Jeff Garcia

With the release of journeyman quarterback Jeff Garcia, the Eagles seem to be indicating that they are confident that the combination of Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick can manage the team until Donovan McNabb returns.

In particular, the play of Kolb made Garcia expendable.

Kolb is 62-of-96 for 741 yards in two-and-a-half games this season. He is completing 65 percent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 89 on the year. Against Kansas City, Kolb was 24-of-34 (a 70 percent completion percentage) for 327 yards and two touchdowns to go along with no sacks, interceptions, or fumbles.

It is that type of production, coupled with Vick's execution of the Wildcat, that made Garcia expendable.

The question is, where does Garcia go from here?

The market is not great for a 6'1", 205-pound, 39-year-old quarterback who has played almost exclusively in the West Coast system. One would have to imagine that if Garcia were to sign with anyone, it would be a team with a coaching connection to the Bill Walsh coaching tree that runs the West Coast offense.

The problem is, there aren't many of those coaches that are around and in need of a quarterback right now.

Of Bill Walsh's six assistant coaches that became NFL head coaches (Mike Holmgren, Jim Fassel, Paul Hackett, Sam Wyche, George Seifert, and Dennis Green), none are currently coaching in the NFL, and two (Fassel and Green) are coaching in the upstart UFL (more on that later).

If you look at the extended branches on the Walsh tree, most of those coaches are either out of the NFL right now (Jon Gruden, Mike Sherman, Steve Mariucci, Mike Shanahan, Brian Billick) or are coaching teams that are set at quarterback.

For example:

Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles: Just cut Garcia, and he has McNabb, Kolb, and Vick.

Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings: He has some guy named Favre, I think?

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: In Joe Flacco they trust, and Troy Smith is a decent backup.

Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans: Kerry Collins and Vince Young are locked in to their jobs...for now.

Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars: Riding the David Garrard train for as long as they can.

Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons: Some young kid named Matt Ryan? Garcia won't be relocating to Buckhead any time soon.

Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers: Big Ben Roethlisberger is the man.

This really leaves only one of two options for Jeff Garcia. He could wind up playing in Carolina for John Fox, a distant Walsh disciple (Fox was an assistant to Fassel, who was an assistant to Walsh), who may need some new blood at QB if Jake Delhomme keeps throwing five INTs a game. That is the lone NFL option for Garcia, who may bring some poise to the Panthers' team.

The other option is going to the UFL, where I'm sure Fassel or Denny Green would love to have an experienced QB running their West Coast offenses, and I'm sure the fledgling league would like another known commodity.

I think Garcia is bound for the Las Vegas Locos (Fassel's team) or the California Redwoods (Green's team) if he does not sign with the Panthers.

Well, the quarterback crisis in Philadelphia ended faster than usual.

The Eagles signed Michael Vick in the offseason, amid controversy. Starting quarterback Donovan McNabb goes down with broken ribs in week one against Carolina. The Eagles scramble to sign Jeff Garcia—who had been released from the Raiders earlier in the offseason.

At one point last week on Philly’s practice field, there were three quarterbacks who had started in a combined 12 Pro Bowls.

But now, with third-year pro Kevin Kolb proving that he can be a more-than-adequate backup to Donovan McNabb (at least in Andy Reid’s opinion), the Eagles cut Garcia on Tuesday to give him a chance to become a starting quarterback somewhere else.

Clearly, the Eagles’ roster move (they cut Garcia to add some linebacking depth, bringing back former Eagle Jeremiah Trotter to shore up the run defense) suggests that they feel confident in Kolb’s abilities if McNabb goes down again.

After being the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300-plus yards in his first two starts, Kolb may have done enough to warrant the hype that had been building internally in the organization since the Eagles drafted him in 2007.

(Consider this writer unconvinced, but that’s another matter—entirely.)

The question should now move from the Eagles and focus on Garcia. Where does he go from here?

Here are three scenarios that I could see playing out for Garcia:

1. This one isn’t a stretch by any means of the imagination. The Raiders cut Garcia earlier this preseason. Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell—the 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick—is fresh off his second tumultuous game. "Tumultuous" actually doesn’t do Russell’s performance justice.

