San Francisco 49ers: Don’t expect Jimmy Garoppolo to win every game

The San Francisco 49ers have traversed the gamut of expectations with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, but slow down. Don’t expect him to win every game.

No matter how poor or successful a team’s season was, there are always major offseason questions on the front burner. The NFL turns over too much for even the best teams to advance a calendar year unscathed. Let’s continue the team-by-team overview with the San Francisco 49ers.

We have reached the hyperbolic epicenter of the 2018 NFL offseason. The San Francisco 49ers went 6-10 in 2017 yet feel like the favorites to win the next six Super Bowls. That positive buzz is thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo and his loss-less record. Otherwise, as one with common sense would expect, this roster is incredibly lacking. Don’t expect him to win every game like this.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the San Francisco 49ers in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

The Richard Sherman addition made sense for the San Francisco 49ers. The Jerick McKinnon one, less so. There are a lot of young players that need to get good really fast in order for this club to compete, most notably Solomon Thomas. He is the third straight defensive lineman the 49ers have taken with a first-round draft pick, along with DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead. This group needs to be exceptional, and it isn’t yet and may never get there. Elsewhere, I really liked the Weston Richburg signing for the offensive line, but centers don’t alter playoff outlooks.

Many folks think San Francisco will address linebacker holes with the ninth overall pick in the draft since Reuben Foster is facing potential jail time. The team might have gone in that direction even with Foster available. It would be smart, but the offense still lacks pass-catching talent. That must be addressed at some point. There are worse spots to be in than picking ninth overall and having a franchise quarterback locked up, but San Francisco is far from a perfect roster or a playoff lock.

Los Angeles is obviously ahead of it in the NFC West pecking order, but I feel like Arizona still is as well. Depending on how far you would expect Seattle to drop, SF could be primed for yet another last-place finish. Either that or Jimmy G actually never does lose a game, and the Niners go 16-0. I’m not saying I have a definitive read on which way the season will go, but I’d lean toward the former.

Dan Salem:

I love the direction that the San Francisco 49ers are headed. Finding your franchise quarterback will do that for a team and it seems rather likely that Garoppolo is that player for San Francisco. Now we must acknowledge our recency bias, the New England Patriots willingness to deal him, as well as the painfully small sample size we are using to anoint him. But the one test that always seems to hold true is the eye test and Garoppolo passes with flying colors.

I can’t say the same for the rest of the 49ers. They looked decent last season before Garoppolo took over, and he sparked them to a winning streak worth talking about. But who is going to effectively run the football for this offense? We do not know. Can Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin be consistent threats in the passing game? What about the defense? While I’m rooting for San Francisco to succeed, they have a steep hill to climb for the playoffs.

The 49ers have a tough schedule and play in an even tougher division. Their current roster must get better this offseason and I’m not talking about through the draft. Both sides of the football must improve through practice and preparation. The new offense must completely gel around Garoppolo before August and the defense must find its leader. San Francisco will not have a great season if they continue to play at the same level they did last year.

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Perhaps this entire debate comes down to expectations. If we simply expect San Francisco to be better than in 2017, then I fully believe they will. Its hard to envision them not improving after an entire offseason working together. I’ll go one step further and give them an 8-8 record or better, but its too early and too soon to put them in the playoffs. The NFC gauntlet is rough and I won’t write off Seattle until their demise actually happens. One player can make a team better, but that ceiling is lower than we’d like to believe.