San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters before Tuesday's practice as the team prepares for its Week 16 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
When you look back at Sunday's game, what areas do you kind of look back on and say, "I could've been better at this point?"
"Well, whenever there's an incomplete pass, obviously. Sometimes you're throwing it away, but most of those you could've done something differently. So, all those. I think just situational football at the end, I think we could always get better at that."
Is that something, like, what's kind of the pulse of this team after a loss? Does everybody kind of take a little bit on themselves?
"Oh yeah, definitely. We've got a good locker room in there where guys watching the film and seeing what they can do better individually and starting with myself. If everyone has that same mindset, it's going to lead to a better football team."
You've been on some Patriots teams, obviously, that expected to win games late, every game that they played. They've dropped one or two here and there every now and then. What was the tone in those locker rooms like? What did you observe when you were a young player about that?
"I think the biggest thing is just you can't let it hang around. You've got to move on. Once you watch the film, get the corrections fixed, talk it out and everything. Once it's over with, it's over with. This week, especially on the short week, just had to get over it quickly."
What are the Rams doing differently now versus when you played them the first time this season?
"Well, obviously, some different personnel. Dealing with trades, injuries, whatever it is. They're playing fast right now, their defense is. They've got, obviously up front, [Los Angeles Rams DT] Aaron's [Donald] unbelievable, but that whole D-Line as a group is very talented. They make it difficult on you. We've got to play on time, get the ball out on time and things like that."
In what ways do they look different with Los Angeles Rams CB Jalen Ramsey there?
"He'll match receivers, he'll stay on his side, so we kind of have to feel it out as the game gets started, but he's a hell of a player. Jalen, he really is. He doesn't make any throws easy for you, challenges everything, he's long. He really does a good job."
Most of the passes you threw to TE George Kittle were completed, so that was good. And if you win, then it's great, but if you lose, then it's like, why didn't you throw to the wide receivers? What was going on? Was there a function of what they were doing defensively that everything was kind of getting funneled to George?
"Yeah, when the play's called, I just try to get it to the most open receiver. When it's man-to-man, finding the best matchup and things like that. George did a great job of getting open. When his number was called, he answered the bell. It could be zone when you're just trying to find the soft spot in it. It could be matchups when it's man-to-man. There's a number of variables to it."
So, they were largely just going man with George?
"Yeah, and we liked the matchup and he did a great job."
Is that unusual?
"To like the matchup? Or for them to go man? I was going to say, I usually like the matchup with George. Yeah, we knew they did that going into it. They played a little more than we expected, I would say, but it wasn't anything crazy."
When you're getting used to working with a new center, are there nuances that we may not notice that you have to kind of get used to, like the snap and some timing stuff?
"Yeah, there's a bunch of little things. Even if it's just the communication between the two of us in the huddle at the line of scrimmage, declaring the MIKE, whatever it is. There's a million little things that go into that and it'll take time."
How did OL Ben Garland do with that?
"I thought Ben did awesome. He was really clean with the communication, there really were no hiccups in there with that. All those guys up front, they battled. It was a hard-fought game up front."
Some of the guys said the Falcons did some things along the defensive line, some looks that were a little bit different that you guys hadn't seen much. Is that a good area for you guys maybe to focus on, not necessarily, I mean, maybe when you get into the playoffs and are seeing different fronts you haven't seen before? Are you going to be able to adjust a little bit better now that you've had a game like that?
"I think so. I think playing teams in the past, it's not always what you see on film that they're going to do. They might throw some new things at you. Teams have been doing that to us and we just have to be prepared. I think just going into the game with that mindset and being able to adjust on the fly will be good for us."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was just saying one of the things he took away, despite the loss, was that you're still in control of your destiny. How much of that was his message to you guys today and how much does that maybe help you kind of flush away what happened on Sunday?
"It's good to hear. Obviously, after the game, you don't want to hear that stuff. It's the last thing you want to hear. But, I think today just getting that realization back in our mind that we do control our own destiny and if we handle business we'll be in a good spot. We've just got to take it one day at a time, though, start with the Rams and we'll take it from there."