Interesting Article by Mike Sando on Kaepernick

[TobyTyler]

He got them to the five yard line, the play where Crabs got a helmet shot should have been a penalty, Peter King went through the whole sequence with the end where Harbaugh called a timeout when they had a running play for Kaep called and it was poorly defended but coming out of the timeout the Ravens were in the right formation and he had to throw to Crabs, who was interfered with.

----and then got brain lock. He never looked at any other player or considered any other option than to go to Crabtree. Both Davis and Moss were wide open on plays and he could have run on second down and walked in but its like he just froze. I guess it happens but it was at the worst possible time. It wasn't the only time it happened either. Remember he lost the Rams game by inexplicably running out of bounds before the FG attempt when the Rams had no timeouts. He's got to learn to think better.

 

[deep9er]

The latter.

I would NOT want to give Kaep the option of changing the play to where he runs. maybe later after he shows more good play than 10 games, but not 'out of the gate'.

 

[TobyTyler]

I would NOT want to give Kaep the option of changing the play to where he runs. maybe later after he shows more good play than 10 games, but not 'out of the gate'.

I've been hearing that the 49er coaching staff is impressed with his knowledge of the offense and are comfortable with him changing the play at the line.

 

[yossarian]

I've been hearing that the 49er coaching staff is impressed with his knowledge of the offense and are comfortable with him changing the play at the line.

There was also a quote from Jonathan Goodwin after the Atlanta game that Kaepernick audibled a huge percentage of the time and had them in the right formation almost every time.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

He got them to the five yard line, the play where Crabs got a helmet shot should have been a penalty, Peter King went through the whole sequence with the end where Harbaugh called a timeout when they had a running play for Kaep called and it was poorly defended but coming out of the timeout the Ravens were in the right formation and he had to throw to Crabs, who was interfered with.

To be fair, it would have been a delay penalty if not for the TO. And that's largely on Kap, though our playcalling has to come in faster. Smith was good for at least one delay or wasted TO per game, as well. It just happened to come at the absolute worst time in the SB.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Kaep didn't have a great first half, but the defense had a terrible game period, whether it was due to injuries or not.

The D kind of mirrored Kap IMO. Awful first half, really stepped it up for most of the second half (distinguishing STs), but then couldn't make a play when we absolutely needed them to. That last FG for Baltimore was huge.

 

[TobyTyler]

There was also a quote from Jonathan Goodwin after the Atlanta game that Kaepernick audibled a huge percentage of the time and had them in the right formation almost every time.

I feel confident in his ability to lead the team. I wish he had some better weapons to work with on the outside.

 

[MHSL82]

I'll say this. With what he had to work with, kaepernick got them a lot closer to winning than Alex Smith would have.

I feel like Kaepernick should have won the Super Bowl if not for the bad calls. Alex should have made the Super Bowl in 2011 if not for the punt fumbles. Both could have done more earlier in the game to win it. Both would have made it with a little more from supporting cast. Smith started out well, ended poorly. Kaepernick started off wrong and ended well.

SB > NFCC.
Kaepernick > Smith.
2011 Defense > 2012 Defence.
2012 Offense > 2011 Offense.
Kaep 2012 Offense > Smith 2012 Offense > Smith 2011 Offense
(2011 D + Kaep 2012 O) > (2012 D + Kaep 2012 O) > (2011 D + Smith 2012 O) > (2011 D + Smith 2011 O)

Who knows what would have happened in the 2011 SB, as the Patriots didn't play that well and SF had a better defense than NY.

I felt that we could have gotten to the Super Bowl this year with Smith if we had a different game plan with him. Use the clock, run more, short and intermediate passes, the defense while not as strong as 2011 was still good. I won't say we would have or could have won the SB with Smith, because if Kaepernick lost, it would be unfair to say that Smith could have won. I mean, he could, but if Kaepernick had just one more thing, he could have, too.

In other words, our team was good enough for an any given Sunday thing with Smith and Kaepernick was good enough that we should have won with him.

