Jeff Garcia

Yes, Garcia was 10th in the league in YPA last year. So we're not going to slash him despite the presence, at least of Brian Griese (yes, he's back in Tampa; this is not a misprint) and rookie Josh Johnson who dominated I-AA with his big arm, solid mechanics and plus-running ability. Jon Gruden collects QBs like eight-year-old boys collect Pokemon cards – he's gotta get 'em all! Garcia is unhappy with his contract and was unhappy with the Bucs play calling. Gruden can't be happy about that. Garcia is safe as long as he plays well, but don’t think that Gruden will quickly forget the egg that Garcia laid in the playoff loss to the Giants (when the line just couldn’t protect for him) or his slow return from injury at the end of the regular season. Garcia kept his head above the fantasy water only because of his chemistry with Joey Galloway, who is equally ancient. The circus is going to leave town for those two any day now. Amazingly, Garcia didn't throw a single TD pass from the plus-20 to plus-6 (22 attempts). He was 5-of-14 inside the five. In other words, Garcia was very dependent on the long ball. While he hooked up with Galloway on long-distance strikes, he wasn't able to demonstrate FAS – just a 77.8 QB rating on those 11-20 yard throws from scrimmage. The bottom line: Garcia's too old and fragile at this point to rely on. Mix him in as a second backup if your first one is weak. Otherwise, pass.

The Eagles obviously didn’t believe Garcia’s 2006 was for real, so why should we? They low-balled him even with McNabb coming off mid-season ACL surgery. Now Garcia has to fight off a challenge from Chris Simms, looking to reclaim his starting job after rupturing his spleen and playing through it, which almost cost him his life. Obviously, this didn’t impress Mr. “Pound That Rock,” Jon Gruden, who was once viewed as a QB-friendly coach. The Bucs did pass 54 percent of the time in the first half and were one of a handful of teams with more passes inside the opposing 10 than runs. The results were terrible, so a change in strategy should be expected. Simms did struggle last year prior to his injury, but all QBs struggle periodically and that reasonably could have been normal growing pains for a starter with limited experience. But even if Simms builds off his decent 2005 debut, he only projects as a fantasy backup in this system and with these poor weapons, headed by ancient speedster Joey Galloway. Garcia doesn’t even have this upside given his age and the general poor play he showed in his post-Niner career, his strong stint in Andy Reid’s system nothwithstanding.

Veteran will backup starter Donovan McNabb, giving the team a more experienced option should anything happen to their franchise quarterback.

Garcia’s heyday of 30-plus passing touchdowns, 4,000 yards and a couple rushing scores are long gone, but if Joey Harrington doesn’t take a big step up, Garcia would inherit an offense with three of the top young receivers to come out of the college ranks in the last several years. Moreover, should he get the job, Garcia’s always good for some rushing yards and a couple scores on the ground.

The ex-Niner rewarded patient owners last year by becoming a fantasy stud down the stretch, throwing for 10 scores and rushing for three more. But that late-season push didn't impress NFL general managers, who left Garcia scrambling for a starting job during free agency until the Browns picked him up. Garcia is likely to be sacked more in Cleveland (40 sacks allowed in ‘03) than he was in SF (38 sacks allowed in ’02 and ’03 combined), and between that, his propensity to run and his age (he turned 34 last February), Garcia carries a fair amount of injury risk. If he stays healthy all year, expect good fantasy production, but don’t expect it to be pretty. Garcia does not throw the ball nicely or accurately (over 17 percent of his throws were poor last year, well worse than average). He doesn't make many big plays in the pocket. He thrives on chaos, he's hard nosed and can be counted on for four or five rushing TDs as well as a few hundred rushing yards. Blue chip, rookie tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. should allow Garcia to control the hash area of the field, which many coaches believe is the key to controlling the entire field, but the Browns skill talent will likely be undermined by their poor line play. Also, remember that Garcia has gone without a TD pass in eight of his last 29 starts, so plan on riding out the lows or risk having his big weeks come while he's on your bench.

After two fantastic fantasy years, Garcia had to settle for one that was merely good last season: 3,344 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, along with 353 yards rushing and another three scores. Meanwhile, he threw just 10 interceptions and was sacked only 17 times. Most of his owners weren't entirely thrilled, however, given that Garcia rolled up 35 and 37 combined touchdowns the two seasons before. Still, there's a lot to like about the San Francisco quarterback. He's matched up with one of the game's best receivers in Terrell Owens; he's resourceful in the pocket and a very good scrambler; and he hasn't missed a start in three seasons, despite a host of nagging injuries that have held him back now and again. Assuming Garcia plays another full season, the 2002 stats probably represent his floor.