For the 49ers, their upcoming game against the Indianapolis Colts, who are 1-3 and fresh off a blowout defeat against the Seattle Seahawks, is another opportunity to give Kyle Shanahan his first victory as head coach.
This objective is the same for Brian Hoyer, but his struggles this season increase the pressure to perform against the Colts on Sunday. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee elaborated on the importance of this game for Hoyer with Gary & Larry Monday afternoon.
“That’s not a very good team,” Barrows said. “You’re probably not playing Andrew Luck. That team is very limited, although they’ve given some teams a very good fight and they’re playing in their home stadium. If you can’t get into the end zone, there’s no use having him as the quarterback.”
Hoyer gave every impression of a turnaround when he threw two touchdowns and produced 332 yards against the Los Angeles Rams on September 9 in a 41-39 loss. The following week Hoyer reverted back to the quarterback he was in the first two games of the season, however, during San Francisco’s overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Hoyer has gone without a touchdown in all but one game this season.
All the while, C.J. Beathard watches from the sidelines as the only other quarterback on San Francisco’s roster. Although Kyle Shanahan said he doesn’t “want to make drastic changes this early,”, Barrows asks if Hoyer’s struggles persist against Indianapolis, what harm would it do to give Beathard the reigns?
“There’s a reason he jumped ahead of Matt Barkley and why he’s not just been the No. 2 quarterback on this team, but the only other other quarterback on this team and I think that’s significant,” Barrows said. “That means if someone falls into Brian Hoyer’s leg or Brian Hoyer hits hit thumb on somebody’s helmet on a follow through, it’s C.J. Beathard. So the 49ers must have known that going into the season, which implies they have the faith that C.J. Beathard can get the job done.”
At this point, one of the only things Hoyer holds over Beathard is experience. When the 49ers signed Hoyer, they envisioned him as the placeholder veteran quarterback that would lead their youthful team to a season of strong development. However, his serious struggles this year have him more looking inexperienced than the nine-year veteran that he is.
“The argument against that is that you’re trying to develop all of these guys, a receiving core, young tight ends, young running backs and you’d maybe want a veteran quarterback running the operation to maximize that development,” Barrows said. “But, your point is well taken, if that veteran quarterback is not getting the job done, there’s not point in having him in there.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 2:59 for Barrows on Hoyer.