Both Garoppolo and Lance Throw Picks on Day 5 of the 49ers QB Competition
On Day 5 of the quarterback competition between Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, the 49ers installed screen passes and jet sweeps, and spent roughly half the morning in the red zone. Here's what each quarterback did.
JIMMY GAROPPOLO
Completed 12 of 17 throws, tossed two touchdown passes, one interception and was lucky a second pass didn't get picked off. Through five days of camp, Garoppolo is the same quarterback he always has been -- accurate, yet mistake prone and unable to throw deep.
Here's the blow by blow of his Monday morning.
1. Telegraphed a pass to Deebo Samuel running a slant, and the Great Dontae Johnson broke up the throw.
2. Took a seven-step drop, looked at the intended deep receiver downfield, Trent Sherfield, for a second or two before checking down to Trey Sermon. Garoppolo clearly didn't want to uncork another wounded duck like he did when he threw deep on Saturday and got intercepted.
3. Stared down Ross Dwelley running a seam route and got picked by Fred Warner in the end zone. Dee Ford technically jumped offside during the play, but Garoppolo couldn't tell -- the official just dropped a flag on the ground. Garoppolo did not seem to realize he had a free play. He simply made a bad decision and threw to a tight end who was covered by the best middle linebacker in the NFL.
4. Completed a screen pass to Samuel behind the line of scrimmage.
5. Completed a quick throw to Kyle Juszczyk in the left flat for a five-yard gain.
6. Completed a quick throw to Raheem Mostert in the right flat for a five-yard gain.
7. Threw an incomplete pass in the general vicinity of Brandon Aiyuk, although the pass may have been intended for someone else, or no one.
8. Completed a 15-yard pass up the seam to Dwelley who was covered by Warner.
9. Chose not throw the deep shot which was open, and instead threw an incomplete pass to Travis Benjamin running a crossing route. Once again, Garoppolo refused to pull the trigger and let it fly downfield, because he lacks the arm strength.
10. Completed a 20-yard pass up the seam to Dwelley, who seems to be Garoppolo's primary deep threat in camp.
11. Completed a five-yard checkdown to Kevin White over the middle.
12. Completed a screen pass to Richie James Jr. in the backfield.
13. Completed a five-yard pass to Aiyuk running a whip route to the outside.
14. Completed a shovel pass to Aiyuk running a jet sweep.
15. Completed a touchdown pass in the red zone to James running a slant. This was Garoppolo's best throw of the morning. He fit the ball into a miniscule window.
16. Threw an incomplete pass to Aiyuk running a back-corner fade route in the end zone against Jason Verrett. Garoppolo's pass was low and headed directly for Verrett when Aiyuk reached back, tackled the cornerback, prevented the interception and bailed out Garoppolo.
17. Threw a touchdown pass to Kevin White running a slant against starting strong safety Tavon Wilson.
TREY LANCE
Completed 9 of 13 pass attempts, threw two touchdown passes, ran for a third and threw one pick. He also forced passes and didn't see open receivers downfield for the first time in camp.
Here's the blow by blow of Lance's morning.
1. Ran a zone read and gained five yards.
2. Didn't throw to an open Richie James Jr. running a deep crossing route, and instead scrambled for five yards. Conservative decision.
3. Ran a second zone read and gained five yards.
4. Rolled to his right, threw on the run and hit Travis Benjamin in the chest. Unfortunately for Lance, Benjamin's chest dropped the ball.
5. Rolled to his right and completed a touchdown pass in the flat to fullback Josh Hokit in the red zone.
6. Completed a touchdown pass in the red zone to Mohamed Sanu running a slant. Sanu was Lance's third read on the play, meaning Lance got through three progressions quickly and on time. This was his best play of the morning.
7. Ran a third zone read and gained five yards.
8. Didn't throw to an open River Cracraft running a corner route downfield. Instead, Lance checked down to Elijah Mitchell for a five-yard gain. Another conservative decision. Lance seemed like he put himself in cruise control and expected Garoppolo to continue to crash and burn. Rookie mistake. Lance has to take this job from Garoppolo.
9. Completed a 10-yard pass to Sanu running an out route to the right.
10. Completed a screen pass to Trent Sherfield in the backfield.
11. Completed a five-yard checkdown to JaMycal Hasty in the right flat.
12. Scrambled for 10 yards.
13. Completed a five-yard pass to Hokit in the flat.
14. Completed a five-yard pass to Sanu running a slant against Marcell Harris.
15. Sailed a pass over an open Dwelley's head in the back of the end zone. Should have been a touchdown.
16. Fired a pass over the middle and got intercepted by undrafted free agent rookie linebacker Justin Hilliard. Lance either didn't see him or tried to fire the ball through his extended arms. Either way, bad decision. This was Lance's first interception of training camp.
17. Sailed a pass over an open George Kittle's head in the back of the end zone. Should have been a touchdown. Lance dropped his hips before releasing the ball, which caused the innaccuracy. Dwelley was also open underneath.
18. Ran a fourth zone read and scored a touchdown from five yards out.
Not a particularly good day for either quarterback. Both guys passed up open receivers downfield and threw risky passes into traffic. And while we've seen these issues from Garoppolo before, we're beginning to learn that Lance has issues, too. Every quarterback does.
Through five days, Lance has been the best quarterback on the team. But he still has to prove to the entire organization that he gives them the best chance to win.
