The funny part about this whole thing to me is that it's a lot of the media that is all up in arms over no team signing Kaepernick and they are the exact fucking reason that no one is signing him!!! The media created this fucking circus with this story. Is Kaepernick good enough to be a backup? Absolutely. But I don't blame a team one bit for not wanting that type of distraction all for a backup QB.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
Do you honestly believe the owners got together and collectively agreed to blackball him from playing?
His talent level is marginal. Given he doesn't definitively stand out from his peers... and given he has alienated many fans and other players... he's not desirable when there are other options that 'debatably' are as good.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
Do you honestly believe the owners got together and collectively agreed to blackball him from playing?
His talent level is marginal. Given he doesn't definitively stand out from his peers... and given he has alienated many fans and other players... he's not desirable when there are other options that 'debatably' are as good.
yea i don't get why some are having a hard time with this concept. it's really not difficult to understand.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
He could definitely be a backup and maybe start for a few teams. But he's definitely not good enough to bring in and deal with the media circus that comes along with him. I have no problem with his protest and I also have no problem with teams not wanting to sign him because of all the nonsense that would come along with it.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
He could definitely be a backup and maybe start for a few teams. But he's definitely not good enough to bring in and deal with the media circus that comes along with him. I have no problem with his protest and I also have no problem with teams not wanting to sign him because of all the nonsense that would come along with it.
To my mind, it's the fact that a lawful protest of a legitimate issue being viewed as "nonsense" that's the issue.
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
Do you honestly believe the owners got together and collectively agreed to blackball him from playing?
His talent level is marginal. Given he doesn't definitively stand out from his peers... and given he has alienated many fans and other players... he's not desirable when there are other options that 'debatably' are as good.
I don't think they collectively got together in some board room, no. I've never made that claim. It's still apparent what is going on, though.
It's kind of funny now that the argument has turned from "asshole should've stood up for the anthem and he'd have a job" to "his talent is not good enough to land a job."
Which is it? You can't argue one then say it isn't because of that, it's this instead.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
He could definitely be a backup and maybe start for a few teams. But he's definitely not good enough to bring in and deal with the media circus that comes along with him. I have no problem with his protest and I also have no problem with teams not wanting to sign him because of all the nonsense that would come along with it.
To my mind, it's the fact that a lawful protest of a legitimate issue being viewed as "nonsense" that's the issue.
I didn't say the protest was nonsense. I said I had no problem with that. The nonsense is the gigantic media circus that would certainly follow him to any team that signed him. I don't blame teams at all for not wanting that type of distraction.
The NFL has shown time and time again that teams are willing to overlook indiscretions when the opportunity to acquire talent presents itself.
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
You can't honestly believe he is worse than EVERY other QB in the league - starters, 2nd string, 3rd string, & rookies combined? He could easily start for about 10 teams, and could at least to be a backup on all 32.
He could definitely be a backup and maybe start for a few teams. But he's definitely not good enough to bring in and deal with the media circus that comes along with him. I have no problem with his protest and I also have no problem with teams not wanting to sign him because of all the nonsense that would come along with it.
To my mind, it's the fact that a lawful protest of a legitimate issue being viewed as "nonsense" that's the issue.
I don't think that's what he meant. I'm pretty sure he meant the distractions that take away from the team's performance and chemistry.
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
Even before his high profile kneel down stuff... he was not well liked. A significant number of teammates and opponents disliked the guy.
There is simply not enough upside with him for teams to pounce. Again... if he could play... he would have a job. Teams would circle the wagons around him and do some of what you have said. They don't care to because he can't help them.
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
Even before his high profile kneel down stuff... he was not well liked. A significant number of teammates and opponents disliked the guy.
There is simply not enough upside with him for teams to pounce. Again... if he could play... he would have a job. Teams would circle the wagons around him and do some of what you have said. They don't care to because he can't help them.
I disliked Kap WAY before his kneeling. He was an arrogant asshat, and his hype was way greater than his results. Kap showed up at the Seahawks camp this year for a few days of trials, and I was afraid he'd end up in a Hawks uniform. Luckily we didn't need a high-paid, mediocre backup QB. He certainly had no chance as a starter for us, and makes too much money to collect splinters in his ass on the bench. A shitty team without a QB would do well to hire him. Otherwise, I don't see the attraction.
"I'll use the magic word - let's just shut the fuck up, please." EV, 04/13/08
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
if you were the owner of the Ravens and your team was holding 2 practices at Annapolis with a subtitle 'military appreciation day' would you sign Kaepernick right before those practices and have him on the field at Annapolis in front military servicemen and women that you were honoring? Curious to know if as a business owner you have handled that situation this past weekend.
