Here’s what the 49ers should do with quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Jimmy Garoppolo for the rest of the season in a simple, four-step process:
Step 1: Keep Beathard as the starter.
Step 2: Play Garoppolo only if Beathard falters.
Step 3: Put the franchise tag on Garoppolo.
Steph 4: Let the two compete for the starter’s job next season.
Here’s the reasoning. Because of injuries and the huge miscalculation on Brian Hoyer, Shanahan’s been unable to install his offense, which probably takes a year or maybe two to fully implement. So, that installation was put on hold when the team went from Hoyer to Beathard and, as a result, Shanahan was forced to tear down his offense to sub-floor basics. With Beathard now excelling in practice and transferring that knowledge to games, Shanahan has returned to building back his offense with not only the quarterbacks, but the rest of his offensive players.
If the 49ers have to go with another novice quarterback, the learning curve for the rest of the team once again stalls. Also, Beathard’s reputation for toughness and his calm demeanor is increasingly growing on his teammates. Yank him out of the lineup and Shanahan breaks the player code of sitting a blossoming and productive player on a team hungry for wins.
However, if Shanahan waits, his team continues to learn the brick-by-brick of his offense and Garoppolo gets introduced to the offense as a more prepared player. It’s even something that Garoppolo may want. By inserting Garoppolo when the quarterback position is finally getting fixed, Garoppolo could inadvertently alienate his teammates, particularly if he struggles. Garoppolo wouldn’t want that and neither would his teammates.
His teammates likely would want to see Garoppolo only if Beathard falters at any time in the next six games. Then the rest of the offense would be willing to stall their learning to see if Garoppolo can infuse life into Shanahan’s schemes.
Observers of practice have already noted Garoppolo’s abundant skills.
Both general manager John Lynch and radio color commentator Tim Ryan have said that Garoppolo is a different quarterback in practice, and the assumption is they are comparing him to Beathard. Ryan even told Murph & Mac on the morning show earlier this week, “Jimmy is different in practice. He’s a different animal; he has a different skill set.” Furthermore, Lynch said nearly the exact same thing a week earlier. While neither man revealed what they meant, scouts and Garoppolo observers say his release is one of the quickest in football. And at 215 pounds, he’s nimble and his arm might be stronger than Beathard’s.
But how is Garoppolo going to perform behind a shaky offensive line and a largely unknown group of receivers? He’s had the cushy advantage of growing up in the best system in sports right now – the Patriots. He learned behind arguably the best quarterback of all time – Tom Brady.
Plenty of players look the part in practice. The 49ers just cut one of them. Brian Hoyer threw pinpoint passes with flawless timing towards the end of training camp practices this summer. As a thrower, he’s in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks.
But get Hoyer in the game and his mind goes blank. He even struggled to get his team lined up properly. And we all saw what happened once the ball was hiked – no pocket presence, errant throws, and an inability to spot the open receiver.
Beathard showed the first inkling of a quarterback who can perform at NFL speeds with his three-touchdown performance (2 passing, 1 rushing) against the Giants. And Beathard has already proven that he’s one of those rare humans who can deliver the ball and absorb a body slam from a 280-pound defender with nothing but menace in his soul. That’s a highly unusual trait. Also, Beathard has enough of an arm and enough talent to succeed at the NFL level. While his arm isn’t as strong as Aaron Rodgers, it’s better than Jeff Garcia’s or maybe even Joe Montana’s. And while his release may not be as quick as Garoppolo, it’s certainly quick enough.
Just go back to his throw on third-and-12 in the first quarter. Beathard fired a 14-yard strike to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne for the first down after Bourne opened up on a quick in route against zone coverage. Beathard threw the ball before Bourne hit his spot, and he did it with a rapid release. The play was fairly routine, but almost stunning in it’s efficiency. For Beathard, it took the cognition of knowing Bourne would be open against the zone, and the timing and anticipation to deliver the ball before the defense descended on Bourne. It was, in two words, beautiful football.
That’s obviously where Shanahan wants his passing attack to be. Plus he wants the big plays, which Beathard also delivered. Twice in the last two games he has completed passes of more than 50 yards to Marquise Goodwin.
With the Giants guarding themselves against the deep throw, Beathard delivered a pass in stride to tight end Garrett Celek. He then turned up field and scored on a 47-yard catch-and-run. That’s what offenses want to do. If a defense takes something away, they’ll strike in another area, and that’s something Beathard realized in his fourth game as a starter.
The challenge will be if Beathard can continue to advance with that type of second-level play. If he does, it would be counter productive to sit him favor of a quarterback who has less experience than he does.