POLL: Last throw by Kap to Crabtree

[MHSL82]

Poor throw.

Had it been deeper and to the outside shoulder, TD.

Aim for the corner next time Kap.

This is assuming Sherman doesn't alter his route. If he is ball hawking, the timing of his jump may be different. I don't get why people assume that he would be in the same spot if the ball were a few inches in one direction. He was in front of Crabtree and it seemed like he had good footing. Maybe it isn't an INT though. Maybe Crabtree steps out of bounds if the ball in further? Crabtree should get the benefit of the doubt, but he's not the best, so who knows?

 

[MHSL82]

I'd say the blame scale is somewhere around Kaepernick 97.6%, Crabtree 2.4%.

That's 41:1 ratio. I say it's more like 81:2.

 

[RoboticDreams]

This is assuming Sherman doesn't alter his route. If he is ball hawking, the timing of his jump may be different. I don't get why people assume that he would be in the same spot if the ball were a few inches in one direction. He was in front of Crabtree and it seemed like he had good footing. Maybe it isn't an INT though. Maybe Crabtree steps out of bounds if the ball in further? Crabtree should get the benefit of the doubt, but he's not the best, so who knows?

The throw was reminiscent of the Ravens Super Bowl game. It's like he wanted to prove he could make the throw and have success. I hated the decision then and hate it even more now.

 

[MHSL82]

The throw was reminiscent of the Ravens Super Bowl game. It's like he wanted to prove he could make the throw and have success. I hated the decision then and hate it even more now.

He did tell Crabtree that he owed him one and tried three times in the SB, maybe this was the fourth? Crabtree's a bully! Just kidding. That connection they have is good and bad. Just make smart throws to the right guy (who is not always open). No forced connection needed.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

I think the 49ers would have struggled against Denver more than Seattle did regardless of whether they had Bowman or not. Seattle was at the top of their game in that one; very impressive.

Appreciate the props... Maybe you guy's wouldn't have steam rolled um but I still think the Niners overall are better than Denver... NFC West as a whole has nasty defenses... Denver wasn't ready for that...

 

[Pattersonca65]

Was an ill advised throw. If the clock was the last play it would be understandable. Based on down and time left should have thrown to Patton and let him try to make a play.

 

[johnson]

Crabtree had him beat...not by a lot. But this is the NFL and the NFC Championship. In a tight spot, you aren't going to beat Sherman by 20 yards. So Kap had little room for error and made a bad pass. I can't say it was terrible because even though it was off, if Sherman didn't get the arm up, that's still a TD.

It reminded me a little of that prayer Big Ben tossed in the end zone that Holmes caught despite being covered pretty well...with the opposite result, of course.

A matter of inches really. Tough play. Frustrating I'm sure for Niners fans because I think they deserved that win.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Crabtree had him beat...not by a lot. But this is the NFL and the NFC Championship. In a tight spot, you aren't going to beat Sherman by 20 yards. So Kap had little room for error and made a bad pass. I can't say it was terrible because even though it was off, if Sherman didn't get the arm up, that's still a TD.

It reminded me a little of that prayer Big Ben tossed in the end zone that Holmes caught despite being covered pretty well...with the opposite result, of course.

A matter of inches really. Tough play. Frustrating I'm sure for Niners fans because I think they deserved that win.

I can't agree with that. Sherman played that perfectly. Absolutely text book. He was on the inside shoulder, was ahead of Crabtree, then dropped off to play the ball when Kap underthrew it. Crabtree had enough room to the outside to catch a ball that was absolutely perfect (would have had to be thrown with good arc to a point literally out of bounds), but he certainly didn't beat Sherman. Only an incredible throw and catch would have resulted in a TD there.

 

[CalamityX11]

Crabtree had him beat...not by a lot. But this is the NFL and the NFC Championship. In a tight spot, you aren't going to beat Sherman by 20 yards. So Kap had little room for error and made a bad pass. I can't say it was terrible because even though it was off, if Sherman didn't get the arm up, that's still a TD.

It reminded me a little of that prayer Big Ben tossed in the end zone that Holmes caught despite being covered pretty well...with the opposite result, of course.

A matter of inches really. Tough play. Frustrating I'm sure for Niners fans because I think they deserved that win.

Absolutely not... that's not true at all.

 

[Uhsplit]

I am impressed by those that look at that play objectively.

