Is Garoppolo just another Steve DeBerg?
An individual who has followed the 49ers for years has an idea about Jimmy Garoppolo: “He reminds me of Steve DeBerg,” said the individual.
For those unfamiliar with DeBerg, that’s not exactly high praise. Or complete disparagement.
DeBerg had a lengthy career in the NFL, three years of which (1978-80) he spent with the 49ers at the start of the Bill Walsh era, which began in 1979.
The Niners would move the ball, and then in a critical situation DeBerg would be intercepted. He invariably made the big mistake.
As Garoppolo did Thursday night when San Francisco couldn’t hold on to a 10-0 halftime lead and was beaten 20-17 by the Tennessee Titans.
Jimmy G threw a couple of interceptions, one from Tennessee’s 8-yard line in the first period, and also missed an open man in the end zone in the second half. And while the defense, the Niners’ strength, could be faulted, the quarterback’s failures were inescapable.
“I thought we should have been up more, that was for sure,” was the assessment of head coach Kyle Shanahan. “I thought we could have got three scores with those drives. We didn’t.”
Not with Garoppolo missing receivers or, worst of all, throwing when nobody was open and no worse than a field goal assured — unless the other team gets the ball.
Which it did to halt two of the chances.
So maybe it’s unfair in a team sport in which offense, defense and special teams are involved. But one man has the ball and decides what he’s going to do with it.
“We were rolling early on,” said Garoppolo, “and in the middle just kind of got a little sluggish. It’s tough when you let a win like this slip away.”
Tougher when literally you throw it away.
Turnovers are killers at every level of football. The Niners had two, the interceptions, the Titans zero.
The Niners are 8-7 this season and still in the wild-card chase. But they are 1-6 when Garoppolo throws at least one interception, as opposed to 7-0 when he doesn’t have one.
Jimmy G was the quarterback for a Niners team in a Super Bowl, something DeBerg was unable to accomplish. Yet the Patriots traded Garoppolo to San Francisco when he seemed to be the heir apparent to Tom Brady.
One wonders if Patriots coach Bill Belichick sensed a deficiency.
The future of Garoppolo’s career with the Niners is a mystery. The Niners traded three first-round selections to Miami for the right to make the pick in April that brought them quarterback Trey Lance.
Shanahan and his staff determined Garoppolo this year would be more efficient than a rookie, no matter how qualified and regarded Lance might be.
That followed the Bill Walsh philosophy. He suffered through the DeBerg seasons while Joe Montana was getting acclimated and confident.
A week ago, Garoppolo was exactly what he needed to be, the Niners winning at Cincinnati. Four days later, he was a quarterback who put his team in distress.
This Sunday, San Francisco has a bye, a time perhaps to reflect and second-guess. The season continues with a home game against the woeful Texans and then one at L.A. against the Rams.
The presumption is Garoppolo will start at quarterback in both. And that he’ll play well enough to get his team to the postseason.
Then probably, Trey Lance takes over.
But who knows how good Lance might be — the next Tom Brady or the next Jimmy Garoppolo, who was supposed to take over for Brady but never did?