Again, Kaepernick > Smith. Just giving my thoughts. (I know there are more '>' than one, but whatever. Not trying to proportionalize it.)

 

[tallglassofwater007]

After he got that first big injury in 1991 I think it was when he missed all those games and Bono had to take over. He wasn't the same guy you saw running wild against the Vikings. Once teams knew he wasn't going to run, they came after him in the pocket and he really paid the price. That was one tough SOB.

OK.... so after he stopped running (in 91 like you say) he was arguably the best player in the NFL for the next 6-7 seasons. I will take that from Kaep. And it isn't that they made him stop running, it is that he became a much more polished passer so the need to run was a lot less.

 

[MHSL82]

OK.... so after he stopped running (in 91 like you say) he was arguably the best player in the NFL for the next 6-7 seasons. I will take that from Kaep. And it isn't that they made him stop running, it is that he became a much more polished passer so the need to run was a lot less.

Not saying that Kaep is a more polished passer, but his progress would seem to be going well or better than Young's first games? Someone who was older at the time can correct or confirm, as I'm young enough to only really note the polished years (not that he was ever bad here). I saw the earlier games but I was too young to be evaluating it until later. And even then, I'm not an expert, of course.

 

[JDM]

I feel like Kaepernick should have won the Super Bowl if not for the bad calls. Alex should have made the Super Bowl in 2011 if not for the punt fumbles. Both could have done more earlier in the game to win it. Both would have made it with a little more from supporting cast. Smith started out well, ended poorly. Kaepernick started off wrong and ended well.

SB > NFCC.
Kaepernick > Smith.
2011 Defense > 2012 Defence.
2012 Offense > 2011 Offense.
Kaep 2012 Offense > Smith 2012 Offense > Smith 2011 Offense
(2011 D + Kaep 2012 O) > (2012 D + Kaep 2012 O) > (2011 D + Smith 2012 O) > (2011 D + Smith 2011 O)

Who knows what would have happened in the 2011 SB, as the Patriots didn't play that well and SF had a better defense than NY.

I felt that we could have gotten to the Super Bowl this year with Smith if we had a different game plan with him. Use the clock, run more, short and intermediate passes, the defense while not as strong as 2011 was still good. I won't say we would have or could have won the SB with Smith, because if Kaepernick lost, it would be unfair to say that Smith could have won. I mean, he could, but if Kaepernick had just one more thing, he could have, too.

In other words, our team was good enough for an any given Sunday thing with Smith and Kaepernick was good enough that we should have won with him.

Again, Kaepernick > Smith. Just giving my thoughts. (I know there are more '>' than one, but whatever. Not trying to proportionalize it.)

Not trying to talk shit, but the giants were really a perfect matchup for New England, both times they have played. I believe 18-1 is the reason Belichick has worked so hard to establish a running game again. The giants were built perfectly for the pass and we were one dimensional. I'm not sure you match up as well. The patriots played poorly, but the giants did a lot to help them play poorly.

I do think they could have won a Super Bowl with Alex smith. I think that if the team had played like they did around Kaepernick (which Kaepernick admittedly added to), they could have won with Alex smith this year.

 

[TobyTyler]

OK.... so after he stopped running (in 91 like you say) he was arguably the best player in the NFL for the next 6-7 seasons. I will take that from Kaep. And it isn't that they made him stop running, it is that he became a much more polished passer so the need to run was a lot less.

I disagree. With what he had to work with, he should have won numerous Super Bowl titles. Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Terrel Owens, Ricky Waters, Brent Jones and the list goes on and on. I believe that Troy Aikman and Bret Favre did more with less than Steve Young did and were much better in the big games.

I disagree also that the lack of running made him a more effective passer. Any time the rush is slowed down, a QB becomes a more effective passer. I believe the 49ers wanted to prevent him from getting hurt which is smart but there is no denying that he was a much more dynamic player with the threat of the run in place.

