You can feel sorry for the San Francisco 49ers, as their season has apparently been ruined only three games into the year.
First, their bargain-basement running back Jerick McKinnon went down with an ACL injury before the season even started. Then quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo fell victim to the same injury in Week 3 as the Niners locked horns with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Garoppolo was the team’s brightest star. He was awarded a $137 million contract in the offseason to do for the Niners what Joe Montana and Steve Young had done before him. Well, perhaps nobody had those kind of expectations for him, but they certainly had high hopes.
Garoppolo got hurt as he ran down the sidelines, and all of the second-guessers say he should have run out of bounds. However, that’s just ridiculous because the game is not played that way any more. In this era of run-pass options, Garoppolo had all the weapons to participate fully. Yes, he has the kind of arm that scouts are looking for and he leaned the pro game from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but he is also an athlete.
He was victimized by bad luck, because he is an athlete who should be at the peak of his powers.
When he comes back in 2019, Garoppolo should still be an athletic and competitive quarterback. He will be 27-years-old and will still be able to run after going through a demanding rehab.
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It’s doubtful he will be given the chance, as head coach Kyle Shanahan is probably not going to allow his quarterback to take off any longer unless it is to run out of bounds.
“I think it’s a reminder to all quarterbacks and coaches,” Shanahan said. “I think that’s something that Jimmy will probably look at differently going forward, because I know he’ll remember this the rest of his life.
“Nothing against him. I think this happens with everyone. I think it’s just a reminder for everyone why that is the obvious coaching point.”
Shanahan doesn’t want to see his quarterback get hurt again, and that’s understandable. But remember, Shanahan got the job in the first place because of his skill as a playcaller, his offensive vision and his fearlessnees.
Now that he’s in his second year, he has lost his courage. He wants to survive as a coach, and he was wants to be like George Bush, the elder, and be prudent.
That’s not a winning philosophy. His courage has turned into self-preservation and his players will get the message. He needs to rethink his stance, and so do all coaches who are thinking about the future.
There’s only one way to make it work in the NFL on a long-term basis, and that means a coach has to win consistently.
Here’s something that Shanahan knows, but he may need a reminder (along with every coach in the league, including Pat Shurmur of the Giants and Todd Bowles of the Jets): no coach has ever been successful by consistently taking the “safe” road.
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People don’t follow that route, and they never will. Players know when their coaches have courage and are being true to themselves, and when they are just trying to go along to get along.
Playing it safe is not the way to go. If you think your quarterback is going to break because he gets hit or runs down the sideline for extra yards, get yourself a new quarterback.
Jimmy G had to wait for his chance to become an NFL starter, but that’s not the case with Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen or Josh Rosen. All four rookies taken last April will be starting in Week 4 for their respective teams.
It’s too early to make a viable prediction on saying which ones will be successful, but we know one thing. If any of them try playing it safe as their regular way of doing business, they will fail.
It takes courage to win in the NFL, and it must be displayed from Day 1. It’s one thing to have early butterflies, but when confronted by an angry opponent, fear is never going to win.