how many of you didn't want Kaep to start before the season but do know?

[Bracus]

Who here was still with camp Alex but is ready to make the switch?

 

[TobyTyler]

Kaepernick? Good god, no!

 

[badazzk9]

So I just remembered Tolzzine was our 3rd starter.. Funny How you remember those things when your starter starts to struggle a bit.

 

[deep9er]

like what they're doing now.......giving Kap reps in real games. some games he'll have more, some less, depending on game conditions. cause you just can't beat the experience of 'live action'.

the next stage is adding in pass plays out of the wildkap.

looking further ahead, Kap eventually has to prove he can throw out of the pocket. he doesn't need to be Brees or Brady, but he has to do it.

 

[Bracus]

I think we can't get a good read on Kaep until he plays a series for once. IMO no QB can just come in for one play and you how good he is. I also think with Kaep that yeah we'll probably get say 5 more ints but we'll also get 10 more TDs. To me that's worth it. Plus if Alex keeps struggling then they might as well throw Kaep in. If Harbaalke didn't think he was our future QB then they wouldnt of drafted him and they would've signed Alex long term instead of that 2-3 year contract. I say get the growing pains overwith. I'd rather have him struggle this season and be ready next instead of Alex struggling thisnyear than start Kaep next and have him struggle next.

 

[deep9er]

I think we can't get a good read on Kaep until he plays a series for once. IMO no QB can just come in for one play and you how good he is. I also think with Kaep that yeah we'll probably get say 5 more ints but we'll also get 10 more TDs. To me that's worth it. Plus if Alex keeps struggling then they might as well throw Kaep in. If Harbaalke didn't think he was our future QB then they wouldnt of drafted him and they would've signed Alex long term instead of that 2-3 year contract. I say get the growing pains overwith. I'd rather have him struggle this season and be ready next instead of Alex struggling thisnyear than start Kaep next and have him struggle next.

how bad is Alex struggling? yeah he had a bad game against the Giants, but have we already forgotten his better games? does the Giants game erase everything before it, going back to last season? Alex Smith isn't what we really need so don't mistake this for satisfaction, but think it is worse to accept growing pains before we have to. why?

because this team is now and must make the push now, today Alex Smith is still our best QB. he is the lesser of the evils till Kap can prove his passing ability, or at least show enough of it. he will not get one rep every time, it depends on game conditions?

 

[numone9er]

So I just remembered Tolzzine was our 3rd starter.. Funny How you remember those things when your starter starts to struggle a bit.

I would personally rather have Tolzein in there before Kaep (if Smith went down). I understand that won't happen because Kaep was drafted in the 2nd round and they have a lot of confidence in him, but i just have a good feeling about Tolzein.

 

[I_am_1z]

Alex has showed us his ceiling and it's not too far of a reach to imagine Kaepernick sustaining Smith's level of play.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

If we start losing games and smith is playing poorly then we can talk about this. But we are still 5-2 and atop the division.

 

[Bracus]

how bad is Alex struggling? yeah he had a bad game against the Giants, but have we already forgotten his better games? does the Giants game erase everything before it, going back to last season? Alex Smith isn't what we really need so don't mistake this for satisfaction, but think it is worse to accept growing pains before we have to. why?

because this team is now and must make the push now, today Alex Smith is still our best QB. he is the lesser of the evils till Kap can prove his passing ability, or at least show enough of it. he will not get one rep every time, it depends on game conditions?

Alex had a good season last year but its not enough IMO to get us a ship. For me to be happy with him, I'd need him to improve as much as the year before. I mean the guy is incapable of completing a pass for more than 20 yards. Every time the guy misses an easy deep td, a little piece of me dies inside and I'm officially on life support. That and stuff like having wide open wrs inthe endzone but being too trigger shy to throw the damn ball. If he hasn't been able to do those yet, I'm pretty sure he never will. Dudes a veteran and he can't make the easiest of plays aside from checkdowns. I really expected him to improve from last season but it seems aside from one game, he's digressed.

 

[MHSL82]

how bad is Alex struggling? yeah he had a bad game against the Giants, but have we already forgotten his better games? does the Giants game erase everything before it, going back to last season? Alex Smith isn't what we really need so don't mistake this for satisfaction, but think it is worse to accept growing pains before we have to. why?

because this team is now and must make the push now, today Alex Smith is still our best QB. he is the lesser of the evils till Kap can prove his passing ability, or at least show enough of it. he will not get one rep every time, it depends on game conditions?

If we start losing games and smith is playing poorly then we can talk about this. But we are still 5-2 and atop the division.

Long term is important, but I want the coaching staff, with this defense and our veterans like Gore and Willis to be looking for what is going to give them the best chance of winning now - If that is Smith and Kaep, just Smith, or just Kaep, so be it. That does not preclude Kaep being the best chance next year or next. I am ok with increasing Kaep's plays/series for the future if it is either giving us a better chance at winning this year or at least won't hurt our chances, but not if we're just guessing (there's always a bit of guessing). Note: I'm talking about how they are using him now. If he comes in with the traditional offense but does things better, that's different. But I don't see that happening in bulk unless Smith falls further. I think the coaching staff should be able to tell whether putting him at certain times hurts the main offense and when it helps. I like Smith's answer in the article from the other thread saying that he likes coming in on first and 10, not third and long, but he understands why the coaches are calling certain plays and how it can help the team, too.

Since I don't see the switch being made in week 9 and I want us to win, I hope Smith comes out with a game on par with the Bills game (better defense will prevent it from being 156.3 good). He could do just as well overall without the passing numbers. Efficient, in command, etc. We certainly need a turnover-less game to feel better.