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
if you were the owner of the Ravens and your team was holding 2 practices at Annapolis with a subtitle 'military appreciation day' would you sign Kaepernick right before those practices and have him on the field at Annapolis in front military servicemen and women that you were honoring? Curious to know if as a business owner you have handled that situation this past weekend.
no! especially if I was a benefactor of $10.4M from the armed forces. (even thou kaep has stated repeatedly kneeling has nothing to do with service men women)
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
if you were the owner of the Ravens and your team was holding 2 practices at Annapolis with a subtitle 'military appreciation day' would you sign Kaepernick right before those practices and have him on the field at Annapolis in front military servicemen and women that you were honoring? Curious to know if as a business owner you have handled that situation this past weekend.
no! especially if I was a benefactor of $10.4M from the armed forces. (even thou kaep has stated repeatedly kneeling has nothing to do with service men women)
Must conform to the 'support out troops' marketing. It makes invading countries much easier with all that public support.
The funny part about this whole thing to me is that it's a lot of the media that is all up in arms over no team signing Kaepernick and they are the exact fucking reason that no one is signing him!!! The media created this fucking circus with this story. Is Kaepernick good enough to be a backup? Absolutely. But I don't blame a team one bit for not wanting that type of distraction all for a backup QB.
100% agree. How many people want Kaep as their starting or back up quarterback?
Remember when he took over last year? This article pretty much sums it up lol.
Tuesday, San Francisco 49ers fans finally received what they’ve been asking for — Colin Kaepernick is now the team’s starting quarterback.
Chip Kelly didn’t have much of a choice — while it isn’t necessarily Blaine Gabbert’s fault the 49ers’ offense is one of the worst units in the league, he certainly wasn’t the solution to that problem.
Is Kaepernick? Probably not.
A lot has happened since the last time Kaepernick took the field for the 49ers:
Jim Tomsula and his staff were fired, Kaepernick underwent multiple offseason surgeries and was retained by the team, guaranteeing his nearly $12 million salary. He avoided being cut in the preseason, despite two terrible performances, and you might have heard about some situation involving the National Anthem — at this point, so many people have appropriated erroneous (at best) meaning to that peaceful protest I’m not quite sure what that’s about anymore.
It’s a lot, and because of all of that, it’s easy to forget just how bad Kaepernick was the last time he took the field.
Kaepernick was replaced by Gabbert last year for a reason — he turned in one of the worst quarterbacking seasons in recent NFL history. The Browns wouldn’t have started him.
Let’s refresh the memory:
Last season, Kaepernick had a defense-adjusted yards above replacement — Football Outsiders’ ultimate value quotient — of minus-182, 35th in the NFL. By all metrics, he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.
These numbers look even worse when you consider that the 49ers went to a single-read offense for Kaepernick after his terrible four-interception performance against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.
Kaepernick lost the 49ers locker room after a home loss to the Packers in Week 4 — Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin both vented their frustrations with the [insert any and all expletives here] play of their quarterback during and after the game (the latter being more of the passive-aggressive variety, as two of the most loquacious and intelligent players on the team refused to talk to the media).
Kaepernick was air-mailing throws all over the field, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was skipping easy ones like this.
The 49ers went to a read-option offense for the next two games, and Kaepernick and the Niners didn’t look half bad. They weren’t a good team, but they weren’t being embarrassed.
But then defenses figured it out. The unraveling became a meltdown.
Kaepernick’s performance in the 49ers’ Week 7 Thursday Night Football game last year was among the worst quarterback performances in recent NFL history. As I wrote at the time "his mechanics had become so disorganized that even the easiest toss became an adventure in forward passing."
We’re talking about 10-yard outs being thrown 15 feet over receivers’ heads. Eventually, the 49ers stopped throwing the ball on third-and-long, such was the struggle.
It kept getting worse and worse. You honestly couldn’t tell if Kaepernick was throwing the ball away or aiming for intended receivers by the end of the contest.
There were basic mental lapses, too — on a third down in the second quarter, he broke the huddle with 17 seconds remaining on the play clock, only to try to change the play with three seconds remaining. The Niners were hit with a delay-of-game flag.
Week 8 was the official end. Any competent coach would have benched Kaepernick long before that game in St. Louis, but it was Tomsula in charge …
Kaepernick simply wasn’t allowed to throw beyond the first-down sticks in that game. The 49ers had a one-read system in place, and that read never went past the first-down marker, regardless of scenario.
