49ers film room: 49ers offense will go as far as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will allow it
How Jimmy Garoppolo continues to keep the 49ers offense efficient in third start of the season.
It took three games for Jimmy Garoppolo to finally look like an NFL quarterback. No, that is not an insult. There was much debate about, and criticism of, his performance versus Denver in week three when the 49ers offense scored 10 points and where he missed several throws and reads, step out of bounds in the end zone, and threw some ill-advised passes.
“That’s just who Jimmy is,” I and a lot of fans muttered several times while watching back that game tape. But, in a way, it is and isn’t who he is. It is because we have seen this same song and dance before. But it also isn’t because the week leading up to Denver was Garoppolo’s first immersive trip into a 2022 game plan installation with a group of first time players, some of whom he has no familiarity with at all, and some others who are familiar faces.
Until week four, Garoppolo had not taken any first team reps since the week leading up to the NFC Championship Game back in January. Then he had surgery on his shoulder and missed the entire spring practice schedule and only threw a few times in training camp on a side field while he rehabbed his throwing shoulder. It’s conceivable that all the missed time, even for a nine year veteran NFL quarterback, played a role in his early struggles versus Denver.
A lot of veteran quarterbacks also struggled in weeks one and two when the preseason started, largely because they did not practice all year until camp or missed entire portions of camp like Tom Brady.
There is further proof of this being the case as Garoppolo looked somewhat more comfortable running the offense versus the Rams in week four, culminating in one of the best performances in week five for an NFL quarterback.
Garoppolo stays efficient on third down
In week four, the 49ers were 5-12 in third down conversions. In week five, they were 7-12 on third down. The biggest reason the 49ers have converted first downs in the last two weeks is the efficient quarterbacking of Garoppolo. Through those two weeks, Garoppolo is 14-19, 232 yards, and two touchdowns with 11 of those throws going to convert 11 first downs. It is true that most of the yards are yards after the catch. But he’s also made several big time throws to convert as well.
Garoppolo was 8-9, 118 yards, and one touchdown on third down against Carolina. Five of those conversions on four drives directly contributed to 24 total points. Two of those on four drives were explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards and two of them went for gains of 18 yards each. Full context though, one of the third down conversions on the same drive where there were two third down conversions at 3rd-and-8 was on a screen pass to Kyle Juszczyk.
First play
On the first play, Garoppolo shows what this offense should look like when the quarterback takes a chance and hits the built-in explosive pass plays. In fact, a lot of his third down conversions look like this
The 49ers are running a flat-7 route combination with George Kittle on the “7” corner route and Juszczyk on the flat route.
It’s 3rd-and-6 and the Panthers are showing pressure with cover-1 behind, meaning it will likely only be a 5-man pressure because they need five in coverage to cover five receivers.
Garoppolo drops back to pass looking right down the right seam for the go route down the hash. Nothing is there so his eyes quickly go to the corner route. It is here where we would typically see him go to the flat immediately if nothing was open. His eyes never got to the flat route and Kittle is not open either but Garoppolo throws him open with a pass that allows Kittle to make an adjustment between the defender and the sideline. The defender is unable to affect this pass at all because Garoppolo placed it on Kittle’s back shoulder and just slightly behind.
Drive result: touchdown.
Second play
Garoppolo completed another explosive pass on 3rd-and-4 here to Tevin Coleman on a go route by the running back out wide.
The concept itself is something that Shanahan calls “Buffalo” and Coleman is running the alert go route on the backside of the concept.
The Panthers are showing another pressure look with no safeties aligned deep, suggesting the defensive play call is a cover-0 blitz with six rushers and five in coverage with no safety help.
Against a 6-man pressure/0 blitz with five in pass protection, the quarterback has to find the extra defender and confirm the rush before deciding where to throw. He took a rocket shot from the defender as he released the ball to the alert go route down the left sideline. He put enough under the pass that allowed Coleman to go up the ladder and make the catch.
Drive result: field goal.
Third play
Garoppolo connected with Brandon Aiyuk (No. 11) here for a gain of 18 yards on 3rd-and-8.
The 49ers are running a double dig route with a now slant underneath both dig routes as a checkdown to the bottom of the screen or left side of the offensive formation.
The Panther are in 2-deep safety shell disguised as cover-1 cross, a robber variation that has the backside safety away from the passing strength cutting the crosser in the middle of the field at the sticks.
The Panthers only send a four man rush at Garoppolo but the robber safety is something that has given him trouble in the past. As he takes the snap, he peeks at the robber safety coming to down to rob the middle of the field at the sticks and his eyes go to the outside dig route from the #2 receiver in the trips to the left, Aiyuk. Aiyuk widens his stem and creates good separation at the top of the route as Garoppolo’s eyes come back to that dig. He hits the window and the 49ers convert with an 18 yard gain.
Drive result: 1-yard touchdown run by Jeff Wilson.
Quarterback carries the offense
In addition to the third down conversions, Garoppolo delivered on other big time throws, hitting some tight windows, pushing the ball down field and beating the blitz, and taking chances by putting the ball in spots for his playmakers to do something with.
On one throw in the second quarter, Garoppolo hit a window over the middle of the field on a concept he never normally throws the backside dig route on and it is a very tough throw to make versus a 2-deep safety/quarters coverage shell.
The play call is a levels concept to the backside of the formation, the weak side. The passing strength to the left of the offensive formation is running an arrow concept that consists of a corner route, a flat route and an arrow that high-low the strong hook defender with the corner route. It is a passing concept designed to specifically hit that cover-2 hole shot on the corner route.
The defense is in cover-8, a Vic Fangio coverage call with cover-2 to the passing strength and the nickel traveling to that side, and quarters coverage on the weak side, the side the 49ers are running the levels too.
In any other game, Garoppolo most likely throws to Juszczyk on the short under route. The quarters coverage defenders expect that and they sit on the shallow underneath route. Garoppolo is throwing the ball before Aiyuk ever comes out of his break with excellent anticipation and timing to hit a small window between three defenders.
Receiver mistakes
He made several other good throws in this game but oftentimes his receivers let him down and killed drives. The Kittle fumble, Deebo had a couple of drops, Danny Gray slowed down on a deep post route, Aiyuk could not locate a back shoulder throw, etc.
Has Jimmy possibly turned a corner?
The short answer is we don’t know. There is enough data to be skeptical and say this was just a one off game. There is also some truth to the idea that perhaps he just needed the time and reps and is seeing things clearer than he has in the past. They do not need him to be Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. This offense is set up to be the complete opposite of that because of his limitations. But his limitations might not be as much of a factor if he can manage games this way and hit two to four of these throws week after week that get the team into scoring position and remain efficient on third down.
The question should not be “can Shanahan continue to scheme around his quarterback. It should be “can Jimmy give the offense those three to five throws downfield that are big time throws that Shanahan often schemes up?” He can manage the other aspects of the playbook right now and manage games well enough to win most of them.
If he can consistently hit these same throws though, this might be the best team in the NFC by the end of the season. Right now, a combination of Shanahan’s scheme/play calling and Jimmy’s ability to be consistent with the things he already does well is working. Will it continue to work? We’ll soon find out.