Jimmy Garoppolo’s leap upon the NFL stage has been so spectacular, he’s drawn comparisons to great quarterbacks of the past, including former teammate Tom Brady. Some have even gone so far as to mention Joe Montana.
However those close to him have compared Garoppolo to some quarterbacks no one would suspect. Coach Kyle Shanahan told a Fox television crew before the 49ers played the Texans that Garoppolo reminded him of Marc Bulger.
Even though Bulger kept the “Greatest Show of Turf” going for the St. Louis Rams after Kurt Warner’s departure, not many fans remember Bulger as a fantastic quarterback. Yet in Bulger’s nine years with the Rams, he kept the team competitive (2001-9).
What Shanahan said was that Bulger’s ability to throw with a quick-twitch upper body reminded him of Garoppolo. Garoppolo can also stand in the pocket and release the ball fast without a firm base with his feet.
Meanwhile, 49ers’ radio game analyst Tim Ryan likens Garoppolo’s ability to shield himself from big hits to Warner.
“He throws off the foot, and dips his head right out and goes with the hit rather than getting smashed in the grill,” Ryan told Murph and Mac on Monday morning. That technique reminded him of Warner.
“What made (Warner) who he is and why he’s in the Hall of Fame, he would hang back there knowing he was getting to get tattooed waiting for Torry Holt or Isaac Bruce to run that 16-yard dig, or 16-yard in-cut. He would repeatedly deliver it on time on the money off his back foot and get smashed, and he always got up.”
He sees Garoppolo using the same move.
“(Garoppolo) throws off the foot, and dips his head right out and goes with the hit rather than getting smashed in the grill.”
The best of Bulger and the best of Warner would make any quarterback envious. To have a quick-twitch ability and the courage to stand in and make the throw and cover up are tremendous qualities and one reason Garoppolo has thrown for more yards than any other 49ers’ quarterback in his first two starts.