Kaepernick’s lack of awareness finally forced the 49ers’ hand — they had to go to Gabbert after the Rams decided to stop covering wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and Kaepernick didn’t recognize it.
Kaepernick was, hands down, the worst quarterback in the NFL last season. He played so poorly that he made Gabbert look competent by comparison. He made mistakes that would get a high-school quarterback benched.
Perhaps that poor form will change under Kelly — the 49ers have run three times more zone-read plays than any other team in the NFL this season, despite having Gabbert at quarterback, and theoretically Kaepernick should thrive in those situations.
Then again, defenses will be able to stack the box with nine or 10 players, daring Kaepernick to make the throws he showed last year he couldn’t make. That’s what happened last year, and after that point bad become worse.
Perhaps the injuries were a factor in the poor play last year, but that doesn’t explain the complete lack of awareness and football smarts Kaepernick displayed. Maybe Kelly can tap into the same magic Jim Harbaugh found in No. 7, but until that’s shown, one has to presume we’re going to get a repeat of 2015.
As for the contract — the one that could well guarantee Kaepernick $14 million for next season should he get injured this year — Kelly pleaded ignorance and said Tuesday that it had nothing to do with his decision to start Kaepernick. Despite the fact that the 49ers front office leaked to NFL Network that the team and Kaepernick were working on a new deal that would alleviate the team’s concerns over injury guarantees, Kelly’s statement is somewhat believable — while it would be ridiculous to play Kaepernick given his contract and the risk of injury behind that offensive line, something the front office is clearly aware of, it’s far more likely that the 49ers have a completely dysfunctional organization where the head coach and general manager have no communication and cannot run a team in unison.
No matter what Kaepernick’s contract is for Sunday’s game against Buffalo, he’ll enter the contest with plenty to prove. Even borderline mediocrity would be a massive upgrade for No. 7.
I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,314
I'd have bet 50 bucks against the odds of this thread last A YEAR!
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Nice one, Mike! Are there really people here who would like Kaepernick to be their starting QB? Or are those posters just demanding that other teams rather than theirs bite the bullet and hire a shitty QB to demonstrate that they aren't racist? He's a shitshow on the field, and doesn't engender confidence in the locker room or with his play. You'd have to have a pretty horrible football team if Kaepernick was your pick for starting QB, or you'd have to be massively irresponsible with your salary cap to pay him what he wants to sit on your bench. He's a desperation pick at best.
"I'll use the magic word - let's just shut the fuck up, please." EV, 04/13/08
Nice one, Mike! Are there really people here who would like Kaepernick to be their starting QB? Or are those posters just demanding that other teams rather than theirs bite the bullet and hire a shitty QB to demonstrate that they aren't racist? He's a shitshow on the field, and doesn't engender confidence in the locker room or with his play. You'd have to have a pretty horrible football team if Kaepernick was your pick for starting QB, or you'd have to be massively irresponsible with your salary cap to pay him what he wants to sit on your bench. He's a desperation pick at best.
Yeah, I like how the narrative on this is that he is high maintenance because he wouldn't stand for the anthem. Also, the bullshit stance that it would be a PR disaster to have him on the team is nonsense. The media is partially to blame, but NFL teams have some pretty strong communications people to manage the personality and criminal components of their players. This way they can wait until their star goes down with an injury so they can justify why now it would be ok.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
if you were the owner of the Ravens and your team was holding 2 practices at Annapolis with a subtitle 'military appreciation day' would you sign Kaepernick right before those practices and have him on the field at Annapolis in front military servicemen and women that you were honoring? Curious to know if as a business owner you have handled that situation this past weekend.
I'm well aware that the world, and especially the NFL, runs on money.
So kneeling during the anthem isn't supporting the troops now? Sounds a lot like writing and playing a song about a President who started a bullshit war. What a slap in the face to those that serve I guess, but if I take my hat off and cover my heart while drinking my Bud Light, what a patriotic person I am. I must really like America then. I wonder what Tomas Young would have said about Kap kneeling?
It's all bullshit, Kap isn't a great QB and his public appeal sucks so of course no one will take him. The entire country knows what he did so he's tainted goods to those elitist old white billionaire owners. I don't disagree that he'd probably have a better shot if he was a great leader as a teammate, but it sounds like he's not.
The point here is that he's easily a back-up right now if you subtract the kneeling incident, so that is why he isn't employed.
