Just before reports came out Thursday afternoon from the Mercury News that announced C.J. Beathard will start on Sunday, 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco told Gary & Larry that he believes there’s a chance Jimmy Garoppolo will finally see the field against the New York Giants.
“If C.J. Beathard continues to get the hits or absorb the hits he got last week, I think we’ll see him [Garoppolo],” Maiocco said.
Garoppolo’s been on the sideline since the 49ers traded for him shortly after their 33-10 defeat in Week 8 to the Philadelphia Eagles, but he’s spent that time working on Kyle Shanahan’s playbook. After just over a week with the 49ers, Garoppolo is becoming increasingly familiar with how Shanahan wants his offense run.
“I don’t know if they’ll do the thing where, ‘here’s a handful of plays, let’s get him in for a series,’ Maiocco said. “But I do know that he goes into this game with the same number of plays at his disposal as he did a week ago, which is roughly 20 run plays and 25 pass plays.”
Part of the reasoning behind not putting in Garoppolo is not only his inexperience with the playbook, but also Beathard’s experience with Shanahan. With three starts under his belt, Beathard undoubtedly understands Shanahan’s strategy much more than Garoppolo.
“I think a lot of it has to do with Beathard at least knows the protections and how to get out of plays and into plays,” Maiocco said. “So I think, he’s a little more apt to defend himself and avoid the hits, but he certainly hasn’t avoided the hits in the last two and a half games as quarterback.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 2:15 for Maiocco on Garoppolo.
