This WAS/SF game kinda sucks so far. I haven't been able to watch Kaepernick other than the write-ups on him, but I saw his game against SEA last year and I'm watching tonight, and (even though he's my starting fantasy QB this week, so I know his stats) I'm supremely unimpressed with his mechanics, ability to figure out how hard to throw the ball, and FBIQ. He's supposed to be on the same level as Luck and Wilson (and RG3, but that's another issue). Did I miss something that puts him into the level of those guys, or is this a ESPN Darling situation? Edit: And no sooner do I post than he tosses a laser for a TD. Question still stands.
He is a lot better when he trusts what he is seeing. He seems to me to be a first read qb at this point. When that read is not there he starts taking sacks or makes bad throws.
The level of RGIII? What level is RGIII at? He's one of the worst starting QBs in the league this year. The 49ers have not been getting it done in the passing game this year. They miss Crabtree, but they have enough talent that it's really no excuse. Kap is just not the same QB he was last year. Really, none of the running QBs that broke out last year are running as much this year. But Kap can still get things rolling once Crabtree returns. Remember he just barely finished his first 16 games as a pro.
You have to go back to just before the first game of the season...... Remember when the Niners asked the league for some clarification of the rules? Well, they didn't get the answer they liked, so they've worked to protect Kaep while trying to develop him into a pocket QB. I really think they'll open it up more and let him run when games become more meaningful. I don't think they want to give too many teams a great understanding of how they run the pistol, either, so along with trying to protect and develop Kaep, I think this is what we're seeing. That's a lot of the speculation in SF, it's one of the few things I've heard coming from people I know with very loose ties to the organization, so at the moment, it makes sense to me. We've seen what Kaep can do when they open things up and let him really run the option and pistol. I think for SF to truly be successful, they need Kaep to develop into a pocket passer, so when the pistol is shut down, they can switch to a pocket game. It will make their offense more versatile. I guess we'll see over the next few weeks........
Hard to believe though, that when their offense has struggled so much, and they are in a tight game they would still have Kap not run for a 1st down just so he can learn to be a pocket passer or whatever...the niners lost two really close games because they couldn't move the ball.
Some of my conspiracy theories follow that line of thinking, roman has some crazy shit he's waiting to bust out, harbaugh wants to prove he can pass, etc
