With Tom Brady suspended for the first four games of the season, all eyes are on Jimmy Garoppolo. In the preseason, demonstrating traits of a successful QB is far more important than wins, losses, or statistics. This article analyzes Garoppolo’s second preseason game. My breakdown from the first preseason game on his accuracy, progression, pocket presence, and decision making can be found here.

Accuracy

Garoppolo was once again up and down with accuracy. On a 3rd and 2 on the first drive of the game, Aaron Dobson is open for a first down on a quick out route, but Garoppolo misses behind him.

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These types of misses will result in interceptions in the regular season. However, just like the first preseason game, Garoppolo bounced back and improved his accuracy throughout the game. A 2nd quarter out throw to Martellus Bennett is exactly where the ball needs to be on this type of plays:

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Progression

Garoppolo continued to work through his progression and find 3rd and 4th options for completions as opposed to locking onto only one option. This will be a critical skill in the regular season. Here, Garoppolo looks off several reads before finding Chris Hogan and A.J Derby for substantial gains twice during the 2-minute drill :

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Pocket Presence & Footwork

Garoppolo took a bad sack on the first drive of the first preseason game because he failed to climb the pocket and step up when he needed to. This past week Garoppolo stepped up with excellent footwork to buy himself time, kept his eyes downfield, and found an open receiver on multiple occasions:

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Below is the end zone angle showing the same footwork to climb the pocket:

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Decision Making

Garoppolo had his fair share of poor decisions in the first preseason game, whether it was failing to throw the ball away or throwing the ball back across the middle late. He made one bad decision almost resulting in an interception in the second game:

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However, he did not take sacks where he should have thrown the ball away and was also able to process the defense quickly and make an instant decision when there was an extra rusher and the coverage vacated:

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Overall, Garoppolo was better in the second preseason game. He made fewer bad decisions and more positive plays. Graroppolo has shown ability to go through progressions and make reads, but still needs to be more consistent with his accuracy.