49ers headline, Nov. 29, Sporting Green,
For busy QB, acknowledging the well-wishes will have to wait
A headline misspelled the name of 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
For those who consider themselves friends of Jimmy Garoppolo, it’s important to know this: It’s not personal, folks.
The quarterback has been besieged with a flood of congratulatory text messages since he learned Tuesday that he would be making his first start for the 49ers on Sunday in Chicago, which is about 30 miles from his hometown of Arlington Heights, Ill.
However, Garoppolo has his hands full studying the Bears’ defense while still digesting an offensive playbook he first saw less than a month ago. So, yeah, responding to all those nice messages and happy-face emojis will have to wait.
“I’m trying to focus,” said Garoppolo, who expects a “ton” of family and friends to be at Soldier Field on Sunday.
So why did head coach Kyle Shanahan turn to Garoppolo, who had served as C.J. Beathard’s backup for three
games since he was acquired from the Patriots on Oct. 31? Shanahan acknowledged his starting-QB decision this week was largely made for him.
Beathard wasn’t healthy enough to practice Wednesday after he suffered a bruised knee and strained hip in Sunday’s 24-13 loss to the Seahawks. Beathard said he expects to be in uniform in Chicago, but Shanahan wanted his starting quarterback to take all the first-team practice snaps this week.
Regardless of Beathard’s health, it might have been the right time to insert Garoppolo. Shanahan declined to say whether he had been leaning toward making a quarterback change.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t really speak on a hypothetical. I know it was going to be a tough decision anyway. … This made it a lot easier.”
Shanahan said he would determine his starting quarterback on a “week-to-week” basis, although it’s unlikely Garoppolo will relinquish the spot if he stays healthy and plays reasonably well.
“That makes the most sense, but I just feel that we’re in a situation that I don’t have to make any big commitment like that,” Shanahan said. “I’m not going to speak in any absolutes. We’ll see how this week goes, and then we’ll see come Monday what’s the best thing for Jimmy, what’s the best thing for the organization. I think he’ll improve the more he plays.”
Given his quarterback’s just-arrived status, Shanahan has consistently tempered expectations for Garoppolo, whose first 96 career pass attempts have resulted in six touchdowns, no interceptions and a 110.1 passer rating.
This week, Garoppolo will be given only a small portion of the playbook, and he could wear a wristband that includes the plays.
“This game plan is for Jimmy, and he’ll work at it all week,” Shanahan said. “And whatever he doesn’t feel comfortable with and he doesn’t get down in these three practices, then we’ll take it out. Whatever we’re going with Sunday, he’ll know 100 percent of it.”
On Wednesday, Garoppolo met with a media corps whose ranks increased for his first news conference as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. And some of the newcomers might have left disappointed: Garoppolo, who was raised in the NFL in the Patriots’ hush-hush culture, is a polite but rather bland interview subject.
At one point, he said he’d developed a routine that’s helped him absorb the playbook and simultaneously study an opponent’s defense. What was that routine? “That’s top secret, man,” he said, smiling. “Come on.”
Garoppolo also spoke in cliches, which, to his credit, he acknowledged.
“I’m just trying to take it one game at a time right now,” he said. “I know it sounds very cliche, but there’s a lot of football left in the season. So we’re trying to make the best of it. But we’ve got to take it one week at a time. If we start looking too far ahead, we’ll get ahead of ourselves. I think we have the right mind-set going into this one.”
Of course, Garoppolo’s potential — not his quotes — is what has created buzz in the midst of a 1-10 season. And Shanahan acknowledged he’s eager to see Garoppolo, who was thrilled to learn of his promotion Tuesday.
“I could see he was real excited,” Shanahan said. “That pumped me up even more.”