QB Jimmy Garoppolo Press Conference

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Press Conference – September 22, 2022

San Francisco 49ers

What was it like to get all that fan love after your presser on Sunday?

“It was cool. Faithful, they’ve always been there, man. They’re a fun fanbase to have behind you. And they were loud on Sunday and we just love those guys.”

Were you expecting all of that? All the cheers and the support?

“Yeah, that never really wavered or anything. So yeah, I love our fans.”

I don’t know if you’ve had much time to sit and reflect, but has any of this felt surreal to you over the last week or so? The way this played out?

“Yes and no. Part of me, you always want to be on that field, so you always have that in your mind. You’re preparing that way and then just for how things have worked out, it’s pretty crazy. Everything happens for a reason. I’m a big believer in that and it’s just another opportunity.”

Has there been a moment that it just hit you, maybe it was when went on the field the other day? Has there been a moment like that?

“No, not yet. I’m just trying to stay in the moment right now, honestly. When that happened, I’ve never been a backup and had the starter get hurt like that, so it was a different experience, but it was something that you take in stride. And like I said before, Trey’s our brother and I talked to him the other day, he seems to be in good spirits right now.”

I know it’s a different situation compared to what you experienced playing back up for Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, but is there anything that you took from that experience for the small portion that you were “backup” here?

“Yeah, just the preparation. You don’t get the same reps when you’re the backup, so your mental preparation is different. Running scout team, I love running scout team, it’s always fun. So I got to do that for a couple weeks, but yeah, now it’s just back to normal, I guess.”

Having gone through what you went through in 2018, what kind of advice would you give to Trey from here on out the rest of the season?

“I heard Bosa’s presser the other day and he worded it pretty well because there is a moment where you feel like your life is over and you feel like I can never get back to where I was, but that passes and you just have to hit a point where it does pass and you mentally move on from that. And there will be hurdles for him to overcome, but I’ve been around Trey for a couple years now and he’s a tough dude, so he’ll be alright.”

He’s still obviously developing as a quarterback, what can he do these next three or four months to continue to grow in some way, even though he is not on the field?

“The mental stuff, he’s already been in a couple meetings with us through zoom, so whatever you can do mentally. Physically, it’s tough right now, but he’ll get back.”

Your teammates talk about your voice and how it projects. I’m curious whether you had a coach that stressed that to you at some point, or is that a Garoppolo family thing? And is it real loud to your house at holidays?

“I was going to say I grew up in an Italian family, man. Literally, after games, it’s tough to talk because my voice is tired, but everyone else is screaming, but that’s just normal conversation. So yeah, it’s I don’t know, a perk of being Italian, I guess.”

When did you meet quarterbacks coach Brian Griese in person for the first time and what would’ve been your initial impressions?

“Honestly, I met him last year when he was calling one of our games, met him through the I forget what it’s called exactly, but just the day before the game we were talking to those guys and he was really cool. And having been with them now for probably a month or so, it’s really cool. He sees the game as a quarterback, we see the game very similarly. It’s nice to have him in the room.”

How does having a guy who’s played in the league help at your position, in particular?

He just sees it very similarly to you. It’s tough to coach a quarterback. You have to be able to see it the same way as him, which a lot of guys think they do, but they don’t maybe. And he just he has the experience of being on the field, being in those moments and it’s nice to have a guy like that around.”

After the game, you said it felt a little bit like 2017 again. And you were really pushing the ball down the field more than you had in the past couple years. Is that something that you consciously would like to do this year, is push the ball down the field?

I’d love that. Yeah, there’s a lot of things that go with that obviously, but yeah, I love doing that stuff. In ‘17, there was a freedom where me, the receivers, tight ends, we had a good chemistry going. And when you get that with offensive skills and a quarterback, it makes for a tough offense.”

Do you feel that you had that freedom last week just because you were coming off the bench or do you anticipate to have it the rest of the season?

“I don’t know, that’s a fair question. I think we’ll see that as we go forward, but I don’t know, the more freedom you have as a quarterback, obviously you play better, you’re more confident and good things will happen.”

What strikes you about the Denver Broncos defense as you’re preparing this week?

“Very physical, they’re physical up front, we know a couple guys over there, [Denver Broncos DL] D.J. [Jones], [Denver Broncos DB] K’Waun [Williams], great players and it goes across the board. They chase the ball. It’s a well-coached defense, you can tell. And so it’ll be tough for us, but it’ll be a good test.”

You don’t compete directly against the other quarterback, but you guys have faced Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson a lot of times. Have you guys ever talked other than just after the game and what are your impressions of seeing him over the years?

“Tremendous player, just a freak athlete, makes plays that shouldn’t be made. But he does it, he has that unique ability to extend the plays. And I haven’t really had much time to meet him off the field, but on the field, the dude is as competitive as it gets and it’s fun to go against him, as weird as that sounds, it is.”

When you say it’s been back to normal this week because it just felt like maybe you took a little break and now you’re back?

“Yeah, a long break. No OTAs, no training camp. It was a different type of year and I’ve been in some weird situations here, obviously, but yeah, this one, it had some good and bad though. The shoulder feels good and that’s number one, so once I was physically feeling better and the rest of the things just kind of fell into place I guess.”

When Head Coach Kyle Shanahan decided that he was going to move on and you guys had the conversation, is there anything you learned from that conversation that you think is going to make you a better quarterback or changes the way you decide to attack a defense?

“Not really. I think it lights a fire under you. I’ll tell you that. Obviously as a competitor, whenever you get told something like that, it’ll get you going a little bit, but I have plenty of motivation. I don’t need that to motivate me, but it always helps.”

When you say you were more in cut it loose mode in 2017, I would not want to start any sort of controversy, what were you asked to or coached to play differently in ‘18, ’19, ‘20?

“Say that again? How was I?”

You’d indicated 2017 was more like push ball downfield a little more.

“In ’17 I was learning the offense, so Kyle would call some plays and I wouldn’t know exactly how to read it, but you’d kind of figure it out as you went. Just the more and more that you learn in the offense and get the knowledge of the offense, I start to figure out what Kyle’s thinking and vice versa, but there’s obviously just some back and forth between the play caller and quarterback.”

You obviously have a lot of established relationships, but how has it been just building chemistry with the newer pass catchers?

“It’s been awesome. There’s some good players out there, man. I’m not trying to pump anyone up too much, but some of those guys could fly. [WR] Ray-Ray [McCloud], not being a young guy, but just a new guy. He can move. [WR] Danny [Gray] can move, there’s a lot of speed out there, so the chemistry’s coming, it’s coming and it’ll only get better.”

Did it seem like old times with TE George Kittle back out there with you now?

“It’s getting there. It’s getting there.”

When you came in the game on Sunday, what was the first thing you told the guys in the huddle and what did they say to you?

“That’s a tough one. I don’t know, man. A lot of things get said out there. I don’t know, we were all just fired up. It was third down, brain was kind of going in that direction, thinking about coverages and what they were going to do. And then I got smoked, so the rest is history.”