Hits keep stacking up for C.J. Beathard

Posted By on October 1, 2018

San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard, below, is seen to by teammates after getting tackled by Los Angeles Chargers defensive back Casey Hayward as Chargers defensive end Darius Philon, right, celebrates during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez)

SANTA CLARA — It’s what’s good about C.J. Beathard, and what makes the 49ers worry about him.

He’s fearless. He’s tough. He takes hit after hit and keeps getting up, because he’s willing to suffer to win. The 49ers backup quarterback almost willed them to a victory last Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Almost. But, the 49ers lost 29-27.

Beathard almost got crushed, too. He took eight hits in the pocket, plus lots of hits while scrambling downfield. He may not last the rest of the season if he continues to take so much punishment.

“He did get hit a lot in the game,” head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted Monday. “There are times when he can avoid it. There are times (he) can’t. You try to talk to him, get him to understand.”

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This article has 68 Comments

  1. I was curious about the 49ers rush chart as it seemed very hit or miss when I was watching it. It wasn’t quite as bad when looking at the stats though.
    I still would have liked to see a lot more 4 to 6 yards runs but there were not many of those, just under half the runs were for 3yds or less. That said, there were still enough decent gains to justify more runs. The next step would be to look at the down and distance on the plays runs were not called.
    I don’t fault Shanahan for trying to get points on the board at the end of the half but he needed to communicate to CJ on third down to take a short sack rather than throw the ball away or risk scrambling and getting hurt. He flat blew that,
    However, It must also said while he made several mistakes, the players were in position to win the game, that drop by Celek ended up being a 12 point swing, as he would have fallen backwards into the endzone.
    Right now the 49ers are the Steve Deburg’s of the NFL… just good enough to get you beat.

    1. Celek had a god-awful game. Besides the drop, he had 2 costly holding penalties. I was hoping that he was finally putting it together last year but now I’m afraid that 2017 was an outlier for him. Hopefully, the former is true.

        1. Celek had a turrible game and the perfect pass that bounced off his hands at the 1 for the near pick 6 was inexcusable. His mind seemed somewhere else all game… Perhaps Cole Wick deserves some more playing time.

      2. Kt, I agree he had an awful game but you’re giving Celek way too much credit. 2017 wasn’t that great either.
        Look at all the up and coming TEs in the league this year, and I’m not just talking about the OJ Howards and Kittles, but most teams have a second or third guy who flat out balls. Not us.

        Ross Dwelley needs to see the field asap.

            1. A 10 point swing assumes that he scores there. I didn’t see it that way. I saw it as a 6 point swing, but also realized that the 49ers were gifted 4 points from a missed FG and a missed extra point.

              That’s a long way of saying it might have been 30-30 all things considered.

              1. After the first missed PAT, the Chargers went for and made the 2 pt conversion after their next TD. They missed another PAT later. I would hardly look at a missed 54 yd FG as a “gift.” By no means was that a “gimme.”

                The announcer was driving me crazy when he kept saying how important the missed XP’sand the missed FG were. In reality, it only made it a difference of 1 point. The Chargers kicker made the 3 “gimme” FGs.

        1. You might have a case of CRS. I think I have had it for some time but I cant remember when I got it.

  2. All that I know is since the John and Denise Munster have taken over this team they have taken one of the crown jewels on the NFL and made them completely irrelevant.Its amazing and all the seasons since they’ve been here is like ground hog day…They have only has two coaches that were successful and literally ran both of them off.

    1. Razor …

      You’re great at assigning nick names .. so I figured you’d
      come up with something more “Razor-worthy” …

  4. Since many think I can only defend Grant, I will totally disagree with him.
    .
    Couple years ago, Grant wrote an article detailing the toughness of players. He said that players need to be able to take big hits to show how tough they are.
    .
    Players who are able to take a hit may be tough, but it is in their best interest to avoid all big hits. Instead of plowing into the teeth of the defense, the superior strategy would be to run untouched through a gaping hole in the line. Instead of catching the ball over the middle and accepting the safety hammering him, maybe the better strategy would be to catch the ball past the first down marker, and fall to the ground, so the receiver can get up and play the whole game. Instead of struggling for every inch, then getting gang tackled and stripped of the ball, maybe the ball carrier should fall forward and gain as much as possible, but stay healthy, keep playing, and keep the ball.
    .
    Now we have Grant worried about the health of CJB. Glad CJB is tough, but he is getting bludgeoned. I am glad Grant is coming around to the idea that avoiding big hits may be the smartest strategy, even though it is not full of macho bravado. KS needs to devise plays that can prevent CJB from taking those big hits. Maybe making him sit in the collapsing pocket is not wise, especially with all the hits he has taken. I was encouraged by seeing CJB roll out more.
    .
    Avoiding injuries is becoming the new mantra. With all the attrition, the team that best preserves the health of its players may be the last team standing.

