ELLIS L. WILLIAMS Of the OBSERVER on Jimmy G

[raleigh-panther]

Jimmy Garoppolo could be a great fit for Panthers, but Carolina should wait on a trade

BY ELLIS L. WILLIAMS

[email protected]

2 hours ago

Before the NFL playoffs, an NFL executive told The Charlotte Observer they did not consider Jimmy Garoppolo a substantial enough upgrade over Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. 

This executive then provided a caveat: Garoppolo’s reputation around the league could change depending on how he performed in the playoffs.

In three playoff games (two wins and an NFC championship loss to the Rams), Garoppolo completed 59 percent of his passes, averaged 178 passing yards per game and threw two touchdowns and three interceptions. Because of the winning, those numbers are respectable at best.

After the Senior Bowl, another NFL executive told The Observer that the quarterback class underwhelmed them in Moblie. When asked if they thought Panthers should pursue Kenny Pickett (Pitt), Malik Willis (Liberty), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), or Matt Corral (Ole Miss), the executive said: “Not with a first-round pick.” 

Just two months ago, some in NFL circles did not believe Carolina had a viable solution to solve their quarterback problem. Garoppolo was not good enough and none of the rookie quarterbacks were ready. But then the Panthers lost out on acquiring former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. He chose Cleveland over Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans, which forced them to re-enter the veteran quarterback market. Only Garoppolo and a newly disgruntled Baker Mayfield remain available. 

Carolina has been doing its homework on Garoppolo all offseason. It’s no secret the 49ers are trying to trade Garoppolo, who is owed $26.9 million in 2022 if San Francisco does not cut him. In March, he also had successful surgery on his right throwing shoulder. The procedure will prevent him from throwing a football for up to 16 weeks, which complicates his trade value if he cannot throw for teams until August. 

The 49ers have the third-most-expensive quarterback room behind only Tennessee and Kansas City. That will change. Eventually, the 49ers will cut Garoppolo unless a trade market unexpectedly appears. The Panthers are primed to add him if and when that happens. Especially if it’s between him and Mayfield. 

“Jimmy G is a better option,” a former NFL general manager told The Observer. “He is a winner and his experience is so much greater.

But would Garoppolo fit within new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system? Let’s unpack that question. 

What is a Ben McAdoo offense? 

The Panthers hired McAdoo in hopes he’ll reshape their passing game. Last season, Carolina ranked 31st in passing according to Football Outsiders DVOA metric. (DVOA measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent). Over his 16-year NFL coaching career, McAdoo’s system has helped manufacture efficient, high-volume passing seasons out of Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning and, most recently, Dak Prescott. 

At all three stops (Green Bay, New York and Dallas), McAdoo installed a high-tempo west-coast system predicated on shotgun throws, quick deliveries, and playmaking opportunities. Let’s focus on his time in New York since that’s where he had the most influence as offensive coordinator and eventually head coach. 

Equipped with Manning and a young Odell Beckham Jr., McAdoo called plays for the Giants’ offense in 2014 and 2015, leading to two explosive seasons for Beckham Jr. OBJ won Rookie of the Year in 2014, averaging a league-high 108 receiving yards per game.

“When I think about a Ben McAdoo offense, I think about quick throws out a shotgun, and a high-tempo, basketball-type offense,” The Athletic’s Diante Lee told The Observer. “One thing that he has done everywhere he’s been is improved his quarterback’s completion percentages by giving them more options underneath to throw the football, and I would imagine that that will be the same thing in Carolina.”

Sounds like DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Christian McCaffrey should have plenty of yard after the catch opportunities under McAdoo. This may sound familiar to Panthers fans, who endured 1.5 seasons of an inconsistent Joe Brady offense that promised similar playmaking chances. Lee said McAdoo understands protections better and will not deploy as many spread looks as Brady did. McAdoo also implements multiple tight-end formations, unlike the Panthers’ former offensive coordinator. 

Lee said sometimes McAdoo’s Giants offense lacked explosiveness. It’s been four seasons since McAdoo called plays. He spent last year as a senior offensive consultant for Dallas, where he was exposed to a more diverse system. Perhaps McAdoo added to his playbook learning from Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. 

Now that we’ve defined the system let’s decide whether Garoppolo would fit.

Would Jimmy Garoppolo fit with the Panthers?

On Wednesday, I wrote about whether Mayfield would fit in a McAdoo system. Initially, the fit seemed ideal. Lee said Mayfield would benefit from a McAdoo offense. He’d play in more shotgun sets. There would be a faster tempo and Mayfield would have more opportunities to feed favorable matchups either underneath or outside the numbers. 

But when I asked Lee about Garoppolo’s fit, he thought Jimmy G was a much better option in Carolina than Mayfield. This surprised me. The universal knock on Garoppolo is that he’s been supported and protected from Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly system.

It will be a major change for him schematically,” Lee said. “Especially on early downs because of everything that Kyle Shanahan has done to use a running game to help set him up where he can be efficient. He’s only really got to work on one or two reads within a progression, obviously a heavy amount of play-action usage. So that would be a change for him.” 

Because of that, there is not much reason to breakdown Garoppolo’s tape and envision him in a McAdoo offense. He hasn’t run an offense that is at all comparable. Similarly, watching Mayfield’s tape from his time with Kevin Stefanski doesn’t suffice either. 

