SANTA CLARA -- In the immediate aftermath of his first NFL start, 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard had plenty of questions.
He did not wait to watch the film. He did not wait until the next day, when he would see 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan at the team's headquarters.
“I think it was more fresh in my mind from playing,” Beathard said.
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So, Sunday evening, following the 49ers’ 40-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the rookie fired off a few texts to the man who designed and installed the offense.
“It's always fun when you can get with a guy and you feel you have a chance to help him get better,” Shanahan said of Beathard. “I enjoy meeting with him because he asks good questions, and I think he learns from every rep that he gets.”
In his first start, Beathard completed 22 of 38 pass attempts for 235 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was also sacked five times for 48 yards.
“It was a lot to learn from him,” Beathard said. “It’s his offense. It’s his deal. I love to know what he’s thinking on certain plays and how he processes certain plays and what he think about. So, yeah, it was nice watching (film) with him.
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“He’s really cool. He’s really teaching in the film room and the classroom, teaching things. He’s really awesome to learn from.”
The takeaway from Beathard’s first start is that he has a lot of work in front of him. He is just beginning the process of making corrections – both big and small – as the 49ers work to break into the win column.
The 49ers face the Philadelphia Eagles, owners of the NFL’s best record, on Sunday in the team’s third trip to the Eastern time zone in four weeks.
“There are a lot of things to improve on as a whole, as a team,” Beathard said. “We all looked at it and take a look at ourselves, each and every person try to fix what you can fix in yourself. Just try to get better. Little things by little things, that turn into big things.
“There are a lot of plays out there that you can improve on -- even a good play that can be better. That’s kind of how I looked at the tape.”