 

[rjshull]

This play is a combination of both a bad short throw that was preceded by a horrible decision. Hunter coming out of the backfield was behind the LB and might have ended up with a TD, it would have been close. VD, was wide open after his break and he would have gained at least 9 yards before stepping out of bounds, but most likely a 1st. Bolden was the most open as no one was within 10 yards of him. And Patton, if I remember correctly, was open in the end zone for a TD. Kap could have very easily stepped his left and hit either Boldin or Davis EASILY, he could have stayed there and hit Hunter or Patton without moving.
For those that think the fault is with the coaches you need to look at the other 4 receivers on the play, they were ALL open for the pass and Dummy Kap throws it to the one receiver that could not make the play. I mean come on, his presnap read should have told him that, Sherman was lined up man to man with Crab, Sherman is fast and better that Crabs. VD was covered by a LB that stayed home so he might have got a pass there pre snap, but Patton and Boldin’s guys were playing off, and with Boldin staying put he should have faked it to Patton and hit Boldin to continue moving the chains.
At this point, at the end of his third season there is no excuse for not being able to manage a game. He allowed the delay of game, he turned the ball over several times during the game, and above and beyond everything else he has proven that he is cannot read a defense and that he is not the answer at QB.

 

[CalamityX11]

This play is a combination of both a bad short throw that was preceded by a horrible decision. Hunter coming out of the backfield was behind the LB and might have ended up with a TD, it would have been close. VD, was wide open after his break and he would have gained at least 9 yards before stepping out of bounds, but most likely a 1st. Bolden was the most open as no one was within 10 yards of him. And Patton, if I remember correctly, was open in the end zone for a TD. Kap could have very easily stepped his left and hit either Boldin or Davis EASILY, he could have stayed there and hit Hunter or Patton without moving.
For those that think the fault is with the coaches you need to look at the other 4 receivers on the play, they were ALL open for the pass and Dummy Kap throws it to the one receiver that could not make the play. I mean come on, his presnap read should have told him that, Sherman was lined up man to man with Crab, Sherman is fast and better that Crabs. VD was covered by a LB that stayed home so he might have got a pass there pre snap, but Patton and Boldin’s guys were playing off, and with Boldin staying put he should have faked it to Patton and hit Boldin to continue moving the chains.
At this point, at the end of his third season there is no excuse for not being able to manage a game. He allowed the delay of game, he turned the ball over several times during the game, and above and beyond everything else he has proven that he is cannot read a defense and that he is not the answer at QB.

Not a big deal but the bolded was reverse... Patton by the sidelines with the pacific ocean the closest to guarding him n Boldin was open in the endzone.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

This play is a combination of both a bad short throw that was preceded by a horrible decision. Hunter coming out of the backfield was behind the LB and might have ended up with a TD, it would have been close. VD, was wide open after his break and he would have gained at least 9 yards before stepping out of bounds, but most likely a 1st. Bolden was the most open as no one was within 10 yards of him. And Patton, if I remember correctly, was open in the end zone for a TD. Kap could have very easily stepped his left and hit either Boldin or Davis EASILY, he could have stayed there and hit Hunter or Patton without moving.
For those that think the fault is with the coaches you need to look at the other 4 receivers on the play, they were ALL open for the pass and Dummy Kap throws it to the one receiver that could not make the play. I mean come on, his presnap read should have told him that, Sherman was lined up man to man with Crab, Sherman is fast and better that Crabs. VD was covered by a LB that stayed home so he might have got a pass there pre snap, but Patton and Boldin’s guys were playing off, and with Boldin staying put he should have faked it to Patton and hit Boldin to continue moving the chains.
At this point, at the end of his third season there is no excuse for not being able to manage a game. He allowed the delay of game, he turned the ball over several times during the game, and above and beyond everything else he has proven that he is cannot read a defense and that he is not the answer at QB.

That's a bit severe, especially the last. He's still a young QB. Peyton Manning couldn't manage a game against that Seattle D, and that was on a neutral field. Kap had a fairly strong first half, but made some significant mistakes in the second. Obviously he has to improve his play, but there's no reason to believe that he can't/won't.

Kap ended his season in painful fashion. He's had all offseason to dwell on it. Hopefully he will learn from it, and has been spending a ton of time in the film room. Let's see what he does on the field this year before writing him off entirely.

 

[rjshull]

That's a bit severe, especially the last. He's still a young QB. Peyton Manning couldn't manage a game against that Seattle D, and that was on a neutral field. Kap had a fairly strong first half, but made some significant mistakes in the second. Obviously he has to improve his play, but there's no reason to believe that he can't/won't.

Kap ended his season in painful fashion. He's had all offseason to dwell on it. Hopefully he will learn from it, and has been spending a ton of time in the film room. Let's see what he does on the field this year before writing him off entirely.

Crimson, it is more than just the Seattle game. It is every game. All I can remember is the BS that Alex use to get here because he was able to manage a game and not make the mistakes. What did Kap do last year? Nothing, outside of the GB game to start the year when he had 400+ yards and the Arizona game to close out the year he did not reach the 300 yard mark. Hell during the season we were a running team because Kap could not get anything going without Crabs. I mean come on, what kind of Superstar QB cannot get more than 200 yards against the Hawks, Colts, Rams, Texans, Titans, Jags, Panthers (91 freaking yards, really), and Saints, in 10/17 games Kap had less than 200 yards. Come on even with the tremendous play by the Hawks secondary in the SB Peyton still had 280 yards passing, and all Kap could get this year was 125 @ Seattle, 175 home, and 153 yards in the NCFCG.

