Jeff Garcia is back in practice and may be ready for
Saturday
’s game
SANTA CLARA – Not even a bulging disc in his back could keep garlic-grown quarterback Jeff Garcia from returning to the practice field for the San Francisco 49ers. The three-time Pro Bowler, out of Gilroy, was back behind center at Sunday’s workout in Santa Clara after a 10-day absence.
“I felt good, a little bit rusty and not quite as sharp as I’d like to be but I guess that’s to be expected after 10 days of not throwing the football,” Garcia said. “I thought that everything else was good. I felt fairly sharp in the sense of strength wise and mobility wise. I thought I was moving around just fine.
“I thought I was making every throw required out of me and not feeling any sort of pain in the back,” he added. “That was a very positive thing for me today.”
A positive for Garcia is a positive for the Niners.
The extent and cause of Garcia’s injury has been a mystery since his back tightened up in late July – but the Gilroyan slinger spoke to reporters to clear everything up.
“I just think it was one of those things where I was probably at the point where something like this was going to happen. The disc has degenerated and there is no way of fixing that,” Garcia said. “You would like to think that you can prevent certain things like this, but it just came at a bad time. It happened doing a certain lift, but no, I don’t do that exercise anymore. I think I am more conscious of different exercises now that do put strain on the lower back.”
Garcia was in the squat position, rotating around with the weights in front of him when the injury occurred. The barbell he was using was only 60 pounds.
“I think it was a combination of that I was in the middle of the workout and I was straining through it. I was tired. I knew something was wrong,” Garcia said. “It was the first time I had really experienced any sort of back pain. I have been fortunate in that sense. When it happened, I didn’t really know what occurred at the time. I just knew my lower back had shut down and went weak on me.”
Along with sitting out the last 10 days of practice, Garcia remained in street clothes on the sidelines throughout Thursday’s 14-10 thrilling victory over the Oakland Raiders in the Battle of the Bay. Meanwhile, rookie quarterback Ken Dorsey led the Niners back with the go-ahead touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
The San Francisco 49ers were trailing 10-7 after a 45-yard field goal from Raiders’ place-kicker Sebastian Janikowski broke the long-standing tie.
Dorsey, like the Niners’ first-year head coach Dennis Erickson, had never been involved in a Bay Bridge battle. But he was up for the challenge – the first of his two-game-old NFL career. The former University of Miami star led the 49ers on a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown pass to the wide open Matt Stanley – who bobbled the ball before bringing it in and going into the end zone.
“It’s just one of those things where you have to do whatever it really takes to win. It was no where close to being just one person,” said Dorsey of his first NFL comeback drive in his first game at Candlestick Park. “It was the offensive line doing a tremendous job, run blocking and pass blocking, and Rashaan (Salaam) running the heck out of the ball, receivers coming up with big catches. It was a complete offensive unit that was just ticking right there.”
The Raiders’ offense was ticking as well. Backup quarterback Rick Mirer, a one-time Niner, and rookie running back Justin Fargas, out of USC, brought the Silver & Black to the San Francisco nine-yard line. But a bumbled snap on a fourth-and-two ended the Raiders’ drive and put the 49ers on the winning side of a 14-10 thriller.
Morgan Hill linebacker Jeff Ulbrich had a pair of tackles in the game.
“It was a fun ending. I thought we made it as exciting as you can for a preseason game. So it’s always nice to win,” Erickson said . “Obviously, we made some mistakes out there. I thought particularly in the first half there were a couple of times with that first unit where we drove the ball down offensively and had some opportunities, didn’t take advantage of it.”
Dorsey – who rotated in for much of three quarters with second-year man Brandon Doman after starter Tim Rattay worked the opening 15 minutes – surely took advantage when it counted most.
There is no surgery in the near future for Garcia – who believes he will be recovered and ready to go full steam by the 49ers’ regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the Chicago Bears.
“No. I don’t have any doubt in my mind. How my mind thinks and how my body reacts, it is potentially two different things. As far as where I stand right now, I don’t believe there will be any doubt as to why I shouldn’t be out there opening day,” Garcia said. “I’m hoping to be out there next weekend. That is where I plan to be. I plan to be out on that field next Saturday against New Orleans competing again.”
