49ers coach Kyle Shanahan says C.J. Beathard improving as QB

SANTA CLARA - On Wednesday, Kyle Shanahan said he sees definite improvement in C.J. Beathard. One play in particular showed Beathard’s growth from last season to now.

It wasn’t the 82-yard touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle Beathard threw against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Beathard threw an 83-yard touchdown pass last season. And it wasn’t the heroic four-and-a-half-yard scramble on third-and-five. That’s when Beathard got the wind knocked out of him and almost left the game. He made tough runs last season, too.

Beathard’s most impressive play was a modest 13-yard pass over the middle. But the degree of difficulty was off the charts. Beathard threw the pass while taking a vicious hit. “I don’t know if I would have been able to get that (pass) out last year,” Beathard said.

Here’s what happened on Sunday.

The 49ers’ offense was at the Chargers’ 35-yard line with 9:08 left in the second quarter. It was third-and-7. Center Weston Richburg snapped the ball to Beathard, who was waiting in the shotgun.

After the snap, right tackle Mike McGlinchey shuffled to his right to block outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. And right guard Mike Person shuffled to his left to help Richburg block nose tackle Justin Jones.

Meanwhile, Chargers strong safety Derwin James blitzed, ran right between Person and McGlinchey. Neither saw him. No one blocked him. James had a direct shot on the 49ers’ backup quarterback.

Beathard knew James was coming, but never looked at him - the heck with the consequences. Beathard kept his eyes downfield on his target, Kittle. Waited for Kittle to make his cut, then threw the pass before Kittle fully turned his head to find the ball.

As the ball left Beathard’s fingertips, James blasted him in the rib cage just underneath his throwing arm, where Beathard was exposed. He couldn’t follow through. He fell backward and hit his helmet on Joe Staley’s shoulder.

But the pass was perfect anyway. Chest level. Kittle caught it in stride for the first down.

“I see a lot of improvement,” Shanahan said about Beathard. “He has gotten better knowing where people are. That happens the more you play in a system. He’s much further ahead this year than he was last year.”

Beathard was a rookie last season. He started five games and struggled. His quarterback rating was 69.2; he was inaccurate, inexperienced and just a little too slow doing everything. His release was slow, his footwork in the pocket was slow, his reads were slow, he held the ball too long as he scanned the field and got sacked 19 times as a result.

Last season, Beathard probably would have gotten sacked during that third-and-7 play when the safety blitzed. This season, he avoided the sack. He made a quick decision. He threw an accurate pass even as he took a monster hit.

“Beathard is more than capable of running the offense,” Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks said on a conference call on Wednesday. The 49ers will play the Cardinals on Sunday.

Wilks continued: “I don’t think Kyle (Shanahan) is going to shimmy down any of what he’s trying to do (to make things easy for Beathard). This guy, he’s athletic, he can move around in the pocket, he can buy time, he can get the ball down the field and he’s got weapons around him. You look at him trying to run the football. I’m sure Kyle will tell him to slide (away from danger), but that’s where the toughness comes in. He’s not afraid to lower that shoulder and try to get what he can get.”

Beathard’s toughness is his best trait. The 49ers admire it in him. But to have a future in the NFL, he will need to learn when to be tough, and when to protect himself. That’s the next step in Beathard’s growth.

“There’s definitely a fine line between getting the extra yard and getting down and protecting yourself,” Beathard said. “You don’t want to get hurt and be out for any game. That’s something I’ll definitely work on, getting down. If the game is on the line, though, fourth down, you’ll try to get that extra yard.”

In other words, Beathard can’t promise he’ll go down every time. His instincts will tell him to keep running. The 49ers may have to protect him from himself.

“We could not get him hit if we ran the ball every single play,” Shanahan said sarcastically. “There’s lots of things (we can do). Try to get rid of the ball versus pressure. You try to get guys open faster. You try to stay balanced (between passing and running). In order to do that, you’ve got to throw the ball, so you move the chains on third down.”

Meaning Shanahan can protect Beathard only up to a point. Eventually, on a big third down, say, with seven yards to go, Beathard must stand and deliver.

He did last Sunday.