QB Jimmy Garoppolo Press Conference

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Press Conference – October 6, 2022

San Francisco 49ers

Do you want to just kind of begin with TE George Kittle hasn’t had many catches yet through two games, but where do you think stand in your guys’ kind of relationship? Obviously, you’ve thrown more touchdown passes to him than anybody, so how’s that relationship?

“I don’t know. That’s a cool stat. No, it’s been awesome. I think just George, coming back from injury and everything, getting his legs under him, he’s looked better and better every day. And I think his time will come. I think our offense is one of those offenses where not everyone’s going to have a good game every week. It’s pick your poison. One week one guy will have a good game. The next week, the next guy, so it’s kind of just one of those situations.”

The hot hand, but with receivers for targets as well as running backs.

“Yeah, with running backs, always the hot hand, but yeah, even just the game plan stuff, certain coverages take away your outside guy or maybe your tight end and you have to just play off of that. You just can’t force things just because you want to get one guy the ball, it’s part of the game.”

At the same time, do you kind of look at the number of his targets, the number of his receptions and go we’ve got to get that thing going a little bit?

“Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you the number of targets and stuff like that, but I just run the plays that are called, man. Whatever’s called, go through my progression, find the open guy and get him the ball. And I think the rest takes care of itself.”

You talked about other teams being interested in you, I don’t know how much you can discuss this, but were you in the discussion, did you like talk to head coaches from other teams or whatever were you like involved with these offseason discussions with teams expressing trade interest?

“It was more my agents would talk to them and then my agents would talk to me, kind of be the middle man, but yeah, there was discussions with multiple teams, but I’m glad the way things worked out.”

Yeah, I think I’m going to go ahead, he might have been hinting at it. I’ll just go ahead and ask you. The Carolina Panthers are a team that we’re looking for a quarterback and they got Carolina Panthers QB Baker Mayfield kind of late in the process. Were they on your radar? Were things advanced at all with them?

“Yeah, things were advancing with a couple different teams. Nothing, obviously came to fruition, but yeah, they were at the top of the list, I would say. One of the top couple, but yeah, like I said, I’m glad the way things worked out and I’m here, so I’m focused on this stuff now.”

As you embark on this long road trip kind of with you getting your sea legs back and back into your chemistry with your teammates, does this have even more meaning for you this time? Is it even more beneficial?

“Yeah, I think whenever you can get away, it’s tough on guys with families and things like that I know, but I don’t know, there’s a part of me that enjoys it. You get to spend time with guys, see a different side of guys that, you usually don’t get to see and guys start to open up a little bit when they’re away like that. So it’ll be a good opportunity for us to take advantage of that, have some fun dinners together and get out and just see a different side of guys.”

You guys have done this four times in the last three years here and I think you’re 7-1 in those games. How do you feel just physically in terms of getting acclimated to the time zone and how much do you feel that on Sunday helping you when you play?

“I think it tremendously helps us. Yeah, getting there Friday night rather than Saturday night and having to wake up and just go, go, go. And credit to the York’s for that, because I know that stuff isn’t cheap and they give us top class, first class everything and we appreciate it. And 7-1, like you said, it pays off.”

You haven’t played a regular season game in Carolina or in Atlanta. Is there curiosity for you to go there? I know you played preseason in Carolina twice, but–?

“Yeah, Carolina, I’m sort of familiar with. Done a couple of preseasons like you said. Atlanta will be pretty cool though and I haven’t really thought about it at all, but new stadium and things like that, that’ll be a cool atmosphere. But yeah, we’ll take this one week at a time and worry about Carolina first.”

Do you have, I guess when you go into a new stadium, like do sight lines come into play at all or anything like that?

Yeah, pregame, I walk the field, try to find the game clock, where the play clock is. Just little things like that. Each stadium’s a little different and yeah, when that clock’s running down, three, two, one, you want to know where that thing’s at.”

It seemed like the offensive line made a big leap from Denver to the Rams game and that the communication was a lot better among those guys. Is that something that you can feel notice, when you’re out there at the time?

“Yeah, I think it really starts during the week of practice. You notice it, walk-throughs, the communication as long as we’re all on the same page, we can make it work. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but yeah, those guys, especially with the injuries, the mixing and matching that was going on, that’s really impressive for a group of five guys like that to all be on the same page and do it as consistently versus a good D-Line. Just yeah, I tip my hat. I love those guys. They did a great job and we just have to keep this thing rolling for this next week.”

Have you gotten to know OL Spencer Burford at all, and if you have, what sort of jumps out about him to you?

“Spence is cool, man. He’s real cool. Very smooth, doesn’t really get too panicked. For a rookie, it’s very impressive. You don’t see many rookies like that. He’s got a long way to go, obviously we all do, but he’s off to a good start.”

You had a long-time veteran last year in former NFL C Alex Mack at the center position. It seems that OL Jake Brendel is off to a good start. How has that, we talk about that quarterback-center cohesion, how has that gone with Jake here the past couple of weeks?

“It’s been a good start. It has. Jake’s a good dude. He’s on his stuff, man, he really is. He’s always getting us in the right stuff, making the communication. It starts with the center and that’s not an easy job, but I don’t know, we’ve got a ways to go. I think our relationship is only getting better and better each day and we’re just getting this thing started.”

As far as OL Aaron Banks, he was getting banged on a little bit last year because he didn’t play as a rookie, he’s a second-round pick, but he’s been fairly impressive so far. What have you noticed from him in his development?

“I’ve seen a different side of Banks because as a rookie when you’re not playing you see one side of guys and then now that he’s playing, he’s a different animal and he’s been playing like it, he’s playing good. Same as Spence, got a long way to go and everything, but he’s off to a good start. And on gameday, he’s a different dude, man. A guy you want on your side for sure. It’s fun having him on our side, man. He’s a character.”

Can you expound on that? Like what is different?

“You meet guys as rookies and then you get them in their second year. They’re different people, usually they open up a little bit and you start to see their personality come out. And that’s what I’m starting to see with Banks and I love it, man. It’s cool. I don’t know, you build your relationship and people just start to open up like that. And on gameday, he’s different, man. You’ll see it on gameday.”