49ers’ Kyle Shanahan explains amped-up sideline conversation with Jimmy Garoppolo: ‘He handled it right’

Jimmy Garoppolo had a poor start to his day in the 49ers’ 34-26 win over the Vikings in Week 12 on Sunday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted as much after the game.

“I thought he started off not great,” Shanahan told reporters, per NBC Sports Bay Area. “It took him a little bit to get into it. He missed a couple on that first drive and, obviously, that pick was inexcusable. He knows that.”

NFL POWER RANKINGS: Patriots, 49ers surge after victories

Garoppolo’s pick was thrown into double coverage, and it appeared that he didn’t see safety Harrison Smith coming across the field to get in front of the throw.

It certainly wasn’t a good play, but Garoppolo settled down after the turnover on the first drive. How did he do that? Well, it was thanks, in part, to an amped-up conversation with Shanahan on the sideline.

“I just wanted him to hear directly from me,” Shanahan said of the criticism he levied after the interception. “On a headset, I’m talking to coaches and they can pass along information. I just told him the obvious, what he missed and told him to let it go and we’re going to come right back to you and we need you to be aggressive for the rest of the game. And he was and he handled it right.”

That message of staying aggressive proved important. Garoppolo said that his over-aggressiveness was part of what led to the turnover, but Shanahan’s conversation allowed him to feel confident that he could keep taking chances — when appropriate.

“Just like normal, he always approaches me face-to-face with it,” Garoppolo said of the conversation. “Just really, I had to get to my check down. It wasn’t what we were looking for and I tried to be aggressive on it. But yeah, just can’t do that. It wasn’t a good decision. 

“I have to be better than that with it. Just take the check down. They were giving those to us early and I just need to be more efficient with those.”

TRADE RUMORS: Why Washington is a good fit for Russell Wilson

Garoppolo led the 49ers on a touchdown drive on the first drive after his interception. He didn’t turn the ball over again and led the 49ers’ offense to an efficient 423-yard game.

Shanahan was particularly pleased with how Garoppolo played to close the second quarter. The 49ers orchestrated an 18-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that ate up 8:20 of the second quarter and left just 18 seconds on the clock. That allowed the Vikings to go into halftime tied 14-all.

“The way he bounced back, I thought was great,” Shanahan said. “He made some huge throws, the way we finished the second quarter, being able to score there.”

Garoppolo finished the game 17-of-26 passing for 230 yards and one touchdown in addition to the interception.

Source: Read Full Article