What Jimmy Garoppolo’s teammates are saying about his performance and leadership
"People can keep doubting him. It's whatever. We won 15 games this year and I'd say strictly because of him."
Criticism of Jimmy Garoppolo has only intensified this week ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LIV matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in Miami.
Talking heads have harped on Garoppolo’s side car performance in the 49ers’ playoff wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, where the 28 year-old quarterback threw just 27 passes compared to the team’s 89 rushing attempts.
Meanwhile, his counterpart in the Super Bowl, reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, continues to awe fans with his deep throws and highlight-reel runs.
While the quarterback matchup may seem like an advantage for the Chiefs on paper, Garoppolo’s teammates have supported his performance and leadership amid that criticism, believing Garoppolo is more than capable of leading the 49ers to their first Super Bowl title since 1995.
49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was one of the many 49ers players who publicly defended Garoppolo this week.
“He’s just a big-time player,” said Sherman. “He’s a big-time playmaker, and I love that nobody understands that. Obviously, it doesn’t matter how well he plays on the football field because he’s played well and people are like, ‘Oh my god, we haven’t seen enough.’ He got his team to the Super Bowl, it’s like, ‘Hey, we haven’t seen enough.’ … He’s won us a ton of games this year.”
Richard Sherman defends Jimmy Garoppolo, saying people find ways to criticize the quarterback.
“Every day they find something new to criticize Jimmy about. They never criticize his looks though, which is… which is… I can understand why.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/li8C4cZqgL
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 30, 2020
During the regular season, Garoppolo helped the 49ers go 13-3 and earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. He finished fifth in the NFL with 27 touchdown passes and eighth in Quarterback Rating (102).
“I mean, all Jimmy has done is prove people wrong since he got traded here,” tight end George Kittle said. “I think he’s 25-5 now. I think he has the best third-down completion rate in the NFL, the best stats in the fourth quarter, but yeah people can keep doubting him. It’s whatever. We won 15 games this year and I’d say strictly because of him.”
In the two playoff games, Garoppolo has completed 17 of his 27 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown and one interception. His quarterback rating is 83.6 during that span, and the fact that running back Raheem Mostert (29 carries, 220 yards, 4 TDs) made headlines for his historic performance in the Packers’ game has made it seem to many like Garoppolo is not an intricate part of the 49ers’ offense.
Kittle doesn’t believe that’s the case.
“People give a hard time because we had 17 attempts in the last two games or something like that and he’s the guy that’s calling the plays,” Kittle said. “Jimmy shows when we need him to show up. When we’re going to run the ball 45 times a game, he’s all for it. He loves when we run the ball. So people can doubt him.”
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders called Garoppolo “a baller” throughout the week and praised him for reaching the Super Bowl in his first full year as a starter. He has confidence in Garoppolo if the game were to come down to his arm.
“If the game comes down to Jimmy’s arm, Jimmy’s gonna ball,” Sanders told reporters. “I feel like me, George (Kittle), Deebo (Samuel), Kendrick Bourne, everybody, it’s just not on Jimmy. It’s on us. We’ve got to get open. I feel like when we get open, he’s going to deliver the ball, so it’s hard to just say it’s on Jimmy’s hands.”
Tackle Joe Staley, the longest-tenured 49ers player, believes it’s “wild” that Garoppolo takes criticism for his play.
Staley mentioned how Garoppolo is doing what he needs to do to win the game, then he offered insight into what makes him such a great leader.
“He’s an unbelievable human being, A,” Staley said. “Guys just love being around him. He’s a very genuine human being. He comes from an unbelievable family — just a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy.
“But then B, here, his preparation. That’s always what gets a lot of respect. Guys just preparing exactly how they’re supposed to. He knows every single detail of this offense. He knows exactly what his role is for a certain play, what he’s supposed to do on this pass play or run play, and he just plays with incredible passion for the football game. He makes you want to be better.”
Staley’s fellow lineman, tackle Mike McGlinchey, called Garoppolo “the best guy ever,” and lauded his preparation.
He also brought up the huge games Garoppolo has helped win for the 49ers this season, such as road victories over the New Orleans and Seattle Seahawks. Garoppolo completed 77 percent of his passes and averaged 317 yards to four touchdowns and one interception in those two wins.
“I don’t know why everybody keeps — you know bashing him or not believing in him, because he’s done it time and time again,” McGlinchey said. “But that doesn’t matter; we’re going to take what we have and what we know we have, a great quarterback in Jimmy.”
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