    2. Seb

      What game is that we are now playing…? Oh, I’m watching reruns of football games on another channel…

    3. Sebs-

      All i can say is………..Sebs.

      Catch the ball and fall down. Reams and reams of evidence will be brought up to show that this is what, say, T.O. and Rice said to do……….except their will be no such forthcoming evidence coming-ever.

  5. Grant presented a good way to prevent CJB from taking so many big hits.
    .
    The Niners should run the ball. Did KS do that? No.
    .
    KS let the Chargers shape the offense. They stacked the box, and dared CJB to beat them with the pass.
    .
    How could KS have countered that strategy? He should have spread them out wide, and attacked the edges. With 2 receivers on the left, and 2 on the right, that would dictate having only 7 in the box. Then, with the defense spread out wide, he could possibly have used Juice on a fullback dive option, to gash them up the middle. Bubble screens and fly sweeps may be other options.
    .
    Maybe they should have put a man in motion, to over load a side. Then they would have the option to fake it to that side, and do a naked bootleg going the other way.
    .
    Just expect the Cards to stack the box. How or if KS can make an adjustment, will dictate whether they win or lose.

  7. Injuries aside, we need to be more competitive in games. Playmakers are needed. The Niners should just draft only athletes at this point. Someone to get open and to make plays on both sides of the ball. Getting tired of these losing ways. This goes back years, even when we were good. Kyle Williams fumbles against Giants, CK and Crabtree not connecting at Superbowl.

    How the hell can we have the #3 pick in the draft and end up with Solomon Thomas. #3 in that draft!!! Then the next year we draft an average OT that would of gotten same potential in round 2. We need impact players. PASS RUSHERS. Multiple pass rushers. We should/could/would be 3-1 if our heads were on straight and made the plays at critical points in the game.

  8. There is no way Beathard makes it through the year playing like he did against the Chargers. He is going to get annihilated. They guy just takes too many hits. The 49ers need to sign another QB or trade for a QB. I have the perfect trade target. It’s a veteran QB with experience running a successful offense under Shanahan. From what I saw in the preseason he looks healthy and I believe he can be productive. I say the 49ers trade a 5th round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for their 3rd string QB… Robert Griffin III.

    1. Houston …
      RG3 … (though he’s had experience with Shanny) …
      always reminded me of a Jerry Glanville .. run ‘ n’ shoot
      kinda QB … but .. in the event .. (heaven forbid)
      Mullins becomes next man up … I wonder if
      RG3 would take a 3rd string slot ? … or not

    2. @hou 9er

      Suggested RG3 also but then read they had a very bad falling out….

      Not a big fan of you but was touched about your son’s story. Wishing him the best in life…..

      1. Oneniner says:
        October 2, 2018 at 12:47 pm
        @hou 9er

        Suggested RG3 also but then read they had a very bad falling out….

        Not a big fan of you but was touched about your son’s story. Wishing him the best in life…..

        Things an a**hole would say. What does your lame opinion of him have to do with his sons story. Boy you don’t have the brain to just say something nice without having to prove your hatred.
        This is why you were punked years ago on this site. At least Seb has the mindset to simply say “hey pulling for your son” or sorry to hear that” without throwing a personal shot first.
        This is why you’re still the king of dip**its on this site! Pathetic!

            1. Nice comeback, on a blog available for everyone to view and comment on no less. ?

            2. yea to view, comment and “not comment”……..this has nothing to do with you…..especially when you don’t have a clue of what is been discussed……..shoo off….aka attention seeker

            3. you are nothing but a confused Uncle Tom loser……..just remember you will never be White…..

              Pretty sure everyone knew what you were saying ninermd here. If you want people to mind their business, then don’t post racist crap like this. It’s that simple.

            4. A very much racist narcissist!!..and blow off, you don’t tell anybody who can comment or not so get it straight. We own you!!..and nobody needs you!!

          2. To all of humanity, I apologize for that sad human beings racist remark. In the truest sense, he should be pitied.

      2. @Oneniner

        Thanks for the kind words. Not sure why anyone wouldn’t be a fan of me. I’m MFing delightful.

