San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters following the team's Week 12 win over the Green Bay Packers. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
CB Richard Sherman said that everybody would follow you into a dark alley. What does that mean coming from a player like that?
"Sherm's one of those guys, whatever he says, it carries a lot of weight just in the locker room with our guys. He's a leader of the team, he's been here before and he just sets a great example from the moment he walks into the building to when he leaves."
After a pair of punts in the 1st quarter, TE George Kittle sad you rallied the entire offense and had some words for them. Can you say what you said and how did you kind of rally the troops there?
"Yeah, the defense got a fast start, we got the touchdown right away and then we kind of just, we were in a little bit of a lull it seemed like. I don't know, I just thought everyone needed a little "get the juice going" type of thing. I just kind of brought everyone up and I think it did us well."
How much does George Kittle change what you can do on the offense?
"George, he's awesome. The energy he brings on the sideline, getting guys involved, getting guys talking in the huddle even, it's little things like that. Obviously, you guys see what he does on the field. I throw him a 2-yard route and he takes it for whatever, 20-30 yards, runs a great route, scores a touchdown. It's all the little things that he does, though, that goes so unnoticed."
What do you think you've done to earn equity of your teammates in terms of being able to have that voice in a setting like that and to get everyone charged up in that moment?
"I wouldn't say it's anything crazy. I just try to be myself. I think guys respect that. They're going to see through you if you try and be fake and stuff like that. We have a great group of guys, especially, it's just from top to bottom. It's a great group of guys to be with, and I wouldn't want to be with anyone else."
You had another combination of offensive line succeed today. This time, it was a guy, OL Daniel Brunskill, who was playing out of position on the left side. Did you have to tell anything to him when he came into the game and what was your impression of how that cohesion worked with the new look?
"Yeah, I didn't really have to tell him anything. Dan was ready to roll. O-line, it's a tough group. They're always mixing and matching with injures and things like that. You've got to tip your hat to those guys up front. They were battling tonight. They got it going in the run game and everything we do starts with those guys. They played great tonight."
Can you walk us through the touchdown to Kittle?
"Yeah, we canned the play, got into the pass play and everything, and George just ran a great route. He had the corner post, basically, on it. He literally turned the corner around, I'm pretty sure. It makes for an easy throw for me. Those are the throws you get a little nervous on, though. It's just so wide open that you don't want to miss him, but when you have a guy who can run routes like that, and we have multiple guys who can do that, it makes my job a lot easier."
He said you guys have been practicing it all season and it was finally time. Did it ever look that good in practice? It did seem like you had a lot of time to set up and throw it down there.
"Yeah, we had the boot on and everything and yeah, I felt no one around me or anything like that. Great play design from the coaches. We've kind of been holding onto that one for a little while, but it was a great route by him. You've got to tip your hat. It was fun."
Was he able to run it in practice this last week given the way he was just getting back in practice?
"Yeah, it's always a little different in practice because you're going against the scout team and you don't know if that's the legit, real look that you're going to get, so you're always a little hesitant on it, but I'm telling you, it played out exactly like it did in practice. It was nice to see."
What did you think of WR Deebo Samuel's 42-yard catch and run for a touchdown?
"Deebo's a fighter, man. It's week after week. This guy, he shows up in big moments, even dealing with what he had last week with the shoulder and all that stuff. He's unbelievable. For a rookie to be so mature like that, it's awesome."
I know you guys always talk about not going up against the other quarterback, but it sounds like part of that meeting that you had was because Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was on the other sideline. Is that true and what is it about Aaron that brought that out of you?
"Yeah, I don't think it's that specifically. In the moment, that was the right thing to do I thought. I thought I would bring the guys up, get them going. Aaron, he's one of the best. I love watching him play, even if we're not going against them that week. Just watching his highlights and things like that, he does so many amazing things on the run, in the pocket and it's fun to get against a guy like that."
Three of your touchdown drives happened within three plays. How did it feel to get those quick strikes and what gave you the access for that?
"It was kind of weird. We only ran six plays in the third quarter, I think it was, so we kind of left our defense out there. We scored on two plays and we were only out there for, I think, a minute. Not ideal, but you're never going to be upset about a score. Our team has been doing a great job of playing complimentary football. I think all three phases playing together and just complimenting one another, it's done good for us."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he thought tonight your performance was flawless. Do you feel yourself settling in just being able to get this many starts in a row and are things slowing down for you?
"Yeah, I think just the understanding of the offense, obviously having great players around me makes my job a lot easier. When the defense is playing how they were playing, special teams, there's a lot that goes into it. As far as just being comfortable with the offense and getting the game plan down throughout the week, it's become easier and easier. Just got to keep trending in the right direction now."
How important was it to get this win at home before you head out for two, really tough back-to-back road contests?
"It was good. I've got to give a shout out to the Faithful, they were rocking tonight. The stadium, just the energy, even just walking in early in the afternoon, you could feel it. It was really cool to have Levi's loud like that. We've got a good stretch coming up here. Baltimore will be a great test for us, so it'll be a good one."