Vikings Opponent Breakdown: Garoppolo and the 49ers’ offense

Avoiding Mismatches

In the preseason, both Garoppolo and the 49ers’ offense looked average at best. But the preseason rarely tells us too much. Often times, it’s a smoke screen.

So the reality is this; the Vikings are playing an offensive team, and a quarterback, they don’t know very much about.

This could potentially bode ill for Mike Zimmer’s defensive plan, until one remembers that MInnesota played the 49ers in a 2017 preseason game.

Zimmer did indeed have the chance to watch San Francisco receiver Marquise Goodwin and his 4.27 speed embarrass the Vikings’ defensive secondary in an exhibition rout. No doubt Zimmer remembers that game and the 49ers’ new head coach, Kyle Shanahan, as the team’s offensive play-caller.

Much has been said about the talents of Shanahan. He is a talented guy who has spent time with several successful NFL franchises. Shanahan’s formations and offensive game-plans blend a history of his father’s schemes (legendary Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan) and the coaching tree his father came from, including head coaches Bill Walsh and Gary Kubiak.

The younger Shanahan relies on players to make his offense go.  Remember, San Francisco was 1-10 before they tore off five wins in a row with Jimmy G under center.

As the Redskins offensive coordinator five years ago, Shanahan ran a fantastic offense with young quarterback Robert Griffin III. After Griffin got hurt., Shanahan ran a damn good offensive unit with current Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins taking snaps under center.

Two years ago, Shanahan almost won a Super Bowl as the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator.  Unfortunately, for him and millions of Falcons fans, he just couldn’t stop signaling in passing plays when all his team needed to do was run the ball and kill the clock in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 51.

Eventually, Shanahan and Atlanta lost to the Patriots thanks to one of the greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history.

Point is, the guy’s not Bill Parcells.  But he’s awfully good with a both spreading out a defense and executing a a vertical passing offense.

So what do the 49ers have under the hood?

We know they have Garoppolo. This quarterback stands tall in the pocket, reads the field well and makes good throws out of good decisions.

What makes him fairly special to the eye is that his good decisions are also quick decisions and he plays tough. He’s willing to take a hit after that crucial moment in which a play develops .

Garoppolo is an excellent play-action passer like his counterpart on Sunday, Kirk Cousins, and though he does not have Tom Brady’s super-consistent accuracy, he can make the big throws with ease.

His main wide receivers are 32-year-old Pierre Garçon and the aforementioned Goodwin. Both are reliable playmakers, but hardly mismatches for Minnesota’s defensive secondary unless an assignment is missed.  If Goodwin gets loose though, it could get ugly.

San Francisco’s third receiver is a shifty slot guy named Trent Taylor in his second year. Zimmer’s defenses sometimes get caught in not concentrating on receiver number three, so Taylor needs to be watched while Garçon and Goodwin are attempting to make their vertical plays.