Editor’s Note: Below is a questions and answers column running each Tuesday called “Coach’s Corner.” Sports editor Josh Koehn and former Gavilan football coach Bob Garcia, father of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia, will talk about all things football.
Koehn: Bobby, it’s Josh Koehn.
Garcia: Hey, Josh. How you doing?
K: I’m doing good. How are you?
G: Well, I’m out trying to do a job, but I’ve broken all my hoses and I can’t find anybody to fix them. So, it’s kind of a crappy day.
K: You doing some work in the backyard?
G: Yeah, I’m doing some work up in the hills.
K: Well, you got a quick second to talk?
G: Yeah.
K: Well, let’s talk some playoff football. What did you think of the games this weekend?
G: Well, I tell you what, my Steelers are still going.
K: There you have a team that’s definitely looking good.
G: I tell you what, the surprising one is Arizona. They’re really playing well. They really took it to Carolina.
K: I did not see that one coming at all.
G: I didn’t either. Especially the quarterback, Jake Delhomme, what in the heck was he thinking? He wasn’t seeing anything.
K: When a quarterback has that bad of a performance in a big game, but has been pretty solid all season, what does that make a team think going into next year?
G: Well, you know what, they say he had a real bad game against Oakland, where threw a lot of interceptions.
K: He was terrible that game.
G: He was, huh? Well, I thought they would play a lot better, but they didn’t. So, whatever, they’re out, they’re going home. I tell you, Philly is just playing awesome. I don’t care what they say, they got some people to catch the ball, (Donovan) McNabb is playing well, their defense is playing really well, and those (New York) running backs, Philly did a hell of a job on them.
K: Philly has to go to Arizona. What do you think of that, where Philly has a better record but has to play at Arizona?
G: Well, [Arizona] won their [division] championship.
K: Yeah, they won their division, but their division was very weak compared to the NFC East.
G: But you know what, any given day, any given time. You start playing well and look, look what they’ve done. They’ve beaten some very good teams.
K: Well, with Anquan Boldin coming back, who do you think is going to win that game, Eagles or Arizona?
G: I don’t know, man. That’s a hell of a game. I tend to go with Philly, but [Arizona] being at home, the weather being good, those two receivers. — you give Warner time he’s gonna connect. But if I was a betting man, and looking at the talent on both sides and everything, I would have to go with Philly.
K: If Arizona does win, do you consider Kurt Warner a Hall of Fame quarterback with what he’s done?
G: Oh, yeah. Look at it, he’s already won a Super Bowl. He’s done a great job. So, I’m sure he’s gonna have an opportunity to go in there.
K: What about McNabb? Do you think he’s a Hall of Famer?
G: Usually they say you gotta win the Super Bowl. Anyhow, who knows? But for a guy that was benched halfway through the season and had all the issues that he had, he’s played really well.
K: What about the AFC games? Baltimore and Pittsburgh—
G: Hey, that one there, they’re both going to bring a knockout punch. That is what you call a football game. There’s nothing fancy, it’s just get after each other, let’s see who hits the hardest, and how many guys go by the wayside.
K: I think you’re right. It’s going to be a great, physical matchup,
G: The Steelers, during the regular season, they beat them twice, right?
K: Yeah, they did. And one of the wins was really controversial. A guy caught the ball on the goal line and it was overturned on replay at the end. It was real close.
G: If those two teams played 10 times, the first 10 times the Steelers might win six or seven. The second 10 times, Baltimore might win six or seven. The defenses are so good and they’re not making any mistakes on offense. But, I think that since [the Steelers] are playing at home, I would have to go with the Steelers.
K: So then you’ve got the Steelers and Eagles in the Super Bowl.
G: That’s what I’m thinking.
K: Well, the whole state of Pennsylvania will be watching that for sure.
G: Haha. Well ,football is big back east, boy. I don’t know if it’s as big as Texas, but it’s big back there. So, I’m sure they’re going to be excited. No matter what happens, it’s going to be exciting.
K: How impressive is it to see a rookie coach like John Harbaugh and then a rookie quarterback like Joe Flacco get to the AFC championship in their first year on the job.
G: Well, it’s kind of amazing. But you know what? They didn’t screw around with that defense. And let’s be honest, Flacco played great and everything, but that defense was already in place. Look at how many games they’ve won where they say, ‘Don’t make any mistakes and let the defense win the ballgame.’
K: That’s’ right.
