Kyle Juszczyk Defends Jimmy Garoppolo

Juszczyk believes Garoppolo will improve during his second full season as a starter.

49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk seems to think Jimmy Garoppolo is the Rodney Dangerfield of quarterbacks.

Juszczyk spoke on a video conference with Bay Area reporters on Tuesday, and emphatically defended Garoppolo, who gets no respect, per Juszczyk.

“I feel like I’ve been Jimmy’s bodyguard this offseason,” Juszczyk said. “I’ve never been tired of it. I’ll continue to do it right now. It’s crazy to me that he doesn’t get the respect he deserves for what a phenomenal season he had. From the numbers he put up, to the way he led this team -- he was no doubt our leader on offense. And he brought us to a Super Bowl and within seven minutes of winning one.”

Last year was Garoppolo’s first full season as a starting quarterback in the NFL, and he was coming off a torn ACL. And yet, he still passed for 3,978 yards, threw 27 touchdown passes, posted a whopping 102 quarterback rating during the regular season, won 13 games and even beat the Seahawks in Seattle, something the 49ers hadn’t done since 2011.

But in the playoffs, Garoppolo’s play deteriorated -- his postseason passer rating was 75.9 and he threw three interceptions, including one two in the Super Bowl, which the 49ers lost.

But Juszczyk believes Garoppolo will improve during his second full season as a starter.

“This time to really dive into the nitty gritty is going to continue to help,” Juszczyk said. “We have a full season of him starting. He can go back and rewatch the tape and spend extra time watching himself. Sometimes it is tougher when you’re watching somebody else play your position and you’re trying to learn the offense through that, which he was doing for a little bit. Now you’re watching yourself. You know what you’re feeling in that moment. You got to experience it for yourself. So you can just learn a little bit more from it having been through it now.”

Meaning Garoppolo hasn't fully learned the 49ers' offense yet. Once he masters it and improves as Juszczyk expects he will, then Garoppolo will receive the respect he deserves.