49ers confident Jimmy Garoppolo will be up to speed for Sunday’s game

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SANTA CLARA — Wednesday afternoon, Jimmy Garoppolo practiced for the first time as the 49ers’ starting quarterback.

Garoppolo took every rep with the starters. Practice-squad quarterback Nick Mullens played with the scout team. And former starter C.J. Beathard watched from the sideline with a bruised left knee and strained hip. He did not participate in drills.

Earlier in the afternoon, head coach Kyle Shanahan explained his reasoning for making the switch from Beathard to Garoppolo this week.

“It’s a decision we’ve had to look into each week,” Shanahan said in the 49ers auditorium. “It definitely hasn’t been an easy decision. I’ve wanted to get a chance to see Jimmy play. I’ve also wanted a chance to let C.J. continue to play.

“So we’ve been trying to balance that out, and also give Jimmy a chance to fully get ready. The longer you wait, the more ready he will be. He won’t fully be there, I believe, until next year. But with everything going the way it did, also with C.J. being not able to practice today and maybe not throughout the week, that made the decision a little bit easier.”

Would Shanahan’s decision have been different if Beathard were healthy?

“I don’t know,” Shanahan said. “I can’t really speak to a hypothetical. I knew it was going to be a tough decision anyway, but this made it a lot easier.”

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This article has 10 Comments

  1. Nice article Grant. Looking forward to seeing Top Jimmy perform, cuz,

    Top Jimmy cooks, top Jimmy swings
    He’s got the look
    Top Jimmy, he’s the king!

    Hopefully the O-Line will rise to the occasion.

  2. Hmm, Mullens is still on the PS, and CJB may still be the backup? Hope they have the proper contingency plans.
    .
    Instead of Beadles, I would like to see Darrell Williams at RT. Maybe let Barnes be the center, and move Kilgore to Guard. Niners need to shake things up, because the continual poor play will result in injury to the QB.

  3. Very good analysis, Grant. It often has been said by head coaches, offensive coordinators as well as QBs that a run game is a QB’s best friend. Successful offensive coordinators, including Norv Turner who had great success as an OC with several NFL teams, believe that you have to run the ball at least 32 times a game, and more often when ahead and attempting to run out the clock in the “4 minute” offense. Considering the average performing NFL offense runs about 64-65 plays a game, it is slightly more than a 50-50 run-pass ratio. Jimmy also has the benefit of nearly 4 years in NE, so I am sure he has been well educated by Belichick and Brady in game and clock management, and no question in his brief time in Santa Clara, especially after watching Beathard being treated like a Cinco de Mayo pinata, Jimmy’s radar will be up with the play calling on Sunday vs. the Bears.

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