Eagles decision to snub Garcia makes no sense

	Jeff Garcia led the Eagles on a surprising run to the playoffs, but it wasn't enough to make the organization resign him. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

When I wrote a column about the long suffering of Philadelphia sports fans, I was hoping that there'd eventually be an end in sight. For Eagles fans, it's now easier to see the Golden Gate from the Ben Franklin than it is to see a Super Bowl.

Last season, team leader Donovan McNabb went down in the Eagle's 10th game after a chunky soup can was thrown at his head. OK, so he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while stepping out of bounds, but the point is he was done. It was the third time in five years McNabb was out with at least six games to play. No big deal though. McNabb's Eagles were only 5-4, and in the past the team has been 8-7 without him.

In stepped Jeff Garcia to try to reverse the mediocrity. Garcia, the same man who took a losing 49ers team and let them to two consecutive playoff berths. Garcia, the same man who led the second largest playoff comeback in NFL history. Garcia, the same man hated by Terrell Owens. He'd fit in perfectly in Philly.

Garcia reeled off six straight wins, vaulting the Eagles into the playoffs and beating the Giants in the first round. Though the team eventually lost, the Eagles had no business being there in the first place. If Garcia had carried the team any more than he had, he'd have injured his anterior cruciate ligament, too.

Despite being booed at first, Garcia won over the fans in Philly, who had originally supported A.J. Feeley as McNabb's replacement. Winning over fans in Philadelphia is a difficult thing -- even Santa couldn't do it. So when the Eagles signed Feeley to a three-year extension this week, the only person more surprised than Garcia was, perhaps, Feeley.

"I'm disappointed more so than everything," Garcia told reporters.

And now so are most Eagles fans.

Feeley is younger, that's true. He's 29 to Garcia's 37. Of course, he's also less experienced. The one year Feeley started, he was playing for the Miami Dolphins. In 2004, I could have started for the Miami Dolphins.

Garcia, in the meantime, has started 92 of his 99 career games. He has a 86.4 QB rating to Feeley's 71.1, with a higher completion percentage, more yards per attempt, and more times pissing off Terrell Owens. And more important, last year he saved the season.

So what did the Eagles do to thank Garcia for carrying them into the playoffs like they were cases of champagne? They didn't even make him an offer. It's not that they offered too little money or too few years, they didn't offer him anything. The Eagles must have figured it'd be best to have a backup that had no chance of out playing McNabb.

If McNabb stays healthy, the Eagles do have a chance to compete in a division so weak it makes the Giants look okay. But in Philadelphia, McNabb staying healthy a full season is as likely as it being 75 degrees in February. It's happened a few times, but not since 1930. Hmm -- 75 in February. I guess that would be the opposite of hell freezing over.

Garcia, in the meantime, has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that desperately needed a good quarterback. The Buccs also traded for Jake Plummer, making their needs for a good quarterback even more pressing.

"I know that I went through the emotions of being angry, a little pissed off, but it's one of those things where I have to realize it's a business decision," Garcia also said. "It's also something I'm going to have to live and learn and move on from."

And so will Eagles' fans.

Steve Hofstetter is a nationally touring comedian whose column appears every Monday on SI.com. See him make fun of more stuff at minuteorso.com