San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana joined Good Morning Football on Wednesday morning and was asked about the current quarterback on his former team, Jimmy Garoppolo. He was explicitly asked about his thoughts on Garoppolo's performance in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Garoppolo, of course, has shouldered much of the blame this offseason for the 49ers fourth-quarter collapse and ultimate defeat in that February matchup. A missed opportunity on a deep throw to Emmanuel Sanders fueled that criticism.
That performance came after one of the more impressive seasons by a 49ers quarterback in franchise history.
"I actually thought he played pretty well (in the Super Bowl)," Montana said. "He misses that one throw, obviously a big play in the game, didn't have an opportunity to come back.
"We've all missed throws. Right before 'The Catch,' I missed Freddie Solomon wide open. I threw the ball three feet over his head. He was only seven or eight yards away from me. It happens to all of us.
"He'll be back. He's a good player, and you've just got to give him more opportunities to be in that situation."
Garoppolo has been taking part in training camp walk-throughs without the knee brace he wore all last season as he returned from the ACL injury that shortened his 2018 campaign.
"Get that brace off of him, you feel a little bit different," Montana explained. "He's not a runner anyway, but you feel a lot more comfortable. I had -- not a serious knee injury -- but I had six cleanouts in my knee, and they wanted me to wear a brace. You just can't get used to it.
"Hopefully, you'll see a fresher, different player this year. Although, he had a pretty good year last year. I look forward to him doing the same thing. Hopefully, they get back to the game again, and then you'll see a Chiefs-49ers matchup again."
Added Montana while laughing: "Although, they've got to get through Tampa."
