Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by BOI49er:
Originally posted by OldJoe:
Couple thoughts on his worth:
- I can't ever remember a QB undercutting his own position, right before negotiations, by bringing up "balance".
- Is Kap's value not on par with Romo, Cutler, Stafford? He deserves how much less? One might not like what the market rate is, that doesn't warrant wholesale downgrading (that is fan-think).
- No matter what he is going to be paid, do you really think at any value is too much? Are the Niners going to look stupid and play hardball and lose him where he could likely win a SB with someone else in his career? To be San-Diegoed (Brees) ?
- If you are a fan of Chicago, Detroit, Dallas or Baltimore, wouldn't you trade straight up your QB for Kap?
- Did Kap say he would give a homie discount or say he wanted to be paid fairly? What is fair in light of the above 4 QBs?
As far as Romo, Cutler and Stafford go, what are their records? Could it be that it just isn't an NFL winning formula to pay too much of your cap space to a QB with holes in his game? Cutler sees half the field, which in my opinion is just like Kaep. Romo blows it when the chips are down and the pressure is up. It's an arguable point with Kaep, but it is arguable. His stats aren't good when pressured. I'll give Stafford a pass for now, as I think much of their problem winning is related to coaching, much like (oh, I can't say his name) was prior to Harbs. As for bullet point number four, no, I'd keep what I had and draft one to bring up to speed. Which is what I think we should do now. If Kaep progresses in his contract year, fine, pay the man. If he doesn't, we're gonna need a back up plan.
Cutler is better than that. He is not going to Canton but he is pretty good. Trestman's system and understanding have allowed him to improve significantly. Injuries last season did not allow him to show that improvement as much as it should but he was much better. He is a bit overpaid.
Romo has made some big mistakes in crunch time but without Romo the 'boys would not have been in the building come crunch time. He carries that offense. Give him a defense and healthy receivers and he goes deep in the playoffs. He earns his money.
Stafford has all the tools but has never had a decent coach to refine them. He carries the offense for a while then implodes. He is getting paid on potential, not performance. Risky deal. He may be a Jeff George or a Brett Favre, more likely somewhere in between. He is overpaid.
Kaepernick is a cut below all three of these but has shown flashes of being in this same class. The question is; can he move above them?
With the cap going up as it is, if the 49ers can cut a deal between $18 and 19 that runs 6 years with a nice guarantee, that would be a good deal both ways. If CK makes the improvements we all hope for, he will look like a bargain in three years when quality starters are pulling down $22-25MILLION. If he stays at the level he is, it won't kill the team cap although it would be a big disappointment.
Avoiding the idea that Kap is below the likes of Cutler and Romo for a second, what does it matter? What is most important is where he is in relation to where other quarterbacks were in their first two years.
Kap is light years ahead of almost every other quarterback in his first two years in relation to theirs. Right NOW, he is rated as a top ten quarterback by almost every well regarded sports publication. He has been rated top ten BOTH years. He is not up and down, despite having one receiver most the year last year.
Give him TWO receivers and wow, his statistics go off the charts. I would LOVE to see him play with at least two NFL receivers next year. But I would HATE to see it happen, while he was still unsigned. Or God forbid after winning a Super Bowl next year, because then his price goes way beyond Flacco territory.
Sign him NOW, when he is still CHEAP. "Yes", CHEAP. He is CHEAP right now by all relative measurable standards, to go along with future salary cap projections.
And back to that first point. You think two interception machines (Romo and Cutler) and a guy who chucks the ball to Megatron all day have something on Kap? Doesn't Kap have more playoff wins than all of them COMBINED? In TWO years. How many combined years have those guys played in the league? Good God.