It's a dangerous game, defending San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Those who enter that arena are taking great risks. They can expect ridicule, mocking, boils, locusts and even the occasional death threat from some guy with two followers on Twitter. It can be as scary as watching Nick Mullens try to lead a game-winning drive...or Jim Tomsula trying to get through a press conference. But those who travel this lonely road are willing to take the bruises, for the good of the team.
I have seen countless fans, beat writers and national media trying to make the case that Garoppolo is so bad that a rookie, in his first couple of weeks of training camp, is ready to take his job. If Trey Lance has the hype train, Garoppolo has the hate train.
But I'm going to defend the 49ers starting quarterback for a moment. Make no mistake, I believe Lance will be great. But there are five reasons I am defending Garoppolo as the starter for now.
Reason #1: I put very little stock in training camp statistics.
There are some who cover the team, and give daily quarterback passing stats. I don't have any issue with that. In fact, I enjoy reading those. It's the people who take the stats, from practice reps, and use that to say Lance is already better than Garoppolo. That could very well be the case, but training camp stats won't be the reason we know Lance is ready. Just because one quarterback is completing a higher percentage of his training camp passes than the other, doesn't mean he is better.
Reason #2: We don't know the coaching points for training camp (or specific practice sessions).
I have heard former quarterbacks and coaches talk about how they will work on specific things, or scenarios, in training camp, much like a pitcher might work on a new pitch during spring training, or a hitter may toy with his batting stance. Training camp is a time to work on some of the finer points of the team's offense (or defense). It's possible that what Garoppolo is working on is a little different from what Lance is working on. Yes, they do much of this during the offseason. But they do some of it in training camp, as well.
Reason #3: We have to look at who they're facing (and playing with).
One particular beat writer, who really seems to dislike Garoppolo, likes to point out that he gets to play with the starting offensive line, while Lance is playing with a bunch of backups. This is true. But Garoppolo is also playing against the starting defense, while Lance is playing against backups.
Reason #4: Until we see Lance in some games, we can't know if he's ready.
I'm very excited about Lance's future. And he has exceeded my expectations for him so far. But until I see him playing against a defense that wants to take him out, and that has devised a game plan to stop him, I simply don't know how he will respond. Yes, he was the best athlete on the field in college. But defensive players in the NFL are as big, as strong, and as fast, as he is. We may learn a little on Saturday when Lance makes his 49ers debut against the Chiefs. But even preseason games don't tell the whole story.
Reason #5: Until Coach Kyle Shanahan says he's making a change, I'm sticking with Garoppolo.
I trust Shanahan more than I trust any beat writer, or reporter, or "expert" at ESPN. He is perhaps the sharpest offensive mind in the game today. There are some who say Lance is already better than Garoppolo. Maybe he is. Maybe Shanahan knows this, and is just waiting to be sure. Or maybe he can tell that Lance is not ready to take over. I'm confident Shanahan will get Lance ready to be a great quarterback. But until he announces Lance is the starter, I'm throwing my support to Garoppolo.
Those are my five reasons for defending Garoppolo. Cue the hate mail.
- Marc Adams
-
Written by:Speaker. Writer. Covering the San Francisco 49ers. Host of the 49ers Camelot show.
YouTube.com/@49ersCamelot
Find the 49ers Camelot show wherever you listen to your podcasts!
