QB Jimmy Garoppolo Press Conference

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Press Conference – December 21, 2021

San Francisco 49ers

You’re leading the league in yards per attempt. What does that mean to you and is there any stat that you look at individually other than wins that matter most?

“The yards per attempt really, I wouldn’t say that dictates winning and losing. More about third down and red zone. I think those are quarterbacks’ true stats when the money’s on the line. But yeah, as long as we’re winning games, I could care less what the stats are.”

How do you feel like you’re playing? On Mondays or whenever you go in and start analyzing how you played, a lot more positives than negatives I would imagine?

“Yeah. There’s a lot of good things. A lot of things to improve too. It’s just, you know, December football it’s you never know which play’s going to determine your season or that game and you’re trying to be perfect. We all are at this point, but you know, that’s why you’ve got to love it.”

T Trent Williams mentioned that your offense is getting more and more confident. Do you feel that way and what’s helping you stay confident?

“Yeah, you can definitely feel it. Guys are just talkative on the sidelines, feeling it. Guys are asking for the ball more. So that’s always a good thing. But I think it just goes back to us being in a rhythm. It starts with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] calling plays, but just the way we’re executing on the field you could feel it. I don’t know if you could see it. We feel it in the huddle, but there’s definitely a point in the game when we get into a rhythm and things are rolling.”

You played the Titans, obviously when you first got here in 2017. Just top of mind, when you think about that game is there a moment, a play that strikes you?

“Are you talking like three years ago, or four years ago?”

Yeah, 2017.

“I mean, the two-minute drive was pretty sweet. That obviously holds a close place to heart, but a much different team. They’re actually more similar to the Texans. We played that year just with [Tennessee Titans head coach] Mike Vrabel being at Houston then. So some similarity there, but yeah, much different team, but that was a very exciting game.”

Their safety seems to be having a good year. What kind of challenges do they present to you as a quarterback in the chess match?

“They’re very smart. They’re just football players though. You know, they play within their scheme, but they’ve been playing together for a while now. And you could tell that the communication’s pretty clean between them. They really don’t give you a lot of easy completions, I’ll say. They like to press it, kind of get up in receivers’ face and challenge those guys. And it’ll be a good challenge for us. They’re good players.”

How do you balance the desire to be perfect with the knowledge that one play can change everything in December with the need to be aggressive and bold and not be afraid to make a mistake?

“It’s the, that’s the line you tow. I mean, that’s part of the position, I guess. You have to, I mean, there’s a million things that go into those decisions though. The situation of the game, what’s going on, who’s been making plays for you, the defense, everything they’re doing. So there’s a lot that goes into it, but you’ve got to be aggressive. When you stop being aggressive, I think it gives the advantage to the defense and that’s when they can get after you a little bit. We’ve got a good mindset here. It starts with Kyle and kind of trickles down to us. But, we like where we’re at.”

You said after the game Sunday that the offense is changing, just it’s evolved from the beginning of the season. Have you and Kyle kind of, has there been more of a meeting halfway with, he’s known as kind of being stubborn and this is what he wants from his quarterback. Has there been more of a kind of a melding of meeting each other halfway with what he wants and what you want?

“At times, yeah. I mean, it’s Kyle’s offense, so he has final say on that stuff. But yeah, I think there’s a good balance. We’re not doing just the old traditional stuff. We’re mixing some of the new style of football and there’s a good balance that we have right now. We ran the heck out of the ball early on, and now we’re kind of getting to more of a balanced attack. And I think that makes us pretty dangerous.”

Are you doing more stuff that you’re more comfortable with and you feel maybe more natural doing?

“Whatever they put in I’ll be comfortable with it by the time game time comes. I don’t know, being a quarterback, you just have to adjust. I mean, there’s some plays in the game that you’ve never run before maybe, and coach is putting it in so there’s that trust factor of I’m trusting you, that you’re seeing the right thing and I’m gonna go execute it. So there’s a lot of back and forth, I guess you could say.”

Have you seen, Trent Williams was in here before, he was talking about his documentary. Have you had a chance to see it and if not, do you know just the extent of everything he went through to get back out of here?

“I haven’t had a chance to see it. I heard phenomenal things about it. But yeah, I mean just what was it, Chicago? When we were in Chicago, we stayed right down the street from the hospital Trent was at, and I can remember talking to him just, that was really the first, because I knew about it, but I really didn’t know the extent of it. And that was kind of the first time that he opened up about it. I mean, that’s real life stuff. It’s different than football, different than everything that we’re doing on a daily basis here. That’s your livelihood, that’s your life. Just the man that he is having gone through all that stuff, you really have to tip your hat to him, because there’s not many people that could come out the other end and do what he’s doing right now.”

You mentioned the two-minute drive against the Titans and I think I have this right. You should never ask a question you’re not quite sure about it’s never stopped me before. But I think you were mic’d up or someone was mic’d up and like before that you were kind of saying, hey, this is going to happen. And then it unfolded. Given the fact that you were somewhat new here, do you remember the specifics of that and how you kind of knew how some of those things were going to unfold?

“Specifics, not entirely. I remember having a good feel for that defense. I think it was [former NFL coach] Dick Lebeau was the D-Coordinator. But yeah, we had a good feel for them. We were moving the ball early on in the game and we kept, if I’m remembering this right, we kept getting field goals and stuff and we couldn’t sustain a drive, but we were moving the ball. And so I kind of had a good feel of that going into the two-minute drive. I don’t remember the specifics, but it was a fun game.”

I know you’re focused on Thursday, but Christmas also right around the corner. Do you have plans for Christmas you actually have off and what are your favorite traditions?

“No, not really planned anything yet. Got the Christmas shopping done though. So that’s a big one. Happy about that. Traditions, no just normal stuff. Christmas morning opened the gifts with the family. Yeah, just normal stuff. But yeah, we’ll handle that when we get there Friday.”

Do you get any special gifts for your O-Line?

“Oh yeah. Every year. I get a kick out of doing that. I can’t give it away yet. They’re going to get those soon, but you guys will find out.”