Jeff Garcia says he's pleased to be strictly the No. 2 quarterback in Oakland. Joe suspects being the No. 1 at home with Carmella is enough to satisfy any man.

Shortly after Jeff Garcia joined Raider nation yesterday, he talked to his hometown Gilroy Dispatch, the tiny daily newspaper that covers Garcia’s movements like NBC News covers the President.

Garcia talked openly about how there was little interest in him in free agency and how he knows he is strictly the backup quarterback in Oakland.

“There’s not an open competition. JaMarcus Russell is the starting quarterback,” Jeff Garcia said. “He was drafted in the first round to come in and lead this team. My goal here is to help JaMarcus grow and be a better player. I’m going to compete with him every single day in the sense of pushing him and helping him open his mind to being a better player. At the same time, I’m gonna do whatever I can to prepare myself in the case it does come time for me to get on the field. If it does come, I’m going to make the most of it.”

Joe can’t help but wonder why it seems the Bucs preferred Brian Griese as their backup quarterback over Jeff Garcia, who may be the best No. 2 in the league and had the respect of his teammates.

At lease publicly, Son of Bob has done nothing to say he’s interested in mentoring young quarterbacks like Luke McCown and Josh Johnson.