Shanahan gives QB job and praise
At times during his weekly news conference, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan wore a sly grin as he fielded a stream of questions about his new quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Shanahan didn’t seem to mind one bit.
One day after Garoppolo’s triumphant debut as San Francisco’s starter, Shanahan turned the obvious into the official. Garoppolo will start again Sunday, when the 49ers (2-10) meet the Texans (4-8) in Houston.
Even if his inaugural start wasn’t always artistic — the 49ers didn’t score any touchdowns in their 15-14 victory over Chicago — Garoppolo is injecting welcome excitement into an otherwise desultory season. Shanahan essentially acknowledged this in talking about reviewing video of Sunday’s game.
“It was fun to watch,” he said Monday. “You could tell Jimmy made some impressive throws. There were definitely situations where he got a little confused, and he still was able to make plays. It was very impressive to keep his poise and make some plays when things weren’t perfect.”
Garoppolo completed 26 of 37 passes for 293 yards against the Bears, with one interception. His ability to improvise, as Shanahan suggested, will serve him well at a position where improvisation is part of the job requirement.
This clearly did not go unnoticed among Garoppolo’s teammates. They heaped praise on him after the game, and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin even offered to give up his first-row seat on the team bus (with other players cheering) when Garoppolo boarded, according to ESPN’s Jim Trotter.
Shanahan didn’t see the exchange, but he smiled and said it was smart for wide receivers to get quarterbacks to like them.
Some of this Garoppolo fixation no doubt can be traced to the freshness of a midseason change at the game’s most important position. To hear Shanahan tell it, Garoppolo’s obvious skills and likable demeanor also helped him win over his teammates.
“I think they’ve really enjoyed the guy here over the last few weeks,” Shanahan said. “They recognize the talent and they’re pulling for the person. Everyone is confident he’s going to be a good player here, but no one totally knows what to expect in the first game.”
The 49ers probably expect Garoppolo to direct an actual touchdown drive in his next start. They stalled all five times they crossed Chicago’s 20-yard line, a habit that usually is difficult to overcome.
Shanahan mostly blamed penalties for his team’s redzone inefficiency. Tackle Trent Brown’s holding penalty moved the 49ers back to the 19 on their first drive, and falsestart calls on tight end George Kittle and Goodwin took them from the 7 to the 17 on a thirdquarter drive.
Still, the 49ers also must improve within the shadow of the goal line if they want more than field goals.
“The tighter it gets, the more exact you have to be,” Shanahan said. “Everything gets tighter and the windows get smaller, so you have to execute very well. We didn’t as a whole team. It wasn’t just Jimmy.”
If nothing else, Garoppolo’s presence makes the season’s final four games relentlessly intriguing. Shanahan, after patiently waiting to put his new toy on the field, expects the playing time to accelerate Garoppolo’s acclimation to the 49ers’ offense.
“You have to go through the muscle memory and the situations of doing it, so you can react,” Shanahan said. “Jimmy’s out there thinking a lot. I feel like you play your best when you can go on autopilot and you’re just in the zone making plays.
“The more he keeps doing it — and he’s going to do it here for five weeks in a row — I think he’ll absorb more and he’ll be more decisive.”