Colin Kaepernick Thread

The "i'm not out of breath" line doesn't sound good.....

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:
Taylor Price ‏@TaylorPrice 7m7 minutes ago
Kap on QB change: "That decision was out of my control. I left it at that. I respect their authority."

He played himself onto the bench.

Originally posted by qnnhan7:

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:
Taylor Price ‏@TaylorPrice 7m7 minutes ago
Kap on QB change: "That decision was out of my control. I left it at that. I respect their authority."

He played himself onto the bench.

This ^

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
I think I found the bridge to explain Kap's success early on and failure now.....hear me out.

So there was an article on Niner Nation that alleges insider info from the Harbaugh administration (some assistant). He claims the team was fully on board with Kap back then and after the SB felt he could improve and become even better. They worked on him for two seasons and could not get any more out of him.

The claim wasn't that he couldn't read defenses or make the throws, but was never able to trust receivers to be open (throw them open....whatever you wanna call it).

Now the largest narrative in the media and casual fans is that defenses adjusted to Colin.

But I felt at best that takes away a bit and not a full destruction. After all, Wilson, RG3, Luck, Cam have all been ADJUSTED to and gotten worse statistically....

I think Kap's early success is as simple as this:

THAT FIRST YEAR, OUR BOY WAS PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY.

Life of an NFL backup....for the first few games is always house money. You're NOT supposed to be the starter........so hey, what's the risk of screwing up?

Ballin' out of control against teams that season because worst case scenario he sits. Team wise there was no risk because Alex was still seen as very capable....hell, it was a hard decision to make to begin with.

Finished that tie game ok. Came out blazin against Bears and just kept it up the rest of the way. Only losses were against St. Louis and Seattle prior to the post season. He really did not have a terrible game that season....even the Seahawk game our team was just overwhelmed in general.

So now the offseason........the inevitable trade of Alex Smith. No longer is Smith there for tutoring, but also to push Kap. He's the entrenched starter now, and now the real pressure begins.

That opener against the Packers we saw him play with house money still........and after that we've seen the slow decline we never wanted to see.

So the conclusion here IMHO is we drafted a talented QB in many ways but one that is sadly extremely important.......mental fortitude.

That 2012 team had offensive talent that was damn good. I get the house money angle, but when the team started to deteriorate (OL/WR speed), it greatly affected Kap's ability to find open WRs. The difference between 2012 and 2013 were: no Moss/Crabs/DWalker/Manningham, Goodwin regressed, Iupati injured knee. I agree with how he doesn't throw WRs open consistently. That area of his game has not improved as much as it should have after 2 years.

The main factors contributing to the 'regression' of 2012 Kap versus 2015 Kap is decline in offensive talent, lack of improvement in anticipation, and lack of pocket awareness. Anticipation and pocket awareness are the two things that would help offset the decline of OL and WR. I don't think he regressed as much as the team around him did. His fault, however, is that he also didn't improve as much as he should. imo

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
The "i'm not out of breath" line doesn't sound good.....

Sounds like a douchebag who's unable to admit he has deficiencies in his game.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
I think I found the bridge to explain Kap's success early on and failure now.....hear me out.

So there was an article on Niner Nation that alleges insider info from the Harbaugh administration (some assistant). He claims the team was fully on board with Kap back then and after the SB felt he could improve and become even better. They worked on him for two seasons and could not get any more out of him.

The claim wasn't that he couldn't read defenses or make the throws, but was never able to trust receivers to be open (throw them open....whatever you wanna call it).

Now the largest narrative in the media and casual fans is that defenses adjusted to Colin.

But I felt at best that takes away a bit and not a full destruction. After all, Wilson, RG3, Luck, Cam have all been ADJUSTED to and gotten worse statistically....

I think Kap's early success is as simple as this:

THAT FIRST YEAR, OUR BOY WAS PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY.

Life of an NFL backup....for the first few games is always house money. You're NOT supposed to be the starter........so hey, what's the risk of screwing up?

Ballin' out of control against teams that season because worst case scenario he sits. Team wise there was no risk because Alex was still seen as very capable....hell, it was a hard decision to make to begin with.

Finished that tie game ok. Came out blazin against Bears and just kept it up the rest of the way. Only losses were against St. Louis and Seattle prior to the post season. He really did not have a terrible game that season....even the Seahawk game our team was just overwhelmed in general.

