Garcia and Simms battle for starting job in Tampa

Filed in archive on June 25, 2007

Courtesy Buccaneers.com.

Heading into training camp in Tampa Bay, newly acquired veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia has the edge over Chris Simms, who played only three games in 2006, after a horrific spleen injury that threatened Simms' life.

The 26-year-old Simms is back this season, and there's nothing the Bucs and head coach John Gruden would love more than to see him win the starting job. Gruden demonstrated unshakable confidence in Simms before his injury, despite the fact that his young quarterback's best season includes just 10 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 81.4.

Enter Garcia, who rescued the Philadelphia eagles in 2006, after starter Donovan McNabb was injured. Garcia was brilliant in six starts with the Eagles and is an expert at Gruden's West Coast offense. Oh, and let's not forget that Garcia is an eight-year veteran and former Pro Bowler, with some pretty stellar career numbers.

There's nothing more distracting in an NFL training camp than a quarterback controversy, but one has to wonder if a controversy really exists in Tampa Bay, or if Jeff Garcia hasn't already won the job.