Let’s get it straight.

Russell has been so bad in the past two weeks that he’s threatening to set football back 20 years. He’s thrown for less than 100 yards both weeks. He was sacked more times in the second half on Sunday (three) than yards he threw for (one).

Why not bring Garcia back and see if you can generate any type of momentum in the passing game? At this point, do the Raiders really have anything left to lose?

2. The Seahawks actually might give Garcia his best chance of starting and winning in the upcoming weeks.

With Matt Hasselbeck sidelined from cracked ribs (the same cracked ribs that sidelined McNabb and led Garcia to Philly in the first place), and backup Seneca Wallace doing little to inspire confidence in the Seattle brass, the Seahawks could be looking for a veteran presence to give Hasselbeck as much time as he needs to heal.

The NFC West, as usual, is more-or-less putrid and potentially on its way to being the worst division in football once again.

The Rams are lifeless. The Cardinals are on life-support already after looking nothing like the Super Bowl team from last year.

Only the 49ers have shown any promise, and with an injury to star running back Frank Gore taking out their best player over the next three weeks, the Seahawks should look to strike now to narrow the Niners’ division lead.

Garcia throwing to T.J. Houshmanzadeh and Julius Jones might not inspire visions of offensive grandeur in the minds of NFL fans, but the Seahawks could certainly do worse.

They could remain stagnant, watch Hasselbeck rush back from injury only to hurt himself more seriously later in the season, and rue the day they let Garcia get away.

3. This one might be a bit of a stretch, given their roster moves today, but why not Garcia to the Dolphins?

Starter Chad Pennington just went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. The Dolphins just traded an undisclosed draft pick for the Kansas City Chiefs’ third-stringer, Tyler Thigpen, who managed to win all of one game while racking up decent stats in 11 games last year for the Chiefs.

Between Thigpen, current starter Chad Henne (who hasn’t started a game in his two-year NFL career), and rookie Pat White, the Dolphins quarterback committee has 11 combined NFL starts.

For an 0-3 team looking to right the ship, the Dolphins could sign Garcia for cheap, rely on their running game to get the wheels back on the team, and pray.

Otherwise, the youth movement officially starts for the Dolphins in Week Four—and all those fans hoping to return to Landshark Stadium for a playoff game will be viciously disappointed.

Besides, Garcia started in Tampa Bay last year, and it wasn’t all that long ago that the Bucs were 9-3 and looking like a playoff lock. A shaky defense (and Monte Kiffin’s departure) was all that kept Garcia out of the playoffs. Why not give him another shot in the state of Florida?

Other Possibilities

St. Louis Rams: unlikely, given how much they've put into developing Marc Bulger. But given the injuries on that team, they're one Bulger injury away from the season completely sinking, and Bulger did hurt his rotator cuff last week. Does Garcia provide an upgrade over Kyle Boller? (Duh.)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: interesting idea, given Garcia's history with the team and the fact he was their starter last season; unlikely, as coach Raheem Morris will likely spend the rest of the season developing young guns Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson.

Jeff Garcia has been released by the Philadelphia Eagles today.

Garcia barely saw the field and was only picked up as a gap stop just in case Kevin Kolb was terrible or got injured.

After two 300-plus yard games, Kolb proved that he is the true No. 2 quarterback in Philadelphia and will be the heir to Donovan McNabb's throne. No one knows when that may be, but we do know one thing for sure now: Kevin Kolb can flat out play football.

The Eagles organization now has full confidence in this kid, and if McNabb struggles or gets hurt again, Kolb is ready to get in there and lead the Eagles to victory.

I really don’t think we have even come close to see what Kolb can really do.

What Is Next for Jeff Garcia?

That is a great question and there are a lot of teams out there that could use a veteran quarterback to come in and either shore up some depth or start right away.

Let’s look at a few teams that could use Jeff Garcia.

Tampa Bay

He led them to the playoffs in 2007 and gave the Bucs a solid presence as the signal caller. Josh Freeman isn’t ready to play yet and Josh Johnson may never be ready to be an NFL quarterback. Raheem Morris should really look at Garcia. He already knows the team and I’m sure he’d like his old locker back.

