The pre-Super Bowl debate continues. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is tired of the media questions surrounding the doubts about quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
"That's my boy, man, and Jimmy's a baller," Sanders told reporters on Thursday. "I keep saying it over and over, and it's the same questions, but he's a baller, and I expect him to do what he got to do."
Tackle Joe Staley is bewildered by all of the doubts because all Garoppolo does is win, whether that means throwing eight times in a game, as he did in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers, or passing for over 400 yards.
"It's wild that he takes criticism for that," Staley said. "I mean, we won the game. We were doing what we needed to do to win the game, and that's the main point of an NFL football game."
Still, the doubters remain. Many of them seem to be over at ESPN with names like Stephen A. Smith being the most vocal of Garoppolo's critics. The hosts over at ESPN's Get Up have their share of doubters too, which was made clear on Friday morning during a debate between Mike Greenberg, Emmanuel Acho, Bart Scott, and Bobby Carpenter.
Scott doubts Garoppolo's ability to carry the 49ers offense to a win in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Listen, the next time he does (carry the team) will be the first time that he does," said Scott.
Week 14's matchup between the 49ers and New Orleans Saints says, "Hello."
Scott did mention that shootout at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome but called it a "recipe of all the right ingredients" for Garoppolo that just happened to work out for the 49ers.
"Jimmy G does not want to get into a shootout," Acho added.
"If he throws the ball more than 25 times in the game, I do think the Niners are in trouble," said Carpenter. "But if they're able to dictate the tempo, run the ball, and move that pocket, it clears up the coverage, and it eliminates the run."
Greenberg, however, was not quick to belittle Garoppolo's ability to carry the 49ers to a potential win.
"The only thing I'll say is, it can't just be a coincidence that before he got there, the 49ers were terrible," Greenberg said. "They made him the starter; he won five straight games to finish the season. Then he came back the next year and got hurt; they went 4-12. Now, he's played this entire year, they're the one seed in the NFC, and they're in the Super Bowl. It cannot just be a coincidence that when he plays, they win, when he doesn't, they lose."
You can watch the entire Get Up debate below.