So now the offseason........the inevitable trade of Alex Smith. No longer is Smith there for tutoring, but also to push Kap. He's the entrenched starter now, and now the real pressure begins.

That opener against the Packers we saw him play with house money still........and after that we've seen the slow decline we never wanted to see.

So the conclusion here IMHO is we drafted a talented QB in many ways but one that is sadly extremely important.......mental fortitude.

That 2012 team had offensive talent that was damn good. I get the house money angle, but when the team started to deteriorate (OL/WR speed), it greatly affected Kap's ability to find open WRs. The difference between 2012 and 2013 were: no Moss/Crabs/DWalker/Manningham, Goodwin regressed, Iupati injured knee. I agree with how he doesn't throw WRs open consistently. That area of his game has not improved as much as it should have after 2 years.

The main factors contributing to the 'regression' of 2012 Kap versus 2015 Kap is decline in offensive talent, lack of improvement in anticipation, and lack of pocket awareness. Anticipation and pocket awareness are the two things that would help offset the decline of OL and WR. I don't think he regressed as much as the team around him did. His fault, however, is that he also didn't improve as much as he should. imo

THL, you bring up many good points and I agree.

I guess the bridge between our points is that as the team regressed and maybe the offense wasn't as dominant as it was or certain passes weren't happening, he slowly started to lose confidence in himself.

It's the only thing that makes sense when you look at how we kept improving his WR situation post 2013 and it never really got better.

Originally posted by 49er-from-Yavin-IV:

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
The "i'm not out of breath" line doesn't sound good.....

Sounds like a douchebag who's unable to admit he has deficiencies in his game.

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:

Both of these are not boding well.

And from reports I hear on how he is a d**** to fans and has annoying body language in public.......I'm starting to lose a lot of love for this guy quickly.

I always said that Alex and Colin were my "sons" in jest (and I'm only 36, lol)......but if this keeps up Alex will be my only son left.

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
I think I found the bridge to explain Kap's success early on and failure now.....hear me out.

So there was an article on Niner Nation that alleges insider info from the Harbaugh administration (some assistant). He claims the team was fully on board with Kap back then and after the SB felt he could improve and become even better. They worked on him for two seasons and could not get any more out of him.

The claim wasn't that he couldn't read defenses or make the throws, but was never able to trust receivers to be open (throw them open....whatever you wanna call it).

Now the largest narrative in the media and casual fans is that defenses adjusted to Colin.

But I felt at best that takes away a bit and not a full destruction. After all, Wilson, RG3, Luck, Cam have all been ADJUSTED to and gotten worse statistically....

I think Kap's early success is as simple as this:

THAT FIRST YEAR, OUR BOY WAS PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY.

Life of an NFL backup....for the first few games is always house money. You're NOT supposed to be the starter........so hey, what's the risk of screwing up?

Ballin' out of control against teams that season because worst case scenario he sits. Team wise there was no risk because Alex was still seen as very capable....hell, it was a hard decision to make to begin with.

Finished that tie game ok. Came out blazin against Bears and just kept it up the rest of the way. Only losses were against St. Louis and Seattle prior to the post season. He really did not have a terrible game that season....even the Seahawk game our team was just overwhelmed in general.

So now the offseason........the inevitable trade of Alex Smith. No longer is Smith there for tutoring, but also to push Kap. He's the entrenched starter now, and now the real pressure begins.

That opener against the Packers we saw him play with house money still........and after that we've seen the slow decline we never wanted to see.

So the conclusion here IMHO is we drafted a talented QB in many ways but one that is sadly extremely important.......mental fortitude.

Good post. Haven't thought of it that way, but there may be something to it. You see it quite often, actually. Whether it's a change at QB, OC, or HC....it's common to see a team galvanized by the change. The true test is if it works out in the long-term. In our case, it has not.

I actually expect Gabbert to provide an initial spark, put together a solid game or two, and then crash down to earth. Similar to Troy Smith in 2010, although different style of player. No matter what happens, need to address the QB position in the off-season.

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
Both of these are not boding well.

And from reports I hear on how he is a d**** to fans and has annoying body language in public.......I'm starting to lose a lot of love for this guy quickly.

I always said that Alex and Colin were my "sons" in jest (and I'm only 36, lol)......but if this keeps up Alex will be my only son left.

Yeah, I don't know what his problem is in terms of how he acts around people. Just doesn't seem to be the same character he was in Nevada, and when he was first introduced to the media on draft day. Completely different person.

KAPS LOCKEROOM PRESSER

Questions, asked by local reporters, are paraphrased and in bold.

