QB Jimmy Garoppolo Press Conference

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Press Conference – December 1, 2021

San Francisco 49ers

Your My Cause My cleats, can you talk about the genesis to that and the good tidings foundation?

“Yeah, kind of similar to something that we’ve done in the past. Just getting all these little kids to draw portraits and collages and kind of putting them all together on the shoe. We spent a lot of time on it. It’s not fully done yet, but I’m pretty excited with where they’re going right now.”

What kind of memories do you have of playing in Seattle? Because we’re kind of at two different levels of it now.

“Some good, some bad. Obviously the first one that pops in my head is when [LB] Dre [Greenlaw] made the big plan on the goal line. But yeah, they’ve gotten the better of us these last couple of times. This will be a good challenge for us, going into their home turf, it’s going to be a hostile environment. We know that whatever the records are, but we’ll be ready for it.”

What makes that defense a tough matchup?

“They’re just, they’re always flying around, honestly. It’s the way they move, the way they chase the ball, they’re sound in their coverages, they don’t do too much to complicate things, but it’s just they’re very sound and they tackle very well in space. So it’s all that added together makes for a good defense.”

Of all the places you play, is that one of the toughest? They’re right on top of you there and those guys are pretty loud up there.

“Yeah. They get after it up there. But it’s a good challenge. We try to embrace it, get the silent count going. It’ll be a little different than last year. It was a nice luxury without the crowd last year, but yeah, it’s a tougher spot to play.”

As much as you guys try to stay humble during a win streak, is there times where you can enjoy it and realize the fun that goes into it?

“There’s always moments where you could stop and smell the roses, but those moments go by pretty quickly. So you’ve got to enjoy them for a quick second and then the season just is always, the train’s rolling. You’ve got to jump on it and keep moving with it. So, we’re into December now, so this is when football really starts.”

As an offense, you guys have been very efficient on first and third downs. But the second down efficiency is way down this year. Is that something you guys pay attention to? Is there any theory or explanation behind that?

“I think there’s more, you might have to ask the coaches more about that one, but just avoiding I would guess penalties, negative runs, things like that to put you in second and long. Maybe make it more difficult, but really I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it too much.”

I know you’re not in meeting rooms with DL Nick Bosa. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was just talking about how technical he is and how much he pays attention to the small details in terms of his study and all that. Have you seen that and what ways maybe do you see him in that light?

“You definitely see it. It’s hard to see with Bosa. Bosa is kind of quiet in general, but when you get him talking a little bit and he starts talking about techniques and stuff like that, there’s a lot going on up there. I mean, he really is breaking down the game inside and out, the pass rush, the coverage, all this stuff tied together. He’s very in tune with it. But yeah, I mean, when you have a guy that could do what he does and he’s that tuned into the details at the same time, that makes for a special player.”

You lose RB Raheem Mostert at the beginning of the season, don’t have RB Jeff Wilson Jr. until recently. What’s it been like to watch the run game evolve, to get back to a really strong place, particularly last week?

“It’s been really cool. It really has, just with all the running backs, like you’re saying motioning in and out, injuries, whatever it is, riding the hot hand, but they’ve done a great job of it. [WR] Deebo [Samuel] too. I’ll throw him in that group. But no, [RB] Elijah [Mitchell] has been carrying it great, the O-Line’s been blocking for him great. It’s all those things tied together. And then like you said, we get Jeff rolling again it makes us dangerous.”

I think you’ve thrown 67 passes and run it 125 times in the last three games, which is pretty skewed league-wide but you think as a younger player you would have been maybe more anxious to throw a few more passes? It didn’t seem like it matters to you now.

“Yeah, I think so probably in my first couple of years. You always want to, it’s just part of being a quarterback. But now I guess as I’ve gotten older, it’s just about winning and in this league, that’s all it is. And you keep doing that good things will happen to you.”

What sticks out to you most about that ‘19 game with the fans and maybe silencing them and just the momentum and the changes that you had that game?

