POLL: Is Colin Kaepernick getting a free pass to No. 2?

I admit it - I don't like Kap. I hate his throwing motion and I hate the retarded college offense we run when he's on the field. I wish he wasn't 2nd on the depth chart, but I don't believe Harbaugh is handing him anything.

AJ Jenkins is 1st round pick and he's about 6th on the depth chart right now. Guys like Kap & Jenkins may get more attention & more "looks" than UDFA's like Owusu & Tolzien, but that doesn't mean they're being handed anything. Kap's mostly playing 1 & 2's. Tolzien isn't. Level of competition has to be considered in the pre season. Plus, Harbaugh's got a far more complete picture of what these guys look like in practice, what the play calls were, etc. I doubt he's going to roll with Kap "just because".

So the question really is "Does Harbaugh know what he is doing with QBs?"

I'd say Harbaugh knows more about evaluating and coaching the QB position than the collective knowledge of this board. He told everyone that Smith could be a productive, winning starting NFL QB when no one wanted to hear it or believe it. If Hatbaugh believes CK should be #2 on the QB depth chart, that is good enough for me and it should be good enough for you too, at least until proven otherwise in real NFL games that count.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Not JH's style. He'll field the BEST team he can.

esto

Alex gotta a free pass for seven years.

Harbaugh hand-picked Kaep as his QB of the future. Has he 100% earned the right to be the #2?

In my opinion, no.

With his draft pedigree has he earned a little bit more rope than a ST or a JJ?

In my opinion, yes.

What I'm trying to say is it's his job to lose. He was drafted to be the QB of the future, so yes, he is being given the benefit of the doubt. His ceiling is undoubtedly high and if he can achieve his true potential he will be a phenomenal QB in this league. However, Jim Harbaugh is no fool. If he struggles continuously and shows no signs of growth, JH will improve the depth at the position.

As for ST or any other backup behind CK, they have an uphill battle. They will REALLY have to show the coaching staff something in order to leap-frog Kaep. Naming ST or JJ the back-up would cause a media frenzy, and in the end, I think Harbaugh and Baalke would prefer to feel "right" about their draft pick and not have their scouting abilities questioned (as much as we all love Harbaalke, we all know they don't like to be questioned about their decisions)

Hence, they'll give him every opportunity to succeed.

(Trust me, as a Scott Tolzien fan, I'm rooting for the guy to tap into his potential!)

God......Webzone is incredibly hypocritical. It actually amazes me.

He was a #2 last year Does anyone want to remember this...

Pretty sure he was given the #2 last year. He's working to be a true #2 this year. He's still learning. The other guys haven't shown they are clearly better than Kaep so Kaep remained the #2. Personally I would be comfortable with Tolzien as #2 also. The way I look at it we have 2 number 2's -- Kaep and Tolzien.

Originally posted by natrone06:

I feel like his throwing motion puts a mental block on people being able to objectively evaluate him. Also runs do count as much as people want to state otherwise. The throw to moss, the rollout to Jenkins and the 80 yard td run are all plays Tolzien even on Melky juice could never make. Just entirely different ceilings. Obviously IMO.

I agree. For some reason a lot of people want to overlook that Kaep has produced 13 points during the preseason so far while JJ and Tolzien have produced a combined 3 points. The QB position is about producing points, and Kaep has done that best of all the backups.

This is nothing new guys, the NFL has worked like this for years. I love how all of a sudden when its Kap Vs Tolzien it becomes Kap getting a free pass. Because Tolzien clearly has blown everybody in the NFL away with his play and should be the undisputed #2, heck he should be pushin Alex for time with the 1's according to some of us. Give me a break.

Originally posted by susweel:
Alex gotta a free pass for seven years.

Agree, but according to some posts I've seen Alex would have still retained his qb#1 position going into year four even if he was a third round pick, (which obviously doesnt make any since I know). Higher Picks get longer leashes and more chances to succeed in all sports, not just football. Teams invest too much in high picks to not give them a chance so see what they can do. Its not exactly rocket science. Lets give JH at least a little bit of credit that he knows what the hell he is doing. That being said, if Kap was absolutley awful and Tolzien was great, he'd be the #2, but thats not the case. Scott will have to wait his turn like all the other undrafted FA Qbs.

As long as Smith is healthy Kap is our #2. He may even get some reps in games running wildcat/pistol plays.

The sole reason for this is that teams will have to spend time game planning against this. This increases our chances of winning more than any other QB being the #2.

If Smith gets injured, Tolzein may have a legit chance of being a long-term backup. But as of right now, Kap is the #2.

Originally posted by Overkill:
I admit it - I don't like Kap. I hate his throwing motion and I hate the retarded college offense we run when he's on the field. I wish he wasn't 2nd on the depth chart, but I don't believe Harbaugh is handing him anything.

AJ Jenkins is 1st round pick and he's about 6th on the depth chart right now. Guys like Kap & Jenkins may get more attention & more "looks" than UDFA's like Owusu & Tolzien, but that doesn't mean they're being handed anything. Kap's mostly playing 1 & 2's. Tolzien isn't. Level of competition has to be considered in the pre season. Plus, Harbaugh's got a far more complete picture of what these guys look like in practice, what the play calls were, etc. I doubt he's going to roll with Kap "just because".

I agree on Kaep. I watch Dalton play in Cincinatti, and Tolzien reminds me of Dalton. Tolzien reads the defenses, checks his receivers quickly and will throw a WR open. I think Kaep is a gimmick qb, and not a pro style qb. Anyone who thinks high draft picks are not given passes are clueless. They have guaranteed money attached to them and the scouting department would look pretty silly if they cut AJ Jenkins and kept Owusu.

With Tolzien, I say swallow your pride. Give baby Brees two pre season games to play half the game. If he drives the team up and down the field, he is the man. I just get a better feeling with him over Kaepernick behind center. Kaepernicks huge wind up gives db's all the time in the world to makd adjustments.

Harbaugh knows more knows more then we do.

i think there's a little bit of favoritism since Jim went out on a limb for this guy to grab him in the 2nd round. He's the one that's going to look like a fool if he doesn't develop so he's going to want to play him. But, i think he will also keep him on a short leash just in case he doesn't pan out. No room for error in this league.