That five-interception practice by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on Wednesday made a few headlines. Not just locally, but nationally. Maybe it was a slow news day? Who knows? But the media grabbed hold of the story and would not let go as they analyzed — perhaps overanalyzed — the poor outing.
One person who doesn't sound too concerned is John Lynch, who joined KNBR on Friday morning from Denver. The 49ers are in town for joint practice against the Broncos and a preseason game on Monday night.
Lynch said he's never seen a quarterback throw five interceptions in a single practice throughout his playing career and time as a broadcaster, so it was new for him.
"I think the good thing, the guy who was most upset was Jimmy," Lynch said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "Jimmy was hot with that. I think the good news for our fans out there, to my best recollection, I think he had thrown one in team periods (it was three, actually — one by Ahkello Witherspoon, another by Richard Sherman, and a third by Tarvarius Moore) the entire camp, in training camp prior to that. So he had a bad day; that happens."
Lynch remembers once speaking with Peyton Manning. The former Indianapolis Colts and Broncos quarterback told him that's what practice was for; to work those things out and test the limits.
"Nowadays, that's being live-tweeted," Lynch continued. "That's hard on these quarterbacks, but it's just the reality of where we are. The good news is Jimmy gets to come out here against the Broncos and try to rectify and respond to that."
Respond, he did. Garoppolo completed his first eight passes against the Broncos defense on Friday. Safety Justin Simmons later came away with a Garoppolo-thrown interception, but it was a much better outing for the quarterback than on Wednesday.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.