This is not going to be about stats or footwork or throwing mechanics; This will be about the player, and what they look to be when you watch them on the field, and situations that help to define who they are on the field. Below are three attributes about C.J. Beathard, and how he plays within the game:
C.J. Beathard – Montra That Defines A 49er
FEARLESS:
Shanahan was looking for a quarterback who is fearless and C.J. Beathard definitely is. In the games watched you can tell that this is true. Look at some of the games where he has been pressured a lot.
I’ve watched a couple of times where he would be standing in the pocket, a defender would be running towards him around where he could see him, and he seemingly wouldn’t even care. He’d stand there without flinching, without moving, no type of happy feet starting. He’d be looking to make something happen as he’s about to get sacked.
I know people may have thoughts on that, and they may possibly be negative; like he shouldn’t be doing that and probably more negative comments. It helps prove that fearless is the type of player he is. Even to the last second sometimes he’s looking to make anything happen. He could just fall down or start taking the sack before it even happens, but at times he doesn’t.
He’s a rookie and has things to study and improve; it’s a great mentality to have not only for a QB but for someone who may be leading the team in the future. His team may look at that and go, “Man, this guy keeps getting banged around, like anyone of us, and he just keeps coming back.” That’s not only someone who could rally his team around him now but also into the future.
POISED:
He seems really poised in everything he does on and off the field; He will throw a touchdown or he’ll throw an interception, and he’ll still seemingly do the same thing regardless. I’ve seen this sometimes where afterward the cameras will be on him, and they will show his head down, on the bench, looking at a tablet. Touchdown, tablet; Interception, tablet.
Having that type of mentality for a quarterback is really good. It shows he’s not going to be hindered by any play, either good or bad. His approach seems to be someone who moves on from a previous play yet still tries to learn from that previous play, and that is all done while not staying on the previous play. That type of poise helps him stay in the current play and situation almost as if everything before that didn’t happen, which helps him not become mentally hindered by anything before.
CALM:
In games where he has been pressured a lot, especially within the last game, he remains really calm; I’ve seen quarterbacks who get really ticked or really irritated by that, but he just keeps doing what he does. During the Eagles game, where he was blitzed mercilessly, and to stay that calm, just shows what type of player he is. Some, if not more than some, would show some type of reaction or irritation.
C.J. Beathard methodically continues to do what he’s supposed to do almost as if he’s leading with a calming mentality, that no matter how much they throw at him, he’ll keep getting back up, and lining back up. I think this goes back to the first attribute of being fearless; he calmly, or at least as much as he can be, takes the hits, calmly gets back up, and calmly leads his team back into another play.
I know with everything going on with the 49ers it is difficult to look at these things, and that’s why I didn’t want to use stats. That’s why I wanted to define the player; I wanted to define not only who the player was, but also characteristics that the 49ers organization seemingly want to build around.
C.J. Beathard has a lot of really good qualities and characteristics, and obviously, there are things he’s going to try to continue to improve on; Having a mentally tough, and fearlessly poised and calming mentality is a great base for any person in any sport.