Q: What was the conversation like Monday when you found out about the decision?

Colin Kaepernick: "They told me they were going to sit me. That was about the extent of the conversation."

Q: Did you ask why, or were there any reasons given?

CK: "That decision's out of my control and I left it at that. I respect their authority."

Q: Tomsula said Wednesday it was to give you an opportunity to breathe, to take a step back and refocus. Do you think you needed that opportunity?

CK: "I'm not out of breath so I don't understand that reference."

Q: I think he meant mentally and stuff. Did you need a break from all the pressure that's been building up?

CK: "No. I don't believe in pressure. The pressure's not being prepared for what you want to do. To me, I played full seasons, I've played full seasons and been successful. It's something that mentally, I've been through before. I'm not incapable of going through things."

Q: Has this been a hard week for you knowing you're not the starter?

CK: "No. To me that's selfish. To put that on myself on take away from my teammates and away from Blaine. I'll support my teammates, I'll support Blaine, in everything they do because they support me."

Q: A year and a half ago, you had a press conference where you talked about signing a team friendly deal where you could get some of your teammates signed. Do you feel like the team held of its end of the bargain?

CK: "That's not something for me to say. I just try to do my part to try to help this organization, help this team, and do everything I can to try to help us be successful."

Q: Geep Chryst was saying that he didn't think you had the same supporting cast as in 2012, what's your take on that?

CK: "We have a very different team than we did then. We had a lot of veterans, a lot of very experienced players. That had been through a lot of different things and had been through a lot of struggles. So when they stepped on the field, it was with a passion that they didn't want to go back to where they were at before. And that's something, we haven't faced those struggles as a team until now. We have a lot of young players."

Q: It seems like a lot of guys on this team are underperforming, but you're the first person that's really been benched. Do you feel like you're being made the scapegoat?

CK: "I don't pass judgement on that. I do everything I can to try to help this team win, try to support my teammates and try to go out and help us get a W on Sunday."

Q: Looking back on this season, do you go back and think there were times you could have played better?

CK: "Yeah. There's always times you think you can play better. Even in wins, there's things you can do better. I haven't seen a quarterback play a perfect game yet. I'm very critical of myself, I'm very critical of what I feel I can do to help this team. And that's just kind of what it is."

Q: In the back up role are you spending more time going back and looking at yourself, or are you preparing for Atlanta like you would a regular week?

CK "No. I'm still game planning for Atlanta. Still mentally focused and locked in."

Q: Geep Chryst said he thought when you came in 2012, you looked like someone wanting to make some plays, where this year he thought the mentality was to avoid making mistakes. Is that accurate, do you know what he's getting at?

No. I don't believe that's accurate. Every time I step on the field, I step on the field to make plays. But that's just the matter of opinion.

http://www.scout.com/nfl/49ers/story/1608473-transcript-kaepernick-talks-getting-benched

Originally posted by JTsBiggestFan:
THL, you bring up many good points and I agree.

I guess the bridge between our points is that as the team regressed and maybe the offense wasn't as dominant as it was or certain passes weren't happening, he slowly started to lose confidence in himself.

It's the only thing that makes sense when you look at how we kept improving his WR situation post 2013 and it never really got better.

I'm not dismissing the house money angle. There is definitely something to be said about being young and dumb and just having fun. When Kap had all offseason to think about how he was going to follow up on the SB appearance, with national media talking about how he's the next great QB, etc., that's pressure that wasn't there in 2012. I guess I was just speaking to the on-the-field factors in my previous post. The house money aspect is all about what's going on in his head.

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:

Q: Geep Chryst said he thought when you came in 2012, you looked like someone wanting to make some plays, where this year he thought the mentality was to avoid making mistakes. Is that accurate, do you know what he's getting at?

No. I don't believe that's accurate. Every time I step on the field, I step on the field to make plays. But that's just the matter of opinion.

I think Geep is correct here. Seems to be a clear disconnect between Kap and the coaching staff. Maybe he's had more honest discussion with the coaches than the media, but it's a little odd to see him deny this fact. He already admitting he was playing tentative after the GB game. He's mentally locked up right now.

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:

that the look of him wanting out of this organization

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:
Matt Barrows ‏@mattbarrows 7m7 minutes ago
Colin Kaepernick on Jim Tomsula's "he needs to breathe" comment from earlier in the week: "I'm not out of breath."

Kap's said a lot this season without action.