尽管现在才6月，但是围绕着坦帕湾海盗队首发四分卫展开的竞争已经越来越趋向于单人赛跑。

　　今年3月作为自由球员加盟海盗队的老将杰夫·加西亚（Jeff Garcia）迅速在教练乔恩·格鲁登（Jon Gruden）的计划中脱颖而出，因此两位年轻人克里斯·西姆斯（Chris Simms）和布鲁斯·格拉德考斯基（Bruce Gradkowski）只能为第二的位置展开争夺。

　　加西亚上赛季作为因伤缺阵的多诺万·麦克纳布（Donovan McNabb）的替补登场，带领费城老鹰队打进了季后赛。尽管他今年2月已经年满37岁，但是他与海盗队都对其继续保持高竞技水平充满信心。

　　曾三次入选全明星阵容的加西亚在取代麦克纳布之后率领球队6战5胜，帮助老鹰队赢得了NFC东区冠军。他在过去的8个赛季中总传球距离超过了20,000码，曾三次带领球队打进季后赛。

　　"加西亚是我们一直渴望得到的球员。我们在过去的几年中从未隐瞒这一愿望。"海盗主帅格鲁登毫不掩饰对加西亚的赞赏，他在2004年就曾试图与身为自由球员的加西亚签约，但是加西亚当时加盟了克利夫兰布朗队。"他的体型保持地不错，球场上表现出色，我不希望破坏他的前途。他还有很长的路要走。我们对他的进步表示赞赏，他在这里将拥有一个美好的未来。"

　　曾对老鹰队没有挽留自己感到意外的加西亚对目前得到的机会表示兴奋。

　　海盗队上赛季取得了4胜12负的成绩。新秀格拉德考斯基继西姆斯之后首发11场，尽管后者自认为是海盗队未来的主力四分卫，但是他仅获得了0胜3负的战绩，并且由于在第三周摘除脾脏而错过了整年的比赛。

　　就在海盗队在过去的四个赛季中的三个赛季未能打入季后赛之后，面临着拯救该队的压力的格鲁登很快决定让经验丰富的加西亚加盟，并且希望其赋予球队赢球的机会。

　　曾经成功地帮助旧金山49人队、克利夫兰布朗队、底特律雄狮队以及费城老鹰队摆脱困境的加西亚已经赢得了新队友的信任。

　　即将步入第五个NFL赛季的西姆斯去年12月与海盗队签订了一份为期两年的续约合同，并且参加了该队的赛季间测试。现年26岁的西姆斯一再表达沦为加西亚的替补之后的沮丧心情："竞争无时不在……和我在这里的几年的情况一样。这就是橄榄球。"

　　杰克·普拉莫（Jake Plummer）是迷你营开幕当天唯一缺席的球员。他在海盗队签下加西亚的同一天从丹佛野马队转会至海盗队。普拉莫表示准备退役，因此他的缺席已经在意料之中。而主帅格鲁登则表示情况不会有变，因为普拉莫还有三年合同在身："他是四分卫的楷模，我们希望他能改变主意，尽快加盟海盗队。"

原文

TAMPA， Fla. (June 19， 2007) —— It's only June， but the competition for Tampa Bay's starting quarterback job is turning into a one-man race.

Veteran Jeff Garcia， signed as a free agent in March， has quickly established himself as the frontrunner in coach Jon Gruden's plans， leaving younger hopefuls Chris Simms and Bruce Gradkowski to try for No. 2.

"I'm accused of not liking young players. I just like good quarterbacks like everybody else in the league，" Gruden said after the opening practice of the Buccaneers' three-day mandatory minicamp.

"I like guys that can make plays in a number of ways， whether it be through experience —— seeing a look and not running a ball into a corner blitz， making a change at the line of scrimmage； a guy that can create with his legs； a guy that works the pocket and can throw the ball into congested areas and be accurate； a leader； a consistent performer." Although Garcia， who led Philadelphia to the playoffs last season while filling in for the injured Donovan McNabb， turned 37 in February， he and the Bucs are confident that he can continue to perform at a high level.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection won five of six games after replacing McNabb， helping the Eagles win the NFC East. He's thrown for more than 20，000 yards over the past eight seasons and led teams to the playoffs three times.

"Garcia's a guy we've coveted. We've made no secret about that over the last few years，" said Gruden， who also tried to sign Garcia as a free agent in 2004， when the quarterback signed with the Cleveland Browns.

"He's in great shape， he's doing a good job and I don't want to jinx him. He still has a long way to go. We do like his progress， and we think he's got a nice future here." Garcia， who was surprised when the Eagles didn't try to retain him， is excited about the opportunity.

The Bucs were 4-12 last season with Gradkowski starting 11 games as a rookie after Simms， who thought he was Tampa Bay's quarterback of the future， went 0-3 and was lost for the year after having his spleen removed in Week 3.

Under pressure to turn the team around after posting losing records three of the past four seasons， it didn't take Gruden long to decide his newly acquired veteran may offer the best chance to win soon.

Garcia's success in previous stints with the 49ers， Browns， Lions and Eagles provided instant credibility with his new teammates.

"I don't necessarily have to step out here and prove that I can play. They know that I can play already，" Garcia said. "It's just a matter of now of backing that up. And I expect to back it up every single day that I'm out here." Simms， preparing for his fifth NFL season， signed a two-year contract extension in December and has been participating in offseason workouts. He insisted that he's not discouraged by falling behind Garcia on the depth chart.

"Competition's always on. …… It's not any different than years past when I've been here. It's football，" the 26-year-old Simms said.

"The way the NFL is now， you need good quarterbacks. You need at least two good ones because guys are getting hurt every year. That's the way it is. All I can do is worry about myself." The only no-show for the start of minicamp was quarterback Jake Plummer， acquired in a trade from Denver on the same day the Bucs signed Garcia. He has said he's retired， so his absence was expected.

Gruden said there was no update. Plummer has three years left on his contract.

"He's a heck of a quarterback，" the coach said. "We just hope that at some point he reconsiders and considers saddling up with the Bucs."