Former Stanford quarterback Todd Husak stepped in for the ailing Tim Ryan on the KNBR broadcast of the 49ers and Seahawks on Sunday. And he had an opinion on Murph and Mac on how the 49ers locker room might be viewing C.J. Beathard and Jimmy Garoppolo.
“Players know who the real guys are; I think they recognize CJ Beathard as a real guy, who is doing his best to try to lead the team to victory,” Husak noted. “They also recognize talent. There’s no question players recognize talent in the locker room. There’s no question Jimmy Garoppolo has a lot of talent. I think they respect CJ Beathard and how hard he’s worked, they also want to win games and if they feel like Garoppolo is the better player, they will appreciate what (CJ) has done for (them) and look forward to the future.”
Both Ryan, who watches nearly every practice and general manager John Lynch have talked about a “different skill set” when it comes to Garoppolo. He gets the ball out quicker, and with a ridiculously small sample size (three plays) he was able to move twice make plays under pressure.
That’s where Husak says Garoppolo needs to improve.
“He’s tough, he takes the shots,” Husak said of Beathard. “Sometimes you got to sidestep or feel the pressure or know where it’s coming from. It’s a combination, the offensive line did not play their best game of the season. The quarterback can help the offensive line: move around in the pocket, sense the blitz, feel the pressure, keep your eyes down the field, throw the ball away. He’s not great at that. Not his best quality as a quarterback, there’s some growth he can do there.”
Husak and Robinson also noted during the broadcast that all five offensive linemen hugged Beathard after he sustained a left knee injury when tackled in the pocket by defensive end Michael Bennett. The extent of Beathard’s injury will be known later Monday when he gets an MRI.
Husak said that Garoppolo couldn’t have played any better with his three plays at the end of the game. He ran for 4 yards when flushed from the pocket, threw an accurate out route on time to Aldrick Robinson for 8 yards and then found Louis Murphy in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown strike after scrambling.
“He really couldn’t have done any better,” Husak said.
He also said he didn’t think the crowd was cheering Beathard while he on the ground getting medical assistance.
“They were not cheering C.J. Beathard’s injury at all,” Husak said. “They cheered when Garoppolo came on the field, they were excited to see the player they traded for mid-season and a lot people will think is the quarterback of the future.”