A year ago, quarterback Jeff Garcia was able to parlay a great down-the-stretch performance with the Philadelphia Eagles into only a two-year deal in Tampa.

And now Garcia is crowing about the fact that the Bucs haven’t replaced the second year of the contract with a new deal.

Asked on Tuesday if he was disappointed by the absence of a new contract, Garcia said, “You could say that.  Talks haven’t necessarily gone all that good.

“So in a way, it’s disappointing.  At this point in my career, I’m no longer 24 or 25 saying, ‘I’m going to prove to you I deserve this.’  I feel like I’ve proved throughout my career.  And I feel like at this time, it’s time to just work with me, and you know what I bring to the team.  You know what I’ve done for the team, and you know how much more I can do.  And now I have a year under my system.”

There might be even more to this one.  According to the St. Petersburg Times, the team’s decision to rest Garcia for the last two weeks of the season prevented him from participating in 70 percent of the offensive snaps, preventing him from earning a “seven-figure bonus.”

Garcia will earn a base salary of only (only?) $2 million in 2008.  He is 38 years old.