There is a reason that Harbs is saying this should be his break out season, even after he took the team to the SB. When that doesn’t happen with the added weapons he has around him, that Alex could only have dreamed about while he was here, are the Kap nut huggers going to turn on him? He is not the next coming of either Manning or Young.

Take a look at Alex last year, his first in a new system and he passed for 3313 yards, he did not have a receiver with over 700 yards, Charles had 693, Bowe ended up with 673 and he completed 60.6% of his passes. So what did Kap end up with? 3197 yards, a 100 yard receiver in Boldin with 1179 yards, VD with 850, and a 58.4% completion percentage.
Let’s take a look at penalties, in 2012 Kap had 4 delay of game penalties, in 2013 he had 8 delay of game penalties, the most costly was in the NFCCG. How many did Peyton have this year, 1 and last year. How about Wilson? 5 this year, and 6 last year. So what has Smith had? 5 this year, 4 in 2012, 2011, 2010, 2006, 2005 and 7 in 2009.
I am not saying that Smith is a superstar and that I wish he was still our QB, but at the same time, Kap is not the answer either, all he is, is the cheap man’s Michael Vick, and he wants $20 million a year, I am sorry but he is not worth it and in my eyes his play cost us the SB and the NFCCG.

 

[rjshull]

Not a big deal but the bolded was reverse... Patton by the sidelines with the pacific ocean the closest to guarding him n Boldin was open in the endzone.

Oops, I stand corrected, I was pulling that from memory.

 

[MHSL82]

I wish the AS/CK comparisons would stop. Just talk about who we have. I don't think anyone is saying AS > CK but some people go harder on AS because of it. If there were a AS > CK argument, sure, pile on where you think, but when there's not, these comparisons just make some go extreme. With either QB, we have had success and in the right gameplan or scenario we could have won a SB with either (that's how talented our running backs and defense can play and how good are coaches are) and both didn't win the ultimate prize yet. I believe both QBs would help us over a lot of QBs, but it doesn't change who everyone thinks is better.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Crimson, it is more than just the Seattle game. It is every game. All I can remember is the BS that Alex use to get here because he was able to manage a game and not make the mistakes. What did Kap do last year? Nothing, outside of the GB game to start the year when he had 400+ yards and the Arizona game to close out the year he did not reach the 300 yard mark. Hell during the season we were a running team because Kap could not get anything going without Crabs. I mean come on, what kind of Superstar QB cannot get more than 200 yards against the Hawks, Colts, Rams, Texans, Titans, Jags, Panthers (91 freaking yards, really), and Saints, in 10/17 games Kap had less than 200 yards. Come on even with the tremendous play by the Hawks secondary in the SB Peyton still had 280 yards passing, and all Kap could get this year was 125 @ Seattle, 175 home, and 153 yards in the NCFCG.

There is a reason that Harbs is saying this should be his break out season, even after he took the team to the SB. When that doesn’t happen with the added weapons he has around him, that Alex could only have dreamed about while he was here, are the Kap nut huggers going to turn on him? He is not the next coming of either Manning or Young.

Take a look at Alex last year, his first in a new system and he passed for 3313 yards, he did not have a receiver with over 700 yards, Charles had 693, Bowe ended up with 673 and he completed 60.6% of his passes. So what did Kap end up with? 3197 yards, a 100 yard receiver in Boldin with 1179 yards, VD with 850, and a 58.4% completion percentage.
Let’s take a look at penalties, in 2012 Kap had 4 delay of game penalties, in 2013 he had 8 delay of game penalties, the most costly was in the NFCCG. How many did Peyton have this year, 1 and last year. How about Wilson? 5 this year, and 6 last year. So what has Smith had? 5 this year, 4 in 2012, 2011, 2010, 2006, 2005 and 7 in 2009.
I am not saying that Smith is a superstar and that I wish he was still our QB, but at the same time, Kap is not the answer either, all he is, is the cheap man’s Michael Vick, and he wants $20 million a year, I am sorry but he is not worth it and in my eyes his play cost us the SB and the NFCCG.

