SANTA CLARA — To Jimmy Garoppolo, a patient man in an impatient environment, it was simply a matter of time.
When Garoppolo was vilified for stepping out of the back of the end zone for a safety and the 49ers were 1-for-10 on third down in an 11-10 loss to Denver in Week 3, there was a collective groan that stretched throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
Two months later, Garoppolo is the toast of the town — a quarterback in search of a Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl who looks good enough to accomplish both.
It’s a far cry from throwing on a side field after shoulder surgery and being a non-participant until determining the best course of action was to return as the backup to Trey Lance.
“I know a lot people don’t want to hear this, but I didn’t go to training camp with these guys,” Garoppolo said Friday. “I know I played a lot of football with them, but not from the timing aspect. Going back to Denver, we were going through training camp that week of practice. We’ve gotten better each week. Guys are on the same page, talking the same language.”
Rather than worry about public perception, whether it be hyper-critical or fawning, Garoppolo is focused on keeping the 49ers (6-4) on track Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (4-7) at Levi’s Stadium.
“That’s life as a quarterback,” Garoppolo said. “It’s always going to be a roller coaster. Every season is. No one is going to be perfect the whole season. The good teams find a way to be right down the middle during the ups and downs. A lot of things are said out there. A lot of people have their opinions, but the locker room is steady.”
Garoppolo is completing 67 percent of his passes for 2,159 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating of 104.1 trails only Miami’s Tua Tagovaiola, (118.4), Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (107.3), and Philadephia’s Jalen Hurts (106.5).
His last interception came in Week 7 against Kansas City, and Garoppolo’s streak of 100 passes without a pick is the second-longest of his career behind his streak of 103 in 2017.
Garoppolo’s ability to throw with proper touch in short range has enabled receivers such as Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and others to gain yards after the catch. As much as those deep into analytics concern themselves with “air yards,” the ability to feather a ball to a receiver who can catch it on the dead run in short range is an important skill.
“Jimmy to me is somebody who plays beyond the Xs and Os,” McCaffrey said. “He understands the game and the (short passes) are not easy and not everyone has it. He has it, and he’s got that special knack to know where to throw the ball and when to throw it. He feels space so well, he makes our job easy.”
Steve Young, who on his weekly show on KNBR-680 has expressed concern about Garoppolo and the amount of trust he and coach Kyle Shanahan have in each other, heard talk from fans in Mexico City who wondered why he was so critical of the 49ers’ starting quarterback.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want Jimmy around for a couple of months. I want him around for 10 years,” Young said. “The most exciting thing for me is I want Jimmy to become the full measure of who he is, with this offense.”
Young said the offense is perfect not only for Garoppolo but an offense he would have loved to play in himself.
“If I could choose somewhere, I would choose here,” Young said. “Jimmy, if he could choose, I’ll choose for him . . . trust me on this, James Garoppolo. There’s no place you want to be other than right here.”
But what about the presence of Lance and the concerns over salary and the salary cap?
“Don’t worry about it,” Young said. “What I know is you never have enough great quarterbacks. Never. I want him here for 10 years.”
Young hitched a ride home on the 49ers charter from Mexico City after his ESPN duties but didn’t have a chance to talk with Garoppolo. Garoppolo said he didn’t even realize Young was on the plane.
As for the next 10 years, Garoppolo isn’t looking past the Saints on Sunday. His restructured contract awards Garoppolo free agency at the end of the season but he recoiled when asked about the future.
“I had to worry about the red zone today, man,” Garoppolo said. “I’ll worry about that at the end of the year. There’s too much stuff going on, especially in a short week like this.”
Omenihu coming up big
Coaches don’t necessarily consider Profootballfocus.com as the gospel when it comes to breaking down numbers, but based on video evaluation, staffer Jeff Deeney came up with an interesting stat — over the last two games, defensive end Charles Omenihu has 14 pressures. That’s tied with teammate Nick Bosa and Buffalo’s Von Miller over the last two games (not including the Bills’ game on Thanksgiving).
Omenihu, at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, is a four-year veteran out of Texas. He has four sacks, tying his career high with the Houston Texans in 2020. He was an in-season acquisition by the 49ers last season for a sixth-round draft pick in 2023 and looks like a bargain.
“Charles has done a great job,” defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s getting better each week, applying pressure to the quarterback. Bosa may get most of the attention because he actually gets the quarterback down a lot more and he’s our best player.”
