I thought a lot of people liked him coming out of college but I am reading a lot of people seem to be shocked at his success. I thought he'd be a great pick-up and wanted the Hawks to draft him in the 2nd, and was not happy when the 9ers picked him up. I am more surprised at how many people are surprised that he is a good QB, did he just fall under the "Running QB that can't throw well enough to make it in the NFL" label?

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I'm not surprised in the least. But, I also had a hunch Alex Smith would become relevant when Harbaugh arrived. Actually, you and I disussed that when he was hired, Les.

While's Kap's playing well, I also think that SF QB gig is a better one than Farve took over with the Vikings. 4 1st rounders across the OL, not including Vernon Davis. And, to his credit, Harbaugh does a lot of slick isht in the running game. But, again, that's due to the wealth of talent across their line. I'd expect ANY QB to atleast be Alex Smith for the 49ers, if not better. Tjack, Flynn, Henne, anyone would be at least a 11 win QB there.

What PC and JS didn't like was his Football IQ from the sound of it. They saw him as an "athelete", a great one. We'll see what occurs when SF doesn't just have to line-up to have the advantage, and Kap has to QB a bit more.

I have to admit that I am surprised and impressed by his performance during the playoffs. I felt that he lacked the poise and situational awareness at this point to win playoff games, b/o his play in the Rams and Seahawk games.

I was expecting/rooting for him to melt down during the playoffs, but he has played well. I am surprised that he does not throw more interceptions. I imagine this is because he always has the option of pulling down the ball and running. Still, it is impressive.

Not surprised at all. Tim Tebow could run that offense effectively.

The degree of it, and under the circumstances, yeah. He seems like the same guy that came out of Nevada. Which is fine. But I imagined he'd have to become more of a three read guy to have success. I underestimated his athleticism and toughness.

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“We need to be challenged, ... and we need to be under the gun to respond.” --Pete Carroll

I'm not surprised given what he did in college and preseason, but something about him just tells me he won't last long.

I'm not particularly surprised - highly mobile quarterbacks have and will always have a degree of success, but usually the supporting cast isn't good enough to make up for it, in SF that's not the case.

In fact, I can't really think of a highly mobile QB (with a big arm) who HASN'T been particularly successful

Kaepernick can beat teams with his arm and does not have to run or be a threat to run to have success. He has shown that ability on the NFL level. He has a rocket arm. He has shown the ability to read defenses. Even his worse games have been average by NFL standards. All this focus on his running ability is a joke. The guy appears to be a complete player. It is only his 10th start coming up but that is what actual evidence and not just wishful thinking is showing. What makes Kaepernick, Wilson, RG3 so dangerous is that they have wheels to beat you like Steve Young did but that is only part of their game. They are all passers first. We will see if he can keep it up. He is a hard worker and it will be interesting to see how he adapts as he gets more experience and how defenses in the league adapt. But there is plenty of film on this guy already.

The way to beat Kaepernick is to dominate the offensive line and not give him time or space. If he has time to throw or run, he will beat you. That is how it is with any quarterback. That is why this is a team sport.

Akili Smith, Quincy Carter, Joe Webb, Pat White, Michael Bishop, Adrian McPherson, Joe Hamilton, Josh Johnson, Marques Tuiasosopo all come to mind. You need at least some accuracy.

Troy Smith

I recall many wanting him and were disapointed that he went to the 49ers, we all were thinking he would beat out Alex in year one. Didn't happen but there was something there many thought was of value.

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To Be P/C or Not P/C That is the Question..........Seahawks kick Ass !!!!
Used to be an Alumni till they pulled a USC on me...
.Net official Clueless, Dumbass, Douche, Simpleton, CensoredTard , Idiot, member of the 38 club.

I'm a huge Ohio State fan, and I have to disagree with this. Physically, Smith was a very average prospect. He had a decent arm, but not a cannon, and had good mobility, but nowhere near the escapability of the other QBs mentioned in this thread. Smith's best attributes were his intelligence and leadership. In 20 career games with the Ravens and Niners (8 starts), he only rushed for 230 yards on 52 attempts. That's barely over 10 yards per game.

Troy Smith had a great arm, better than Wilson's. He had good "escapability"- his problem was that once he was flushed he'd never get his eyes back downfield again. He also had some accuracy problems and whatever leader he was in college he wasn't for the 49ers. He's a lot like Josh Portis, actually.

On topic- not surprised by Kaepernick. I thought the Seahawks exposed Kaepernick in their December meeting, so Kaepernick will need to grow in 2013 as opponents learn from Seattle's example. Unfortunately for us, Kaepernick has a ton of room for growth so it's possible he might actually improve next year despite being game planned.

Seattle did not expose Kaepernick at all. If they did don't you think opponents would of learned by it already and not be loosing to him in the playoffs.

