Jeff Garcia is just fine.
In fact, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback is looking better
than ever heading into his fifth season with the San Francisco
49ers.
SANTA CLARA – Jeff Garcia is just fine.
In fact, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback is looking better than ever heading into his fifth season with the San Francisco 49ers.
A slight back sprain warranted a little scare but a short-lived one as the quarterback is out on the practice field in Santa Clara – taking snaps, scrambling around and hitting his receivers.
“I feel good physically. I’m out here practicing every day. I’m getting older and the body’s not as fresh as it used to be. But I’m trying to do my best to keep as sharp as possible, especially on the mental side of things,” said Garcia, following Thursday’s morning session.
“But physically I feel good. I had a little bit of a back problem a few weeks ago and that seems to have settled down a bit and I’m back to my normal routine of being out here on the field, competing every single practice, working out in the weight room,” said the garlic-grown slinger with the confidence of a champion. “I’m doing all things I need to do to in order to make myself a better player.”
Garcia and the 49ers enjoyed some mild temperatures instead of battling the summer heat of camp – but the intensity on the practice field was stronger than ever under the watchful eye of new head coach Dennis Erickson.
“I have a really good rapport with Coach Erickson. I think he’s come in and he’s done a great job of taking over this team… I think he’s going to bring a lot of positive things to the table,” said Garcia, who’s easily adapted to the offseason coaching change from former coach Steve Mariucci to Erickson. “There hasn’t been a problem. I feel really good about it.”
Another thing Garcia feels good about is the presence of Pro Bowl receiver and hot target Terrell Owens – who skipped out on the 49ers’ volunteer mini-camp, but is working hard to set an example of what makes a championship team.
“His presence is always felt. He’s such a great player. Physically, he is just a specimen on the field as far as what he brings to the table – athletic ability, pass catching skills, speed and size, and just work ethic,” said Garcia of Owens. “He works extremely hard when he’s out here. He’s very positive for the young guys to see. He’s very intense. He doesn’t like to see practices not go the right way… and that’s the way it should be.”
Garcia shares the same intensity that Owens does when it comes to getting the job done and getting it done right. No wonder Garcia is already fifth on the 49ers’ all-time passing list with 13,704 total yards, 108 TDs and a 62.2 completion percentage. And no wonder Owens is second on the team’s career receptions list with 512 grabs for 7,470 yards, 72 touchdowns, and 14.6 average.
“He demands perfection as well as I do and when practices aren’t as smooth as we’d like them to be, we’re going to be a little frustrated,” Garcia said. ” It’s good to have him back out here working hard. He’s getting close to healthy. He’s going to have a great year this year.”
The practice days are flying by – with Saturday’s open public practice at Garcia’s almamater of San Jose State University coming up shortly as well as the Niners’ first pre-season game August 9 in Kansas City and then a August 14 home battle against the Oakland Raiders. After two more pre-season games against New Orleans and San Diego, the 49ers jump right into their September 7 home opener against Chicago.
“You can’t ever look ahead,” said Garcia, who will get a shot at some revenge October 19 against the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Bucs. “I think it will be a great test to see how far we’ve come, if we’ve come very far at all. They’re still going to be one of the teams to beat.”
The Niners’ regular-season schedule also includes tough match-ups down the stretch against Pittsburgh (November 17 at home), in Green Bay (November 23), in Baltimore (November 30) and in Philadelphia (December 21).
“Obviously, Philadelphia, we have them on our schedule also. They’re going to be a big-time team to beat,” Garcia said. “We have a very difficult schedule in front of us, but it’s going to be exciting, it’s going to challenge us, it’s going to see what we’re made of, see what we’re all about, and we’re definitely going to be ready for it.”
Last season, the 49ers won the NFC West and then Garcia orchestrated one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history for his first playoff win with the 49ers by battling back from a 24-point deficit to beat the New York Giants, 39-38. The Niners then lost in the next round to Tampa Bay – but things have changed since then and Garcia likes his team’s chances this season.
“I’m definitely happy with the way things have been developing. Obviously, the key to a positive season is staying healthy,” Garcia said. “As far as the necessary players in place, I think we have great talent. I think we’ll be very competitive on a weekly basis. It’s just a matter of being able to play every single week, never underestimating anybody, and just battling through it.”
Garcia has been battling ever since he began playing pigskin ball on the fields in Gilroy – and he appreciates it all from his days at Gavilan College to San Jose State to the Canadian Football League and finally to the San Francisco 49ers.
“I think (my career) probably has been more than what I’d expected in certain ways,” Garcia said. “I don’t think I would have ever imagined as far as being a starter as soon as I was, as far as being in three straight Pro Bowls, doing the things that I’ve been able to do in such a short time here with the 49ers.”
And he’s still battling and working towards his ultimate goal of bringing a Super Bowl Championship back to the Bay Area.
“Obviously, there’s still so much more to attain and so much more to accomplish, but it’s been a dream in the making basically,” Garcia said. “There have been bigger and better things every single year and I’m going to ride it out as long as I can… and try to make the most of every single day.”
BEYOND THE GLORY: Garcia opened himself up to the world when his life story was told on Fox Sports Net’s award-winning show, ‘Beyond The Glory’. It was an emotional tale that was not the easiest to relive.
“I thought they did a great job of basically portraying or telling my life story. It’s hard to see sometimes when all of a sudden your private life is exposed like that and I think especially hard for my parents to watch. But I really believe or felt that they did a great job of telling the story,” Garcia said. “It tells another side. Many people out there don’t know about that side of me. It just kind of shows what I had to go through in my life, what I’ve had to overcome in certain ways to get to where I am today and not just by myself – of course with an awesome support group and family around me.”
