Golden Nuggets: 49ers drop their 10th of the season

On November 11, 2012, an injury to Alex Smith brought forth the Colin Kaepernick era. Yesterday marked the next milestone in Niners lore. A much ballyhooed second round quarterback is given his first game time, in relief of an injured starter - he scores a touchdown, and the ball begins rolling on the new era of the San Francisco 49ers.

Unlike the 2012 landscape between Alex Smith and Kaepernick (well, also the 2017 landscape between Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes), there exists the most unusual quarterback controversy; between a mid-round ‘Harbaugh’ type, and a former Tom Brady understudy who has been on the roster for mere weeks. Considering Kyle Shanahan’s time as an OC in Atlanta, the difference between year 1 (dismal) and year 2 (MVP season), there clearly exists a steep learning curve. Positives in the first year should be considered heavily.

While it’s been expected that Garoppolo would get his first live snaps around this part of the year, it’s seemed to be a tenuous position - resulting in a fanbase expecting the inevitable, and being charmed by the unexpectedly positive results of a relief performance.

CJ Beathard has shown a certain toughness and poise at the helm of an otherwise sorry offense, especially Sunday’s deep completions to Marquise, that gives some hope for his future. At this point, I honestly believe that the worst-case scenario for the 49ers is crowning a quarterback without proper competition. Keep playing CJ.

On to the good stuff-

Grops gets live snaps | Branch, SF Gate | Inman, Mercury | Kurtenbach, Mercury | Wagoner, ESPN | Biderman, Ninerswire

49ers players unhappy with Santa Clara crowd | Branch, SF Gate | Lynch, KNBR | Biderman, Ninerswire

Week 12 narratives | Pashelka, Mercury | Maiocco, CSN Bay Area | Barrows, Sac Bee | Wagoner, ESPN | Lowder, Ninerswire

Week 12 notes | Pashelka, Mercury | Maiocco, CSN Bay Area | Lynch, KNBR | Barrows, Sac Bee | Lowder, Ninerswire

Beat writers weigh in on potential QB controversy | Lynch, KNBR | Barrows, Sac Bee | Biderman, Ninerswire

Louis Murphy on Grops’ command of the huddle | Lynch, KNBR

Oscar & David of Better Rivals AMA | BetterRivals, Reddit