San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is 18-3 as a starter, yet there are still those who refuse to give him the credit he is due. Cornerback Richard Sherman stood in front of reporters after Sunday night's win over the Green Bay Packers and defended his quarterback.
"You hear some of the noise and things said about him," a passionate Sherman said. "It's frustrating because we see him every day. We see what kind of work ethic he puts in, the hours he puts in, being the first one in and the last one out. The guy looks for no credit. All he does is encourage his teammates and puts more work in.
"And then you have people nitpicking. We'd run for 300 yards, and they're like 'well, he didn't throw a lot.' We ran for 300 yards! And then he throws for 400, and they're like 'well, I think he got outplayed by [Arizona Cardinals quarterback] Kyler Murray. ... The goalposts keep moving. But the one thing you can appreciate is being good enough for people to make excuses for you. He's a good enough quarterback that people have to move the goalposts for him."
"Jimmy Garoppolo is the leader of this football team, and we'd follow him into the darkest of dark places." -Richard Sherman with some notable words for Jimmy G's critics. #49ers #GBvsSF #49wz pic.twitter.com/rgzJyD1zCi
— Peter Panacy (@PeterPanacy) November 25, 2019
General manager John Lynch, who joined KNBR on Wednesday morning, has noticed how much Garoppolo's teammates admire their quarterback, and discussed what makes the signal-caller so special — outside of his play on the field.
"Jimmy, I think what we all love about him is that he's such a great teammate," Lynch said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "He's Jimmy G, he's all that, but he's really just one of the guys, and they really appreciate him for that. He's not too big because of the nature of the position he plays, the amount of money he gets paid. He really just wants to be one of the guys.
"We have a head coach who has a high standard for quarterback play. Kyle's not afraid to bark at him, and Jimmy takes that, and he takes it well. And I think you see it in his play. When he does make a mistake, he comes right back at them."
Lynch isn't exaggerating about Garoppolo turning it up after a mistake. The 49ers quarterback has thrown 10 interceptions this season. How has he responded during the ensuing drives? Garoppolo is an impressive 32-of-35 passing for 288 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions after an interception, which is good enough for a passer rating of 120.0.
Jimmy Garoppolo on the 10 drives for #49ers following his INTs this season is 32 for 35 for 288 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and a 120 passer rating
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) November 21, 2019
"I just think each and every week that he's out there, he just earns more and more respect from his teammates," Lynch continued. "I think that's the biggest compliment that I could have for Jimmy is that I think he's just an unbelievable teammate, and the guys really appreciate him."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
