Jimmy Garoppolo‘s first two games of the season have been a
mixed bag
Malcolm Smith
Color Rush Jersey , with his shining moments counterbalanced by mistakes.A
stern challenge awaits San Francisco’s young quarterback Sunday when the 49ers
travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.“We
know it’s going to be loud,” Garoppolo said before Wednesday’s practice. “I
played there my rookie year (with New England) and it was rocking. So we know
what we’re in for.”Sunday’s game features an intriguing matchup of two young
quarterbacks who benefited from the expert tutelage of the veterans they once
played behind.After serving as a backup to Tom Brady for three seasons,
Garoppolo was traded from New England to San Francisco and looked sensational in
five games to close out the 2017 season, which led to a five-year, $137.5
million contract for the 26-year-old.Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes soaked
in all he could from Alex Smith as a rookie in 2017. Smith was traded to
Washington in the offseason, and Mahomes has responded with an NFL-best 10
touchdowns so far, the most by a quarterback in NFL history over the first two
games. He has yet to be picked off.While the 49ers’ defense has a challenge in
slowing down the Chiefs’ high-powered attack, Garoppolo and the offense simply
want to avoid the potentially game-changing mishaps that they’ve been
susceptible to over the first two weeks.Garoppolo had an interception returned
for a touchdown in the opener at Minnesota, a play on which receiver Kendrick
Bourne ran the wrong route. Garoppolo threw three picks total in that loss and
Alfred Morris lost a fumble inside the Vikings 5-yard line.Then in Sunday’s
30-27 victory over Detroit, Garoppolo threw a fourth-quarter interception that
would have been a game-changer were it not nullified by a Lions holding
penalty.It came out later that rookie receiver Dante Pettis ran the wrong route
on that play, but it was still an ill-advised throw by Garoppolo.Being on the
same page in the passing game is a key to avoiding those kinds of mistakes. And
good communication can be a challenge when dealing with the crowd noise at
Arrowhead.“I think it starts with the week of
practice
https://www.49ersfanshop.com/Robbie-Gould-Jersey ,”
Garoppolo said. “We want to go out there and be perfect on every play call — how
we hear it, how we communicate with each other between series, all that stuff.
It’s a lot of little things coming together.”The 49ers hope for the healthy
return of veteran receiver Marquise Goodwin, who missed Sunday’s game because of
a bruised thigh. Goodwin practiced Wednesday for the first time since that
injury, but he looked to be holding back a bit while running routes during the
portion of practice open to reporters. Goodwin declined to speculate on whether
he would play against Kansas City.NOTES: Linebacker Reuben Foster was added to
the 49ers active roster after serving a two-game suspension for violating the
NFL’s policies of conduct and substances of abuse. Foster is expected to start
at inside linebacker against the Chiefs, but coach Kyle Shanahan was
non-committal about whether rookie Fred Warner, who has been a bright spot
through two games, would remain in the lineup if Foster starts. Offensive
lineman Matt Tobin was released to clear a roster spot for Foster. … Strong
safety Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) and guard Joshua Garnett (toe) did not
practice. Goodwin was limited as was cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (ankle) and
guard Mike Person (foot).___ There’s some work to be done."WhiteFanposts
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NewsPFF ranks 49ers O-line 23rd by pass blocking efficiency
New,82commentsThere’s some work to be done.PDTShareTweetShareSharePFF ranks
49ers O-line 23rd by pass blocking efficiency So remember in 2017 with all that
offensive line trouble the San Francisco 49ers had? Before Jimmy Garoppolo’s
lightning-quick release alleviated the concerns, quarterbacks were getting
bulldozed back there. The 49ers needed to retool this thing as it was a
hindrance as far back as Jim Harbaugh’s final year as head coach. Well, things
have gotten better. For run
blocking
Reuben Foster
Jersey , the 49ers have been light years improved in 2018. Pass blocking?
That hasn’t been as great.In their pass-blocking efficiency rankings, Pro
Football Focus has the 49ers ranked 23: The loss of Trent Brown hurts in this
department, but the 49ers want to run the ball when they want to run the ball
and Brown’s strengths were in the pass protection department while his run
blocking wasn’t near as good. Maybe with the line from 2018 returning somewhat
unchanged, the felling will make for a better pass-blocking unit.There’s still
plenty of work to be done with the offensive line, it’s not the atrocious mess
it once was, but if they want to prevent another Garoppolo injury, it’s going to
need to wall-up.If they can get Garoppolo some time to throw the ball and not
get defenders in his grill, everyone will be in for something.
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