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Favre Will Skip Pro BowlBy David MarcusTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia has been selected to take the place of Green Bay Packers signal-caller Brett Favre on the NFC Pro Bowl roster, meaning the NFC South-champion Bucs will be represented in Hawaii after all. The original Pro Bowl roster did not include anyone from Tampa Bay or any of the other three NFC South teams, but when Favre elected to pull out of the game Garcia was selected to make the fourth Pro Bowl trip of his career. Garcia completed 209-of-327 passes in his first season with the Bucs, throwing for 2,440 yards and 13 touchdowns while being intercepted just four times. He accumulated the second-highest passer rating in franchise history at 94.6, good for third-best in the NFC, despite missing the better part of four games. Just the third Bucs quarterback ever to earn a Pro Bowl bid, Garcia led Tampa Bay to a 10-6 record in his first season since signing as an unrestricted free agent. The nine-year veteran has spent each of the past five seasons with a different team, having bounced from Cleveland to Detroit to Philadelphia before coming to the Bucs and after five years with San Francisco. Favre's decision not to play, meanwhile, means either Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck or Dallas' Tony Romo will start for the NFC squad, with Garcia filling the role of third-stringer. (Courtesy: The Sports Network) |
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