Seattle won not so much for their play on Kaepernick but for their play against the 49ers defense. Kaepernick played average but was not the reason for loosing this game at all. The 49ers defense was gassed at the end of the year with out their most valuable defensive player coming off a big emotional win in New England the following week. First play of the game on offense, Seattle ran right at Justin Smith's replacement, Ricky Jean Francios, and Marshawn Lynch ran for a touchdown pretty much untouch. Looking back at that game, considering Seattle's home field advantage, the way the defense played, Kaepernick played average.

Tom Brady 36-58 395 Yards 2 touchdowns 2 Interceptions @ Seattle
Tony Romo 23-40 251 Yards 1 Touchdown 1 Interception @ Seattle
Aaron Rodgers 26-39 223 Yards 0 Touchdowns 0 Interceptions @ Seattle
Colin Kaepernick 19-36 244 Yards 1 Touchdown 1 Interception @ Seattle

Did you guys expose Romo, Rodgers, and Brady, and once teams learn from it in the offseason those players won't be any good either?

Give Seattle credit. They blasted the 49ers defense that night and that night the 49ers defense sucked. Seattle is almost unbeatable in the Clink. They have a good defense that becomes very good at home. Kaepernick played fine that night, nothing special but exposed he was not.

Kaepernick picked up a lot of that yardage and his sole TD in garbage time while his team was down 42-6. He also got two of his targets injured on very poor throws early in the game. He looked completely lost out there.

Brady and Rodgers were involved in highly competitive games and got their yardage when it mattered.

Maybe you didn't watch the game, but Kaepernick was incredibly uncomfortable. It was also by far his worst stat line of the season. Kaepernick still needs an eternity to check his 2nd read, and Seattle exploited that by pressuring him and then anticipating his escape route. The result was just 4.4 YPC on a ton of aborted passes. Even Kaepernick's 1 TD pass (in garbage time) looked like it would have been overturned had the officials given a shit at that point. Kaepernick looked like a broken man in his postgame presser.

I'm not disrespecting Kaepernick. He's a talented player who will probably continue to get better. But he does currently have obvious weaknesses and in that game Seattle exposed them. You are a blind homer if you can't see that. Or maybe you do know it and just want to be a curmudgeon.

As far as the other QBs- Brady actually ripped us to shreds that game, we were very lucky to win. Romo was better than his stat line, which was still decent. Rodgers- yeah Rodgers kind of got his ass kicked by our defense- fair point. He had to revert to captain checkdown to find any effectiveness. I don't think we really exposed Rodgers though- I just think his O-line had a horrific night.

Romo was the best player on the field that Sunday. He was amazing, really.

Witten was having a terrible start to the season, he picked it up later in the year. As well as Dez. The interception was not good, but that was Romo being Romo trying to make a play. Witten left a lot of money on the carpet. The entire team did a bad job though. Fumbling the kickoff and having a punt blocked, Dallas should have left after the 1st quarter.

No one could put Romo on the carpet, he was spinning out of sacks all game long. The second half was all Seattle though. Flat out just kicked off into the Cowboys behind.

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Leon Washington 2010-2012 Red Bryant 2008-2013 Chris Clemons 2010-2013 Golden Tate 2010-2013
Brandon Browner 2011-2013 Breno Giacomini 2011-2013 - Gone but not forgotten.
Wilson will sign for $18M+ (3/4/2014)

I watched the game. Maybe you are missing my point. What quarterback looks comfortable in Clink on a nationally televised game at night when your team can't stop anything on defense. Has any of those quarterbacks looked comfortable? You are saying Seattle exposed parts of his game that will be realized in the offseason. I don't see how you can support that. I knew his touchdown came in garbage time but it probably would have came earlier had Manningham not fumbled when he tore his knee out.

If his game was exposed, ask the Falcons or Packers.

One sub-par to average game in that situation does not equal game exposed. I could of made that same post about Russell Wilson's game against the 49ers earlier in the year.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, we are not going to reach an agreement on this. I am just going to say, its just not accurate to say his game was exposed and that suddenly teams are going to review that tape again and see how they can stop him. No Seattle has a very good secondary and defense. They are very hard to beat at home. The list of QBs uncomfortable at Clink has included plenty pro bowl quarterbacks, none of them were exposed.

Agree 100% with your post. Loved him coming out of college and my only concern, which I still have, is if he can handle a truly complicated offensive gameplan. However, he did score a phenomenal 37 on the NFL quiz...can't remember the name.

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RELEASE THE KRAKEN! (FREE BROWNER!)

A lot of the young QBs have done well over the past 2 years. I remember when it was thought that a QB needed 5 yrs to really be ready for the Pro game, but that was in the beginning of time. Kaep has looked just as poised as most of the good young ones. He has proven to me that he is a NFL quality QB, just as much as Dalton, Luck, RG3, Wilson and Newton have in their perspective roles. I thought he would make a critical error due to his youth in this run but just like Wilson, he didn't do that.

