Why one rival coach believes 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo deserves more props

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Jimmy Garoppolo has been hyper-analyzed this offseason unlike any 49ers quarterback in some time. The signal-caller led the 49ers all the way to Super Bowl LIV through a dominant 13-3 season, and finished within the top 10 among NFL QBs in touchdown passes, passer rating and yards per pass attempt in 2019.

But the 49ers' incredible run game and hard-hitting defense made many anoint Garoppolo as nothing more than a game manager. In Mike Sando of The Athletic's latest quarterback tier rankings, Jimmy G came in amid the third tier of QBs, finishing as the No. 17 overall QB in a poll of 50 coaches and executives from around the NFL. One rival coach, however, doesn't understand why pundits have been so reluctant to give Garoppolo credit for the 49ers' rise.

“Garoppolo had a good season,” a coach from a rival NFC West team told Sando. “I don’t know why people have a hard time giving him props. I think he is what he is and it’s OK. Not everybody is Aaron Rodgers. We haven’t given out a bunch of ones this year. Can he strap it on his back and win it if he has to? I don’t know if he is that, either. They had such a dynamic run game, he kind of hid in behind that. I think he’s a three and he’s gotta prove it. Last year was his first full year of doing it. That is a good start.”

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Coach Kyle Shanahan has expressed unbridled confidence in Garoppolo this offseason, understanding that the QB has less experience on the field than most signal-callers at his age.

"That you're just getting started," Shanahan told NBC Sports' Chris Simms on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast. "Last year was your first year playing quarterback for a full season. You've never had longer than a three-game stretch. Last year, you got 16 and look how good you did. Look how far we got and 'Oh my god, we almost got all the way.' But that's not the finished product. 

"With Jimmy, I know everyone thinks he's been in the league so long because he's gotten a second contract and everything, but quarterbacks with his ability, they get better the more they play and the more situations they are in. That's the key for Jimmy is just to know that and keep doing it."

[RELATED: Raheem Mostert, 49ers finalize revised contract]

Another executive gave a much less flattering appraisal of Garoppolo's ability to Sando.

“He’s good, not great,” an exec said. “He does some good things with a good cast. You worry about the deep ball, the consistent accuracy, but he’s not bad. Just when you think he is going to be a two, he does something and you are like, ‘Damn.’ Even in the playoff game against Minnesota, he wasn’t very good. He got lucky a few times and they just ran the ball, played good defense.”

2020 will be a critical season for Garoppolo. After the offseason rumors about the 49ers being intrigued by Tom Brady in free agency, Jimmy G has the chance to silence all the doubters and prove that he's worth every dollar of the $137.5 million contract he signed with the organization in 2018.

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