Six quarters in the most productive system in the history of the National Football League is enough to convince General Managers and analysts that Jimmy Garoppolo is worth two first round picks. To be fair, Garoppolo has done well in those six quarters he has played in but to even suggest that he could change Cleveland's franchise is ridiculous.
Let's take two games out of Robert Griffin's III 2012 rookie season. In Week 11, RG3 threw 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 200 yards, and earned a passer rating of 158.3 in a 31-6 win over Philadelphia. One week later, in Week 12, he threw another 4 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 304 yards, getting a passer rating of 131.8 in a 38-31 win over MVP candidate Tony Romo's 12-4 Dallas Cowboys, in Dallas. In those two games, he had a TD:INT ratio of 8:1, an average of 252 yards, and an average passer rating of 145.1. Now let's look at Jimmy Garoppolo's stats from six quarters. In Week 1, against an Arizona Cardinals that went 7-8-1, he threw 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 264 yards, and got a passer rating of 106.1 in a 23-21 win. He improved in a home game the next week, against the Miami Dolphins, who started 1-4, where he threw 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 232 yards, and a passer rating of 135.4, in a 31-24 win. In those two games, he had a TD:INT ration of 4:0, an average of 248 yards, and an average passer rating of 120.8. Griffin's and Garoppolo's TD:INT ratios are pretty similar while Griffin just edges out Garoppolo in passing yards. Griffin's passer rating is exceptional and Garoppolo's is pretty good too. The point being Robert Griffin III was able to accomplish this with a team that finished 5-11 the previous season and proceeded to go 10-6, making the playoffs and lost 24-14 to the Seattle Seahawks who would win the Super Bowl the next year. Garoppolo has been able to perfectly fit in to the Patriots system after sitting under the greatest NFL player ever for two years with the greatest coach in NFL history helping him. Shipping him off to Cleveland would immediately thrust him into the system and he would have to relearn a brand new system, one that isn't particularly attractive, to be honest. The point is, Robert Griffin eventually lost the job to Kirk Cousins, drafted the same year as RG3 but in the fourth rounder, and got outplayed by freaking Colt McCoy. He then got tossed into the dump known as Cleveland and then the ultimate shame; he managed to get cut by the Cleveland Browns. I'm not saying that Garoppolo would not be able to perform on a team like the Jets, 49ers, or even Cleveland but I think it highly improbable that he will immediately succeed and that by the time he learns the system, he will be labeled a bust. The best option for Garoppolo, and possibly the most boring, is to sit behind Brady, refine his game, and either wait for Brady to retire and hand the job to him or make the decision that he is ready to take a team like Denver or Houston that just needs a competent quarterback to have a shot at the Big Game. Garoppolo is in a perfect situation right now and I think the system is currently making him more than he is making the system. In conclusion, everyone needs to chill. I need to see a whole season and a playoff run to be able to properly evaluate his talent. Dak Prescott has seized his team and proved that he is capable of orchestrating a very strong season and turning a 4-12 team into Super Bowl contenders. If Jimmy G can do that, I take back everything I have said.
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