Hey, man, let me tell you: This Garcia dude can play

Sporting News, The, Nov 27, 2000 by Dan Pompei

Most people would associate Garcia from San Francisco with tie-dye, acid trips and Casey Jones. But a too short, too skinny, too old quarterback with a puny arm could be changing mat.

The story of Jeff Garcia, San Francisco's quarterback, has been lost in the bottoming out of the 49ers. But the truth is that Garcia, a never-drafted player who had to tear up the Canadian Football League for four seasons before the NFL would give him a sniff, is operating the West Coast offense as efficiently as any quarterback in football, and better than some big names like Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb and Jake Plummer. He leads the league in touchdown passes with 24, and his passer rating of 98.7 is among the best in the league.

To say this is the surprise story of the year in the NFL is an understatement. For all the 49ers' rich quarterback history, they have been the beneficiaries of dumb luck with Garcia. He grew up in their back yard and played at nearby San Jose State, impressing then-Stanford coach Bill Walsh so much that he sent a memo to all NFL teams recommending they draft Garcia. Even though Garcia was named most valuable player at the East-West Shrine Game his senior season, neither the 49ers nor any other NFL team took Walsh's advice.

So Garcia signed with Calgary of the CFL. By his fifth season, in 1998, he led his team to a Grey Cup championship and was named MVP. "I turned on the tapes of the Canadian League, and I thought he looked as good as (Doug) Flutie did up there," said Ken Herock, vice president of personnel for the Packers. "I couldn't understand why (NFL teams) weren't trying to get him."

Herock, who then was a member of the Raiders front office, recommended Garcia when the Raiders were looking to replace Jeff George. The Raiders worked out Garcia but dismissed him because he didn't fit the Raider prototype for size and arm strength.

Eventually the 49ers signed Garcia, and he ended up starting 10 games last year. Back in May, in a casual conversation in a hotel lobby, coach Steve Mariucci told me Garcia was going to surprise a lot of people this year. Six months later, Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan termed Garcia's growth rate "shocking." What Garcia has done, according to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, is condense eight to 12 bad plays per game into three or four. By comparison, the great Steve Young was making two or three.

What Garcia has done best is avoid negative plays. Because he can feel pressure, is elusive and knows when to throw the ball away, Garcia has made a bad offensive line look good. He has been sacked 10 times, and had the second best sacks per play ratio in the NFL as of Sunday.

Garcia is a pinball of a quarterback. Bootlegs and sprint-outs are his strength, and he knows how to manage the pocket. "He was running faster than most of the people on the field," Falcons safety Marty Carter said after the 49ers' 16-6 victory Sunday. "It was surprising how fast he was. He has good acceleration, which is rare at that position. I haven't faced someone with that combination, someone who can run and throw that well."

Garcia plays like a bigger man than his 6-1, 195-pound size. Toughness is one of his outstanding qualities. He's not what you'd call conventional. Garcia sometimes throws the ball from positions more twisted than anything they make at Auntie Anne's. "At times, it almost looks like he's playing back-yard, sandlot football," said Eagles coach Andy Reid, who makes it a point to study other teams that run the West Coast offense. "He gets knocked around, and he still is accurate. He's fun to watch."

In addition to avoiding sacks, Garcia rarely throws interceptions--only four quarterbacks have a lower interception percentage this season. He is a play-it-safe passer. If the light turns yellow as he approaches the intersection, there's no question he's braking.

Garcia doesn't have the arm to throw a lot of long passes. In fact, opponents don't even honor the deep comeback. Approximately 67 percent of Garcia's attempts this season have been throws of 10 yards or less.

His performance Sunday against the Falcons in 3Com Park was typical. He threw for 210 rather ordinary yards. His longest completion traveled no more than 24 yards in the air. But he threw no interceptions, didn't take a single sack and scrambled for 50 yards on nine carries. "I was able to make something out of nothing today," Garcia said afterward, when he was still flushed from competition. "When a quarterback does that, it's going to affect a defense."

If Garcia were to leave the 49ers and play in an offensive system like the one used by the Rams, for instance, he would be considerably less spectacular, like Ginger Spice after leaving the Spice Girls. Garcia is the perfect fit for the West Coast offense.

It's fitting that Garcia has a few specks of gray around his temples. At 30, he's a mature quarterback who goes through his progressions and will dump it off. He trusts the system, the plays that are called and his receivers, throwing to them on timing.