[ Garcia, 49ers hope offense can gun down Chiefs ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Nov 12, 2000 by Rick Dean Capital-Journal

Garcia, 49ers hope offense can gun down Chiefs

San Francisco trying to break 5-game skid.

By RICK DEAN

The Capital-Journal

SAN FRANCISCO --- The late Jerry Garcia, the patron saint of this city's Haight-Ashbury district, once described perfectly the ascension of Jeff Garcia to the starting quarterback's job with the San Francisco 49ers.

One need not be a Deadhead to appreciate what a long trip it's been for Garcia, the Generation Xer.

Jeff Garcia's football odyssey began at San Jose State and moved through five seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League before dropping him into the No. 4 spot on the Niners' quarterback depth chart just a year ago.

"He took about nine percent of the practice reps in training camp last year," recalled Niners coach Steve Mariucci, whose quarterback roster seemed secure with Steve Young, Jim Druckenmiller and Steve Stenstrom. "He tried his luck early. Sometimes he struggled, sometimes he was OK."

By the end of training camp, however, Garcia had moved into the No. 2 spot behind Young, And when the future Hall of Fame veteran went down in Week Three with what proved to be a final, career- ending concussion, Garcia grabbed an opportunity no one has wrested from his since.

In the short time since then, Garcia --- in only his second NFL season --- leads the league in touchdown passes (24) and trails only Kurt Warner, Brian Griese and Peyton Manning in quarterback rating (100.2).

Today, his mission is simple. That is, to take the NFL's No. 4 offensive unit and outscore the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL's fifth- best team in point production, in a 3:05 p.m. game at 3Com Park.

To do that, however, the 2-8 Niners must break a five-game losing streak against a 5-4 Chiefs team battling to stay in playoff contention.

And Garcia, for all the over-achievement in his career and offensive fireworks he's produced with the likes of receivers Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice and running back Charlie Garner, must find a way to deal with the emotions associated with the skid.

"It makes it a little more difficult to show up each day with a positive attitude," he said. "But you have to find a way to motivate yourself and move forward and get out of this slump.

"We've been competitive all year, but in the fourth quarter or in a tight ball game, we can't end up on top."

That's because San Francisco's defense is the league's worst in total yards and points allowed. The Niners are giving up 388 yards and 25 points a game, something the Chiefs hope to exploit with their offense that averages 358 yards and 27 points a game.

Conversely, Kansas City's defense isn't doing much better than San Francisco's. Giving up 24 points a game, the Chiefs' best hope at winning a second game in this three-game road swing is outgunning the Niners in an offensive shootout.

"We've got to hold them down, because they can move the sticks and score points," Mariucci said. "But, I think we can too."

MATCHUP

Kansas City (5-4)

at San Francisco (2-8)

KICKOFF

3:05 p.m., 3Com Park

TV

WIBW, KCTV

RADIO

WIBW-AM (580),

WIBW-FM (97.3)

LINE

Chiefs by 3 1/2

ONLINE

chiefszone.com