Many believe this year’s 49ers are the result of a culmination of several bad decisions made by former general manager Trent Baalke.
With their stretch of three consecutive playoff appearances from 2011-2013 a distant memory, John Middlekauff said on the Haberman & Middlekauff Podcast that C.J. Beathard is paying the price for Baalke’s mistakes.
“From what I saw yesterday, he could have been seriously hurt and seriously injured, C.J. that is,” Middlekauff said. “Now it’s going to sound cold, but C.J. is dying for Jimmy now. C.J. is dying for Baalke’s sins. There’s a lot of sins C.J. is dying for and I hate to say it, but that’s just the way it is.”
Initially, Baalke appeared to be a perfect fit for the 49ers when he became general manager in 2011. Along with head coach Jim Harbaugh, Baalke guided the 49ers to back-to-back NFC West Division championships in 2011 and 2012.
Yet, as quickly as Baalke lifted the 49ers into contention, his mistakes cost them dearly in the later years of his tenure as general manager; including his inability to replace an aging core, decision to move on from Harbaugh and the mismanaging important roster spots.
Baalke was fired after the 49ers finished 2-14 last season and Middlekauff believes Beathard is experiencing the repercussions of Baalke’s poor decisions. Since Beathard took over for Brian Hoyer as starting quarterback three weeks ago, he’s been sacked roughly 4.5 times per game thanks to a weak offensive line. This is the reality of Beathard’s rookie season, and until the 49ers are ready to put in potential franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, it’s going to stay that way.
“I saw some C.J. quotes after the game and he said, ‘you’ll never see me, I don’t mind getting hit. I’ll stay in there,’ and he’s living it,” Middlekauff said. “I think some guys say it trying to act tough, but he’s living it.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and start from the beginning for Haberman and Middlekauff on 49ers.