“I think we all have a renewed purpose, especially Derrick. Derrick is the unquestioned team leader here and we talk a lot about at the end of last year and kind of in the offseason about how our young players need to step up. Well, I think the reality of it is that our veterans have to play better, too, that’s just this deal. You lead from the top and we all need to put forth a better effort to get out of our 4-12 rut. It’s a new beginning and we have to go with it.” 

“Jon encouraged some of the older guys, some of the veterans, guys that have been around for a while, to just address the team. We don’t do a lot of that. Derrick does a lot of it himself, but the other guys have views and Jon felt that they should be out there for the young guys and for the veterans to hear. So for the last two days of our OTA’s, actually, our mini camp, I had the opportunity to get up there. Derrick had the opportunity to get up there. Jeff had the opportunity to get up there. Kevin Carter had the opportunity to get up there and Joey had the opportunity to say kind of how they felt, and what they do to prepare to get ready for the offseason and what our expectations were going to be for 2007. It was a good meeting, in fact, Jon took away our last practice essentially to have the team talk to each other and I thought that was good.”

“I honestly don’t [think about the Hall of Fame]. That’s crazy talk for me right now. You’re body of work speaks for itself at the end, and you know, guys vote for it.”


QB JEFF GARCIA

“Definitely, you want to go out there and you want to perform well. That’s always in the back of my mind. I want to go out there and execute well. I came off the field today thinking about the last two plays that I had that weren’t executed the way I wanted them to be. Execution is something that I’m always hard on myself due to the fact that I‘ve been through so many training camps in my life. You wonder how you’re going to feel going into the first practice or the first training camp. And I think the more you’re around it, you start to get to that point, where I wish I had a few more days of an offseason. I wish I had a few more days to relax. But then you get here and start seeing the players and you start seeing the coaches. You start meeting and that feeling starts to come and you start to get that excitement. That really starts to light up inside you and then you know that football is what you enjoy doing and that’s what you love. And it’s time to play. And to come out here with fans out here, you want to perform well. Especially since I’m the new guy in here and coaches appointed me in a certain direction to lead this team and I don’t want to let anybody down. I want to make sure that I show that I’m very capable of handling this position and handling this job and leading this team to positive things.”

“I look at it as a compliment in the sense that I see certain things in myself. Maybe people off the field don’t necessarily see those things because I really believe that I’m two different people in the sense of being off the field, I’m very laid back and relaxed type of person. On the field I’m very intense, very intense on myself to perform well. To play mistake-free. To go out there and play with a lot of energy, play with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. I want to step into the huddle and command the huddle. I want to have a presence in that huddle. I want them to know that what’s coming out of my mouth is said with confidence, that I know what I’m doing. That I’m going to put them in the position to have a successful play that I’m going to be able to execute these plays successfully. That’s what I really want to take from Coach Gruden. Give me the play, and transfer that out to my teammates. I want them to see that intensity and emotion. And it’s not about getting on my teammates or anything like that. It’s more about having a presence of what I expect out of myself. I think they can see I expect an awful lot out of myself and if that can carry over to them in the way that they approach the game, in which many of them do if not all of them. I think we’re going to do some good things offensively.”

“It’s coming together real well. It’s always a lot especially at the beginning. I think our installation last night was probably double or triple as to what I’m used to in the past and places I’ve been in the past. But they’re all plays that we’ve already been working on throughout OTA’s so there’s familiarity there. And for me, that’s a good thing, because it allows me to step on the field and just react, and not think about what you’re doing. I think when you’re playing that way, it takes away from your timing. It takes away from your decision making. It’s so important for the quarterback to step out on the field and be aware of what he’s doing so he can just react.”

(On comfort with the shotgun)
“I think it just gives you that immediate separation from the line of scrimmage and especially on obvious passing downs. It allows us to get back there and scan the field; not be tucked under center right away. Once again, like I said, it gives you that immediate five-yard separation. Often times it doesn’t allow the defense to read your route or read your drop depth. Often times corners are looking at your drop, and breaking on balls if you’re running, if you’re breaking three-step drops. Those types of things. In the shotgun they can’t necessarily do those things as well. So I think it allows us to do some more things. We’ll have a running game out of the shotgun. We’ll do different things. It’s a nice little change up. It’s not something we’re going to lean on an awful lot. But I can see five to six times a game being in the shotgun.”

(On the tempo of practice)
“I thought the tempo was great. I thought everyone bounced around, as we should. It’s the first practice and we’re fortunate that it wasn’t too bad out there as far as the weather is concerned. I felt like guys have a great attitude. Guys are hungry, which they need to be. They’re excited to be here. The tempo was real positive in and out of the huddle, from drill to drill. That’s to be expected. We’re pros, you’re expected to come in here in shape and ready to go. I feel like everyone handled their business in the offseason to do what they had to do to come in here prepared.”

(On his transition with a new team, new coach)
“I think just being here in the offseason and being able to work with coach. Being able to be apart of the OTAs and minicamps sort of helped, sort of helped work through those growing pains, so to speak. But I understand what he’s all about. I’ve always appreciated his approach for the game. I just want to be able to meet him half way as far as what he expects out of me and what I expect out of myself. I see what he expects out of himself and the time and effort he puts into things and I expect myself to do the same thing.”

“It feels great to have a positive impact in that sort of way. I think based upon my past and what I’ve been able to do on the football field speaks for itself in a lot of ways. And I think they see the way I approach the game. I’m very serious out on the field. Of course there are times when you have to lighten it up, smile, and laugh a little bit. But I’m always about bettering myself. I feel like I haven’t scratched the surface as to being the quarterback I’m capable of being. That’s one thing that’s always a building process within myself. I always feel like I have something to prove. It’s not that I hold it against anybody else but that’s the motivation I have for myself and the drive that I have. I think my teammates see that. They see my approach. They see my character in representing myself, the attitude that I have. That I want to compete, that I want to win, that I want to do whatever it takes to win. I hope that it’s rubbing off on everyone else.”