C.J. Beathard and the 49ers offensive line were roughed up last Sunday by the Arizona Cardinals, and many in Niner Nation stood by hoping potential franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would remain safe on the sideline. Although Garoppolo came out of the 49ers’ 20-10 defeat scratch free, 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco told Murph & Mac Thursday morning the time for this promising quarterback to take the field is on the horizon.
“I think there’s decent chance,” Maiocco said. “Last week they went into the game, Jimmy Garoppolo knew 25 run plays and 25 pass plays. This week, maybe double that. He has some knowledge of how the 49ers function.”
If Garoppolo should see any time against the New York Giants this Sunday, the return of left tackle Joe Staley to the offensive line is sure to increase his protection in the pocket. The offensive line looked thin against the Cardinals without Staley, who suffered an orbital fracture in his right eye in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Nonetheless, there is a possibility Staley will play this Sunday and keep Garoppolo from the same beating Beathard took against the Cardinals.
“There’s a decent chance or even a possibility that their No. 1 offensive line will be out there and obviously if you want to get Jimmy Garoppolo out on the field, no disrespect to C.J. Beathard you’d like to protect him as well, but with Jimmy Garoppolo out there you’ll definitely want your best offensive line out there,” Maiocco said.
In the early years of his career, Joe Montana was the prized and soon-to-be franchise quarterback of the 49ers, but Bill Walsh eased Montana into things in the early years of his career.
“I kind of like this idea of what Bill Walsh would do with Joe Montana early, which was have him perfect a certain portion of the playbook and run plays and set up those kind of plays and then put him in,” Maiocco said. “Steve DeBerg starts and plays and then he put Montana in for a certain number of plays that he’s mastered and feel like this gives him an opportunity to succeed.
“The last thing they want to do with Garoppolo is to put him out there and throw him to the wolves and put him in a situation where it’s going to be tough for him to have any success. You want Garoppolo to experience some success before the end of the season. It wouldn’t shock me to see him out there in a limited form on Sunday.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 6:10 for Maiocco on Garoppolo.