Eric Davis Evaluates 49ers Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
Former 49ers All Pro cornerback Eric Davis joined the All49ers live stream recently. Here's how he evaluated about Jimmy Garoppolo.
DAVIS: "If I'm playing against Garoppolo, I don't care if he has a receiver who runs a 4.2. I don't care. Because Garoppolo can't throw it that far. I'm not worried about that guy running past me, because I know the ball won't get there. I'm looking for the ball. There are some quarterbacks where I've got to play the man, and there are some quarterbacks where I can play the ball because the guy's arm is not strong enough. All of these things come into play."
Davis also explained how he evaluates quarterbacks in general.
DAVIS: "Accuracy -- that's No. 1. Can you throw the ball where you want to throw it? That's the most important thing. All the other intangibles -- this guy's a winner, or this guy, when he walks in a room, everyone lights up and they're all going to follow him. Well, if he can't throw the damn ball where it needs to go, that's irrelevant.
"So is the guy accurate? Does he have a strong enough arm to get it there? Because that's going to let me know what he's capable of doing in the route tree. If a guy can't throw everything on the tree, then I know there are things that I don't have to defend. It's that simple. I don't know what you're going to do, but I know what you're not going to do. That's the first thing you do as a defensive player -- I want to start to eliminate things. Because remember, as a defensive player, it's about reaction. If your comment as a defensive player is, 'I thought,' you screwed up right there, because you're not thinking, you're reacting. You are looking at the evidence presented to you. And if you show me you can't throw a deep out from the far hash, I don't have to cover a deep out from the far hash, because you can't do it. So I'm going to look at the things a quarterback can and cannot do.
"And once we look at the accuracy and the arm strength, now it's the mobility. Can he move? And if he can move, is it like Aaron Rodgers where he's moving to throw, or is it movement where he's going to run the ball? And then can he throw it to his left? Can he throw it to his right? All these things come into play."
Watch the interview below:
