3 areas where 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo can improve over rest of 2019
By Peter Panacy
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has had up-and-down moments over much of 2019, yet these three areas can use improvement over the final six games.
In all honesty, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is right about where most upper-echelon signal-callers have been at this point in their on-field developments.
It’s important to remember, despite Garoppolo being 28 years old, he has only started 20 games since joining the NFL with the New England Patriots back in 2014. And despite some good and bad moments over his tenure as the Niners’ starter, it’s important to note he owns a 15-3 record since San Francisco acquired him midway through the 2017 season.
Quarterback wins are something of a silly stat, of course. After all, football is a team game, and equating wins and losses to a quarterback’s overall success is close to basing a baseball pitcher’s overall abilities solely on his record.
Yet 2019 has been about as indicative a piece of evidence for Garoppolo’s development. The 49ers own a 9-1 record this year and remain atop the NFC. And while a lot of that has to do with San Francisco’s stout defense, a strong running game (at times) and various other factors, Garoppolo’s ability to successfully command the offense this season has been paramount.
And for the most part, he’s done well enough.
Through 11 weeks this year, Garoppolo owns a 68.8 completion percentage, which is sixth best among qualifiers. Additionally, Garoppolo’s 97.7 passer rating ranks a respectable 13th among the same group. His 18 touchdowns thrown is tied for eighth, along with the Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Ryan and the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson.
All that said, however, Garoppolo could stand to show some improvements in some key areas over San Francisco’s final six games of 2019.