The funny part about this whole thing to me is that it's a lot of the media that is all up in arms over no team signing Kaepernick and they are the exact fucking reason that no one is signing him!!! The media created this fucking circus with this story. Is Kaepernick good enough to be a backup? Absolutely. But I don't blame a team one bit for not wanting that type of distraction all for a backup QB.
You haven't followed the Jets these past few years, huh?
The funny part about this whole thing to me is that it's a lot of the media that is all up in arms over no team signing Kaepernick and they are the exact fucking reason that no one is signing him!!! The media created this fucking circus with this story. Is Kaepernick good enough to be a backup? Absolutely. But I don't blame a team one bit for not wanting that type of distraction all for a backup QB.
You haven't followed the Jets these past few years, huh?
Ha! I heard they sent a backup qb to the locker room because he didn't know how to break huddle correctly. I'm pretty sure Kaep can do that.
The one thing no one talks about (I haven't followed this thread all that close)- he would have a job if he didn't opt out of his contract. He had a job, but he opted out.
The funny part about this whole thing to me is that it's a lot of the media that is all up in arms over no team signing Kaepernick and they are the exact fucking reason that no one is signing him!!! The media created this fucking circus with this story. Is Kaepernick good enough to be a backup? Absolutely. But I don't blame a team one bit for not wanting that type of distraction all for a backup QB.
You haven't followed the Jets these past few years, huh?
Ha! I heard they sent a backup qb to the locker room because he didn't know how to break huddle correctly. I'm pretty sure Kaep can do that.
Jets gonna Jets ...
Oh man that's the tip of the iceberg. Their QB fiasco goes back 5-6 years ago and has continued since.
Comments
If Kap could play a lick... he'd have a job. Simple as that. There is no collusion amongst owners to blackball the guy as much as that fits the running narrative for some.
His talent level is marginal. Given he doesn't definitively stand out from his peers... and given he has alienated many fans and other players... he's not desirable when there are other options that 'debatably' are as good.
It's kind of funny now that the argument has turned from "asshole should've stood up for the anthem and he'd have a job" to "his talent is not good enough to land a job."
Which is it? You can't argue one then say it isn't because of that, it's this instead.
I didn't say the protest was nonsense. I said I had no problem with that. The nonsense is the gigantic media circus that would certainly follow him to any team that signed him. I don't blame teams at all for not wanting that type of distraction.
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/6/3/15735060/colin-kaepernick-700k-1-million-dollar-pledge-charity-latest-donations
I don't think that's what he meant. I'm pretty sure he meant the distractions that take away from the team's performance and chemistry.
Even the hardcore "patriots" of NFL fandom would take Kap if their #1 went down and he started winning. That's all that really matters to neanderthals like that. Then they'll spin some story on why all of sudden it doesn't matter to them that he kneeled.
There is simply not enough upside with him for teams to pounce. Again... if he could play... he would have a job. Teams would circle the wagons around him and do some of what you have said. They don't care to because he can't help them.
A shitty team without a QB would do well to hire him. Otherwise, I don't see the attraction.
Remember when he took over last year? This article pretty much sums it up lol.
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/colin-kaepernick-49ers-start-chip-kelly-nfl-buffalo-stats-career-highlights-fantasy-101116
11/15/16
Tuesday, San Francisco 49ers fans finally received what they’ve been asking for — Colin Kaepernick is now the team’s starting quarterback.
Chip Kelly didn’t have much of a choice — while it isn’t necessarily Blaine Gabbert’s fault the 49ers’ offense is one of the worst units in the league, he certainly wasn’t the solution to that problem.
Is Kaepernick? Probably not.
A lot has happened since the last time Kaepernick took the field for the 49ers:
Jim Tomsula and his staff were fired, Kaepernick underwent multiple offseason surgeries and was retained by the team, guaranteeing his nearly $12 million salary. He avoided being cut in the preseason, despite two terrible performances, and you might have heard about some situation involving the National Anthem — at this point, so many people have appropriated erroneous (at best) meaning to that peaceful protest I’m not quite sure what that’s about anymore.
It’s a lot, and because of all of that, it’s easy to forget just how bad Kaepernick was the last time he took the field.
Kaepernick was replaced by Gabbert last year for a reason — he turned in one of the worst quarterbacking seasons in recent NFL history. The Browns wouldn’t have started him.
Let’s refresh the memory:
Last season, Kaepernick had a defense-adjusted yards above replacement — Football Outsiders’ ultimate value quotient — of minus-182, 35th in the NFL. By all metrics, he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.