Oakland Raiders

Just a few short weeks ago, Garcia outplayed JaMarcus Russell in the preseason and then was cut because the Raiders didn’t want to stunt the growth of their No. 1 overall pick from 2007. With Garcia in black and silver, Oakland could win a lot more games. But Garcia cannot throw the deep ball.

Carolina Panthers

Jake Delhomme and A.J. Feeley…enough said.

Seattle Seahawks

A lot of people are infuriated with Seneca Wallace in Seattle. Matt Hasselbeck is as brittle as crystal at this point in his career. Seattle could win a lot of games if they had a solid backup. Garcia fits this. He would run the perfect style of offense, he has worked with Greg Knapp in the past, and worked Knapp’s offense into a couple playoff appearances.

This fit makes the most sense.

To be honest, I'm appalled.

Michael Vick was a starting QB once upon a time, he led his team to the NFC Championship game.

He is seen as a QB with a 'twist' and despite his lethal legs, he has a bullet of an arm and just needs to work on his accuracy.

I agree he is not yet a starter for the Eagles, but he is mighty close.

Jeff Garcia, remember him? I

hate to say it, but he really is the whore of the NFL.

He's been on a grand total of seven NFL teams.

He was undrafted in '94 and when he finally came into the NFL in '98 he played for the 49ers. Then, somewhere along the way, he became an Eagle.

Garcia started after a incident I-will-not-say happened to McNabb.

Jeff donned Jaworski's 7 and went 5-1 taking the NFC East Division championship. 

Kevin Kolb, the "next Eagles franchise QB", has played part of a total of nine games, starting just one. He has a 50.6 rating, I think my mother could get that, and a 2-7 TD to INT ratio.

Sure he threw for a nice 350+ yards and two TDs against the Saints. But he also threw for three picks.

He missed open receivers time and time again, and he showed rookie mistakes in a game that should have been much closer.

So let's compare these three QBs. 

You make the decision on who you would start.

Andy Reid wants to start Kolb. Why? He is stubborn.

He let go of Dawkins because Andy is stingy.

He let go of Kearse, I would have kept him even after he took a shotgun shell to the leg.

And now he is starting the QB that is easily the worst of the three he has to choose from.

Andy thinks he Kolb is the best thing since sliced bread (and McNabb), and he has stated that he thinks Kolb is the future for this franchise. 

I fully disagree.

If you look at the NFL right now, Jeff Garcia could start for about five or six teams. Michael Vick could start for the same if not more.

Yet Reid thinks Kolb is the right choice.

His stubborn demeanor is holding this franchise back, at least for the next few weeks.

Start Garcia you stubborn stubborn man.

Remember Saints v. Eagles? Reid had another fit of stubbornness when he decided to let Kolb throw the ball.

Andrew is still sticking with his "West Coast offense forever!" mentality, but in this situation Reid needed to run the football. He dabbled in the Wildcat which was a nice change of pace, but he still gave the ball to Kolb too much. 

Give the ball to Westbrook and run it down their throats you stubborn stubborn man.

Hello world, I am Euno Lee, and I am a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Which makes me a borderline masochist during the months of September to December (don't even get me started on late-January).

Our fans are known for drinking away our sorrows and being generally belligerent before, during, and after games, but believe me, never has belligerence been so well-spoken.

Like drinking, the problem with the Eagles this season is that, every painful Sunday, we wake up the following morning to a painful realization-real life.

Donovan McNabb fractured a rib in an absolutely unnecessary "statement" touchdown in the closing quarters of Week One's game against the Carolina Panthers, that looked more like Philadelphia putting on a defensive and special teams clinic.

The good news: Philly fans (and the Eagles, to their credit) are excellent at coping with adversity. After all, with a list of injuries matched in length only by Snoop Dogg's rap sheet, Donovan McNabb has been the perennial part-time employee of the Eagles enjoying full-time pay.

Even with this shocking disparity of performance to salary, the Eagles have managed to make the playoffs seven of the past nine seasons (halfway) under McNabb.

