San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk was touted as an "offensive weapon" when signed as a free agent in March. For the majority of the season, the Juszczyk signing was criticized by fans and some of the media because the numbers that come to mind when you say "offensive weapon" did not come to fruition.
The critics were so vocal that Juszczyk saw the need to defend himself last week against those who have voiced their opinions on social media. He also answered the criticism on Sunday against the Houston Texans when he caught three passes from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for a single-game career-high 64 yards.
Like his teammates, coaches, and fans, Juszczyk is excited about his new quarterback. He is just one of the numerous players who has benefitted from Garoppolo being named the starter. The fullback joined 95.7 The Game on Monday morning and discussed his quarterback, who threw for a single-game career-high 334 yards against the Texans,
"Jimmy G, I'll tell you what, he has been everything for this team and for this offense," Juszczyk said on "Joe, Lo, and Dibs." "Right away, he's come in, and he's just shown command and confidence and has been a tremendous leader since he stepped foot in the building. We just feel like he gives us an opportunity to make plays out there and you've seen it the last couple of weeks. He does a great job of extending the plays; he stays poised, he has command in the huddle. And he just does a great job even around the sidelines just keeping everybody up, keeping the energy levels up there, and just keeping everyone confident."
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Garoppolo doesn't even have a full grasp of head coach Kyle Shanahan's playbook. Over the past two weeks, the quarterback has been going into games knowing that week's game plan and the plays associated with it. Garoppolo has been impressive considering he joined the team on October 30 and was thrust into the starting lineup due to an injury to rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard during Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks.
"I think that's one of the really cool things is you've seen how well he's done these past few weeks as a starter and he's really just scratching the surface," Juszczyk said, "because Kyle's offense, there's a lot to take in. It's a large playbook, and it's pretty complex. I feel like Jimmy's kind of just scratching the surface and kind of learning as he goes. And I think each and every week, you're just going to see him start to master the offense a little bit more and just learn more each week."
The Niner Faithful are getting very excited about the possibilities going forward. Each victory this season, however meaningless when it comes to the standings, only amplifies that. Juszczyk was asked if the team is now feeling the love from fans.
"We've definitely been feeling the love," Juszczyk answered. "I'll tell you what, we're pretty excited too. We think we're building something pretty special. We knew that from the beginning of the year and that it was going to take some time, but we knew we were starting with the right pieces and I think Jimmy has just been a great addition that has been able to kind of expedite that process."