles fans and by his teammates.
"An opportunity like this doesn't present itself with every team, every year," Garcia said of his ride with the Eagles. "I understand the value of that . . . to have been able to play in a city where football is life, and the passion is there from the fans every time you step out onto the field, to have the fans embrace me the way they did, was captivating for me and my family as well. The relationships with teammates, the feeling in that locker room was unmatched. It was a year where that feeling of appreciation will never be forgotten. "
While money and playing time were certainly factors in why Garcia was not back with the Eagles, it seems the only appreciation he wants now comes in the paycheck.
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The Eagles added Mark Whipple to their coaching staff in the offseason. Whipple is best known for helping develop Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh and also for serving as the head coach at UMass (for you Villanova fans out there who follow the former I-AA football).
The NFL notes column in Sunday's Boston Globe decribed Whipple's role as a "walk-around role" that focuses on the entire offense. His responsibilities could change day to day, from assessing specific players, to the opponent's personnel, to X's and O's such as studying blitz packages.
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The Eagles players return to the field Monday morning to begin their final four days of organized team activities. After that, the players are off until training begins at Lehigh. Rookies and selected veterans are scheduled to report July 21, with the rest of the team set to arrive July 24.
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
