The professional football universe is flat-out wacky.
Forty-year-old Jeff Garcia led the Omaha Nighthawks to a
come-from-behind 27-26 victory in the team’s United Football League
debut Friday night. Nearly two years removed his previous start,
the fleet-footed, in-your-face quarterback looked as if he hadn’t
missed a snap.
The professional football universe is flat-out wacky.
Forty-year-old Jeff Garcia led the Omaha Nighthawks to a come-from-behind 27-26 victory in the team’s United Football League debut Friday night. Nearly two years removed his previous start, the fleet-footed, in-your-face quarterback looked as if he hadn’t missed a snap.
Garcia completed 23 of 39 passes — 59 percent accuracy — for 226 yards, three touchdowns and, most important, no interceptions. The game-winner came with six seconds left on the clock. Cool under pressure, similar to another former San Francisco signal-caller.
The 11-year NFL veteran heard but a peep from NFL teams during the 2010 offseason. He made it clear that he had the chops to continue his career, yet nobody listened. He repeated himself over and over again. Still nothing. Unexplainable.
Why isn’t Jeff Garcia in the NFL? Is it his age or his size … or what? There isn’t exactly a clear-cut answer.
One game into the UFL schedule means bunk in comparison to an entire season. But just pause for a moment. Isn’t there a Bay Area team that needs reinforcement at QB?
Alex Smith was on the field for another dismal San Francisco 49ers performance Sunday in Kansas City.
Smith has three touchdowns to five interceptions and the Niners are 0-3. His inconsistencies have fans clambering for a quick fix, but there isn’t one. Or is there?
Why wouldn’t the Niners consider Garcia during training camp? David Carr as Smith’s backup instead? Baffling.
Garcia said when he signed with the Nighthawks that he was committed to the team for the entire eight-game season, which wraps up Nov. 19. Summed up, Garcia isn’t available to NFL teams until after that point. The Niners should use that time to figure out a way to bring Garcia back to the red and gold, where he flourished in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The Niners haven’t had a winning season since 2002 (10-6, made playoffs), a year prior to his departure in 2003. They came close last season with an 8-8 mark. That proved to be a false sense of hope — at least so far.
The offensive woes aren’t all Smith’s fault. A merry-go-round of offensive coordinators have left Smith with out a base to build, schematically speaking. And the Niners just ditched the team’s latest offensive coordinator, Jimmy Raye, on Monday after the depressing start. Quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson will assume the duties. We’ll see how that pans out.
The reward of signing Garcia if the opportunity presents itself outweighs the risk. Garcia is a mentor as well as a competitor. The Niners need both.
