Garcia Lobbying For Starting Job

Brought to Oakland to back up former top overall pick JaMarcus Russell, veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia isn’t hiding his ambition to ultimately claim the starting job. Garcia outlined that stance during an interview today with KLAC-Radio in Los Angeles, per David White of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Well, I’m not going to say that things can’t change and I understand that the role I have basically assumed going into Oakland knowing that JaMarcus was drafted to be the starting quarterback there,” Garcia said. “But I think there has to be some realization at some point as to putting the best players on the field that are going to give you the best chance to win. Now, if JaMarcus is that guy, then he definitely deserves to be on the field and should be on the field. “But, if for some reason with what I bring as a player, from a competitive nature and just the intensity and emotion that I bring to the field and the knowledge of the game that I have, if that gives us a better chance to win football games, then that decision is going to have to be left up to the coach and, hopefully, he can make the right decision for the team.” In other words, Garcia thinks he’s the best guy for the job and definitely isn’t shy about stating that opinion. Could Garcia’s approach wind up pushing Russell to work harder? Perhaps so. Without naming names, Garcia referenced other NFL teams’ recent quarterback situations such as Kurt Warner supplanting Matt Leinart with the Arizona Cardinals and Kerry Collins taking Vince Young’s job with the Tennessee Titans. Nonetheless, the Raiders’ hefty investment in Russell would seem to preclude them from making any kind of hasty switch at this point. “It’s about the team,” Garcia said. “It’s not about protecting egos, or protecting investment dollars. It’s about what’s going to give this team a chance to win football games. “And honestly, if JaMarcus can be that guy, then more power to him, because that’s what he was drafted to do for the team. But it doesn’t always seem to work out that way.”