Sure it was against the lowly Bears, but former 49ers defensive back Donte Whitner saw something different in Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday.
“I thought that he was decisive, he was in command of the offense,” Whitner said on KNBR Monday. “I’m not just talking about throwing the football. I’m talking about when he escaped the pocket, when he understood that guys were covered downfield, how about we see Jimmy improvise, how about we see Jimmy get outside the pocket, and he did that.
“There were certain throws. Even that throw to Deebo Samuel where he held the backside safety who could potentially roam over there because he’s playing that corner of the field and no one is attacking him. And Deebo is running a precise route, keeping out of the middle of the field, up the numbers. Jimmy delivering a catchable football.”
Whitner was heavily critical of Garoppolo last week, saying that he is not taking accountability for hurting the 49ers’ chances of winning. Garoppolo had an especially rough game vs. the Colts, turning the ball over three times.
Whitner said the performance was enough for San Francisco to make the switch to Trey Lance, but sung a different tune after he saw a more mobile Garoppolo on Sunday.
“The difference between Jimmy Garoppolo in this game and previous games is when it wasn’t there, he moved around. He was saying I’m going to play with grit and I’m doing it with my legs and that includes the two rushing touchdowns in the red zone. I loved it.”
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Listen to the full interview below.