Jimmy Garoppolo has been 'as good as advertised, if not better' for 49ers
With Kyle Shanahan calling the plays and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo executing them with astounding efficiency, the San Francisco 49ers' 1-10 start to the season feels like a distant memory and the franchise's future appears bright.
Garoppolo, an Arlington Heights native, completed 31 of 43 passes for a career-high 381 yards in Sunday's 25-23 comeback win over the Titans, the 49ers' third consecutive victory since Garoppolo replaced the injured C.J. Beathard as the starter.
Garoppolo, the former Rolling Meadows High star who was acquired from the New England Patriots in October for a second-round pick, was at his best in the fourth quarter, completing 11 of 14 passes for 180 yards and leading a pair of scoring drives in the final four minutes.
After Ryan Succop gave the Titans a 23-22 lead with a 50-yard field goal with 1:07 to play, the 49ers began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Garoppolo completed three consecutive passes to three different receivers for 45 yards, setting up Robbie Gould's winning field goal as time expired.
"He looked poised as can be," Shanahan said of the 26-year-old Garoppolo.
"I knew he was a great player; we all did," 49ers guard Brandon Fusco said. "We didn't know he was this special."
Garoppolo became the first 49ers quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in consecutive games since Jeff Garcia in 2000 and the first 49ers quarterback to win his first three starts since Y.A. Tittle over the 1951 and 1952 seasons. Including his two wins as a starter with the Patriots during Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension at the start of last season, Garoppolo is the first NFL quarterback to win his first five starts since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.
It's remarkable how quickly Garoppolo, who was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft out of Eastern Illinois, has grasped Shanahan's offense. In 2015, the first of Shanahan's two years as the offensive coordinator in Atlanta, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan admitted to being a little overwhelmed by Shanahan's scheme. Last season, Ryan won MVP honors and led the Falcons to the Super Bowl.
"He won't fully be there, I believe, until next year," Shanahan said after Garoppolo was named the starter.
If the quarterback who has shredded opposing defenses for the past three weeks isn't "fully there," it's scary to think what he'll be able to accomplish with a full offseason under Shanahan's tutelage.
"I set pretty high expectations for myself and I hold myself to a pretty high standard," said Garoppolo, who has a 98.0 QB rating and is completing 69 percent of his passes this season. "It's a work in progress."
"He's been just as good as advertised, if not better," Shanahan said after Sunday's game. "I've really enjoyed working with him and I've enjoyed game day with him. It gets a little bit easier for both of us each week, and hopefully that will continue."