© Mark J. Rebilas | 2020 Feb 2
The ‘Summer of Garoppolo Slander’ continues.
In an offseason where the only consistant conversation surrounding the 49ers’ quarterback has been how long his future with the team will be (should they trade him for Tom Brady? What about Aaron Rodgers?) the latest dig comes via an unlikely source: Kyle Shanahan’s best friend Chris Simms.
Simms, a former quarterback himself, is an NFL analyst for Bleacher Report in addition to being old college buddies with Garoppolo’s head coach. Nobody can accuse that relationship of affecting his analysis, however, as Simms ranked Jimmy G 20th in his ranking of the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL.
The names finishing directly above him? At No. 19 is Derek Carr who will be fighting for a starting job with Marcus Mariota. No. 18 is Buffalo’s John Allen. No. 17 is 38-year-old Phillip Rivers.
“As quick as his release is and how he doesn’t need to step into throws to make throws when the pocket is clean, and I need you to step on the pedal a little bit, the ball can flutter, it might not get there, it’s batted down. A lot of the times, it’s because he throws flat-footed instead of getting his feet underneath him or a hitch step involved. Those are some of the problems that lead to some of his negative plays on the field.”
When asked if Shanahan is limited by having Garoppolo under center, Simms said, “probably.”
Sure Garoppolo’s 49ers went to the Super Bowl in his first year as a starter, a season in which we was coming off a torn ACL no less, but recency bias means his questionable playoff performances are at the top of everyone’s mind. The potential game-winning TD miss to Emmanuel Sanders certainly doesn’t help either.
It’s not fair, but unless Garoppolo wins a Super Bowl, or starts putting up MVP-caliber numbers, he’s not going to get the love he deserves. That’s what happens when you’re the QB of a franchise who once had Joe Montana and Steve Young calling the shots.