San Francisco 49ers: Slow-playing Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t deserve criticism

The San Francisco 49ers’ decision to stick with C.J. Beathard over Jimmy Garoppolo for Week 12 has provoked criticism that is largely undeserved.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that C.J. Beathard will remain the starter ahead of Jimmy Garoppolo for at least another week, prompting a bemused response from many. The confirmation that Beathard will stay under center coming out of the bye for the Week 12 clash with the Seattle Seahawks illicited many reactions across the Twittersphere.

Some wondered why the 49ers are restricting Garoppolo’s game time, while others made the claim that San Francisco is scared to put him out on the field and is creating a quarterback drama by keeping him on the sideline. There appears to be something of a clamor to find a narrative within this situation, when the rather boring reality is that there isn’t one.

It can be said that Garoppolo, having now been with the team for three weeks, has had enough time to learn the playbook and be ready. There may be some credence to that, but there is little upside to rushing Garoppolo if he is not ready.

The 49ers are taking the patient approach and doing so is to the benefit of both Garoppolo and Beathard. Garoppolo gets another week to digest the playbook and watch it in action while Beathard gets the chance to prove himself again coming off the best performance of his fledgling career against the New York Giants.

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Beathard can now have the confidence in knowing that strong performances will be rewarded, and his continued presence on the field provides the 49ers with the chance to assess what they have in their third-round pick behind a healthy offensive line.

In three games against the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals, Beathard was sacked a combined 14 times. He completed just 50.4 percent of his passes for 696 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

By contrast against the Giants, when he was not sacked, Beathard completed 76 percent of his passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, a rushing score, and one interception.

It is understandable for the 49ers to want to see if he can repeat such a display against the Seahawks before putting Garoppolo in there, and anyone who believes San Francisco is scared to insert Garoppolo should remember that Shanahan was ready to do so when Beathard hurt his thumb against the Giants.

But Beathard toughed it out and led the 49ers to a win. Should he fail to do so again versus Seattle, it is logical to assume Garoppolo will get his shot.

In leaving it at least another week to hand Garoppolo his debut, the 49ers are not manufactuirng a quarterback drama. Garoppolo, as general manager John Lynch — per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco — said on Tuesday is going to be the guy long term.

That appears to be the accepted line of thinking within the 49ers organization and Garoppolo does not seem frustrated by his extended wait to see the field.

"“The competitor in me obviously you want to get out there, play with the teammates and help the team win, but it’s a tough situation coming in midway through the season, so it’s going to be a process.”"

Keeping Beathard on the field this week carries no downside for a team under no pressure to win in a rebuilding year.

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The 49ers feel good about their quarterback room and have enough games to evaluate both of their signal-callers. For all the overreaction to them sticking with Beathard, the fact is that giving the rookie another game at the helm is a move of little controversy.