Aaron Erickson: “Don’t kill yourself trying to keep track of the QB competition”
Aug 3, 2016 at 11:16 AM
•
Our own Aaron Erickson sent out a series of tweets this morning regarding the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback competition during training camp. There have been
a number of conflicting reports regarding the battle for the starting job between
Blaine Gabbert and
Colin Kaepernick. Some say the competition is even at this point while others have Kaepernick or Gabbert with the edge.
The 49ers have only had three training camp practices so far and while the two quarterbacks have been splitting rep time evenly, it is far too early to determine a leader, much less a winner.
RELATED Should Gabbert be Favored to Win the Quarterback Competition?
"Don't kill yourself trying to keep track of the QB competition," warns Erickson via
his Twitter account. "There are a lot of conflicting reports, and none can be 100% accurate. Reporters don't know what the QBs are reading, or what they've been instructed to focus on by coaches that day. One QB is told to push the ball deep, the other could be instructed to hit short routes in stride. It's based on film, and it changes. In Chip's offense, it's possible that reaching the 4th/5th receiver in your progression means you messed up your pre-snap read."
Fans seem to be split on who they are favoring in the competition, with many taking sides. "It's an interesting part of fandom that many fans think they have to hate one QB to properly support the other. They are both 49ers," says Erickson.
RELATED How Does Kaepernick REALLY Fit in Chip Kelly's Offense?
49ers fans will probably have to wait until preseason to make a fair assessment on who is likely to be the starter come Week 1. "The other thing with the quarterbacks, they're still, they're off limits," said head coach Chip Kelly while talking to the media on Tuesday. "They're not going to get hit in any of our training sessions and there's no quarterback in the NFL or even college that probably gets hit in practice."
Erickson urges fans to focus on preseason as well, saying, "When watching (preseason) games, criteria should be: Who's moving the ball/sustaining drives? Who's scoring points? Who's protecting the ball?"
The 49ers' first exhibition game will be on Sunday, August 14
against the Houston Texans at Levi's Stadium.
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
Podcast: 49ers OTAs Day 1 recap
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
Rohan Chakravarthi and Jessie Naylor break down Day 1 of the San Francisco 49ers OTAs that was available to media.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our dedicated podcast page, on
Kyle Shanahan feels "really fortunate" with 49ers' QB room
Kyle Shanahan praises his quarterback room every year. Last season, the San Francisco 49ers went through three starting quarterbacks and still made it to the NFC Championship Game. Trey Lance was the Week 1 starter but suffered a season-ending ankle injury during his second game. Eleven weeks later, Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a broken foot.
That opened the door for rookie Brock Purdy to show his coaches and the NFL world that he belonged, despite being the last overall pick in the draft. Purdy guided the 49ers to eight consecutive wins before suffering a severe injury in that NFC title game matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Two of the quarterbacks from last season—Lance and Purdy—remain. Both are just 23 years old. They are joined by Sam
5 position battles to watch for during 49ers OTAs
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
The San Francisco 49ers entered the offseason with several questions after key figures, such as Jimmie Ward, Mike McGlinchey, Samson Ebukam, and Charles Omenihu, departed in free agency, creating the possibility for position battles in organized team activities(OTAs) and training camp.
While several of the starting spots are solidified, there are still a few position battles to watch, as well as depth questions that could allow younger players to compete and take 53-man roster spots at the end of the offseason.
Let's break down some of those battles to watch and how they could play out for the 49ers, outside of the obvious competition at
Podcast: Questions that need to be answered during 49ers OTAs
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
Rohan Chakravarthi and Suneil discuss the quarterback competition and position battles to watch during the San Francisco 49ers' OTAs.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
?feature=share
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our