A few months back, I was fortunate enough to interview Jeff Garcia and got his initial thoughts on 49ers rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard. While not much was given in his play or mechanics, Garcia was quick to point out Beathard had come into a great situation in San Francisco where he can sit and learn—one Garcia unfortunately did not receive.
This week, Garcia was a guest on 95.7 The Game’s “The Greg Papa Show”, and he offered up some insight on Beathard’s current play after two games:
Well he looks to be a very active QB. It looks like he has enough athletic ability to get outside, make plays on the run. He has shown accuracy on the run. He looks like he’s a gritty guy, tough, he’s learning the system. Which is difficult for rookies to step in and learn a system like that right away. I’m sure things are scaled back and they’re slowly progressing and adding more onto his plate, but I feel like he’s executed well when he’s stepped onto the field. He’s been accurate, he’s been decisive, he’s been a good decision maker. Those are key aspects in being consistent and being efficient as a quarterback and as an offense.
Beathard has only two games under his belt, but with only two games he at least doesn’t seem to be a total dud like many quarterbacks could begin the path to. If he can be the long-term savior of the 49ers is left to be determined, but he has a great situation to be in—he can sit and learn while staring quarterback Brian Hoyer helms the offense in 2017. As Garcia said, they are probably putting more onto Beathard’s plate to think about.
Hopefully Beathard is hungry to start and we’ll see that happen when he’s ready and not out of desperation or injuries.