Thumbs up for Jimmy Garoppolo and the hard-running 49ers
In this unique season of extreme parity in the NFL, no teams are storming into the playoffs with the momentum and swagger of last year’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and – to a slightly lesser degree – Kansas City Chiefs.
Jimmy Johnson, Hall of Fame coach, commented on Fox Sport’s The Herd: “Who do you trust? As soon as you start trusting a team, they lay an egg. It’s been a crazy year; there haven’t been two or three dominant teams as they go through the schedule. Even Green Bay laid a couple of eggs.”
All the teams seem erratic, and I suspect the Covid pandemic is much to blame, creating an X factor that cannot be quantified. Some players catch the coronavirus and report being weakened for months. Mostly there’s an annoying paucity of information about the symptoms each player suffers. As far as the NFL and its Players Association are concerned, the less said the better.
One who’s suffered little is the ardent anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers. His Packers earned a bye for the first week of the postseason despite the quarterback missing a game with Covid. They are clearly the team to beat, with Rodgers the betting favorite for his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award.
Green Bay’s prospects improved Sunday with the season debut of Pro Bowl left tackle David Bakhtiari, who had been rehabbing from an ACL torn a year ago.
Rodgers is so nimble and smart that he’s effective without much blocking. The Packers have been down four starters from their O-line for most of the season, and yet they’re 13-4.
Not only does Bakhtiari make a timely return but also the first-string center, Josh Myers. And the defense is about to get boosted by the return from injury of its two biggest stars, cornerback Jaire Alexander and rush-linebacker Za’darius Smith.
But as Jimmy Johnson noted, not even the Packers have an air of invincibility. Their run defense is among the most pliable, yielding 4.7 yards per carry. New Orleans, Baltimore and Cleveland all have rushed for more than 140 yards against Green Bay.
If you’re looking for a team to knock off the Packers, consider the San Francisco 49ers. They stumbled out of the blocks, losing 5 of their first 8 games, as coach Kyle Shanahan waffled on who should start at quarterback, error-prone veteran Jimmy Garoppolo or error-prone rookie Trey Lance.
Garoppolo eventually emerged as No. 1, despite a torn ligament and a bone chip in his right thumb that requires extensive bracing and taping. The injury brought on a high interception rate: 2.7% for the season.
But more concerning to Shanahan is the damage to his cherished running game. Shanahan is one of the few coaches in today’s NFL who understands the value of having a quarterback under center instead of operating from a shotgun formation that deprives the running back of a running start. Trouble is, it’s painful for the wounded Garoppolo to receive a conventional center snap.
Also, he’s not comfortable dropping into the pocket and turning his back on the defense. The shotgun gives him a better read on what the defense is doing.
Largely because of the incompatibility of the slow-footed Garoppolo to the run game, there’s long been tension between him and Shanahan. Hence the drafting last spring of Lance at No. 3 overall.
But Shanahan was singing Jimmy G praise after his embattled quarterback calmly directed an 88-yard, 61-second drive in the fourth quarter Sunday to tie the Los Angeles Rams, who led 17-0 in the first half. “Jimmy made some big plays to tie it up and send it into overtime.” Although Garoppolo had two interceptions, Shanahan observed that “he’s always been good at bouncing back from picks.”
The Niners won 27-24 and secured a playoff berth against Dallas in Sunday afternoon’s Wild Card action. It’s an unfortunate matchup for the Cowboys. They’re weak at middle linebacker and vulnerable to the multiple-motion running game that’s Shanahan’s trademark. He will try to wear down the Cowboys, the way Denver, Las Vegas and Arizona did while rushing, respectively, for 190, 143 and 127 yards in upset victories. The Niners rushed for 135 yards against the mighty Ram defense, with rookie Elijah Mitchell carrying 21 times for 85 yards.
The Rams, favored by 4 ½ over Arizona on Monday night, are star-driven, with Matt Stafford throwing to receiving champion Cooper Kupp, while All-Pros Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey dominate on defense. But the Rams received bad news on Tuesday: safety Jordan Fuller, their leading tackler, will undergo ankle surgery.
Meanwhile, defending champion Tampa Bay is heavily favored in its postseason opener Sunday against Philadelphia. Tom Brady at 44 has thrown 43 touchdowns. But the Bucs’ running game is slowed by Leonard Fournette’s hamstring. The Rams are another moderate ground threat, averaging under 100 yards rushing per game. For the NFC teams, the road to the Super Bowl goes through the tundra of Green Bay, where you’d better be able to run the ball.
