Jimmy Garoppolo was so busy absorbing the playbook when he arrived with the San Francisco 49ers last year that he couldn't even get the names straight of his new teammates. Instead of calling them by name, he was content with just saying, "Hey, bro," or "What's up, man?"
Garoppolo explained this week on the Tolbert & Lund Podcast that he would be standing there during practices and explaining a route to a player whose name he didn't even know. And then when it came to the plays, well, he was just hoping to get things half right on the football field.
Garoppolo explained that there were some games last year during which he would walk up to the line of scrimmage, look around at the offense, and only know what one side was doing.
As for the other half? "Yeah, I hope this side is right," the quarterback would think.
Garoppolo had an excuse. Most of the players on the team had a whole offseason to learn the playbook. He was thrown into the fire with just a few weeks of preparation. Still, it was enough to move the offense up and down the field and win each of his five starts.
In case Garoppolo thought his new teammates didn't notice, he was wrong. He didn't fool anyone.
"Last year, he would come in the huddle, and he didn't know the offense at all," running back Matt Breida said on the Tolbert & Lund Podcast this week. "He would call a play, and we'd be looking at each other like, 'What did he say?'"
Whatever Garoppolo was calling, it wasn't a play his teammates were familiar with.
"It would just be amazing because he would still go out there and make the completion or make it work somehow," Breida continued. "And now, second year around, watching him go in there with confidence, knowing what he's doing, and understanding why he's doing it, it's just amazing.
"I think the sky's the limit for Jimmy. He can be a Hall of Famer, easily. He's got to keep working hard and doing what he's doing. That second year around helps you out so much when you get to understand everything."
You can listen to the entire interview with Breida below.