© Kyle Terada | 2020 Oct 11
I get it, we live in a world where we have to feed the ‘Take Machine’. I understand.
Runner-on-2nd-in-extras in MLB? Hell, no!
Giannis to the Warriors? Make it happen now, even if the cost is exorbitant!
Gabe Kapler is/is not the right guy to win a World Series for the Giants? My side is right, your side is wrong!
That brings us to a guy we seem to frequently write about here at the Jock Blog: Jimmy G.
(I just felt the pulsating waves of hot takes coming through the screen.)
And why I feel so guilty about not coming at you with a sizzling hot take about why the 49ers need to dump Garoppolo as soon as the 2020 season is over.
Because I’m not convinced they have to dump Garoppolo.
Because I’m not convinced that they can easily find someone better. (Yeah, I’m talking to you, Kirk Cousins; and you, aging Matt Ryan.)
And because I’m still interested in watching him play out this wayward, weird, hungover season to see what he can do.
I know, I know. It would be so much more fun if I said “Garoppolo has proven he’s not the guy!” Or, “Garoppolo had his chance to win the Super Bowl and he blew it!” Or, “Just watch the film — he can’t read the field like elite QBs!”
I tread lightly here when I echo the words of the great Joe Rogan on our sound board: “I understand.”
(Rogan, by the way, said this after UFC fighter Derrick Lewis told him he removed his shorts because “my balls was hot.” Rogan’s two-word response, “I understand” has come to be viewed on our show as one of the all-time ad-libs under live TV fire.)
Anyway, I do understand the complaints about Garoppolo. There is plenty of film on him missing open looks at last year’s Super Bowl to have you scrambling for the antacids and lighting prayer candles under your Joe Montana posters. (Does the Jock Blog audience remember Joe Montana, or did I just date myself?)
And the fact that I’ve had to dedicate multiple Jock Blogs over the past two years defending Jimmy G means that something is up. Where there is smoke of incompletions and interceptions, there is often fan fire.
But I’m not there yet.
I still see enough in Garoppolo to want to see more. I still believe that, given decent protection and Kyle Shanahan’s oh-my-God-look-how-open-that-guy-was offense, Garoppolo can win a lot of games for the 49ers.
And I want to see how he handles this year of discontent.
Life ain’t always a bowl of cherries, sports fans. The 49ers are not having a dream season. They’ve lost Nick Bosa, one of the top-20 players in the NFL. Their wise elder cornerback, Richard Sherman, has yet to step on the field. DeForest Buckner is gone, and Javon Kinlaw is just a puppy. And you know the name ‘Brian Allen’ for all the wrong reasons.
It’s been bad, my dudes.
Now comes The Schedule From Hell, seven games where the 49ers could, theoretically, go 0-7.
So let’s see how Jimmy G handles this stuff. George Kittle has told us that Garoppolo is the team’s best leader. Let’s see him lead the team against the Rams on Sunday night (ankle permitting), even if it means he only throws the ball 18 times. Let’s see him develop Brandon Aiyuk the way he did Deebo Samuel last year. Let’s see the 49ers face the challenge, and see how they respond.
Winners are built through adversity; or, as the old 1980s weight room tee shirt read, “Tough Times Don’t Last/Tough People Do.” Just typing that made me want to rip off a set of bench press at the local Gold’s Gym.
So, Jimmy, if you want to stop being a Jock Blog topic, go do it, man. Play smart. Find open guys. Throw the ball away if you have to. Grow as a QB.
The guy has only started 29 games. He’s 22-7. He’s done something right to get to this point.
Now, go do more.