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San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo Minicamp Wrap
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo participates in a mini-camp wrap on June 11, 2019, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
2019.07.10 – The San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo is currently holding passing sessions in the Bay Area with what he called a “huge group” of skill position players. This follows a two-week stint in Southern California in which he worked with throwing guru Tom House, which came on the heels of the 49ers’ full-squad minicamp in Santa Clara in mid-June.
For someone recovering from an ACL tear, Garoppolo sure has been on the go over the last month. Garoppolo said his sessions with House had nothing to do with his knee, and he’s expected to be cleared for full practices when training camp opens.
“It was more, you want to add to your tool belt,” he said. “That’s the way I always look at it. No one knows everything, especially when it comes to quarterbacking. … The more knowledge you can get on it, the more perspectives, the better. And at the end of the day, you’ve got to make it your own. It’s combining all of it to make the perfect storm. That’s what I’m really trying to do.”
Garoppolo said he took the same attitude — “It’s a good opportunity and I’d be foolish to pass it up,” he said — when it came to working with House, a former major-league pitcher and pitching coach who now runs a quarterback clinic called 3DQB out of Huntington Beach. House has worked with some of the most notable passers in the NFL, a group that includes Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Alex Smith and Garoppolo’s former mentor, Tom Brady. The 49ers quarterback said he texted some of those players before his first workout with House prior to the 49ers’ offseason program earlier this year.
The 49ers QB said there were about four sessions per week during his most recent Southern California foray in which he focused on everything from perfecting the deep ball — often cited as the weakest element of Garoppolo’s game — to making the most basic throws in the playbook.
“It was about fixing little things in the throwing motion, trying to do things that I’ve never thought about before, helping me make the weird, awkward throws that are tough and you’re not used to all the way to making the most basic hitch throw in the book, but doing it perfectly,” he said. “So I think it was a good opportunity to get out there and kind of break down those guys’ minds and see what they saw in my game. And I think it’s really helped.”
In some sessions, Garoppolo said, he worked on the most elemental facets of throwing and only required a stationary target. During others, he would take on something like the deep crossing routes that are essential in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system. On those days, he needed a quality target and said he had a “little group” of 49ers pass catchers to work with there.
A larger group has been on hand in the Bay Area. Players are allowed to work out at the 49ers’ facility before training camp, but nothing formal can be conducted there. So for the second straight summer, Garoppolo has organized the skill position players for what he says are good timing- and chemistry-building sessions before training camp starts.
“I learned last year — a lot of guys stick around the area,” he said. “I mean, I can’t imagine why not. It’s unbelievable here. It’s exciting. Especially this time of year before training camp, it kind of gets the juices flowing.”
2019.06.12 – The San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo told reporters to have a good summer after the 49ers went through their final off-season mini-camp wrap.
Garoppolo will work in Southern California with famed throwing coach Tom House.
Pleased with how his comeback from knee reconstruction has gone in limited work the past nine weeks with the 49ers, Garoppolo wants to fine tune his body mechanics over the next 40 days, so he’ll be at full strength for full-team drills come training camp.
“These next 40 days will be big getting with him and everything,” Garoppolo said of House. “He knows the offense pretty well and it’ll really help us going forward.”
2019.06.12 – SF 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo: “These next 40 days will be big”
2019.06.12 – SF 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo: “These next 40 days will be big”
Before the 49ers off-season program began in April, Garoppolo worked with House and his staff, based at the University of Southern California. House’s acclaimed work with baseball pitchers and quarterbacks is nothing new. Alex Smith worked with him before the 2012 season on the 49ers, and Garoppolo’s former New England Patriots teammate, Tom Brady.
What’s at the top of Garoppolo’s to-do list over these next few weeks before training camp officially starts July 26?
“During these 40 days, you do so many different things physical and mental. You’re trying to recover at the same time while getting ready for training camp,” Garoppolo said. “But I think just having the timing of the offense down, being in rhythm with receivers and getting comfortable. I mean it’s been awhile since I’ve been in 11-on-11 football, so just getting as comfortable as I can as quickly as I can.”
Garoppolo actually took an 11-on-11 snap, accidentally, at the start of a two-minute drill in Wednesday’s final minicamp practice. Coach Kyle Shanahan ordered defensive linemen not to pursue the $137.5 million quarterback, and when they kind of did, the play got scrubbed and Garoppolo finished off things in an 11-on-7 format.
“I told the D-Line, ‘Just stand there and put your hands up, no one’s allowed to rush,’ ” Shanahan said. “And the animals that they are, why we love them, they couldn’t help it. I saw it so I stopped it.
Earlier in practice, Garoppolo attempted more deep passes than he has in any previous session this off-season, and his rebuilt left knee did not seem to hinder him as he stepped into such throws, some of which were on target and some of which were not.
“I’m very confident in it. It’s been coming off the hand very well, I thought,” Garoppolo said of his deep ball. “The receivers make my job so easy, with the speed like ‘Quise and Dante and those guys, and their ability to separate from the defense, makes it easy. Just put it out there and don’t under-throw them.”
He did under-throw Richie James on a 40-yard bomb, and upstart safety Tarvarius Moore defended a throw (ill-advised, Shanahan said) toward Marquise Goodwin. Earlier deep throws, however, were on target to Kendrick Bourne, Dante Pettis, James and tight end Ross Dwelley.