 

[Yoshi]

Not saying that Kaep is a more polished passer, but his progress would seem to be going well or better than Young's first games? Someone who was older at the time can correct or confirm, as I'm young enough to only really note the polished years (not that he was ever bad here). I saw the earlier games but I was too young to be evaluating it until later. And even then, I'm not an expert, of course.

When Young started to take over the reigns was around the time I was old enough to really start comprehending football. Whenever he was in danger, he would go past his first two checkoffs and just run. His passing was average from what I remember in his first few seasons.

I would definitely agree that Kaep's career early on seems to be taking off better than Young's, although it is only 10 games thus far. Unlike Young, Kaep (as some of you have mentioned) is a lot smarter in not taking those punishing hits while on the fly. I also believe he has the stronger arm than Young and is arguably a faster runner.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Not trying to talk shit, but the giants were really a perfect matchup for New England, both times they have played. I believe 18-1 is the reason Belichick has worked so hard to establish a running game again. The giants were built perfectly for the pass and we were one dimensional. I'm not sure you match up as well. The patriots played poorly, but the giants did a lot to help them play poorly.

I do think they could have won a Super Bowl with Alex smith. I think that if the team had played like they did around Kaepernick (which Kaepernick admittedly added to), they could have won with Alex smith this year.

The Giants were a great matchup for the Pats. That said, we also excel at stopping the short passing game, especially in '11, and that was that Pats' game that year.

 

[JDM]

I don't know what happens if they play. Overreliance on short passing is what got us beat this year as well. It's why I'm happy we flushed WR and started over. These options may not be amazing, but they aren't going to just run underneath routes. Especially Dobson. You guys matched up decent as well, but I thought I should point out better defense doesn't equal better defensive matchup. I would rather play the niners defense either season than the giants. They had the perfect matchup.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I don't know what happens if they play. Overreliance on short passing is what got us beat this year as well. It's why I'm happy we flushed WR and started over. These options may not be amazing, but they aren't going to just run underneath routes. Especially Dobson. You guys matched up decent as well, but I thought I should point out better defense doesn't equal better defensive matchup. I would rather play the niners defense either season than the giants. They had the perfect matchup.

Yeah, the Pats have really struggled with that Giants' pass rush. I think the Niners were a good matchup, but it's a stretch to assume we'd win it, as you say. The Pats also have/had a better rush D than pass D, which was not a good matchup for our offense.

 

[JDM]

Exactly. And you kicked our ass this year, although we brought a bit of pressure back late. So it's pretty clear that mostly the same team could have absolutely won that game.

 

[MHSL82]

Not trying to talk shit, but the giants were really a perfect matchup for New England, both times they have played. I believe 18-1 is the reason Belichick has worked so hard to establish a running game again. The giants were built perfectly for the pass and we were one dimensional. I'm not sure you match up as well. The patriots played poorly, but the giants did a lot to help them play poorly.

I do think they could have won a Super Bowl with Alex smith. I think that if the team had played like they did around Kaepernick (which Kaepernick admittedly added to), they could have won with Alex smith this year.

True. I was not trying to make it sound like they would win. I said, who knows? I just think that it be a different game. Some people state things like Alex would not come back from a 28 to 6 deficit. However, we don't know whether that would be a 28-6 under a gameplan built for Smith. Same thing when he goes to play a different team. So I don't mean to say that just because we don't know, we'd win, but I feel the team overall was strong and I did try to give credit to the rest of the team. The Patriots were certainly good.

 

[JDM]

It would have been a good offense against a good defense, with mediocrity on both sides of the other matchup. I think both teams are a little better in terms of balance now.

 

[Pattersonca65]

After he got that first big injury in 1991 I think it was when he missed all those games and Bono had to take over. He wasn't the same guy you saw running wild against the Vikings. Once teams knew he wasn't going to run, they came after him in the pocket and he really paid the price. That was one tough SOB.

I thought Young was at his best during the second half of 1994 when he showed patience in the pocket. In the early days, Young used to drive Walsh crazy by running too soon and not let plays develop downfield.