Regardless of what Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo’s relationship was like, the now-San Francisco 49ers quarterback certainly learned some lessons from the legendary signal-caller.
Garoppolo was sent to the Niners back in 2017 in a move that seemed to express the New England Patriots’ allegiance to Brady. Since then, little has been said publicly from one about the other, which doesn’t come as much surprise. But in an interview with The Ringer, Garoppolo was asked what he learned from Brady, and it’s clear he was taking some notes.
“The preparation as a whole was tremendous just to see it, to be in the same room as it, to learn from it,” Garoppolo said. “To be a rookie and see that, it was invaluable. I can barely put it into words. What you learn is playing the game within the game, that’s a big part of Tom. I don’t even know if he told me that (directly), but he would always talk about the game within the game. He would talk about the snap count, and he’d say ‘you’re going to go on two on this play’ and he’d have a specific reason. That’s not the coaches telling you, that’s the player playing the game within the game. It’s the little things, the little details and how he ties them all together — that’s what separates you.”
Garoppolo is working his way back from a season-ending ACL tear in 2018 and is hoping to become the franchise quarterback San Francisco envisioned. As for his relationship with TB12? Maybe he can get in on the podcast Brady and Jacoby Brissett were discussing.
