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. Check in each Tuesday throughout the football season to read Garcia’s thoughts and feel free to comment or ask a question that can be answered in future articles.
Koehn: I figure I gotta take my lumps because Jeff definitely pulled it out and gave my team, Detroit, an 11th straight loss.
Garcia: I know it. I tell you what, though, that first quarter was like, ‘What in the hell is happening here?’
K: I saw the score online, 17-7, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is great. I better get down to Stubby’s.’ But within less than a 10-minute drive, the Lions were down 21-17.
G: They really came back fast. There was a punt return and interception and took it right down for scores.
K: They definitely proved to be the better team and showed a lot of heart doing that. Did you talk to Jeff after the game?
G: Yeah. He said, ‘I don’t know what is about Detroit, dad. We come down here the last two years and it’s like were walking into a doom house.’ Instead of really getting excited about playing a football game, you’re playing a team that hasn’t won anything. It’s like, if we don’t get fired (we’re in trouble). … He was like, ‘I’m glad we’re getting the hell out of Detroit because, you know, it was a tough battle.’
K: I think every single person that has ever played in Detroit has said the exact same thing. (more…)

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. Check in each Tuesday throughout the football season to read Garcia’s thoughts and feel free to comment or ask a question that can be answered in future articles. (This column ran in the Nov. 11 edition of he Dispatch)
Koehn: Lets start with the Gilroy game since Jeff is on bye this week.
Garcia: Okay.
K: They fell apart.
G: So they got beat by (North) Salinas. Hey, you know what, we’re not robots. We’re not made to do the same thing over and over. We’re human beings. We have to think, we have to react. We have to perform and sometimes were not up to it.
G: You know, Tuesday night I met with (Gilroy coach Rich) Hammond, I’m coaching the Barnstormers—
K: Wait. So you’re going to do that?
G: Yeah, I was there (for tryouts) Saturday and I’m gonna be doing some offensive coordinating and stuff. So, I like some of the things Hammond does and we met with him … just asked him about, ‘How you do this? How you do that?’ I really like some of the stuff he does. I really think it’s innovative. And the thing about it, he was saying, ‘We have some good ballplayers, but some of our players are average. And we’re gonna do things that we think they can have success at. We’re gonna put them in a position to succeed.’ Hey, if they get run over every play, they’re not going to succeed. So he’s doing a great job. (more…)

Editor’s Note: Below is our weekly 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. Check in each Tuesday throughout the football season to read Garcia’s thoughts and feel free to comment or ask a question that can be answered in future articles.
Koehn: So, how you doing?
Garcia: Well, the darn Cowboys took it to us.
K: I saw just the end of the game. It looked like Tampa had a chance to win but just came up short.
G: You gotta give [Dallas] a lot of credit. Their defense put a lot of pressure on Jeff.
K: They were coming after him from what I read. They were blitzing heavy the whole game.
G: Yeah, they didn’t really give [Jeff] an opportunity to set up, but they had an opportunity to win, so what the heck. What can you say, you know? And that Roy Williams made a nice catch with, what, two seconds in the half. … That was the game.
You just gotta regroup and get ready for Kansas City next week. [The Bucs] played pretty well, but offensively, god, we haven’t been able to run the ball the last two games.
K: The numbers I saw were pretty poor.
G: Well they’ve been poor for quite a while, even against Denver. Jeff said, ‘Hey, they stayed in that Cover 2 and we tried to run the ball but we [couldn’t].’ There’s no openings. I’m watching other teams where, shit, the guy is just running through a hole into the secondary. But our guys have a tough time getting through the line of scrimmage. (more…)