This just in, according to WDFN the fan and one Tom "the Killer" Kowalski... Coach Dick Jauron has named Jeff Garcia the starter for Sunday against the Vikings. Can this strange little soap opera get any weirder? To me it is quite simple, this is now the third coach to try and get it thru Millen's fat and stubborn head... Harrington is crap! Think about it folks, Morningweg clearly didn't want Joey, Mooch obviously hated Joey now Jauron is saying it too? What else could it be? Why not give Joey five games and just say let it rip? Simply because there is no one in this organization that feels Joey will do anything under center, except for Millen. So he is an interim coach giving the nod to Garcia for what reason? You would think that Mooch being fired and Olsen being promoted to offensive coordinator would be all that Joey needed but I guess not.
I guess it makes sense though, because it makes no sense, which is the Lions way after all.
Later - the confused sports dude.
Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at 11:30 AM
Garcia to start Sunday...
said...
I'm seriously hoping that this is either a really elaborate prank that struck Mr. Jauron as being a clever way to play with the hearts and minds of Detroiters or an attempt to show once and for all that Jeff Garcia is an inept boob with more wrinkles around his eyes than yards left in his arm.
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said...
For those who still believe Joey "blueskys" can getit done if the coordinater changes, the coach changes, or the length of the field changes, wake the hell up!!! None of these things is going to change the fact that he has no ability to throw on the move, or simply move for that matter. If you have watched every game the last 3 years, the only record Joey has is most fumbles by a quarterback running without getting hit. Watch his eyes when the pass rush is closing in- he looks at them and then tries to avoid the sack which never happens. Watch a quality qb and you will see the eyes never leave the field looking for a third or fouth option. Speaking of seeing the field he may be the worst ever at finding the 3rd or 4th option hence the 3 yard checkdown on 3rd and 9. A 35 year old with a bad leg could do it better, that is why every coach would take a chance on a guy with some mobility who has the ability to see the field, even if he can't throw it 12 yards without an arch on it.
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said...
I think the point, Anon, is that Garcia wasn't stellar his last year in San Fran, wasn't stellar last year in Cleveland, and hasn't been stellar in Detroit this year, even when he was healthy in the preseason or at other points.
Why even bother starting a man who has NO CHANCE IN HELL of being a good starting QB *and* has no chance in hell of being in Detroit next year?
Joey is at least still around 25 or so and could, by some giant miracle, pull a Drew Brees and start playing well. And even if he doesn't, the chances are good that the Lions are going to end up with a guy closer to Joey's skillset and arm strength than Garcia's skillset and arm strength next year. Plus, if we're going to evaluate talent, let's evaluate it. Put in the guy who can throw the deep pass to Roy and Chuck and let's see if they catch them or not. Garcia won't be doing any of that.
Plus, let's not forget that this year, of the two, Harrington has played better.
Unless of course you count Garcia's pass to Marvin the Martian in the Thanksgiving game or his accidental touchdown to Roy Williams as being, you know, good plays.
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David Lithman said...
I remember when Jauron used to coach here in Jacksonville. He sucked then, and still doesn't look like he has what it takes to coach. At this point it doesn't really matter who starts for Detroit. If you poll people it would probably be 50/50.
I think they should start Harrington. What do they have to lose? If they want to develope their receivers, Harrington has the better arm to do it. Just let him throw 45 times a game
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said...
I fully understand that Joey is younger and has a better arm. Having been a Lions fan for 35 years, I wish some miracle would occur and Joey would suddenly be "the man". Let's face facts- the only time Joey looks like anything is when there is no pass rush up the middle (see the last two Arizona games). Anyone that has made it to the NFL as a qb can look good when the rush is non-existant and your primary receiver gets separation. What produces wins in tight ballgames is when a qb can buy time, hit his third option, or improvise to keep a play alive. Hell, it didn't bother me when Garcia puked it in overtime against the Bears. At least he tried on one leg. The week before he made 4 plays against the Browns that Joey has'nt made in his three years with the team. And Garcia was on one leg! I believe Garcia will be with the Lions next year and hopefully can give veteren leadership to Orlovsky; who can watch a guy that has won before and maybe develop in something. Hell, I hope he makes him the number 2 qb and when Garcia is beat, let him on the field to see what next year's qb situation will look like. Let's face it, Jauron has had this whole season to run defense in practice against Joey and Jeff. He also knows Millan wants Harrington and in two days, his first move, he named Garcia because he wants the best chance to win. I think he may be in a better position to evaluate then we are. I'm sorry Joey sucks.
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said...
Well, whether you like Joey for next year or not, I still don't get why anyone in their right mind would want to start Jeff Garcia this year.
First of all, he called out the front office management and spoke poorly of them. That's not the worst thing, but his timing was awful. Veterans should know better: Shut up and play your ass off.
Secondly, the idea with these last five games is to evaluate talent --presumably Jones, Rogers, Mike Williams, and Roy Williams. And yes, even if you hate him, maybe play Joey to see if you can figure out how to trade him rather than outright cut him and eat the salary. Garcia is not the QB to run the offense to do that. The guy is going to throw a bunch of short passes to Pollard and to Bryson in the flat, maybe a few across the middle to some of the bigger guys. Most of the big passes he thows will be on broken plays where he scrambled, and there's no way to check out route running and one-on-one receiver play against DBs when that's happening.
On a related note, think about why TO hated Garcia other than the fact that he's an obnoxious ass: Garcia wouldn't (I say couldn't) throw the big ball deep to TO. Why would you want to test out guys like Rogers and Williams, supposed deep threats who haven't played like deep threats, with a guy who can't throw the deep pass? It makes NO SENSE.
And finally, there's the issue you brought up of Garcia making three or four plays Joey never could have made. So what? Mike Vick makes plays Peyton Manning couldn't make. That doesn't mean I'd rather have Mike Vick on my team. It just means they're different. We have two QBs who have played mediocre football this year. One of them showed some potential in the preseason (Joey) while one of them threw tons of interceptions and for no yards against 2nd string defenses (Jeff). One has shown some improvement the past 4 games (Joey) while one of them has re-injured himself (Jeff). One of them put up 20-something points in one game (Joey) while the other put up 20-something points in two-and-a-half GAMES (Jeff). One of them has thrown numerous deep passes that receievers like Roy should have caught like in the first Chicago game (Joey) and one can't throw a deep ball to save his life (Jeff). One of them made a lot of sharp, crisp throws on Thanksgiving and got screwed by a receiver falling over and a RB fumbling (Joey) and one of them threw a space ball and lots of crappy passes but got lucky and scored a TD on what looked like a sure INT that bounced into the receiver's hands (Jeff).
With only 5 games left, you want the SECOND guy? Ha!
Unlike most people, including, I would imagine, the sports dude himself, I think Joey deserves the chance to stay on the team and compete for (NOT be handed) the starting job against a legitimate veteran QB next year. But even if I didn't think that, I'd *still* think that playing Jeff Garcia was a colossal waste of time. The guy is more washed up than a load of laundry.
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