Kap isn't an elite QB at this time. I haven't seen even his most ardent fans claim that he is. He has plenty of weaknesses, particularly in terms of reading the field/defense. But he's already a better passer than Vick ever was, IMO (as frustrating as Kap's 58.4 completion percentage was this year, Vick only surpassed that number twice in eleven seasons as a starter). He is what he is: a young and (likely) ascending player whose mental game is not as far along as his physical game. Unlike Vick, there's reason to believe that, between his coach and his work ethic, he will continue to show marked improvement.

only in his second year of playing. In Tom Brady's second year as the starter, he only had three games over 300 yards. He suffered through a four-game losing streak in which he threw seven INTs and the Pats never scored more than 16 points. He was more prolific than Kap was last year (though not by much if we include Kap's running), but he wasn't really any better. Hell, in Brady's third year as the starter, playing with a good D, he only had two games above 300 yards. That's not to say that Kap will become Tom Brady by any means; we just need to maintain some perspective. He's a young player who is still learning the NFL ropes. Comparing him to Peyton Manning simply isn't fair. That said, passing yards aside, he performed better than Manning against the Hawks.

And Incidentally, it's curious you would use the 300-yard stat while arguing for Alex Smith; Smith broke that barrier three times as a 49er, and went 1-2 in those games.

Kap is not a game manager. He has repeatedly taken control of a game late and clinched a win, both in the regular season and the playoffs. He knocked off the Packers twice in the playoffs, including in very adverse conditions in GB, staged a dramatic comeback against both the Falcons and the Ravens last year, and bounced back to have a very solid game against Carolina. His first two seasons of playing have ended in remarkably similar - and similarly frustrating - fashion. But I don't think many young QBs would have even been in position to make a winning throw in those games. Failing to seal the deal against two of the best Ds in the league is not a huge strike to me, particularly when his defense and STs floundered a bit in both of those games (allowing 20+ points in a half in both our most recent playoff losses). If you think he has no future, you're entitled to that opinion. If you think he doesn't deserve $18 million+ a season at this point, I don't disagree. But saying he's proven he isn't the answer is extremely short-sighted IMO.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Given some of the discussion about Kap, I wonder how people would view Wilson if he had lost the Niners' game. A lot of people - <cough> the entire Seattle metro area <cough> - seem to think Wilson has arrived as an elite QB. I don't see him as being much further along than Kap, if at all.

Between the Saints regular season win and the Super Bowl, he was frankly bad. Five passing TDs and four INTs in six games. Three fumbles (granted only one lost). Twenty-one sacks. An average of 161 passing yards and 19 rushing yards a game. His best game passing yardage-wise was his 215 yards against the Niners in the NFCCG - and I think anyone who watched that game can attest that even those yardage numbers were probably inflated a bit as his two biggest passes came on absolutely bone-headed defensive plays. Lucky for him that his D never allowed more than 19 points (15.4 average) in that span.

Wilson ends the year with a win in which he played very well - though his defense was absolutely dominant from the first play - and everyone forgets his struggles to end last season. Now, just like Kap, there's every reason to believe he will continue to improve. And at least in terms of reading the field, I think he's got a leg up on Kap already. But I'm not sold he's the better long-term QB. I'm interested to see how both these guys look in the months and years ahead.

 

[maniax]

I've said this before, all you have to do is look at last year's playoffs and the 3 QBs that all faced the Seahawks. That is a very good barometer and a good apples to apples comparison.

Brees @ Seattle
Kaepernick @ Seattle
Manning vs Seattle at neutral stadium, but outside still and in about the same weather as Seattle (a little colder, a little more frozen and a little less wet)

If I had to rank how the 3 QBs did, I would say Kaep performed the best, with Brees really close behind at #2, and Manning a sucky distant 3rd. Also if you asked me which teams has the most dynamic offenses and the most dynamic pieces on offense, I would rank the Broncos, Saints, then 49ers. Broncos offensive weapons looks like a Pro Bowl roster, Saints are solid too, our offensive weapons are decent.

Plus Kaep has some nice playoff wins on his belt already (2 GB games, ATL game last year, etc.)

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I've said this before, all you have to do is look at last year's playoffs and the 3 QBs that all faced the Seahawks. That is a very good barometer and a good apples to apples comparison.

Brees @ Seattle
Kaepernick @ Seattle
Manning vs Seattle at neutral stadium, but outside still and in about the same weather as Seattle (a little colder, a little more frozen and a little less wet)

If I had to rank how the 3 QBs did, I would say Kaep performed the best, with Brees really close behind at #2, and Manning a sucky distant 3rd. Also if you asked me which teams has the most dynamic offenses and the most dynamic pieces on offense, I would rank the Broncos, Saints, then 49ers. Broncos offensive weapons looks like a Pro Bowl roster, Saints are solid too, our offensive weapons are decent.

Plus Kaep has some nice playoff wins on his belt already (2 GB games, ATL game last year, etc.)

In terms of skill positions, no disagreement with your ranks. I think our OL is better than what either the Broncos or Saints trotted out, though. Denver's OL was good for most of the season, but they were appallingly bad in the Super Bowl. Their OL might have been somewhat overrated; KC, NE, and Indy were the only top-16 pass-rushing teams they played all year.