Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia joined 95.7 The Game to discuss current 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. What he had to say about the quarterback doesn't sound very hopeful.
"I think when you look at the performance, it can always get better," Garcia said. "I think you're going to be self-critical. He'll be self-critical of himself on throws that he had opportunities to make that could have been big plays, especially in the first half. He misses Torrey Smith on a deep post, overthrew him. It would have been a touchdown. He missed a running back down the sideline. Threw it over his head. That could have been a potential score.
"The game was tight. For three quarters in the game, they were in it. They had an opportunity and then it just kind of got away from them in the fourth quarter. But I think when you access Colin's performance, you look at the things that he did do well. He protected the football for the most part. Didn't throw any interceptions. There were a couple of throws that were trying to squeeze it in. I think he was just trying to make a play but that was because he was forced to have to do that. I think overall, though, you got to continue to find ways to get completions, to move the chains. I don't think they were able to do that enough in those first three quarters that would have given them more opportunities to put points on the board before it got out of hand.
And I think that because of where Chip Kelly comes from, having great success at the collegiate level and not playing with a quarterback or having a quarterback that is that type of guy. More of a college style of quarterback in the sense of how he plays the game with the read-option, with the type of maybe mentality that Chip kelly wants to have out there on the field. This is a guy that I think he can work with.
"Whether he'll have that success that everybody is looking for him to have or revisit the success that the 49ers had three or four years ago, I don't know if that's the situation. I don't really see Colin as that style of quarterback that's going to be like the elite quarterbacks in the National Football League who can go through progressions, who can get to that third receiver in the progression, who can read a defense prior to the snap and eliminate certain things that's going to help his decision making. I don't know if he's that guy and when I watch him play.
"He throws a fastball, there's no real changeup in speed, there's really no touch on throws, the accuracy is really all over the place, it makes it hard for guys to catch when the ball is coming so hard at you and it's not right in the bread basket. So those are things that he's going to have to continue to work on in order to hone in his skils as a leader on the field at the quarterback position."
Garcia went on to say that Kaepernick isn't necessarily too far along in his career to get better. He did those things under Harbaugh. Although, those teams were far superior. Garcia pointed out that he has not seen Kaepernick anticipate and consistently throw to open receivers, among other qualities that he feels elite quarterbacks possess. "I have not seen that guy," Garcia said.
Garcia went on to discuss the lack of leadership on the team and Chip Kelly's production in the NFL. You can listen to the entire interview on 95.7 The Game.
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