In the waning moments of Sunday's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was warming up on the sideline preparing — hoping — for a chance to re-enter the game. That opportunity never came.
The Ravens marched down the field and kicked a game-winning field goal to beat the visiting 49ers 20-17, leaving Garoppolo and the offense no time on the clock to respond.
It would have been the perfect opportunity, with the game on the line and San Francisco needing a miracle drive, for the quarterback to silence his critics. Instead, they remain as loud as ever.
This week, that includes the hosts of ESPN's First Take — Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman. The two have had differing opinions of Garoppolo, with the latter often defending the 49ers quarterback against the claims of the former.
Smith and Kellerman agreed on one thing this week. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is an impressive player, and nothing from Sunday's game changed that belief. He possesses traits that they would love to see from Garoppolo.
No, the ESPN hosts aren't talking about Jackson's athleticism and being able to make things happen with his legs. That isn't Garoppolo. That will never be Garoppolo. Since the 49ers quarterback doesn't possess those traits, Smith and Kellerman want to see him show something more as a passer.
"There's some players who need that extra credit for us to really believe in them because their stats, otherwise, and their play, otherwise, are more pedestrian than the superstars," Kellerman explained. "Jimmy G was not that kind of player, actually, yesterday.
"That's why I get on Baker Mayfield. I felt like Baker was the kind of guy who could make that happen, and when he doesn't, I'm like, 'Oh, if you don't have that, then you really are just pedestrian. Dak Prescott, too. When Dak is not doing that stuff, it's just like, 'Well, OK, now we're just going to judge you talent for talent.'
"Jimmy G, there were pivotal moments; it was still a game; he did not run the offense smoothly enough. Even that touchdown pass, a 50/50 ball. He chucked it up there. He got lucky, which, sometimes, you've got to do that.
"You've got to have that quality in you to take the shot. But there were points late in the game, especially, where I'm like, 'Come on, Jimmy G. If you're accurate there, if you hand the ball off, if you run that play more smoothly, you'll pick up positive yards, you'll get more out of that play.' And he didn't do it."
Kellerman went on to say that if Garoppolo can't show that he possesses that extra something special, then he is nothing more than a game manager.
Smith goes on to reiterate that he has never been sold on Garoppolo. The ESPN personality notes that when the quarterback does make a big play, it's often because of how head coach Kyle Shanahan designed the play rather than how Garoppolo executed it.
Smith points to Garoppolo's unimpressive rushing stats to prove that the 49ers quarterback is, aside from sometimes extending plays with his feet, a stationary thrower.
"So if you're going to be that kind of guy, we need to see Drew Brees, we need to see Tom Brady, we need to see Kenny Stabler from back in the old days," Smith said. "We need to see somebody like that. If you're not going to move, and you're just going to be standing in the pocket slinging the football, I need to see you throw it better than he has."
Kellerman added: "My point is, I don't need to see Drew Brees out of Jimmy G. I need to see a game manager who can come through under pressure in those kinds of close games."
