Jimmy Garoppolo Reveals The Most Important Lesson Tom Brady Taught Him

Jimmy Garoppolo may get a chance to show everybody that he is an excellent starting quarterback. He spent three seasons learning from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and it turns out that he learned so many new things from the GOAT.

Garoppolo talked to The Ringer’s Kevin Clark, and was pretty sure about his relationship with Brady.

“What you learn is playing the game within the game, that’s a big part of Tom,” the San Francisco 49ers quarterback said. “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.”

When asked about his plans for the regular season, Garoppolo said, “You don’t want to change your entire throwing motion this close to the season, so it’s more about getting into their program, learning how they teach, and maybe everything they teach doesn’t apply. It was a good opportunity to meet some very intelligent minds. I think I’ve learned to use more of my body in the throw instead of just the arm. Getting your legs into the throw—they are real big on that. It’s cool to see different perspectives on how to throw a football. “There’s obviously not a perfect way to throw it, everyone has different opinions, and taking all of that knowledge, putting it into your game and becoming the best version of yourself is ultimately as a quarterback what you want to be.”

The quarterback recovered perfectly, and this may be a good season for him.

“The rehab has been great,” Garoppolo added. “The whole process, the training staff, and all the coaches put together a great plan. It really went well. To participate in [offseason training activities] the way I did and, hopefully, being full-go for training camp, I couldn’t ask for much more coming off an ACL. Knock on wood; we’ll keep it going and stay in a good place.”