Richard Sherman sent a loud message to Jimmy Garoppolo's critics after San Francisco's 37-8 beatdown against Green Bay on Sunday night: Stop hating on the 49ers QB.
“What else can the guy do? He’s helping his football team win football games, and he deserves a ton more credit for that," the 49ers cornerback said as part of a fiery rant to the media.
But of course, questions surrounding Jimmy G continued on Monday morning. Despite Garoppolo outplaying Aaron Rodgers on his way to posting his highest passer rating with the 49ers, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith still isn't a believer.
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"When Jimmy G plays against a defense the caliber of his own defense in San Francisco, come talk to me," Smith said Monday on ESPN's "First Take." "Aaron Rodgers had to go against somebody different than Jimmy G had to go against. Let's pump the breaks on that."
Garoppolo picked apart the Packers, completing 14 of his 20 pass attempts for 253 yards passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a 145.8 passer rating.
While the Packers don't have as strong of a defense as the 49ers, Garoppolo became just the third QB this season to throw multiple touchdowns against Green Bay without getting intercepted.
Stephen A. went on to compliment Jimmy G in certain aspects, but refuses to call him elite (nobody asked) and wouldn't give the quarterback any credit for the 49ers' demolition of the Packers, who entered Sunday as the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
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"I can't ignore the fact that Jimmy G has completed 68 percent of his passes," Smith said. "I'm not gonna get on him about that. But 20 touchdowns, 10 interceptions. I mean, c'mon now. There are plenty of times where if it had to be in Jimmy G's hands, we don't know. ... Jimmy G's got skills, he's no scrub.
"I think he's worth the $72 million he's getting in guarantees in today's quarterback market."
There's no doubt Garoppolo wishes he had some of his interceptions back this season. He also has dealt with multiple injuries to the offensive line, a scattered wide receiver group and the two-game absence of tight end George Kittle -- the 49ers' best player.
[RELATED: Garoppolo believes 49ers' locker room has Super Bowl mindset]
Jimmy G is far from elite right now, but the 49ers to this point don't need him to be. The recently-turned 28-year-old is 18-3 in his NFL career as a starter, has one of the top completion percentages in the league and a top-10 passer rating (100.6) among QBs who haven't missed a game this season.
Week by week, Garoppolo seems to be improving in his first full season under coach Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers are sick of the hate, but as long as they stay in the spotlight, it likely won't stop.
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