Sherman shifts blame from Garoppolo to 49ers defense for Super Bowl loss
Richard Sherman has heard the criticism of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo surrounding the 49ers’ loss in the Super Bowl.
Needless to say, the star cornerback doesn’t agree with it.
“It’s just barber shop talk. It’s just something to have a topic. It’s just foolish,” Sherman said on KNBR radio Wednesday. “... When you hear them blaming Jimmy, Jimmy doesn’t play defense. We had a 10-point lead. We get the guy a stop, we win the game.”
Sherman, making his first public comments of the offseason, took personal responsibility for the NFL’s top-ranked passing defense allowing 21 straight points to Kansas City over the final 6-plus minutes of the fourth quarter in which San Francisco blew a 10-point lead to lose, 31-20.
Sherman was in coverage when receiver Sammy Watkins beat him for a 38-yard catch coming three plays before the Chiefs scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:50 remaining when running back Damian Williams beat Sherman to the front pylon for the five-yard score.
“So those are things you go into the offseason and know you have to correct and you have to work hard, and it pushes you to work hard, it pushes you to fight to do extra reps to make sure that you don’t let the mistake happen again,” Sherman said.
“Jimmy played fine,” Sherman continued. “He did what he was supposed to do. We got to finish that game out. I got to finish that game out. I got to do what I’m supposed to do. I’m an All-Pro player, I got to play All-Pro down the stretch. ... I think, along with other leaders on the team, we would defend him vigorously because that had nothing to do with him.”
Garoppolo, of course, completed just 3 of 11 passes for 36 yards with an interception and 2.8 passer rating in the fourth quarter while San Francisco’s last points came with 2:50 remaining in the third.
Garoppolo also missed an open Emmanuel Sanders for the go-ahead touchdown inside the final two minutes after completing similar passes to the veteran for big gains in the regular season against the Saints and Rams.
Garoppolo played well enough during the first three quarters for head coach Kyle Shanahan to say his quarterback would have been named the game’s MVP had the 49ers pulled out their sixth Super Bowl win. Garoppolo completed 17 of his first 20 throws (85 percent) for 183 yards with a touchdown.
The MVP distinction when to Patrick Mahomes, who had 141 yards in the fourth quarter with 44 coming on the crucial third-and-15 conversion to speedy wideout Tyreek Hill that swung the game.
“We all know we didn’t make those plays at the end,” Shanahan said in February. “We made those plays all year, our whole team. That’s one of the reasons we were there. Whenever you don’t make those plays at the end in a game like that, first and foremost the quarterback is going to get attacked and then usually the play-caller. We understand that’s how it goes.”
The criticism of Garoppolo picked up as free agency opened in March when it was rumored Tom Brady would be interested in joining the 49ers. After some discussion, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch decided to stick with the 28-year-old Garoppolo rather than the 42-year-old Brady, who signed with Tampa Bay.
And for the second straight offseason, the 49ers decided against making significant new additions to the secondary. They brought back free safety Jimmie Ward on a three-year deal worth up to $28.5 million but decided against drafting a cornerback or safety.
“It’s almost like he had the number one pass defense in football or something. And so they thought maybe it worked out a little bit for us,” Sherman quipped.
Still, Sherman and the team’s other top cornerbacks, K’Waun Williams, Emmanuel Moseley and Ahkello Witherspoon, are all entering the final year of their contracts making it a position to keep an eye on in 2020 and next offseason.
“They trust this group,” Sherman said of 49ers brass. “Our chemistry is only getting better, our camaraderie. A (defensive back) group is kind of like an O-line group. The more reps you get together, the more of a feel you get.”
