Detroit Lions Weblog

Jeff Garcia signed, Lions close to deals with Garrison Hearst, Wesley Walls, and Giovanni Carmazzi

The Lions and Steve Mariucci finally got their man. They were able to sign Jeff Garcia at a reasonable price. Garcia immediately adds more igneous fuel to the interminable bonfire of Lion Quarterback controversy that has burned strongly since Bobby Layne was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 1957. It remains to be seen if Garcia will usurp incumbent QB, Joey Harrington, or if he will even will be able to regain his former 3-time All-Pro form.

Still, even if Garcia’s signing is a positional upgrade, it comes with much concern on my part. Will Garcia be able to provide the scare necessary to motivate Joey Harrington to have his much anticipated break-out as an NFL QB? Will Garcia play nice and be a willing supporter as a back-up or will the alliance he and Mariucci forged in San Francisco be the impetus for his Brutus-like conspiratory coup de’tat to the Lion QB throne? With Garcia’s recent poor performance factored in, will he be able to thrive in this system like he once did in the past? Will his seeming lack of durability and his continued risk-taking in the open field make him a non-factor(due to injury) in the long run for the Lions?

Garcia’s decline in completion percentage over recent seasons has me concerned that he has possibly been reduced to a slightly more accurate version of Mike McMahon, whom coincidentally Mariucci was also quite enamored with. Speaking of which, what is it with Maricucci’s dogged reliance upon only associating with players, coaches, et al. whom he has had prior affiliation with in Green Bay and San Francisco. I keep waiting to hear that Garrison Hearst, Wesley Walls and Gio Carmazzi have all been brought in for try-outs. His reticence towards bringing in new ideas from outside sources and considering personnel who have not played in this system have made me increasingly more concerned about Mariucci’s willingness to make the necessary adaptations that will ultimately lead towards future success for the Lions. I have already abandoned hope (dreams?) that the Lions will pursue a more aggressive, vertical passing game next season with the addition of Garcia. I think that changes in NFL rules and the Lions offensive failures last year should necessitate that the Lion’s open up their offense this coming season. All preliminary indicators seem to speak otherwise (i.e. the Garcia signing, the Tollner hiring).

What Garcia’s future will be in Detroit is ultimately a decision that will made by three people. Steve Mariucci, Joey Harrington and Jeff Garcia all posess the seeds of the destruction of their NFL careers. Mostly, next season is an opportunity for Joey Harrington to finally quelch his doubters by having a great off-season, pre-season and finally emerge as the leader and player Lion fans have held out all of their hope for.

I will go on record now, stating that it is my belief that Jeff Garcia will assume the role of Lions starting QB by week 5, at the earliest. Harrington’s failure as a NFL QB, will represent a serious setback in the future development of this organization. As likeable as he is, with all of the potential he might still hold, the deck appears now to be completely stacked against his NFL success. As always, with the Lions interminable rebuilding process, this represents a serious fork in the road that will be fodder for Lion fans to discuss for years to come.