The Eagles recently signed Jeff Garcia, a veteran quarterback who enjoyed his time in Philadelphia and is familiar with Andy Reid's West Coast Offense. Unfortunately, this is where the bad news begins.

The bad news: While Garcia and controversial new signing Michael Vick are unable to play until Week Three, Philadelphia suffered domestic abuse at the hands of Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in their regular season home opener.

Not only does this game (regardless of the circumstances) hold bearing on potential playoff momentum, which, given Drew Brees's MVP-esque overture to the NFL season, seems inevitable, but it speaks to the shakiness of the Eagles as a whole.

Aside from the defense being sliced to ribbons by Brees, the Eagles were plain negligent on both sides of the ball. Kevin Kolb put some air underneath the ball, throwing for 391 yards-unfortunately the ball ran out of gas into the wrong hands. Three times.

What's more, the team incurred seven penalties for a total of 45 free yards of field position. The team was in a funk virtually the entire second half. It was a forgettable outing.

As I create more paragraph breaks and consider the length of the "Bad News" section versus the "Good News" section, and how much more I have left to write, the squat shape of the handle of Smirnoff Vodka in my bedroom becomes more and more seductive.

I abstain and continue: Kevin Kolb's leadership is everything you'd expect of a second-string quarterback. His interviews cry out benchwarmer, with astounding, swagger-filled gems like "I've got to cut those turnovers out", and "I saw the guy and just made a bad throw, a bad decision." 

Mr. Kolb, this is not Pee-Wee football, where being hard on yourself magically improves your performance. It is difficult for the team to stand behind a man who is not confident in his ability to perform, physically gifted as Kolb may be.

That Smirnoff handle is starting to take the form of a circa 2001 Halle Berry.

Donovan McNabb's injury is not as light as it appears to be. The tragedy of a cracked rib lies in the agonizingly slow, painful road to full recovery. Symptoms include chest pains and difficulty breathing, and can be aggravated with stress. Obviously, playing full-contact football is out of the question, and playing injured will only hurt the Eagles in the long run.

A full recovery usually takes up to six weeks. NFL players, unfortunately, are human beings like everyone else. Six weeks is six weeks. I suspect McNabb will be back by Week Five for a date with the Buccaneers, not feeling 100% but close enough and healed enough that with a little skittish play, aggravation won't become an issue.

Finally, Andy Reid all but chiseled in stone that Kevin Kolb will start Week Three against the Kansas City Chiefs, regardless of Garcia and Vick's availability. Count me among the disenchanted; McNabb-to-Kolb is not going to be a Bledsoe-to-Brady or Bledsoe-to-Romo quarterback coronation (or, in both cases, shameless usurping).

Here's to hoping that one of these three have the natural leadership to hold these upcoming weeks so that McNabb can close out the season.

Preface: Feel free to tell me after you read this article if I'm reading too much into what's going on with the roster of the Philadelphia Eagles.

This summer, the Philadelphia Eagles made a number of strong statements. One was allowing defensive captain Brian Dawkins to leave as a free agent for Denver. The other was taking a big chance by signing Michael Vick.

Vick was brought into Philadelphia to not only rehabilitate his image, but to add some versatility to the Eagles offense. The addition raised a number of eyebrows because the assumption in Philadelphia was that the Eagles were, at least in some fashion, committed to Kevin Kolb as the backup to Donovan McNabb.

In the first preseason game Vick played in, there was obvious friction between McNabb and the coaching staff over the use of Vick. The Wildcat apparently needed to be caged (bad pun? too soon?).

Vick is not eligible to play in a regular season game for the Eagles until the third week of the regular season because of his suspension, so the Eagles were comfortable letting a healthy McNabb and Kolb begin the season as the two quarterbacks on the active roster.

Then came Sunday.

McNabb, after scrambling for a touchdown in a game that, at that point, was well in hand, was rolled over by a couple defensive players and fractured one of his ribs.

Kolb entered the game and was underwhelming.

After the game, and in the following 48 hours, the Eagles let it be known that McNabb's injury wasn't serious and that they, along with McNabb, were hoping he could play against the high-powered Saints this coming weekend.

