It didn't take Richard Sherman long to find a flaw in Jimmy Garoppolo's game
Richard Sherman is one of the best defensive players in the game, not to mention one of the smartest. So when Sherman offers a teammate advice, he should listen.
During the San Francisco 49ers’ offseason workouts, Sherman — who signed with the 49ers in March — noticed a small flaw in his new quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo.
It wasn’t so much a flaw as a tell that might allow defensive backs to get a jump on his throws, as Sherman told USA Today’s 49ers Wire.
“When he takes his hand off the ball, you got to be ready to break,” Sherman said of Garoppolo, reported 49ers Wire. That means, when he takes that hand off the ball, he’s throwing.
Richard Sherman says he picked up a tell on Jimmy Garoppolo https://t.co/wRtRAAIA60
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 21, 2018
Sherman told Garoppolo he needs to keep the defense guessing more by being aware of that tell and mixing it up.
“If he takes his hand of the ball, and doesn’t throw it, I think he’ll throw guys off,” Sherman said.
It’s a small thing, but small things can often mean the difference between a completion and an interception.
Garoppolo is aware of the tell and is working on it, he told 49ers Wire. But he also says he may use that against the defense.
“Yeah, the defense has told me that,” Garoppolo said. “But at the same time, I use that against them because they’re thinking that. It’s a game of cat-and-mouse. It always is. They’re reading you, you’re reading them at the same time. It’s a ‘who flinches first’ type of thing. We’ve had some good battles and it’s been a good camp.”
Other than that one critique, Sherman has had high praise for Garoppolo.
“James is great, man. He’s fun,” Sherman told the San Jose Mercury News. “He’s been phenomenal around the team. He goes through every single read. His mind works really fast, which is cool to see.”
He said Garoppolo has one of the league’s quickest releases.
“It’s pretty quick,” Sherman said, reported the Mercury News. “It’s not A-Rod (Aaron Rodgers) quick. It’s definitely quicker than most quarterbacks.”
First look at @RSherman_25 Mic'd Up (and enjoying snacks with @RobbieGould09) at 49ers minicamp 👀
Full video coming tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/HnnKq3Jwdi
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) June 21, 2018
Sherman can also see traits of the quarterback Garoppolo sat behind for three years in New England.
“He’s very deliberate in his reads, and he doesn’t force it if he doesn’t have to,” Sherman said of Garoppolo, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “You can see a lot of the things that he learned from Tom (Brady), just going through his progression, going through them quick, going through the triangle, his reads from left to right, taking what the defense gives, not forcing the big play.”
Garoppolo won all five of his starts for San Francisco last year, and counting a 2-0 record as a starter for the Patriots, he’s 7-0 as a starter in his career.
That undefeated streak will end at some point, but the 49ers are definitely a team to watch this season.
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