G: And Harbaugh came in, and I’m not there, I’m not a fly on the wall so I don’t know what he’s telling them, but I’m sure he’s saying, ‘Hey, defense has been the name of the game around here and we’re not going to try and change that. All we’re gonna do on offense is try to get a little better, protect the ball, not turn it over, not make any mistakes, take three points when we have to, and then play defense.’
But, I tell you what, that call on the [Baltimore - Tennessee] game where time ran out (on the play clock), hey, those officials should be fired or banned for the rest of their lives.
K: Haha. You think they shouldn’t be allowed to ref a game ever again?
G: Hey, I’m telling you, what were they thinking? You watch it on TV and once it goes to zero, right away the flag comes out. This one goes to zero, and then you count to 1,000-one, and all of a sudden, boom, the ball is snapped. And then they got the yardage they needed for the field goal. What a terrible way to lose a ballgame, because both teams are battling back and forth and it comes down to an official making a mistake. Now, listen, I don’t give a damn what the deal is, you’ve got people up on top (in the booth) looking at it, saying that was the wrong call. Well, you know what, get your ass out there and say it was the wrong call instead of saying, ‘Oh, its the official’s call.’ Bullcrap. That was terrible, I just couldn’t believe it. That really irritated me.
K: Did you get a chance to watch the college football championship last week?
G: Yeah, definitely. And did you see where (Tim) Tebow is coming back, he said.
K: He said he’s coming back. How about that?
G: Well, how many kids are they losing off of that team?
K: Right now, I think they’re saying there is a chance to bring back like 21 of 22 starters.
G: Oh, man. If they do that they’ll run roughshod over — well, any given day — but, oh, man, they’ve got some talent.
K: The only players they could lose now who aren’t seniors are Percy Harvin, the receiver/scatback—
G: Oh, Mr. Everything.
K: Yeah, and Brandon Spikes, their middle linebacker. If those two guys come back, they pretty much get every starter coming back to the team . And really, with Tebow coming back, how important is that?
G: Unbelievable. It solidifies it right there. You almost say, ‘Hey, if we just keep our head above water and work hard, we’re back in the national hunt.’
K: They’re already the favorites to do it again.
G: It’s too bad when you say that, too, because Oklahoma had the opportunity to score twice. If they do that, it’s a completely different game.
K: I couldn’t believe how they ended that first half tied 7-7.
G: I think if they played 10 times, one of them wins six. It was close. But in that third and fourth quarter, [Tebow] took over.
K: There was one moment I remember, one run where he got a first down and ran back and started pumping his fist and the whole crowd got louder. After that he was just rolling the rest of the game.
G: The guy just puts it all out there. It was quite enjoyable (to watch). And that Texas game was good, too.
K: That was a good one over Ohio State. Everyone pretty much agrees that a playoff system is overdue at this point. What do you think of Utah or Texas claiming they’re No. 1?
G: Well, everybody can say that, and they could be No. 1. But they weren’t in the championship game. The sad thing about it is the teams from the smaller conferences don’t get the recognition. But Utah is a good football team. Can they go in there and do the job against Florida? Well, that day against Alabama they beat some pretty good people. What they’re saying is they can compete. Are they the No. 1 team? I don’t know. But they went undefeated. What the heck?
K: When you think about Urban Meyer, he’s won two championships in three years at Florida, and he’s the reason Utah was good in the first place because he left with Alex Smith.
G: Well, I’ll tell you one thing, Urban Meyer didn’t make Utah. That was (Ron) McBride. That was all of McBride’s players that he took [to the Fiesta Bowl]. And who’s to say they wouldn’t have gone to the [Fiesta Bowl] anyhow? But a better case of Urban Meyer is over at Florida because now maybe you’re seeing his guys. I don’t know, did he recruit Tebow?
K: Yeah, he got Tebow. That was his first major recruit and it was between Florida and Alabama, when Mike Shula, Don Shula’s son, was the coach.
G: See, those are his guys. At Utah, those weren’t his guys.
K: That’s true. But it was his system.
G: But you know what, he’s the coach. You still gotta get them to play together. You still gotta get them ready to go on Saturdays. He has something going for him that, apparently, he gets the most out of those players and gets them in situations where they’re going to succeed. What else can you say?
K: That’s really all you can say. Well, Bobby, thanks as always for the time. You have a good week.
G: OK. You take care, big guy. Talk to you next week.