One of the most hotly debated topics in Bay Area sports talk this week has been if, or more likely when, Kyle Shanahan will give up on the Brian Hoyer experiment and tap C.J. Beathard to start at quarterback for the 49ers.
49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco came on KNBR Friday morning and shared his thoughts on whether the Hoyer experiment would end after this week.
“I think they’re going to ride this thing out with Hoyer as long as they can. But, how long can they? If he continues to play like he did last week, where the ball’s not coming out, he just looks almost deer in the headlights-like, and when a guy is open, he’s missing him, or hitting him in a spot where he can’t run after the catch. There are a lot of flaws right now with this team, and Hoyer is the most obvious one, just because you want to see an NFL passing game look like an NFL passing game, and it hasn’t done that, and that’s everything that–that’s the reason Kyle Shanahan has this job is because everywhere he’s been, he’s been able to turn whatever he’s had into a functional NFL offense, and it’s not at that point right now with the 49ers.”
As Murph mentioned on the podcast, the 49ers are tied with the Dolphins (who have played one fewer game than the 49ers) for last in the NFL with two passing touchdowns.
However, one of Maiocco’s most interesting comments referred to the effect forcing Beathard into game action too early could have on the unproven rookie.
“C.J. Beathard will be the starting quarterback at some point if Hoyer doesn’t snap out of this thing. It’s just a matter of when is the right time to do it, and I would think just for the team, for C.J. Beathard, I think the longer they can hold off on that, the better, cause you don’t want to put him out there if he’s not ready. And I just kind of get the sense that they feel like he’s not ready yet, that he’s not yet at that–at the level where Brian is as far as knowing the offense and everything else, so I think they feel like for Beathard, even, the best thing is if they can hold off into November before making that switch, that would be the best thing for everybody involved.”
Hoyer will have his chance this Sunday against the Colts to prove that he is still the man to lead this 49ers team, at least for now. If he doesn’t, whether or not he is ready to play in the NFL or not, the Beathard chorus will continue to intensify in volume.
Listen to the interview below. To hear Maiocco’s comments on Hoyer and Beathard, skip to the 2:15 mark.