San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan saw great success with Matt Ryan in Year 2 together, so could the same be in store for Jimmy Garooppolo?
It didn’t take long for Jimmy Garoppolo to start turning things around for the San Francisco 49ers once he arrived in the Bay Area. The former Patriot started the final five games of the season for the Niners. And as most know by this point, the once-heir apparent to Tom Brady went undefeated over that span. In the five games that Garoppolo started for San Francisco, he threw for 1,542 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions with a completion rate of 67 percent, impressing even more than his stats would indicate.
Garoppolo, of course, is under the tutelage of head coach Kyle Shanahan, who has been lauded throughout the league for his ability to develop and coach up quarterbacks. His biggest achievement in his career, and arguably what landed him the job with the 49ers, was helping to lead Matt Ryan to win the 2016 MVP award as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.
During that MVP-winning season, Ryan and the Falcons offense were unstoppable under Shanahan’s guidance. The quarterback threw for 4,944 yards while tossing 38 touchdowns to a mere seven interceptions. However, it’s worth noting that in Shanahan’s first year in 2015, the success was not so easily come by for Ryan.
In 2015, Ryan and the Falcons went just 8-8. As for the numbers, Ryan threw for 4,591 yards, 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. So while he wasn’t bad, he certainly took a major step forward as he became more comfortable in Shanahan’s system. Even more interesting is when you compare those numbers to Garoppolo’s from last season in San Francisco.
Taking the numbers from Garoppolo’s five starts and extrapolating them over a 16-game season, he would have thrown for 4,934 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Yes, those numbers are shockingly close to what Ryan put up under Shanahan in his first year with Shanahan.
Comparisons in the NFL aren’t always 1-to-1. After all, the 49ers, despite improvements and returning players for 2018, don’t have a Julio Jones on their roster. However, they do have an immensely talented quarterback in Garoppolo who could just be touching his potential. What’s more, there is a level of comfort in an offensive system for quarterbacks that matters a great deal. Once a player is able to feel comfortable with every look and situation, he’s able to get closer to his ceiling.
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Expectations for Jimmy G and the Niners are already sky-high after his end to the 2017 season. However, those high expectations are somewhat warranted given the situation with him entering his second year playing under Shanahan (though his first year was abbreviated). This isn’t to say that Garoppolo will be the 2018 MVP — but if the pattern with Shanahan and quarterbacks can be trusted, Year 2 of this pairing could be a sight to behold.