I figure it is a tough sell trying to be objective about a rival QB and if you give a little too much love you are considered a traitor but if I had no vested interest in the 9ers crashing and burning, I would say young Kaep has done better than I thought he would when Harbaugh made the change. I was expecting and most definitely hoping for a disaster. That isn't what I saw nor what happened.

When folks here talked about wanting him in the draft I figured Dalton was the better option from my limited input. I wouldn't want to do that if the chance was there now and there were no Wilson.

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Leon Washington 2010-2012 Red Bryant 2008-2013 Chris Clemons 2010-2013 Golden Tate 2010-2013
Brandon Browner 2011-2013 Breno Giacomini 2011-2013 - Gone but not forgotten.
Wilson will sign for $18M+ (3/4/2014)

I thought his slooow release would bother him alot but guess he worked on it.

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sig by Ramster

Truthfully I was surprised by his success. When I found out he was starting against the Bears my confidence dropped for the rest of the season. But boy did he put on a show! He has continued to thrill and has led us to the Superbowl...what more can a Niner fan ask for of their starting QB up to this point?

Obviously I am asking for 1 more win!

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DISCLAIMER:

The trash talking that I do occasionally this week is strictly for gamesmanship between opposing fanbases as a result of our upcoming matchup this week on SNF. It by no means should be taken personally.

Sure! How's November? Best I can do.


I keep being surprised by Kaepernick. We'll see if he stands the test of time mentally and physically (not wishing injury on the guy, but ya know he just seems pretty liable out there).

Alex Smith took that team on a deep playoff run.


That O-line is what makes that offense what it is.

Edit. Spelling.

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Seattle won not so much for their play on Kaepernick but for their play against the 49ers defense. Kaepernick played average but was not the reason for loosing this game at all. The 49ers defense was gassed at the end of the year with out their most valuable defensive player coming off a big emotional win in New England the following week. First play of the game on offense, Seattle ran right at Justin Smith's replacement, Ricky Jean Francios, and Marshawn Lynch ran for a touchdown pretty much untouch. Looking back at that game, considering Seattle's home field advantage, the way the defense played, Kaepernick played average.

you know i keep hearing the SF defense played like crap, because they're coming off a big game against NE, and they had to play 90 some plays in that game, blah blah blah... this was a divisional rival game, where the division was still on the line, these guys for the most part are in there mid to upper 20's.. don't give me that crap they were tired or emotionally drained, they're professional atheletes.. you guys were manhandled in every possible way in that game.. those excuses work over in the webzone, but not here...Kap was running for his life all game, and looked like a deer caught in the headlights.. did we expose him, eh don't know, but we definitely found kinks in his armour.... i'll give you that not having JS in there made a difference, but i'm not giving you the NE excuse...

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World Champs - Sounds good don't it

If you can't see how playin NE, the week before, could cause us to be tired then you just have blind hate....

We played NE 4 days before we played you on Thursday, and I don't see anyone here making excuses for the outcome of that game. That is the nature of the NFL. I'm sure your win against us that Thurs doesn't come with an asterisk in your mind.

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Danger Zone

I dont look at your win like that either. You kicked our ass, plan and simple, but if you cant see that there was some things that contributed to that than I dont know....

I don't know why people thought he had a slow release. Sport science (I know...) did a bit on him around draft time in 2011 and he actually had a very quick release and an accurate throw.

It LOOKED goofy for sure. But it wasn't all that slow.

It's similar to his run style. He has such long legs that he really doesn't look that fast. But each step somehow seems to take him 2.5 yards.

Could it have been, the Seattle is actually the better team.. na no way it could have been that. like i said the absence of JS was a huge loss to you guys, i'll give you that... but we were missing key players too. if your D can't get up for a Division game on National TV with huge playoff implications, then i don't know.

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World Champs - Sounds good don't it

I'll be the first one to admit that the Seahawks have a great team, but do you honestly beleive that the Saehwks are the better team?

I think it's closer than most 49er fans like to admit, but I do think we slightly edge you guys out.

Why not? We gave you an absolute beatdown, and whilst you managed to do what we couldn't and go to Atlanta and beat the Falcons, you did it with 8 days rest after a home game the week before in an 12pm PST game as opposed to 7 days after another road game in a 10am PST start, maybe the 49ers do win in that situation - but if you think playing a tough game against New England contributed to you suffering such a beatdown to us, then quite clearly the same should apply to us in Atlanta.

i saw one of their preseason games last year because im in the local area and his release is way quicker now.

