Jimmy Garoppolo is a polarizing quarterback. Fans either seem to like him or blame him for everything, with a middle ground being a rarity.
The bottom line is that Garoppolo is a player with whom you can win. The San Francisco 49ers proved that in 2019. Unfortunately, his flaws will present themselves along the way.
By now, most have realized that Garoppolo is who he is. He's not going to improve enough to enter the discussion of the NFL's elite quarterbacks. However, as long as you have a roster strong enough to hide some of Garoppolo's faults, the quarterback can win you football games. Don't expect things to be perfect along the way, though.
On Friday, Rich Eisen spoke at length about Garoppolo, saying good and bad Jimmy was on display Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans. At this point, fans have to acknowledge the quarterback's limitations.
"So you saw last night, from the 49ers, why they want to stick with Garoppolo in 2021, and also why they were thinking, on the outset of 2021, what about 2022 and beyond?" said Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show. "[The 49ers said], 'I don't think Jimmy's the guy.' That's my first thought about seeing that game last night."
Of course, Eisen is referring to San Francisco trading up this past offseason to draft Garoppolo's eventual replacement—Trey Lance. Eisen also points to the 49ers' flirtation with nearly every available quarterback this offseason.
"What we saw last night is the reason the San Francisco 49ers stuck with Jimmy Garoppolo, and the reason why the San Francisco 49ers were thinking about not having Jimmy Garoppolo as their long-term option, all in the same game," Eisen added. "… He comes out, Jimmy G, red-hot. Red-hot. He looked terrific. And it looked like this team was going to go up by two scores.
"[Then he] throws an interception in the end zone. … Jimmy G misses throws. He's not as accurate as you need to be or need to have in your guy."
The loss complicates things for the 49ers, who are still sitting in the sixth seed of the NFC playoff picture. However, these final two games against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams become much more significant if the team hopes to continue playing beyond Week 18.
Below, you can listen to everything Eisen had to say about Garoppolo, Kyle Shanahan's decision-making, and what the loss means for the 49ers' playoff hopes.