These numbers look even worse when you consider that the 49ers went to a single-read offense for Kaepernick after his terrible four-interception performance against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.
Each progressive interception in that game was worse — it was a total unraveling.
It only devolved further from there.
Kaepernick lost the 49ers locker room after a home loss to the Packers in Week 4 — Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin both vented their frustrations with the [insert any and all expletives here] play of their quarterback during and after the game (the latter being more of the passive-aggressive variety, as two of the most loquacious and intelligent players on the team refused to talk to the media).
Kaepernick was air-mailing throws all over the field, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was skipping easy ones like this.
The 49ers went to a read-option offense for the next two games, and Kaepernick and the Niners didn’t look half bad. They weren’t a good team, but they weren’t being embarrassed.
But then defenses figured it out. The unraveling became a meltdown.
Kaepernick’s performance in the 49ers’ Week 7 Thursday Night Football game last year was among the worst quarterback performances in recent NFL history. As I wrote at the time "his mechanics had become so disorganized that even the easiest toss became an adventure in forward passing."
We’re talking about 10-yard outs being thrown 15 feet over receivers’ heads. Eventually, the 49ers stopped throwing the ball on third-and-long, such was the struggle.
It kept getting worse and worse. You honestly couldn’t tell if Kaepernick was throwing the ball away or aiming for intended receivers by the end of the contest.
There were basic mental lapses, too — on a third down in the second quarter, he broke the huddle with 17 seconds remaining on the play clock, only to try to change the play with three seconds remaining. The Niners were hit with a delay-of-game flag.
Week 8 was the official end. Any competent coach would have benched Kaepernick long before that game in St. Louis, but it was Tomsula in charge …
Kaepernick simply wasn’t allowed to throw beyond the first-down sticks in that game. The 49ers had a one-read system in place, and that read never went past the first-down marker, regardless of scenario.
Kaepernick’s lack of awareness finally forced the 49ers’ hand — they had to go to Gabbert after the Rams decided to stop covering wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and Kaepernick didn’t recognize it.
Kaepernick was, hands down, the worst quarterback in the NFL last season. He played so poorly that he made Gabbert look competent by comparison. He made mistakes that would get a high-school quarterback benched.
Perhaps that poor form will change under Kelly — the 49ers have run three times more zone-read plays than any other team in the NFL this season, despite having Gabbert at quarterback, and theoretically Kaepernick should thrive in those situations.
Then again, defenses will be able to stack the box with nine or 10 players, daring Kaepernick to make the throws he showed last year he couldn’t make. That’s what happened last year, and after that point bad become worse.
Perhaps the injuries were a factor in the poor play last year, but that doesn’t explain the complete lack of awareness and football smarts Kaepernick displayed. Maybe Kelly can tap into the same magic Jim Harbaugh found in No. 7, but until that’s shown, one has to presume we’re going to get a repeat of 2015.
As for the contract — the one that could well guarantee Kaepernick $14 million for next season should he get injured this year — Kelly pleaded ignorance and said Tuesday that it had nothing to do with his decision to start Kaepernick. Despite the fact that the 49ers front office leaked to NFL Network that the team and Kaepernick were working on a new deal that would alleviate the team’s concerns over injury guarantees, Kelly’s statement is somewhat believable — while it would be ridiculous to play Kaepernick given his contract and the risk of injury behind that offensive line, something the front office is clearly aware of, it’s far more likely that the 49ers have a completely dysfunctional organization where the head coach and general manager have no communication and cannot run a team in unison.
No matter what Kaepernick’s contract is for Sunday’s game against Buffalo, he’ll enter the contest with plenty to prove. Even borderline mediocrity would be a massive upgrade for No. 7.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
So kneeling during the anthem isn't supporting the troops now? Sounds a lot like writing and playing a song about a President who started a bullshit war. What a slap in the face to those that serve I guess, but if I take my hat off and cover my heart while drinking my Bud Light, what a patriotic person I am. I must really like America then. I wonder what Tomas Young would have said about Kap kneeling?
It's all bullshit, Kap isn't a great QB and his public appeal sucks so of course no one will take him. The entire country knows what he did so he's tainted goods to those elitist old white billionaire owners. I don't disagree that he'd probably have a better shot if he was a great leader as a teammate, but it sounds like he's not.
The point here is that he's easily a back-up right now if you subtract the kneeling incident, so that is why he isn't employed.
If Kaep was good, he could kick a puppy off a bridge and someone (ie Jerry Jones) would hire him.
Jets gonna Jets ...