Getting Garoppolo completes the trifecta
There was a lot of buzz about the 49ers’ full-scale reboot to a new general manager, new head coach and new starting quarterback in the offseason. Many fans applauded, but not everybody was completely sold on so many new faces, particularly the so-called NFL experts.
No matter how horrible a franchise has been, you rarely see a clean sweep of the three most important positions to any franchise simultaneously. A good number of skeptics theorized the 49ers might be taking on too much change all at once, and by handing the reins to John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, they were also empowering relative novices in the first two positions without knowing who the third would be.
The 49ers had nothing to lose, of course. Proof of that was the 49ers did
nothing but lose for the first 10 games, and the losses weren’t pretty, either. There surely were whispers about Lynch and Shanahan among the 49ers, ahem, Faithful. If nothing else, the plethora of empty seats at Levi’s Stadium all year screamed, “Prove it!”
Well, the 49ers are starting to prove it. They’re proving they had it right from the start with Lynch and Shanahan. They were simply lacking that crucial third piece to really get things rolling — the new starting quarterback.
Now they have him: Jimmy Garoppolo. He was acquired on Halloween, and so far, we can pretty easily say no tricks, just treats. If he didn’t convince you after all that lavish praise he received in guiding the 49ers to a five field-goal squeaker win last week, Garoppolo doubled down on his many fine qualities and then some in Sunday’s more convincing 26-16 victory in Houston.
He’s not Joe Montana just yet, or Steve Young, or even Jeff Garcia. But Garoppolo’s the real deal, folks. He can play. And he can lead. And he can win. He might be able to win big.
Barring injury — and you front-office folks, get more linemen to protect this guy immediately — Garoppolo is going to be the 49ers’ quarterback for a long, long time. Like Lynch and Shanahan, he came in relatively untested to this more prominent new role, but he hasn’t flinched or raised an eyebrow since his arrival. He has demonstrated he was completely ready for it.
The end result? The 49ers are back. The franchise comeback has officially launched. Remove the laughingstock label and get ready for more good stuff. You not only can watch the 49ers again, you can ENJOY them again. Jed York has hit the trifecta, and while you may have trouble making a full swallow on that one just yet, be advised that Eddie DeBartolo made his share of gaffes before his 49ers regime finally kicked into gear.
It took DeBartolo awhile to find the right coach in Bill Walsh, and it took Walsh awhile to make the call to go to Montana. Walsh’s coaching record, in fact, was 5-22 with the 49ers when he finally decided it was time to bench Steve DeBerg and let Montana take over in late November of his second season. The 49ers won three of their last five that season with Joe and never looked back. They went 13-3 the next year and won the first in a string of Super Bowls.
You can see some parallels at work with three 49ers wins in the past four games, and particularly the past two led by Garoppolo. That’s not to say the 49ers could be Super Bowl-bound next year. Almost certainly not. But playoffs? Hell, why not? Look at what the Rams and the Saints and the Eagles are doing, and in the AFC, the Jaguars. All had losing records last season, and the Jags were 3-13.
Yes, Lynch has needs to fill. More good offensive linemen. More promising young secondary players. At least one more solid wide receiver. Perhaps a more defined pass-rushing specialist. All through the roster, more reliable depth.
But just having that third key piece — the quality quarterback — topples so many dominoes. Who knew guys like tight end Garrett Celek and fullback Kyle Juszczyk could make the kind of impact they did on Sunday? Celek looked like Brent Jones on that 61-yard catch-andrumble that led the 49ers to a touchdown and a 23-16 third quarter lead. Juszczyk had grabs of 29 and 31 yards on their first TD drive in the second quarter.
How about Carlos Hyde, who flubbed a possible long TD catch but then ripped off a 31-yard run right before half that enabled the 49ers to get into position for an unexpected field goal? How about track star Marquise Goodwin, who is showing himself to be a fullfledged NFL receiver with six catches for 108 yards, backing up last week’s eight catches for 99 yards?
When you have a quarterback like Garoppolo who can make all the throws, stand in the pocket against a rush and keep calm under duress, role players emerge as extensions of the quarterback’s skill and efficiency. It also helps when you have a coach like Shanahan who knows what he has now under center and is calling aggressive downfield plays for Garoppolo. He simply couldn’t do that when Brian Hoyer was running the show.
The trickle-down effect has also served to energize a flawed but feisty defense that now has something to play for. Kudos to Lynch for going out and getting vets like Earl Mitchell and Elvis Dumervil who have provided much savvy, spice and stoutness to the line play. There’s no question he drafted a few rookie keepers, too, in linebacker Reuben Foster, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and safety Adrian Colbert, beyond just Solomon Thomas.
Oh, and this, too: Nice work landing Robbie Gould — 9 for 9 on field goals the past two weeks, 20 for 22 for the season, 13 for 14 from beyond 40 yards and 2 for 2 from beyond 50.
The 49ers have done a lot of good work all season just changing the mood and methodology.
But they needed that last big puzzle piece in Garoppolo for it all to start making sense.
Guess what? It really does now. Better get a seat ASAP before the crush.