“That was a dog fight of a game, man. It really was. Just all 60 minutes. We knew it. It always is with these guys, but yeah, just that atmosphere, that was one of the coolest atmospheres I’ve ever played in. I can remember pre-game sitting there and just kind of soaking it in for that split second moment, but it’ll be a dog fight, we know that going into it. We have our minds right.”

Deebo Samuel has made things look really easy for your offense at times the last few weeks. What’s going to be the key to playing well on offense without him this week?

“Guys stepping up. I think [WR] Trent [Sherfield] did a great job of stepping into the game when Deebo went down, you know, made a big third-down conversion for us. Other guys stepping up and just moving some guys around, I think it will be a little easier this week with the week to plan for it, but just you know, guys have to step up, whether it’s at running back, receiver, making YAC with the ball in your hands, it’s all those little things will add up this game.”

Going back to your early years in the league, how valuable was it, this is a QB Trey Lance question, to kind of run the scout team and just observe and do those sorts of things? Looking back to that first year, do you kind of appreciate it more now than you may have at that time?

“Absolutely. Yeah. At that time, I mean, you just think you’re a scout-team quarterback, myself I’d never done it before, so you don’t know how to fully embrace that role, I guess. But a lot of good could come from it. It’s one of those things that the defense might have you circle on a receiver and you have to throw this ball and you have to find a way to stick it in there and beat the coverage. And those are the tough spots that you get in, but it makes you a better quarterback, I think.”

I know you’re not the only quarterback to do this, but you have an ability to throw flat-footed and just kind of torque your body to generate whatever is happening there. Have you always kind of done that and have you ever had coaches say, no, no, you’ve got to be stepping and that’s not proper?’

“Well, you want to have your feet in the ground. I mean, the more cleat you get out in the ground, the more force you develop. And I think that’s part of it. But yeah, I haven’t put too much thought into it. I think just when you’re in a good rhythm as a quarterback, that’s when you can really be your best. It’s just different on each play. Whether it’s the coverage, the blitz, what you have to do in the pocket, if you’re flat-footed or on your toes moving, I think it just depends on that play in particular.”

Your throw to Sherfield was not a flat foot. It was more like a back foot, which I suppose you don’t do that. Obviously it worked out. Do you sometimes have to toe the line between what goes from flat foot to back foot?

“Yeah. I think half of it’s honestly just reaction and instincts that take over when you’re in, like the one to Trent, there was a push from the left side and I kind of just felt it and tried to fade away with it. So, I mean, there’s plays like that, that happened and you don’t even really realize what you’re doing until you’ve watched it on the tape.”

WR Brandon Aiyuk, have you seen him get into it with defensive backs before like he did on Sunday?

“I’ve seen B.A., yeah he gets a little chippy at times, but it’s a good thing he’s got those long arms.”

Is that a shift from maybe where he was earlier in the season? Whether it was urgency or having a different mentality? Is that a sign that maybe he’s at that point now?

“I think it is. I think whenever a guy’s doing, you know, whatever you want to call it, chippy stuff, blocking hard, whenever he’s doing little things like that it means something to him. And you could see that on the tape, you could see that on the field, you feel his energy. So all those things, yeah, I think whatever it was with B that made him flip the switch, it’s been working for him.”

When you guys aren’t doing much play-action, how predictable do you think it is from the defense in terms of I guess try not to tip your hand or have any tells of what you’re going to be doing?

“There’s a fine line. There definitely is. But I think our coaches do a good job of that balancing act of run, play-action, drop back, mixing it all in, keep the protection moving, things like that just to keep the defense, keep us in the attacking mindset rather than vice versa. So I think it all plays a role in it, but that drop back stuff you don’t want to get too predictable.”

Have you had any tells pointed out to you in your career?

“I haven’t. You got any for me?”

No, but I heard on the radio somebody said Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson did, that every time he took his mouth guard out it was running play?

“Someone’s always watching.”