Then came the announcements on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, that the Eagles had signed free agent (and former Eagles) Jeff Garcia and activated Vick.

By my math, that means the Eagles have four quarterbacks theoretically eligible to play in Week Three. And you can only dress three.

This is where I might be reading too far into the signing of Garcia: does adding a solid veteran quarterback indicate that McNabb's ribs might be worse than the Eagles are letting on?

Garcia must have had options to play with other teams. And he would have had he stayed on the free agent market. Within hours of his signing with Philadelphia, the Carolina Panthers signed former Eagles quarterback AJ Feeley. Looking strictly at the resume of each, one would have to think Garcia would generate more demand.

Garcia was cut by the Raiders because, in part, he wanted to see playing time for an organization that had a chance to win (i.e. not the Raiders).

That, and he has historically been a winner, which is something Al Davis hasn't kept around that franchise in recent years.

So, and I'll again admit to reading between the lines. If Garcia believes he can still play and wants to be on the field, then what gives with the roster in Philly?

There are three options that I can see being the cause/effect of this addition.

1) The Eagles experiment of grooming Kolb to be their "quarterback of the future" is officially over. In adding Garcia, the Eagles will allow Kolb to hit waivers with the hopes of bringing him back on the practice squad.

2) The Eagles move Michael Vick to a wide receiver. By rule in the NFL, if the quarterback listed third on the depth chart enters the game, the first two quarterbacks are no longer eligible. If Vick is going to contribute, and Garcia thinks he's going to play, and McNabb comes back in a week or two, then someone can't play quarterback. Logically, it would be Vick that moves.

3) McNabb's ribs are more seriously hurt than the Eagles are letting on, and they need a starting quarterback to keep them competitive in the NFC East. They're probably not comfortable with Vick's abilities to lead a playoff team after two years in jail, and Sunday would lead any observer to believe that Kolb can't do that for them either. If McNabb is going to miss significant time (more than four weeks), they need a legit NFL quarterback—like Garcia.

Again, I'm basing my thoughts here on everything that's been said publicly by the Eagles, their players, and the players' representatives.

They brought in Vick to get him on the field, they already had Kolb and McNabb is their starter. By most standards, that's a crowded depth chart.

Adding Garcia makes it an intriguing puzzle.

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed Jeff Garcia to a one-year deal, league sources say.

Garcia, played with the Eagles back in 2006, starting in six games after Donovan McNabb suffered a season ending injury. He went 5-1 down the stretch to will the Eagles into the postseason, where they eventually lost a nail-biter to New Orleans in the second round.

During his improbable run, Garcia quickly became a fan favorite in Philadelphia, as well as across the NFL.

He's spent the last two seasons in Tampa Bay, where he put up average numbers; and spent his 2009 training camp in Oakland before being released.

Garcia is familiar with the West Coast offense, and should be able to play immediately if asked to; but will he be asked to? 

The Eagles organization has continuously praised Kevin Kolb. Starting Jeff Garcia would only nullify the previous confidence that Reid has in the young QB.

Complicating the situation, the Eagles will have to cut a player to make room for Jeff Garcia. Reggie Brown is most likely to be the player cut, but the complications don't end there. 

Once Michael Vick is eligible to play in week three, the Eagles will have to cut another player, most likely either Garcia or Kolb. It's hard to imagine the Eagles keeping four quarterbacks on the roster.

There is still a chance that Donovan McNabb plays on Sunday, with the Garcia signing just being a necessary precaution. If McNabb is feeling well enough to play, he will wear a protective jacket over his ribs.

With Vick, McNabb, and Vick all on the same team, if McNabb doesn't return soon, a QB controversy is on the horizon.

The past 24 hours have been a long day for the Philadelphia Eagles, losing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to an injury.

The front office did not waste any time on the situation as the team prepares for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Just some time ago, the Eagles brought back Jeff Garcia, who was released by the Oakland Raiders a few weeks ago.

If you remember, Garcia did lead the Eagles into the playoffs after McNabb went down with a season ending injury.

Though McNabb's absence is unknown, Philadelphia wants to play it safe this week and give Donovan the rest.

