NFL Films producer and ESPN analyst Greg Cosell recently predicted San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to throw for over 4,000 yards this season, assuming he stays healthy for 16 games. Garoppolo passed for 166 yards on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which puts him on pace for 2,656 yards.
Okay, it was just one game. Garoppolo could light it up on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, and all the overanalyzing of the quarterback will cease ... for at least another week.
Cosell jumped on KNBR on Wednesday to discuss what he saw from the 49ers' win over the Buccaneers and to preview the upcoming matchup against the Bengals, which may not be as easy a game as previously assumed. The entire interview is informative and worth the listen.
Below are just a few of the topics Cosell hit on during the discussion.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Cosell might be cooling off on Garoppolo a bit. The analyst didn't think the 49ers quarterback played particularly well on Sunday. Cosell is concerned specifically with Garoppolo's accuracy — or lack thereof — on display against the Buccaneers.
"His ball placement is just not consistently good enough," Cosell said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "I don't know how Kyle (Shanahan) feels about it, but I think because everything he does is kind of fast, I think often times, he does not throw with firm base, and I think when your lower half is not where it needs to be, then the rest sometimes doesn't fall into place.
"He missed too many throws. He could have thrown for 100 more yards in that game. And the thing is, Kyle set him up for some really good throws with play design, and he missed them with poor accuracy. And that's something that absolutely has to be cleaned up."
Cosell went on to explain why he feels Garoppolo made the wrong decision on who to throw to on the play that resulted in a pick-six. Cosell believes tight end George Kittle, not running back Tevin Coleman, was the right target on the play.
Nick Bosa
Cosell was enamored with defensive end Nick Bosa coming out of college, and nothing from Sunday changed that view.
"He uses his hands really well to play off contact, because, in the NFL, you get blocked, and then you have to play off contact," Cosell said. "I think those two guys, both Bosa brothers (Nick and Joey), are very refined in their hand usage to play off contact."
Ahkello Witherspoon
Cosell felt Ahkello Witherspoon had all the tools coming out of college to one day develop into an excellent cornerback. Witherspoon looked like a starting-caliber defender on Sunday and even hauled in one of San Francisco's two pick-sixes against the Buccaneers.
"I thought he had good movement (coming out of Colorado); I thought he could transition well and change direction well," Cosell said. "I thought Witherspoon, down the road — and we're now down the road — could be a solid NFL corner who could play man and who could play zone. Obviously, you have to do both in this league. So maybe this is the start of him turning into a real solid NFL corner."
Cincinnati Bengals
Cosell liked what the Bengals did against the Seattle Seahawks ... at CenturyLink Field ... without A.J. Green. He was impressed with Cincinnati's defensive front, which overmatched what should be a good Seahawks offensive line.
"Let's put it this way: After watching the tape on both sides of the ball, this is a little tougher assignment than I'm sure a lot of people thought it might be for the 49ers (in) Week 2," Cosell said.
To win, Cosell says the 49ers defensive line will need to be disruptive again but also do a better job of stopping the run game. Even if Joe Mixon cannot play, the Bengals still have formidable options at running back.
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