Starting over: Garcia excited about future

BEREA (AP) -- The question came from the back as a group of Cleveland Browns fans pressed forward to meet quarterback Jeff Garcia and get his autograph.
"Garcia," one man yelled at Cleveland's new QB. "How's the back?"
Looking up, Garcia summed up his health as well as his clean slate with the Browns.
"I'm good," he said. "Real good."
By all accounts, Garcia has never been better.
Signed to a four-year, $25 million free agent contract by the Browns in March after five seasons with San Francisco, the 34-year-old Garcia feels reborn in his shiny orange helmet.
He has happily turned the page on his playing days with the 49ers, which ended with him being released in a salary-cap purge following last season.
In Cleveland, the three-time Pro Bowler is no longer chased by the long shadows cast by Joe Montana and Steve Young, his predecessors out West. He doesn't have to hear wide receiver Terrell Owens chirping about not getting the football any longer, either.
Garcia has a new playbook, teammates and outlook.
It's like he's starting over.
"I'm coming into a brand new situation where there is an extreme amount of hunger from a city and an organization that wants to put a winning football team on the field," he said. "I am going to be the leader of that team. That is a tremendous expectation for me and it is something that I want to be able to live up to."
New life
Garcia's arrival has breathed life into the Browns, who went 5-11 last season when the Tim Couch vs. Kelly Holcomb controversy shrouded the club for months.
There's no question who the starting quarterback is now.
Not only has Garcia taken control of Cleveland's offense, he has taken charge of the team.
"He stepped right in and grabbed it from the get-go," right tackle Ryan Tucker said. "That impressed me. He's a natural leader. He's a competitor, but he's also very levelheaded. That's important. Guys don't want to see their quarterback getting too excited or too down."
In addition to Garcia's leadership qualities, his mobility will give Cleveland's offense a weapon it didn't have with either Couch or Holcomb, who lack his speed and quick release.
Already in training camp, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Garcia has shown glimpses of why Browns coach Butch Davis insisted upon signing him and dumping Couch.
Dropping back into the pocket, Garcia is agile enough to avoid the rush -- and a sack. Rather than forcing a throw, he'll tuck the ball away and take off. He's also adept at seeing the defense and reacting to it before anything bad can happen.
That's a relief for Cleveland's offensive line, which never seemed to be in sync with Couch.
"He reads the defense so fast it's unbelievable," center Jeff Faine said. "He gets rid of the ball. That makes it a lot easier for us guys up front."
Big numbers
The guys out wide should benefit from Garcia being around, too.
Garcia has passed for 16,408 yards and 113 touchdowns since 1999 when he joined the NFL after starring in the Canadian Football League. He has thrown for more than 3,000 yards three times, and in 2002 he set club and career records by throwing for 4,278.
Those stats have wide receiver Quincy Morgan excited about his new teammate.
"He makes quick reads and he gets you the ball so you can make a play," Morgan said. "I like that."
One of the knocks on Garcia has been his arm strength. It's a criticism that Owens, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, has harped on for months.
Morgan hasn't noticed any flaw in Garcia or his arm.
"I'm one of the fastest guys in the league and he has overthrown me," he said. "He has what it takes to be a leader. He's cool."
Owens never thought so. The outspoken wideout has spent much of the off-season bashing his former teammate, now glad to be free of Owens' outlandishness.
"Who cares what Terrell says," Garcia said. "He's not a teammate of mine. These are new teammates. They've been able to work with me for the past five months. They see what type of personality and what type of player I am.
"I don't think they have a problem with me."