Derrick Deese on Kaepernick: “It doesn’t matter who’s playing quarterback if that o-line is not blocking”

Former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Derrick Deese joined Chad, Joe & Lo on 95.7 The Game and discussed a number of topics related to the team. As usual, on everyone's mind is the quarterback situation in San Francisco. More specifically – Colin Kaepernick. Deese shared his thoughts on him as well and why the 49ers quarterback may have struggled recently.

"Everybody wants to talk about this quarterback controversy and who's going to be the guy," said Deese. "Who's going to be the guy? I'm going to tell you right now and Lorenzo (Neal) can attest to this. It doesn't matter who's playing quarterback if that offensive line is not blocking. It just doesn't.

"I think when you look at what happened with Kaepernick and how things started going backwards, well first of all, you ask him to do something that he's never done. You ask him to be a pocket quarterback. That's not what he is. That's not what he's done. When you drafted him, you knew he wasn't a pocket quarterback.

"Second of all, he's looking at the offensive line saying, 'Man, this isn't the same offensive line that I had a few years ago. This is a young group. I've lost some guys.' And now all of a sudden, he's looking to see who's going to hit him first before he's looking downfield to see where to get rid of the ball. And that's trying on a quarterback and as an offensive lineman, it should be a little bit embarrassing. You should feel embarrassed that your quarterback feels that way."

Deese also talked about the players buying into Chip Kelly's system and his time playing for owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

You can listen to the entire interview on 95.7 The Game.

Deese spent 14 years in the NFL playing in 152 games and starting 132. He played 12 with the 49ers, winning Super Bowl XXIX with the team and finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Always willing to do what was asked of him, Deese played all five positions along the offensive line during his career.