 

[MHSL82]

Alex had a good season last year but its not enough IMO to get us a ship. For me to be happy with him, I'd need him to improve as much as the year before. I mean the guy is incapable of completing a pass for more than 20 yards. Every time the guy misses an easy deep td, a little piece of me dies inside and I'm officially on life support. That and stuff like having wide open wrs inthe endzone but being too trigger shy to throw the damn ball. If he hasn't been able to do those yet, I'm pretty sure he never will. Dudes a veteran and he can't make the easiest of plays aside from checkdowns. I really expected him to improve from last season but it seems aside from one game, he's digressed.

Bah, he regressed in the two losses. He was on par in the running Jets game, better in the Packers and Lions games. Great against the no-defense Bills. He lead the league is both passer ratings, partly because of the Bills defense and partly because he played well in 3 of the 5 games, and ok in one of the 5. I'll concede that the Vikings game was a bad game. After being on the top, he had one bad game and one bad play (among a lot of meh plays). To me, "digressed" (regressed) is playing worse than last year, not "failing to meet higher expectations" or "failing to improve as much as last year". It's subjective either way. He can improve but still not be good enough.

 

[deep9er]

Alex had a good season last year but its not enough IMO to get us a ship. For me to be happy with him, I'd need him to improve as much as the year before. I mean the guy is incapable of completing a pass for more than 20 yards. Every time the guy misses an easy deep td, a little piece of me dies inside and I'm officially on life support. That and stuff like having wide open wrs inthe endzone but being too trigger shy to throw the damn ball. If he hasn't been able to do those yet, I'm pretty sure he never will. Dudes a veteran and he can't make the easiest of plays aside from checkdowns. I really expected him to improve from last season but it seems aside from one game, he's digressed.

not disagreeing at all....except maybe the part he regressed? but anyway, just because Alex isn't hitting our "improved" expectations, doesn't mean replace him with a 'learning curve'?

i'm not down on Kap at all either, just that as you say yourself, there will be a learning curve. so whats the lesser of the evils? i say sticking with Alex who does some things right, who has proven he can win (albeit ugly). but they're not ignoring Kap entirely, i like how they're working Kap into games.

also, this TEAM is now so play the best players that give us a chance to win week to week. unless Alex keeps playing like the Giants game, IMO it is him.

 

[NinerSickness]

I've been ready for Kaep since the end of the first half of the Giants' game, and I never even liked kaep very much.

 

[DoobieKeebler]

Kaep should ONLY come in as QB (save for his 2-4 WildKaep plays) as a mirror of the Steve Young treatment, whereas the Niners are winning handily in the 4th, so the coaches send in the young'n Kaepernick to get a few garbage time snaps.

 

[mufasa76]

I will just add that our head coach was a QB once so he knows when we LEAVE plays on the field.

Look for Harbaugh to switch Alex if we don't go deep in the playoffs - next season.We cant keep taking a knife to a gun battle...

 

[deep9er]

I will just add that our head coach was a QB once so he knows when we LEAVE plays on the field.

Look for Harbaugh to switch Alex if we don't go deep in the playoffs - next season.We cant keep taking a knife to a gun battle...

fine for next season IF Kap can show he's just as good? just as good reading defenses, changing plays correctly, pocket passing, etc..

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Smith's limitations have started to really hold him back. We put him in the most favorable situations possible, and the last two weeks he has still struggled. He's a very good game manager, but he's not an impact QB. Now, I'm not going to compare him to Dilfer. Dilfer was never any good, and calling him a game manager is too generous. But Smith isn't a guy who can regularly make things happen on his own.

What's probably more frustrating for me is that Smith is not really improving in the real problem areas - his pocket presence, ability to throw to the sideline, and willingness/ability to throw into tight coverage. And for a very heady guy, he doesn't see the field all that well. Last week two plays stood out to me. He missed Kyle Williams wide open down the left sideline. I'm not referring to the one Smith actually threw and missed, but a different play when Smith didn't even see him. There was no one within about 15 yards of Williams, and instead Smith checked down to Gore. Then on the play on which Smith scrambled for a first down, it really looked like there were two open players in the middle of the field. The run might have been better, but most times Smith hesitates like that, bad things happen. He's got to pull the trigger.

Now, having said that, I'm not ready to go to Kaepernick. I don't have a great sense for his pocket presence at this point, but he seems even less decisive than Smith right now, and makes more questionable decisions. I think we stick with Smith for now, but if he doesn't improve soon, I think we have to strongly consider Kaepernick.

 

[clyde_carbon]

fine for next season IF Kap can show he's just as good? just as good reading defenses, changing plays correctly, pocket passing, etc..

How exactly is Kap supposed to prove his ability to read defenses and pocket presence from the bench?

 

[yossarian]

We're 5-2 in the division, our closest competition is the Seahawks and the best they can do in the division is 3-3. I am pretty disappointed in Smith's ability to see open receivers, but I also think that we are discounting his ability to read a defense and make changes at the line of scrimmage. Kap might have the running and throwing skills, but I don't think he has that ability yet -- and before any smart ass says "How do you know?" because Harbaugh has said in the past that this skill is what sets Smith apart, and I trust Harbaugh's ability to run the qb position effectively. I think if Kap was ready to start Harbaugh would have started him by now. I agree we should do what we're doing, slowly get Kap involved, maybe give him a series now and then in a blowout, let him throw a pass a few times, but wait until the offseason to have a real qb competition, unless Smith completely falls off the deep end. I don't think we can say that about him yet.