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sig by Ramster

Kap definitely hit pay dirt with the support he has, no question. I was just reading a recent SI and it mentioned how people were thinking Harbaugh made a bad decision by sticking with him, and how taken aback they were with his success. I think with less flexible coaching he probably wouldn't be as successful, but you can say that about a lot of people. I really admire how the staff just got together and said "well here's what he is comfortable with, here's what we are best at, so lets put it together" and found success. Obviously I wish it was on a team in the AFC East or something, but it is what it is.

I will say, I have been impressed by his passing as well, but that's pretty easy when the defense decides that covering the TE isn't a good use of resources...

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I'll be the first one to admit that the Seahawks have a great team, but do you honestly beleive that the Saehwks are the better team?

I think it's closer than most 49er fans like to admit, but I do think we slightly edge you guys out.


i think you guys edge us out in quality players at more positions.. but yes i think the best team in the west will not be playing in the SB this year.

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World Champs - Sounds good don't it

which TE? I had Vernon Davis on my fantasy team for the regular season and he sucked. did walker have a big year?

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sig by Ramster

Kaepernick threw back across his body twice, nearly throwing one pick in the endzone. Then throwing a pick in the end zone. Half his YPA average on the night. His slow pre snap reads cost several delays and timeouts.

The kid has a ton of talent, but so does the team around him. Still, the scheme is awesome, Harbs may be a social disgrace but he is a coaching savant. He makes an offense easy for a QB. Alex Freaking Smith should have gone to a Super Bowl in that offense, and in fact put up as good of numbers or better as Kaepernick. Don't they both have about the same YPA?

Kaepernick struggled out of the pocket in Seattle, and the pistol needs up the middle running success to open the outside. Kaep didn't get that up the middle success, so his pistol run game never developed. Seattle took away his deep reads, and he struggled to find his secondary targets.

If it makes you feel better, I think Kaepernick gets a ring this week.

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SEAHAWKS.NET. We All We Got, We All We Need

the Falcons didn't cover Vernon Davis for about 1/3 of the game and was wide open all the way down the field every time SF had the ball.

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Didn't they also do that with Miller? I didnt get to see the 1st 3 quarters because of a wedding. My friend who is a seahawks fan as well told me that they weren't covering Miller at all.

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sig by Ramster

VOMIT! Why would you say such a thing? You cut me deeply, Scotte.

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Sam Bradford is a game changer.

*He can change a win into a loss.
*He can change a loss into a win by getting injured.
*RedAlice is right.

Roland, I used to feel the same way. Than I thought to myself, is there any way Kaep gets more rings than Wilson when its all said and done? Kaep hasn't even shown he can be nearly as effective without his running, so there is the slight possibility that he may not even be relevant in a few years after defenses catch on to him.

Yeah that's a lie considering a month ago you went on and on about how you weren't sold on Kaepernick and no longer afraid of him being anything.

Obviously you are surprised judging by your past posts

Kaep is comp. 54% of his passes of 20yards or more. The next highest is 43%

Only 12.5% of his passes are off target, best in the NFL.

ya we got all those numbers in the other thread you started.. remember that thread where you called me out, and disappeared? where you threw out a bunch of stats, and was called on them and yet again disappeared.. Or the thread where you say Black QB's don't study enough to have success in the NFL, called on that and yep you guessed it, disappeared.. nobody gives a flyin you know what about the stats you throw out here.. you've lost all credibility, you should probably scamper on back to the niner boards now...

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World Champs - Sounds good don't it

How bout this stat.

Didn't Alex Smith have a really high QBR too? So, did you have the two best QBs in the league, or is the offensive scheme really conducive to QBR friendly stats? (IIRC, Kaepernick had a really high QBR for the rams loss, mostly based on a long run in the 4th quarter. It certainly was not a great offensive performance)

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SEAHAWKS.NET. We All We Got, We All We Need

To my fellow Niner fans, the Hawks' fans on here are not going to be swayed by anything you say right now. If they don't believe that Kap is good, let Kap show them next season.

Is just like when I thought Wilson wasn't going to be that good, he proved it to me over the course of the season. So, Kap will have his chance to prove it to them next year, and hopefully with a Ring already.

I really look forward to the battles in this division going forward.

That's what I'm looking for - for him to prove himself next season. Because that is what I'm skeptical about. I think he may just be a one year wonder.

i don't think anyone here is saying Kap is not good.. he's very talented and has been extremely impressive in the playoffs.. but you guys keep throwing out these diluted stats to prove some kind of point...

you can't judge kap's season performance based on those stats because he didn't start the first half of the season, just like you can't judge RW on his season long stats, because he was handcuffed and barely threw the ball in the first half.. give them both a full year with the playbook wide open to compare the two, then we can discuss who's the more effective QB..

No doubt both will probably do very well, and both will more than likely be in the top tier for QB's in the league..

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World Champs - Sounds good don't it