Jeff Garcia, the oldest member of the 49ers, continues to suffer from a back injury that has kept him from practice. He'll try to go on opening day hosting Chicago. The Niners would be wise to let him heal fully rather than risk blowing the season. If their young defense keeps improving, they have more potential than generally given credit for. Their pass rush will need improvement. They could win 11 or 12 games if they get that.
This from today's SF Chron:
The bent nose, the crisscrossing scars on the chin -- one look at 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia and you can tell he's a fighter. Now he's being asked to put down his gloves and take a seat.
Garcia learned he is a horrible patient in his latest setback with the bulging disk in his back. On Tuesday, Garcia talked to reporters for the first time since feeling his lower back weaken on Aug. 5 after throwing a pass on an out pattern to free-agent wide receiver Nate Jackson in practice.
Since then, Garcia has been a no-show in practice, and he didn't accompany his teammates to Kansas City for the 49ers' exhibition opener.
Garcia will miss Thursday night's game against the Raiders and isn't slated to return to practice until Saturday.
"I've never missed practices, I've never missed a game (because of injury), " said Garcia, who had started the past 53 games, including the playoffs. "It's new to me and I don't like this at all."
In his five seasons (1994-98) in the Canadian Football League, Garcia said he missed one game with a sprained ankle. The only significant injury he has sustained was a fractured elbow his senior year at Gilroy High.
Garcia now must accept the decline of his body and take precautions against aggravating the injury, which he has termed degenerative.
"When I went into the (Aug. 5) practice, I was (tired)," Garcia said. "I was just trying to fight through it and I was trying to work hard and maintain a fast pace and I think that's where it might have contributed to reinjuring myself."
Now if Garcia feels fatigued, he has to go against his fighting nature and rest. But will that be enough to stave off the injury?
"I'm trying not to think about it that way," Garcia said. "When I was out on the football field, I was making every throw, throwing on the run, throwing from the pocket, making things happen, doing things I normally do. That's the approach I'm going to take. I'm not going to try to make this an issue throughout the season, I don't want it to be and I hope that it's not."
To that end, Garcia hopes he'll be ready to play against New Orleans at home Aug. 23 -- the 49ers' third exhibition game.
"(It will) allow me to get out there and get knocked around a little bit," Garcia said. "Allow me to get into situations where I need to make quick decisions where I need to make certain throws, because that helps knock the rust off of me."
Garcia underwent two epidural injections on Thursday to calm swelling around the bulging disk. He plans on visiting a San Francisco back specialist today to confirm what the 49ers' doctors have said.
After that, it will be up to Garcia and the fickle nature of a back injury to see what will happen next. And if Garcia feels like extending himself too much, he merely needs to remember the torturous evening he spent watching his team in the preseason opener.
"I'm sitting there yelling at the TV, kicking a pillow here and there," Garcia said. "It was a feeling of being left out; not saying that the team was leaving me out, it was just awkward. I want to be there for (the quarterbacks) and listen to them and contribute in any way possible."
The pointed dichotomy between the pain in his back and the pain of not playing became apparent once Garcia was well enough to watch the tape of the Kansas City game.
"I'm back to the point where I can sit," Garcia said. "It's not comfortable now because I'm not seeing myself (on tape)."
I have the impression that the team is pissed that Garcia tried to pretend the injury wasn't serious, and then made it much worse by trying to practice when they didn't think that he should be.
The bent nose, the crisscrossing scars on the chin -- one look at 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia and you can tell he's a fighter. Now he's being asked to put down his gloves and take a seat.
Garcia learned he is a horrible patient in his latest setback with the bulging disk in his back. On Tuesday, Garcia talked to reporters for the first time since feeling his lower back weaken on Aug. 5 after throwing a pass on an out pattern to free-agent wide receiver Nate Jackson in practice.
Since then, Garcia has been a no-show in practice, and he didn't accompany his teammates to Kansas City for the 49ers' exhibition opener.
Garcia will miss Thursday night's game against the Raiders and isn't slated to return to practice until Saturday.
"I've never missed practices, I've never missed a game (because of injury), " said Garcia, who had started the past 53 games, including the playoffs. "It's new to me and I don't like this at all."
In his five seasons (1994-98) in the Canadian Football League, Garcia said he missed one game with a sprained ankle. The only significant injury he has sustained was a fractured elbow his senior year at Gilroy High.
Garcia now must accept the decline of his body and take precautions against aggravating the injury, which he has termed degenerative.
"When I went into the (Aug. 5) practice, I was (tired)," Garcia said. "I was just trying to fight through it and I was trying to work hard and maintain a fast pace and I think that's where it might have contributed to reinjuring myself."
Now if Garcia feels fatigued, he has to go against his fighting nature and rest. But will that be enough to stave off the injury?
"I'm trying not to think about it that way," Garcia said. "When I was out on the football field, I was making every throw, throwing on the run, throwing from the pocket, making things happen, doing things I normally do. That's the approach I'm going to take. I'm not going to try to make this an issue throughout the season, I don't want it to be and I hope that it's not."
To that end, Garcia hopes he'll be ready to play against New Orleans at home Aug. 23 -- the 49ers' third exhibition game.
"(It will) allow me to get out there and get knocked around a little bit," Garcia said. "Allow me to get into situations where I need to make quick decisions where I need to make certain throws, because that helps knock the rust off of me."
Garcia underwent two epidural injections on Thursday to calm swelling around the bulging disk. He plans on visiting a San Francisco back specialist today to confirm what the 49ers' doctors have said.
After that, it will be up to Garcia and the fickle nature of a back injury to see what will happen next. And if Garcia feels like extending himself too much, he merely needs to remember the torturous evening he spent watching his team in the preseason opener.
"I'm sitting there yelling at the TV, kicking a pillow here and there," Garcia said. "It was a feeling of being left out; not saying that the team was leaving me out, it was just awkward. I want to be there for (the quarterbacks) and listen to them and contribute in any way possible."
The pointed dichotomy between the pain in his back and the pain of not playing became apparent once Garcia was well enough to watch the tape of the Kansas City game.
"I'm back to the point where I can sit," Garcia said. "It's not comfortable now because I'm not seeing myself (on tape)."
I have the impression that the team is pissed that Garcia tried to pretend the injury wasn't serious, and then made it much worse by trying to practice when they didn't think that he should be.