The final official play of the off-season resulted in Garoppolo throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis, and that is a connection the 49ers are counting on as they seek to end a five-year playoff drought this year.
NOTES
– Defensive end Nick Bosa, who strained a hamstring last month, plans to rehabilitate with other rookies for the next week at the 49ers facility before meeting up with his brother, Joey, in their native Florida to “get that hammy completely right, because I’m almost there.”
2019.06.12 – SF 49ers Kyle Shanahan Reviews the Final Minicamp Practice
2019.06.12 – SF 49ers Kyle Shanahan Reviews the Final Minicamp Practice
SF 49ers Nick Bosa
San Francisco has been without its No. 2 overall draft pick for a few weeks due to a strained hamstring. Despite the missing on-field reps, the 49ers are pleased with Bosa’s efforts.
He has yet to sign his rookie contract, but nor has second-round pick Deebo Samuel, who’s missed the past two weeks with a hip injury. Bosa said of his contract, which is virtually determined by the NFL’s rookie wage scale: “I don’t really deal with that. I let my agent do that. I’ve probably asked him about it once throughout this process, but I know it takes a little bit for that to happen for a lot of guys. I’m just patient and I’ll see what happens.”
“For not being out there very much, I’ve been very impressed,” Shanahan said. “He’s been one of the guys, he’s not too loud, doesn’t try to stand out, but also doesn’t sit there and hide in the corner. He’s one of the guys. I think he’s fit in very well and I think he’s very attentive in his meetings. I think he enjoys football. He’s not a guy who’s falling asleep in the meetings just because he can’t practice that day. He enjoys watching it and watching other people and learning from other people. He’s handled himself great so far.”
– Tight end George Kittle left Tuesday’s practice with hip tightness and did not practice because of it, allowing Ross Dwelley to take first-time reps.
– Cornerback Richard Sherman was excused from Wednesday’s practice for a non-injury-related issue.
– Linebacker Fred Warner (knee) and cornerback Jason Verrett (Achilles) both expect to be cleared for the start of training camp, and Shanahan said that is also the case for Garoppolo and running back Jerick McKinnon, among others.
– The 49ers are planning to stay on the East Coast and practice between their season opener at Tampa Bay and their ensuing game at Cincinnati. Shanahan would prefer an indoor facility in Florida for that layover, and he noted that another option is Youngstown, Ohio, where the 49ers had layovers early in the 2011 and ’12 seasons. They stayed in Orlando between late-season games in 2016.
– Cornerback Quinten Rollins impressed at minicamp during as he auditioned along with cornerback Jordan Holland, running back L.J. Scott and offensive linemen Gino Gradkowski and Dillon Day.
RELATED: See below – 49ers primed for Playoff Super Bowl window
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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49ers are primed to enter their Playoff Super Bowl window
“This is our year!” screams the irrational football fan in early July.
But could this actually be the 49ers’ year? Or at least close to it?
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch are entering their third season at the helm in San Francisco. So far, they’ve come closer to the No. 1 pick than the playoffs. Through two seasons, coach Shanahan’s 49ers are 10-22 in the regular season.
There are factors that show the 49ers could be primed for a breakout season, however. Sports Illustrated lists the 49ers as one of five teams — along with the Bears, Browns, Colts and Dolphins — that are entering their Super Bowl window.
Here are three reasons why.
Jimmy Garoppolo
It all starts with Jimmy G.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr says the quarterback’s “contract looks better with time.” The 49ers made Garoppolo, 27, the highest-paid player in the NFL at the time when they signed him to a five-year, $137.5 million contract in February 2018.
But only 53.8 percent — $74 million — is guaranteed, which makes it such a steal to Orr.
When healthy, Garoppolo has proven his worth. He’s gone 6-2 as a starter for the 49ers while completing 64.8 percent of his passes. He did tear his ACL in third game of the season last year, though.
The 49ers need Garoppolo to stay healthy. If he does, they’ll have a chance to win plenty of games.
Defensive line
“On paper, their defensive line is how a general manager would draw it up in their wildest dreams: All first-round picks, all under the age of 30,” Orr writes.
The 49ers’ defensive line, from left to right, is expected to consist of Nick Bosa (21), Arik Armstead (25), DeForest Buckner (25) and Dee Ford (28). That should be a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks.
The trio of Buckner, Ford and Armstead combined for 28 sacks this past season. Bosa, the No. 2 pick in the draft, is expected to contribute right away and add to an imposing pass rush.
Free agency
Orr highlighted three signings by the 49ers in free agency: Linebacker Kwon Alexander, Running back Tevin Coleman and offensive lineman Weston Richburg (who signed in the 2018 offseason).
The 49ers signed Alexander to a four-year, $54 million contract. Though he’s coming off a torn ACL as well, Alexander is expected to be healthy for the season and pair perfectly with Fred Warner and Malcolm Smith.
Coleman could be the steal of the offseason. San Francisco has a loaded backfield, but Coleman could end up being the best fit. He has worked with Shanahan before, and is a factor as a ball-carrier and receiver.
[RELATED: Why Williams believes 49ers’ pass rush is primed to excel]
Richburg, 27, signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract before the 2018 season. He started 15 games at center last season before being shut down for the finale with a knee injury.
The 49ers are creating the right combination of youth and experience. The third time could be the charm for Lynch and Shanahan.
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
Visit your NC ACURA DEALER
49ERS FIT – FREE 4-DAY PASS
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.