LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
Packers’ Rodgers and 49ers’ Garoppolo have eerie similarities a generation of quarterbacks apart
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jimmy Garoppolo and Aaron Rodgers could be twin brothers, born eight years apart.
They’re both dark-haired guys with heavy beard shadows, both 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, both classic drop-back passers with nimble escape skills and aboveaverage athletic ability, even for quarterbacks. Their career arcs are crazy similar.
The big difference: Rodgers has been there and done that. The Hall of Fame has a locker waiting for him whenever he’s ready. Garoppolo’s journey is just beginning. He’s like an Indy car that has been taken for a test drive around the block, and now is rolling into the Brickyard.
There is a changing of the guard in the NFL. A group of superstar quarterbacks is in its twilight, led by Rodgers (age 36), Drew Brees (41), Tom Brady (42), Philip Rivers (38), Eli Manning (39) and Ben Roethlisberger (37). A group of young pups is barging in, led by Garoppolo, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson.
What Garoppolo does Sunday against the Packers, and what he does in the Super Bowl should the 49ers make it, will go a long way toward foretelling whether he is bound for glory as a leader of the next generation, or destined for mediocrity.
In a way, the Packers-49ers game is a reflection of that Rodgers vs. Garoppolo dynamic. This is the upstart 49ers’ chance to show that their team, coming off a half-decade of struggles, is ready to step up to the level of the Packers of the glorious eras spanning Brett Favre and Rodgers.
Sunday’s game hardly is a one-on-one duel, but the spotlight is on the quarterbacks, so let’s take a look at these nonrelated twins.
Both fellows came out of nowhere. Both were starting high school quarterbacks for two seasons, Rodgers in Chico and Garoppolo in the Chicago suburbs. Neither attracted the slightest interest from major college scouts. Rodgers settled for playing at a junior college where, completely by fluke, he caught the eye of then-Cal coach Jeff Tedford. Garoppolo flew under everyone’s radar and wound up at Eastern Illinois.
The Packers drafted Rodgers in 2005, to groom as Favre’s backup. The Patriots drafted Garoppolo in 2014, to groom as Brady’s backup.
Rodgers waited three seasons for his chance, which he got when Favre was traded. Garoppolo waited three seasons for his chance, which he got when he was traded to the 49ers.
Rodgers has logged 12 seasons as a starter, 174 regular-season games. Garoppolo
has logged one full season as a starter — this one — and 26 starts.
Rodgers was ready when he got his chance. In his third season as starter, he led the Packers to a Super Bowl win at age 27 and was league MVP.
Garoppolo is 28, and he too has shown early promise, winning an eye-popping 80.8 percent of his starts.
It should be noted that if these two quarterbacks are twins, they are not identical twins. Different personalities. Rodgers, on his NFL draft day, seethed as he dropped to No. 24 overall.
According to a story in the Athletic, Garoppolo, on his draft day, brought along three brothers and five housemates, signing in all eight as “immediate family” to get them into the Green Room, where they celebrated their guy being picked at No. 62.
Rodgers radiates simmering intensity on the field and doesn’t hesitate to bark at teammates, refs and coaches. Garoppolo simply radiates. He takes command of the huddle by taking command of the huddle, and doesn’t seem bothered by much. From afar he gives off a Klay Thompson vibe — I’m just here to play. Give me the ball, and I’ll try to do something useful with it.
But they both burn a high-temp competitive fire.
Garoppolo’s high school teammates told the Athletic that he would simmer with anger inwardly if the coach demoted or disrespected him, but he never showed it, other than by responding with extra effort.
Both quarterbacks have worked hard to refine their innate athletic talent into extraordinary quarterback-specific skills.
Both waited for their turns to get into the game — in high school, college and the NFL — while maintaining a strong self-belief.
Rodgers spun his chances into gold. While he has slipped some this season from his peak of a couple years ago, he still plays at a superstar level.
Now Garoppolo gets his chance. His regular-season stats were better than those of his opponent. Garoppolo had a superior passer rating, 102.0 to 95.4, and a better completion percentage, 69.1 to 62.0. Rodgers did have 24 yards more in the air, and a better TD/INT ratio, 26/4 to 27/13.
But that was the regular season, which seems so long ago and almost meaningless.
This is the playoffs, where you either dazzle or fizzle. Is the NFL ready for the new wave, or will the old guard have something to say about that?
Sunday, No. 10 and No. 12 will state their cases.