TAMPA, Fla. -- You don't own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting quarterback job so much as you borrow it.
No one knows that better than Jeff Garcia.
He was the Bucs' starter last season, leading them to the NFC South championship and earning a Pro Bowl appearance. He was their starter for the opening game this year. Then he got to spend the next four weeks watching Brian Griese start while running the scout-team offense in practice. OK, Jeff, this week you need to give us your best Jay Cutler imitation.
And it was that disjointed history that, despite the Buccaneers' surprisingly easy victory over NFC South rival Carolina, caused for some awkward conversation about the state of their quarterback position in and around the home team's locker room on Sunday.
So, Jeff, do you see yourself back in the starting role? Garcia's preference was to not even "think about it," and instead simply enjoy the 27-3 triumph over the Panthers.
When someone informed him that Jon Gruden had said Garcia would start in Week 7 against Seattle, Garcia replied, "That decision is in coach's hands and I appreciate that opportunity. And I'm going to do the best that I can to continue to take advantage of these opportunities."
He sounded exactly like what he was, a reserve who had been given a chance to start, rather than a 10-year veteran entrenched in the top spot on the depth chart. But Garcia fully understands that he is not entrenched, that Gruden doesn't allow any of his quarterbacks to feel that way, and he wasn't going to say anything that would hurt his chances of starting again.
"I can't dwell on the things that happened after the first week; that's all behind us," Garcia said of the difficulty of dealing with the past four weeks. "I wasn't going to be that guy that was going to create negative energy amongst the rest of the team. I wanted to be a positive influence. At this point in my career, at this age, I should know how to handle things, and I wanted to handle things right."
The Bucs' quarterback topic was too hot for Garcia's teammates to handle as well. They were happy for him after his 173-yard, one-touchdown, no-interception performance against the Panthers. They understood the trials and tribulations he had gone through since the beginning of the offseason, when he sought a new contract that he never received ... and when there was talk that the Bucs were in hot pursuit of Brett Favre during the preseason ... and when Gruden decided Garcia should sit after a season-opening loss at New Orleans because the coach felt Garcia was still bothered by lingering calf, ankle, and pinkie-finger injuries.
Yet, they also knew they needed to be careful with their words.
"I have to be really cautious because you never want to say anything that promotes any kind of controversy within your team or with your teammates," defensive end Kevin Carter said. "But with that being said, the guy who led us to a great season last year, who led us to a division championship, led us to hosting the eventual Super Bowl champion, it does mean something (to see him play as well as he did).
"I love Brian. Whoever's at the helm, that's our guy. But being that (Garcia) got a chance to get back in there today, I'm really, really proud of him and happy for him. He does bring some spark because there are a lot familiar faces on the offense that remember being led by No. 7 last year and we were able to do some really good things and get some things accomplished and really get rolling as an offense."
At 4-2, the Bucs are in a three-way tie for first in the NFC South with the Panthers and Atlanta. New Orleans is only a game behind.
The ease with which the Bucs disposed of Carolina was the result of major contributions from special teams, which set the tone for the game with a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown on the opening possession, and defense, which intercepted Jake Delhomme three times and held the Panthers to a mere 40 rushing yards and a 2-yards-per-carry average. Another long-time veteran, Warrick Dunn, played a big part by running for 115 yards and Earnest Graham came up huge by shifting from halfback to fullback because of injuries at the latter position.
But just as was the case last season, consistently good quarterback play likely will make the biggest difference in determining which team wins the division. The Panthers aren't going very far if Delhomme has many more days like the one he had Sunday, although there is reason to believe that won't be the case. The Falcons have put their fortunes on the arm of rookie Matt Ryan, although Michael Turner's impressive rushing has taken considerable pressure off of him through most of the first six weeks. Drew Brees might very well be the best passer in the league, and given the Saints' shortcomings in other areas, they clearly must count on him to take them wherever they're going to go.
The Bucs? It's hard to say. Griese wasn't available against the Panthers because of injuries he suffered to his right (throwing) elbow and shoulder in Tampa Bay's Week 5 loss at Denver. Still, he frustrated Gruden in that game for failing to connect with Jerramy Stevens on a touchdown that could have easily changed the outcome and by not making more plays with his feet when he had the chance.
After the Carolina game, Gruden said he didn't know whether Garcia was back to his old form. But he did add, "I think Jeff is a great quarterback and I believe in him." How much Gruden's endorsement will matter if Garcia falters somewhere down the line -- and Griese is healthy -- remains unknown.
Who knows? Gruden could very well make Luke McCown his starter at some point.
Garcia clearly brought a spark to Tampa Bay's offense on Sunday. He played as if he had something to prove. That is nothing new, given that his career began in the Canadian Football League and has included previous NFL stops in San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. But he seemed especially determined to establish that the Buccaneers should stick with him, and his teammates noticed.
"He had a lot of energy coming in," Dunn said. "He wanted to come out and prove to himself that he could still play the game."
A classic example came early in the fourth quarter, when, on third-and-2 from the Carolina 6, Garcia took off on a scramble. He wasn't satisfied with merely picking up the first down and sliding to safety. He tried to get into the end zone, but was met hard by three defenders a yard shy.
Guard Davin Joseph, who called the run "typical Jeff," hurried over to make sure Garcia was OK. Once he was satisfied that was the case, he playfully admonished him, saying, "We don't really need you to do that. We have another play. You can cut that out now."
On the next snap, Graham ran for a touchdown to give Tampa Bay its 24-point margin of victory.
Perhaps there was a certain amount of political correctness limiting how effusive the rest of the Buccaneers were over Garcia's performance. But there was an undeniable sense of comfort, even if it was only for one game.
"It's good to have him back in the huddle," Joseph said. "Nothing against anybody else, but he's shown me a lot, especially last year."
"Whoever's back there, we don't care," Carter said. "But today we're glad it was Jeff."
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