Age: 26
2nd
season in pro football, 1st with Buccaneers
College: Arizona
Height: 6’0” Weight: 205
Prelude:
A versatile
player in high school who played quarterback and halfback as well as handling
the placekicking and punting, Garcia performed well as a punter in college. He
had difficulty catching on as a pro, however, failing to catch on with Atlanta
in 1979, San Diego in ’80, and both Green Bay and Tampa Bay in 1981 before
appearing in one game with Seattle after punter Jeff West was injured. He was
let go by the Seahawks in ’82 and joined the Chicago Blitz of the USFL in the spring
of 1983 but was cut once again after averaging 37.5 yards on 18 punts, with two
touchbacks and eight inside the 20. Garcia got another shot with the Buccaneers
and made the club.
1983 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Punting
Punts – 95 [1]
Most punts,
game – 10 at Green Bay 10/2
Yards – 4008 [2]
Average – 42.2
[6, 1st in NFC]
Best average,
game – 48.4 (on 8 punts) at Minnesota 11/6
Punts blocked
– 1 [3, tied with ten others]
Longest punt
– 64 yards
Awards &
Honors:
2nd
team All-NFC: UPI
Buccaneers
went 2-14 to finish fifth in the NFC Central while generating the fewest total
yards (4477) in the NFL.
Aftermath:
Garcia spent
another four seasons with the Buccaneers and remained steady, if not outstanding.
Typically, his net average ranked lower than his gross average. He was let go
after a 1987 season in which his average dipped to a low of 38.9 yards with a
poor net average of 28.3. Overall, he averaged 41.1 yards on 379 punts with
Tampa Bay.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were first-team
All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following
statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions,
Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
