Editor's Note: Below are excerpts from a questions and answers column called "Coach's Corner." Staff writer Josh Koehn and former Gavilan football coach Bob Garcia, father of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia, will talk about all things football. A longer version of the discussion will be posted to the sports blog, GarlicSports.com.
Koehn: Bobby, it's Josh Koehn.
Garcia: Hey, Josh. How you doing?
K: I'm doing good. How are you?
G: Well, I'm out trying to do a job, butt I've broken all my hoses and I can't find anybody to fix them. So, it's kind of a crappy day.
K: You doing some work in the backyard?
G: Yeah, I'm doing some work up in the hills.
K: Well, you got a quick second to talk?
G: Yeah.
K: Well, let's talk some playoff football. What did you think of the games this weekend?
G: Well, I tell you what, my Steelers are still going.
K: There you have a team that's definitely looking good.
G: I tell you what, the surprising one is Arizona. They're really playing well. They really took it to Carolina.
K: I did not see that one coming at all.
G: I didn't either. Especially the quarterback, Jake Delhomme, what in the heck was he thinking? He wasn't seeing anything.
K: When a quarterback has that bad of a performance in a big game, but has been pretty solid all season, what does that make a team think going into next year?
G: Well, you know what, they say he had a real bad game against Oakland, where threw a lot of interceptions.
K: He was terrible that game.
G: He was, huh? Well, I thought they would play a lot better, but they didn't. So, whatever, they're out, they're going home. I tell you, Philly is just playing awesome. I don't care what they say, they got some people to catch the ball, (Donovan) McNabb is playing well, their defense is playing really well, and those (New York) running backs, Philly did a hell of a job on them.
K: Philly has to go to Arizona. What do you think of that, where Philly has a better record but has to play at Arizona?
G: Well, (Arizona) won their (division) championship.
K: Yeah, they won their division, but their division was very weak compared to the NFC East.
G: But you know what, any given day, any given time. You start playing well and look, look what they've done. They've beaten some very good teams.
K: Well, with Anquan Boldin coming back, who do you think is going to win that game, Eagles or Arizona?
G: I don't know, man. That's a hell of a game. I tend to go with Philly, but (Arizona) being at home, the weather being good, those two receivers. You give Warner time he's gonna connect. But if I was a betting man, and looking at the talent on both sides and everything, I would have to go with Philly.
K: If Arizona does win, do you consider Kurt Warner a Hall of Fame quarterback with what he's done?
G: Oh, yeah. Look at it, he's already won a Super Bowl. He's done a great job. So, I'm sure he's gonna have an opportunity to go in there.
K: What about the AFC games? Baltimore and Pittsburgh -
G: Hey, that one there, they're both going to bring a knockout punch. That is what you call a football game. There's nothing fancy, it's just get after each other, let's see who hits the hardest, and how many guys go by the wayside.
K: I think you're right. It's going to be a great, physical matchup,
G: If those two teams played 10 times, the first 10 times the Steelers might win six or seven. The second 10 times, Baltimore might win six or seven. The defenses are so good and they're not making any mistakes on offense. But, I think that since (the Steelers) are playing at home, I would have to go with the Steelers.
K: So then you've got the Steelers and Eagles in the Super Bowl.
G: That's what I'm thinking.
K: Well, the whole state of Pennsylvania will be watching that for sure.
G: Haha. Well, football is big back east, boy. I don't know if it's as big as Texas, but it's big back there. So, I'm sure they're going to be excited. No matter what happens, it's going to be exciting.
But, I tell you what, that call on the (Baltimore-Tennessee) game where time ran out (on the play clock), hey, those officials should be fired or banned for the rest of their lives.
K: Haha. You think they shouldn't be allowed to ref a game ever again?
G: Hey, I'm telling you, what were they thinking? You watch it on TV and once it goes to zero, right away the flag comes out. This one goes to zero, and then you count to 1,001, and all of a sudden, boom, the ball is snapped. And then they got the yardage they needed for the field goal. What a terrible way to lose a ballgame, because both teams are battling back and forth and it comes down to an official making a mistake. Now, listen, I don't give a damn what the deal is, you've got people up on top (in the booth) looking at it, saying that was the wrong call. Well, you know what, get your ass out there and say it was the wrong call instead of saying, 'Oh, its the official's call.' Bullcrap. That was terrible, I just couldn't believe it. That really irritated me.
Josh Koehn Josh Koehn is the sports editor of the Gilroy Dispatch.
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