When the 49ers emerge from the tunnel and ran onto the field, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo might be the only player who does so without a helmet.
When captured by Fox cameras on Sunday in Houston, Garoppolo could be seen yelling at his teammates trying to get them fired up. Defensive lineman DeForest Buckner said the new quarterback appealed to the defense with what he was saying.
“He said we’ve got to come out and play violent,” Buckner said. “Coming from him, everybody was pumped up.”
Whether knowing it or not, Garoppolo was repeating what defensive coordinator Robert Saleh often says to
his players and that’s to play with extreme violence. That message seems slightly misplaced coming from a quarterback, whoae job often doesn’t entail violence.
But Garoppolo earned the right to speak on the topic after proving he can take a hit. In Houston, he was hit nine times, including enduring two of defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s best shots. While Garoppolo doesn’t exact violence, he’s endured plenty, and that’s allowed him license to speak on it.
Saleh, who didn’t hear Garoppolo’s speech, nevertheless, appreciated the sentiment.
“Extreme violence man. That’s everything. It is cool. It is part of our deal. Extreme violence, attacking the ball,” Saleh said. “He’s been great. He’s one of the guys, just from my little cocoon of defense it feels like the guys are rallying around him.”
Indeed they are. When safety Adrian Colbert posted a short video on his twitter account after the 49ers’ win in Houston, he spotted Garoppolo on the field. “Hey Franchise!” Colbert said as he went over to Garoppolo.
Obviously, the defense appreciates what Garoppolo is doing on offense by keeping drives alive, which allows the defense to rest. Also, when Garoppolo led five scoring drives in the second half, the defense could then move the slot cornerback out of the box, which helped the team hold Texans’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopskins to just one catch for 5 yards in the second half. With a lead, the defense didn’t need the slot cornerback to help out against the run.
Garoppolo’s good play is making the 49ersl feel more like a team, and that coupled with his natural leadership means Garoppolo can say anything he wants to the entire team, and they are bound to listen to what he has to say.
