Garoppolo plays a lot like ... Jimmy G has swashbuckling style of an analyst with Cowboy DNA
There’s been a lot of debate as of late about Jimmy Garoppolo, as it seems more and more people have come to question the quarterback’s place in the hierarchy of NFL signal-callers amid the 49ers’ rise to prominence
this season.
You have a lot of people out there asking the faux- deep question “what is Jimmy Garoppolo?”
Wonder no more — Garoppolo’s performance Sunday was perfectly indicative of him as a quarterback.
It was up and down — equal parts stellar and disappointing, a spectacular and peculiar dichotomy. He had two terrible interceptions, but he also threw four touchdowns. There were some bad plays and woeful decisions, but also some wonderfully deft plays in key moments.
And in the end, he tapped
into some ineffable quality he has to come up big in the final moments and lead the Niners to a win — he’s now 17-3 as a starter, an incredible number that officially beyond reproach. But thinking back on that final drive Sunday, outside of escaping a sack, it’s not entirely obvious what Garoppolo did that won the game for San Francisco.
Now, let’s get something straight, in case I haven’t made myself clear in prior columns or the hours of radio between them: Jimmy Garoppolo is a good quarterback.
But if you’re looking for a player that can put the team on his shoulders and carry them to victory week after week, you’ve got the wrong guy — at least for now.
Garoppolo is not transcendent. He’s a level, or two, below that, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The problem, it seems, is that there are few, if any, other quarterbacks like him in the league. As much as we’d all like to think that everyone is special and unique, there are archetypes out there and when you play the most important position in sports, it seems that it’s demanded you fit one of them.
Garoppolo doesn’t. At least, he doesn’t compare to any current NFL quarterback.
He is not above circumstance, like Russell Wilson, but he doesn’t need perfect conditions for success, like Dak Prescott.
He’s not a system quarterback either — I’d venture to say that he could fit and execute any kind of offense — but there’s no doubt that the system is a major factor in his successes.
He is not a dual-threat quarterback, but he’s no statue in the pocket.
He doesn’t have an elite arm, but don’t think he’s a soft-tosser — he’ll throw a ball that will get on you in a hurry.
He’s not careful with the football, no sir, but I wouldn’t call him careless with it, either.
He’s not old — Sunday was only his 18th NFL start — but at 28, he’s not young, either.
He’s not exactly talkative, and he’s not exactly quiet.
He isn’t tall — at least by quarterback standards — but no one would say he’s short.
This man is above average in all areas except looks.
And he reminds me a lot of a quarterback from the not-too- distant past.
If you must have a comparison for Garoppolo — if he cannot stand on his own — may I suggest former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo?
This goes well beyond the fact that both players went to Eastern Illinois — Ryan Finley doesn’t get Philip Rivers comps just because they both went to North Carolina State — unless something in the water around Charleston that helps create enigmatic, resoundingly above-average (except in looks), lightning-rod quarterbacks for premier NFL franchises, that is.
Romo, like Garoppolo, won the Walter Payton Award in college ( best Divison 1-AA player).
He, like Garoppolo, had a clean release, good pocket mobility, and a strong arm. His starting job came as a byproduct of strange circumstances, too. And Romo, like Garoppolo, had a bit of swashbuckler in them as well — a devil-may- care attitude that got him in trouble plenty but might have proven to be why he kept coming through in clutch situations (field goals in Seattle excluded).
Both had flashy starts to their careers. Garoppolo went 5- 0 to end the 2017 season, Romo went 5-1 after being named the starter in 2006, with a few big performances in national TV games.
If he stays healthy, this
will be Garoppolo’s first full season as a starter. Through 10 games, he has just shy of 2,500 passing yards, with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Niners are 9-1.
In Romo’s first full season — he was 27 — he threw for 4,211 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. Dallas went 13- 3.
The more I looked into this hunch, the more creeped out I became. They’re both listed at 6-foot-2, though Romo’s official weight was five pounds heavier. (Sure…)
Now, to some, comparing Garoppolo to Romo is slander — Tony never won a ring!
(Meanwhile, Jimmy has two.)
But the big difference between Romo and Garoppolo — besides their golf games, of course — is that Romo never had an offensive coordinator like Kyle Shanahan calling the shots.
And when this Niners’ defense is at its best, I think they can put to shame even the best defensive units the Cowboys had with Romo.
There’s plenty of football left to play this season for Garoppolo.
And while I don’t think any of the final six games will be any more quintessential than Sunday’s, I do think that means plenty more wins, more great throws, and a handful of boneheaded, head-scratching decisions, too.
He’s not a finished product quite yet, but he’s not exactly a raw prospect, either.
He’s an established enigma. Just like Romo was.
So yes, this final stretch is going to be a roller coaster, but try to enjoy the ride.