Why do Lee and other football minds around the league believe Garoppolo in Carolina would work? First, Garoppolo thrives at mentally processing the game. Part of the reason he’s held on to his job for so long in San Francisco is he’s efficient and knows where to go with the ball. Things go wrong for Garoppolo when his first read is unavailable. 

With McAdoo, Garoppolo would play in a more spread-out offense that focuses on pre-snap reads to determine favorable matchups. There are also shades of Eli Manning’s game in Garoppolo. Before McAdoo called plays for the Giants in 2014, Manning had back-to-back seasons completing worse than 60 percent of his passes. Manning’s completion percentage jumped six points in his first full season with McAdoo. 

Playing outside Shanahan’s system also gives Garoppolo a chance to redefine and prove himself as a quarterback. Unfairly or not, he’s labeled a one-system quarterback. Thriving in Carolina gives him a shot at a big-money contract after the 2022 season.

Last season the Panthers ranked third in offensive giveaways behind only the Giants and Bears. Twenty of their 30 turnovers were interceptions. Paring Garoppolo with McAdoo would correct Carolina’s turnover problem immediately. 

“In terms of the turnovers and awful plays of the last season, a lot of those would be eliminated day one,” Lee said. “If his completion percentage is in the 70 percent to 73 percent range, he has a low, low interception number and he doesn’t take a bunch of sacks out of shotgun, then that would prove enough. (Garoppolo) can compete to start as a quarterback just about anywhere.” 

For a team that wants to run the ball, win with defense and find one more bridge quarterback, adding Garoppolo makes a lot of sense.

 

 

 

[LinvilleGorge]

Jimmy G could be a perfect fit for our current status quo if we're looking to spend significant resources on a bad veteran QB on our way to a five win season.

[davos]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Jimmy G could be a perfect fit for our current status quo if we're looking to spend significant resources on a bad veteran QB on our way to a five win season.

I mean, if he's released or had for a 4th or lower, it would be no thing but a chicken wing

[raleigh-panther]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Jimmy G could be a perfect fit for our current status quo if we're looking to spend significant resources on a bad veteran QB on our way to a five win season.

That’s what the Panthers do, right….Coming off shoulder surgery on top if it 

when I read the part about ‘Jimmy gets in trouble when his first read isn’t there’ all I could think of is we already have that with Darnold 

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, davos said:

I mean, if he's released or had for a 4th or lower, it would be no thing but a chicken wing

If he's released an willing to sign a very low cap hit deal, sure. A trade? No. Not with that cap hit. Not even for a conditional 7th.

Either way, if Jimmy G is our starting QB we're drafting in the top 10 again guaranteed, so why bother at all?

 

[davos]

Just now, LinvilleGorge said:

If he's released an willing to sign a very low cap hit deal, sure. A trade? No. Not with that cap hit. Not even for a conditional 7th.

Either way, if Jimmy G is our starting QB we're drafting in the top 10 again guaranteed, so why bother at all?

 

I certainly wouldn't bother but the guys in charge would because they'll probably think he's better than he actually is.  Just like they did with Darnold and Bridgewater.

[musicman]

I hope they take  LT so if it's Jimmy G and Sam battling for the starting job, I'm OK with that.

[Lurk21]

Can't throw until August and has never threw to our players. I'd want my new qb getting reps before August.  This is a horrible fit...

[Lurk21]

6 minutes ago, davos said:

I mean, if he's released or had for a 4th or lower, it would be no thing but a chicken wing

I wouldnt even do a 4th. In this draft that could very well be a starting guard.  Honestly, I'm not trading for a Qb coming of surgery on his throwing shoulder.

[davos]

Just now, Lurk21 said:

I wouldnt even do a 4th. In this draft that could very well be a starting guard.  Honestly, I'm not trading for a Qb coming of surgery on his throwing shoulder.

fair enough

[mrcompletely11]

8 minutes ago, davos said:

I mean, if he's released or had for a 4th or lower, it would be no thing but a chicken wing

But why?  What purpose does he serve?  The san fran staff is light years ahead of rhule and co and they fully recognize that Jimmy G aint it.  Why would we want to try and win with him?  

 

It makes literally no sense to bring in either baker or jimmy.  Like I dont give a fug how cheap they are trade wise or even if they would play for free.  They are not the answer

[mrcompletely11]

7 minutes ago, musicman said:

I hope they take  LT so if it's Jimmy G and Sam battling for the starting job, I'm OK with that.

Alright.  Say Jimmy G wins the job and has about 9 wins on the season.  Then what?

[top dawg]

If we can get him without giving up draft capital, that's fine. If we have to give up a day 3 pick next year and include Darnold's contract this year, I'll give a disingenuous smile (especially if it's a 4th) and bear it.

[KSpan]

5 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

But why?  What purpose does he serve?  The san fran staff is light years ahead of rhule and co and they fully recognize that Jimmy G aint it.  Why would we want to try and win with him?  

 

It makes literally no sense to bring in either baker or jimmy.  Like I dont give a fug how cheap they are trade wise or even if they would play for free.  They are not the answer

This all day. Dude has infinitely better coaching and a much better roster in SF, and yet they've decided he's not good enough. Seems blindingly obvious, and yet here we are seeing all this nonsense about trades and fit.