The signing of Garcia does make some sense, as he should be familiar with the offense from a few seasons ago.

Yet, from what we have seen from Andy Reid, it wouldn't be all that surprising if he gave Kevin Kolb the nod to start Sunday.

Surely after Kolb's performance it did raise some eyebrows in management to sign Garcia, but with the hopes of confidence Reid has in this young quarterback from the University Of Houston, most likely he will get the start while Garcia gets more familiarity with the offense.

This is Kolb's chance to succeed as an Eagle, taking on a Saints defense that he, along with the rest of the offense could handle.

However, if he plays poorly against the Saints, questions are going to rise in Philly about a potential release of him.

After all, with McNabb returning in two weeks, it's going to be a tough decision to make as to whether to hold onto four quarterbacks on the depth chart.

This could be the make or break start for Kolb as an Eagle for that matter.

Matt Miselis is an NFL writer for BleacherReport.com

In what could be bad news for Donovan McNabb, the Eagles have gone out and signed Jeff Garcia.

Of course Eagles fans will remember Garcia for leading the Eagles to the playoffs in 2006 after McNabb went down with a torn ACL and the season appeared to be lost.

While McNabb is hurt again, these are extremely different circumstances. First of all, there's no guarantee that Garcia is even going to be the backup/starter if McNabb can't play.

Andy Reid has said numerous times that Kevin Kolb is the backup, and the signing of Garcia may not change that. He may only be a stopgap until Michael Vick is available as a backup.

So, realistically, Garcia could wind up being on the roster for this week only. Of course, that's assuming that McNabb doesn't miss any time. If he does, then Garcia could remain with the Eagles until McNabb returns.

Again, as I've stated several times, I don't expect McNabb to miss any time, and think this is just a precautionary move that could signal Reid's waning confidence in Kolb as the backup.

Not to be lost in this news is the signing of A.J. Feeley by the Carolina Panthers. Josh McCown was put on IR today, and the Panthers obviously don't have much faith in Matt Moore as the backup.

Feeley has been brought in as the No. 2 guy, but could wind up as the starter if Delhomme struggles again in Week Two the same way he did against the Eagles. Apparently the Eagles attempted to re-sign Feeley, but he turned them down in favor of Carolina.

Before we start thinking that Feeley was upset at the Eagles or anything to that effect, the more likely scenario is that Feeley feels as though he could supplant Delhomme in Carolina. Obviously, he'll take even the slimmest of chances to become a starter again.

For now, Garcia is great insurance if McNabb would be unable to start and Kolb doesn't play well (but really, what are the chances of that happening?), but nothing more than that.

He hasn't been brought in to challenge McNabb or take over Vick's spot or anything like that, so let's kill that before it even has the chance to start.

The Eagles have now confirmed the signing. The next move will be to make room for him on the roster. Antonio Dixon could have had a short stay in Philadelphia.

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After a 38-10 blowout against the Carolina Panthers, the Philadelphia Eagles lost their starting quarterback when Donovan McNabb went down with a fractured rib. Now, they are bringing a familiar face back who once led the team to a magical run in 2006 when McNabb went down with an ACL injury.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Eagles have agreed to terms with Garcia, who was recently released from the Oakland Raiders.

When McNabb suffered an ACL injury back in 2006, head coach Andy Reid took heat from the fans of Philadelphia for starting Garcia over A.J. Feeley, who helped the Eagles reach the playoffs in 2002.

It should be interesting to see what happens with the Eagles now that they have Garcia on the roster. It’s even more interesting Garcia would agree to terms with the organization after they failed to offer him a deal after his magical season in 2006,  the year he led the team to five-straight wins and a NFC East title.

As of now, this move appears to be nothing more than an insurance factor for the Eagles. Joe Banner and company obviously want to take caution in case McNabb’s injury is worst than expected.

One thing is certain; it appears the organization may not feel as comfortable with quarterback Kevin Kolb. Over the last two seasons, Kolb has recorded six turnovers in the 18 series he has played in.

Dan Parzych Is The Eagles Fan Voice For NFLTouchdown.com