        I hadn’t heard there was a falling out with RG3 but I can certainly see how he may be mad at the Shanahan family. Trotting RG3 out onto the field when he had that leg injury was maybe the worst thing I’ve ever seen in sports. I would be extremely angry at the Shanahan family too if I were RG3.

  9. Why would you want to waste a 5th round pick when a 7th round would be generous for ))RG3

  10. KS “hopes’ CJ learns to protect himself. Well how about that. I’ll bet he “hoped” Jimmy would learn the same thing BEFORE he got taken out for the year. Didn’t quite work out though. Here’s what I hope – I hope Kyle learns that hope is not a plan before too much longer! In the meantime, let’s all help Kyle out and hope along with him.

      1. Ah … a song from my youth ….
        very apropo in this context …. thanx for that one..
        Razor

  11. Justen Gammel
    @gamscout
    Don’t be shocked if in 4-5 years Greg Mabin is a better NFL CB than Desmond King. If King even plays CB…

    9:32 PM – Jan 16, 2017

  12. Dee Phiant says:
    September 30, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    I’m worried about all the injuries, they keep piling up.
    The way Beathard is playing will make us look for another QB soon. Too many hits.

    Gee Grant, if my daughter had written your headline in her English class, she would have been accused of plagiarism! But then again plagiarism is just another form of flattery!

  14. “It was extremely hard to run the ball the way the Chargers were playing,” Shanahan said. “(They had) an eight-man front every single play. And they were running pressures to stop the run, not the pass. I felt good with what we did. Just didn’t get it done.”

    This is what I was alluding to in the other thread. It was more than just playing 8 men in the box. They were attacking the run aggressively, daring the 49ers to beat them through the air. Maybe they should have still run more, but in that situation I do think it is prudent to try and take advantage.

    This was the biggest difference I noticed between Beathard and JG. With JG playing, teams were gearing up to stop the pass, which was providing the run game some big advantages. With Beathard that was reversed. I expect it will continue to be that way the rest of the season, and doubt the run game will find the same kind of success it had the first three weeks.

      1. Yards from run by Morris and Brieda: [1 12 5 0 3 8 -2 1 3 2 12 3 7 ];
        The average is 4.1 ypc, but a better measure of the success of the running game is the median which was 3 (i.e., half of runs gained less than 3 yards). The mode (most common run) was also 3 yards. The Chargers did focus on stopping the run and succeeded pretty well despite 3 longer runs of 8-12 yds.

        1. I’ll take 3 yards or more on a run play, especially when I’m getting that 8 out of 13 times.

          1. It would likely be much less than 3 yards if the number of runs had doubled. Niners ran two run plays in succession only twice. One reason there were some successful run plays is that they were few, implemented with Kyle’s approach of running out of passing formations.

      2. Sure, but that’s a lot less than the average with JG. I’m not really arguing they shouldn’t have run a bit more, I am arguing that the way teams are defending the 49ers is likely going to change. The Chargers game plan on D was to stop the run first and foremost. Very different to how teams had been defending when JG was in there.

        But I also don’t think it should have been a significant shift towards the run. If the opponent is giving you opportunities in the pass game you have to take them.

        One thing this game showed me is that Shanahan trusts Beathard. We will find out over the next 12 games whether that trust is warranted.

        1. I know you are, Scooter. I’m not really arguing anything counter to what you wrote either. What you’re saying about the focus makes sense.

          We saw this same thing happen a year ago when Beathard took over with the same basic result.

          Beathard definitely looked improved from a season ago, but this team won’t win many games when he’s dropping back on almost 75% of the offensive snaps.

        2. You also have to look at some of the short passes as run plays because the intention is the same. I think the WC offense has long used the term extended handoffs. The Chargers were playing run most of the game as we mentioned a couple of threads ago and the Niner strategy was working. Now it’s about getting Beathard to stop trying to be a hero on every play.

  15. The 49ers should go after Terrell Chestnut! He played cornerback opposite of Worley in WV and is very familiar w/ the cover 3 defense. Pff ranked him higher than Worley. He’s physical, fast and smart.

            1. The Joe should get one … just like it !

              (but .. on second thought …
              Jennifer probably wouldn’t approve ) ….

  17. Is anyone troubled by Shanahan saying he can be a game manager or trying to win the game?

    I have seen a certain stubbornness in Shanahan, which is troubling to me. It’s his way and he knows best. I wonder if this a sign of lack of experience.

    I think it manifests itself most in Red Zone offense but there is a hint of it in game situations. Just something to keep an eye on.

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