| | | | | | | | Thursday, August 23, 2001
Q & A with 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia
MondayNightFootball.com
After spending five years in the Canadian Football League, Jeff Garcia stepped in for an injured Steve Young last season and saw limited success as the 49ers' starting quarterback. Despite intense scrutiny from the media and Niners fans alike, head coach Steve Mariucci committed to Garcia as his starter for the 2000 season. The 6-foot-1 quarterback responded by throwing for 4,278 yards (second in the league), 31 touchdowns (third in the league) and only 10 interceptions while leading the 49ers to six wins, double their victory total from '99. Garcia will make his Pro Bowl debut on Sunday (ABC, 5:30 p.m. ET), and took a minute to talk to ABC Sports from Honolulu about what the past year has meant to him.
|  | | Jeff Garcia trailed only Peyton Manning with 4,278 passing yards in 2000. |
ABC Sports: What does it mean to a player to make the Pro Bowl for the first time, particularly for a guy like yourself whose career has taken such a roundabout path to success?
Jeff Garcia: It's just an awesome opportunity. I'm very thankful to the fans, players and coaches who voted me into this game. I really believe I was deserving of this opportunity, and I think it really allows me to show that I'm worthy of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. I'm the type of person who tries to show that I belong through my actions on the field. I've had to overcome a lot of difficult times, and I've been the subject of a lot of scrutiny in the past year and a half. But I think I started to show that I can help my team win by doing a lot of positive things on the field, and that's why I'm here.
ABC Sports: What's your experience in Hawaii been like so far?
Garcia: It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I was in Tampa for a week for the Super Bowl and had a lot of media events going on, and I got to meet a lot of players I hadn't met before. Everyone was really congratulatory towards me, and it was a great feeling. I got into Hawaii on Monday, so it's been a lot of traveling, and I'm experiencing a bit of the flu now. I'm pretty exhausted, but I should be able to relax some this week and try to get myself better so I can take advantage of this opportunity out here.
ABC Sports: Is there a player from the NFC squad you're particularly looking forward to playing with this week?
Garcia: There's a really great assembly of receivers on the NFC team, and a guy that I'm really looking forward to playing with is Cris Carter. He's had such an outstanding career. He's definitely a great spokesperson and role model for the NFL with all the things that he does off the field. I have an extreme amount of respect for Cris, and I think I'll really enjoy throwing to him. Hopefully, I can get him some opportunities to make some plays.
When looking at our defense, I noticed how many young guys there are who've been in the league for only a few years. It really goes to show how the talent is evolving in the league, especially on the NFC side.
ABC Sports: What is the intensity level of the players and coaches on the practice field?
Garcia: It's all pretty much relaxed out here. The one thing they stressed in the team meeting on Monday night was that it's a week where you want to enjoy yourselves, but you also want to take the actions necessary to win the game. It's up to each individual how they approach the game, but I personally want to play as well as possible. I want to show people that I belong and it isn't a one-time thing for me. I'm looking to make the most out of my practice opportunities and get back into rhythm. A lot of guys, including me, haven't really played in a month, so there's some kinks to be worked out. But I think come Sunday, guys will be battling to come out on top.
ABC Sports: Have you had a chance or are you planning to try any local Hawaiian customs during your stay?
Garcia: I would like to get to a luau while I'm out here. I have my parents with me right now and I have about 100 to 150 family members and friends coming out during the week, so I'm sure we'll get to a luau at some point. I think I'm going to hold off on the surfing until after the game, and I'm really looking forward to the Quarterback Challenge next week as well. I'd also like to get down to Waikiki at some point, but right now I'm focusing on the game as well as relaxing as much as I possibly can before then. The opportunity to play in this game doesn't always present itself, so I really want to make the best of it.
ABC Sports: The 49ers were in somewhat of a rebuilding mode this season with a lot of young players seeing a ton of action. How do you feel about how things are looking for next season?
Garcia: Although we played pretty badly in our last game of the season versus the Broncos, I really liked the way that we finished off the season. We won four of our last six games, and I thought that our defense made some tremendous strides, especially considering how many young guys made up that unit. With all the negative words that were thrown at them throughout the season, for them to maintain their confidence and step things up towards the end of the season was really impressive.
I'm excited about this team. If we can keep the nucleus of talent together and not experience any major losses due to salary cap reasons, I really believe we can compete for a playoff spot next year. And once you make the playoffs, anything can happen.
ABC Sports: After your breakout season this year, do you expect teams to be a little more prepared for you next season?
Garcia: I think so. Teams will look to handle me differently, and probably try and keep me in the pocket more. But I realize that I still have a lot of room for improvement every single week. That's the way I approach my game. I want to get to a point that things are so natural, so second nature, that I'm running the show on the offensive side of the ball.
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