Over the past few weeks, several 49ers have come to Jimmy Garoppolo's defense, both prompted and unprompted.
Kyle Shanahan isn't surprised that everyone from George Kittle to Deebo Samuel, Fred Warner, and Nick Bosa have Garoppolo's back. He knows the respect the 30-year-old signal-caller commands in the locker room and is adamant that, stats aside, the 49ers wouldn't be one win away from the Super Bowl if not for Garoppolo.
“It shows what our guys think of him," Shanahan told reporters Thursday. "And it also shows our guys probably are on social media. They probably feel a need to stick up for him. I know his social media probably hasn't been that great, so I'm glad they're sticking up for him because what they say is the truth. Jimmy is one of the main reasons we're here. He's done an unbelievable job. People don't give him enough credit. Yeah, we win as a team, and that's why he doesn't always have the same stats that some of these MVP candidates have, but Jimmy's a very good quarterback and he doesn't worry about any of that stuff. He doesn't worry about social media. That's why he's a little similar to me, he probably doesn't have as much of an idea as that stuff.
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SIGN UP HERE "And he never really changes and I think that's what people respect the most about him. He's gone through some ups and downs while he’s been here, like most quarterbacks do, but he's the same guy. And that's why people, first and foremost, respect him as a human as a person. And then the way that he goes and battles on the field, everyone knows how tough he is, everyone knows how hard he'll compete running with the ball and our guys also know he can throw pretty well too.”
Garoppolo entered the season knowing it likely would be his last in a 49ers uniform. But Trey Lance's arrival didn't change his approach. Win, lose or draw, Garoppolo remains even-keeled, and his calming presence has the 49ers believing they are a team of destiny.
“Honestly, I’m impressed with his demeanor, just as a leader,” Bosa said of Garoppolo after the 49ers' upset win over the Green Bay Packers. “A lot of people give him crap for whatever. But he is as cool and collected as a quarterback as I have ever had, and he’s a perfect guy to lead us to where we need to go.”
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Garoppolo has been poked, prodded, ripped, and shredded this season. The 49ers struggled out of the gate, and calls for Lance to replace Garoppolo reached an all-time high when San Francisco was 3-5 heading into Week 10.
But Garoppolo stayed the course, tuned out the noise, and now has the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, where they will face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
“Friends, family, they seem to remind me of those things," Garoppolo said Wednesday when asked about blocking out criticism he has faced this season. "I think just knowing yourself and knowing who you are plays a big part in that because if you got lost in it and start believing some of those things, it could take you down the wrong road. It’s just about knowing yourself as a player, as a person, and as long as these guys in this locker room have faith in me and believe in me, that’s all I really care about.”
Despite the tidal wave of criticism he has faced this season, Garoppolo has never punched back. But he doesn't need to, the rest of the 49ers do it for him.