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."
49ers' Kyle Shanahan expects Jimmy Garoppolo to get better each week, excited to get to work
By David Bonilla
Jun 24, 2020
Kyle Shanahan spoke with the voice of the San Francisco 49ers, Greg Papa, during the team's virtual State of the Franchise event this week. The head coach was asked what he sees from his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, who isn't worried about recovering from an ACL injury this offseason.
"I think Jimmy had an unbelievable year last year," Shanahan said. "When you look at him statistically, just percentages and stuff of what he did, he's extremely accurate, kept us in some very good situations, and won a few games for us, too. He had a number of games where he had to come out huge on some 3rd-and-longs, some last-minute drives, and make some big plays that won us some games."
Shanahan noted Garoppolo's improvement from last offseason, to the start of the regular
49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo is better than Eagles' Carson Wentz right now, says ESPN host
By David Bonilla
11 hrs ago
Jimmy Garoppolo could become a top-10 NFL quarterback. That's what Max Kellerman of ESPN's First Take believes. To do so, he'll still need to prove himself in the playoffs. Garoppolo has shown himself to be a clutch passer during the regular season. His playoff-game performances earlier this year, however, have fueled the criticism from his doubters.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a franchise quarterback by the name of Carson Wentz, a 27-year-old signal-caller who many believe to be a rising star in the league. If Kellerman were to rank NFL quarterbacks right now, he might have to put Garoppolo ahead of Wentz.
That caused a bit of a heated
ESPN identifies 49ers-Texans trade that would be a win-win for both teams
By David Bonilla
Jun 25, 2020
ESPN's Field Yates named five win-win NFL trades on Thursday morning, all while noting that such deals are unlikely. NFL trades, in general, are rare compared to other leagues, but the ESPN insider went ahead with the task anyway.
The San Francisco 49ers were involved in one of the hypothetical trades, and it involved shipping off the team's second-round pick from 2018 — wide receiver Dante Pettis. Who would the Niners get in return? The Houston Texans' fourth-round selection from the same year, wide receiver Keke Coutee.
"Coutee -- taken in the 2018 draft, like Pettis -- provides San
