San Francisco 49ers: 5 simple reasons Jimmy Garoppolo gets even better in 2018
By Peter Panacy
It’s safe to say San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was pretty good in his Niners stretch last year. And here are five reasons why he’ll be even better in 2018.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was a pretty big difference maker for the San Francisco 49ers last season.
If you had any doubts, just chew on this stat (h/t Chris Wilson of Niner Noise). Before Garoppolo started in Week 12, the Niners were eighth from last in offensive-drive scoring percentage (29 percent).
With Garoppolo under center, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense averaged a score on 62 percent of their drives.
Best in the league.
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Date | G# | Age | Tm | Opp | Result | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | |
| 1 | 2017-11-26 | 11 | 26-024 | SFO | SEA | L 13-24 | 2 | 2 | 100.00 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 143.7 | ||
| 2 | 2017-12-03 | 12 | 26-031 | SFO | @ | CHI | W 15-14 | * | 26 | 37 | 70.27 | 293 | 0 | 1 | 82.4 |
| 3 | 2017-12-10 | 13 | 26-038 | SFO | @ | HOU | W 26-16 | * | 20 | 33 | 60.61 | 334 | 1 | 1 | 92.2 |
| 4 | 2017-12-17 | 14 | 26-045 | SFO | TEN | W 25-23 | * | 31 | 43 | 72.09 | 381 | 1 | 0 | 106.8 | |
| 5 | 2017-12-24 | 15 | 26-052 | SFO | JAX | W 44-33 | * | 21 | 30 | 70.00 | 242 | 2 | 1 | 102.4 | |
| 6 | 2017-12-31 | 16 | 26-059 | SFO | @ | LAR | W 34-13 | * | 20 | 33 | 60.61 | 292 | 2 | 2 | 84.4 |
| 6 Games | 5-1-0 | 120 | 178 | 67.42 | 1560 | 7 | 5 | 96.2 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/12/2018.
That’s an elite-level contribution, which justifies the massive five-year, $137.5 million contract he inked with San Francisco this offseason.
If Garoppolo stays on the same level, the 49ers have themselves an awfully good quarterback.
Yet there are more than a few reasons why he could be even better this season. Here are five that make too much sense.