Colin Kaepernick has a perception problem. He throws an interception on le s than 2 percent of his attempts. He averages more yards per carry than Cam Newton. His career pa ser rating, 88.4, rests above Joe Flacco's and Eli Manning's. Yet even those two players, both of whom face more than their fair share of criticism, don' Jameson Williams T Shirts t take anywhere close to the amount of flak Kaepernick's endured in the past year. The reason for that -- the reason Kaepernick has turned into one of the most maligned players in the league -- has more to do with his perception than his actual ability. After he came a fourth-and-goal away from a championship following the 2012 regular season, Kaepernick was dubbed the next great -- dare I say, #ELITE -- quarterback. He followed up his impre sive introduction by falling a tipped pa s short of a second consecutive . So, the 49ers gave him befitting a king. Then, the alleged decline. In 2014, Kaepernick sputtered and the 49ers won eight games. Jim Harbaugh escaped San Francisco for Michigan. The 49ers hired Jim Tomsula for whatever reason. Kaepernick lasted eight starts. Blaine Gabbert eventually overtook an injured Kaepernick on the depth chart. The 49ers won five games, Tomsula got canned, and Kaepernick ended the season rehabbing in Colorado, a mountain range away from the team's facilities in Santa Clara. Now, the team and quarterback sit in a strange situation. Kaepernick doesn't want to play for the 49ers, but he's still on the roster and showed up for offseason activities The 49ers' new head coach, Chip Kelly, doesn't sound like but the team failed to finalize a trade to end the relationship. For the time being, Kaepernick appears to be on the eve of a quarterback duel with Gabbert. So, just to be clear, Kaepernick went from a Super Bowl to Blaine Gabbert. It certainly sounds le s like a decline and more like a disaster straight out of But there's a reason why I used "alleged" when talking about Kaepernick's decline. Despite common sentiment, Kaepernick didn't suddenly degrade in 2014 and 2015. A thief didn't sneak through his window at night and steal his talent. He didn't mysteriously lose all of the ability that convinced the 49ers to fork over his untradeable contract in the first place. Colin Kaepernick is still Colin Kaepernick. He's still the same (or at least close Joel Heath Jersey to the same) quarterback he was in 2012 and 2013 -- and that's both a good and a bad thing. This is where perception comes into play: The Kaepernick of 2012 and 2013 was never as good as he was made out to be. The Kaepernick of 2014 and 2015 was never as bad as he was made out to be. I'm not the first person to reach this conclusion. The 49ers and Jim Harbaugh understood Kaepernick's game early on, and part of the reason he got the starting job over Smith in the first place is because Harbaugh felt that if he was going to be simplifying his offense for Smith, building in automatic checkdowns and generally trying to pare down what he asked of the quarterback, he might as well throw in the guy with all-world athleticism to run it. The 49ers were built on the back of the league's best offensive line (at the time) and a powerful running game. Add in Kaepernick's big arm, ability to make key throws in the right situations Craig Reynolds Jersey , and the wrinkle he brought with his running ability (which factors into our grading of him), and you had a recipe for succe s. The i sues have developed as the 49ers have gone away from that recipe. The more they have placed on Kaepernick's shoulders, the le s he has been able to carry, and the support around him on the field has deteriorated. And I won't be the last, as Cian Fahey also covered this in the .Colin Kaepernick was neither great during his peak or awful during his worst moments. He is who he is, just use him accordingly. Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) Statistically speaking, it's impo sible to deny that Kaepernick regre sed. Completion % YPA Pa sing yards TD-INT Pa ser rating 2012 -2013 59.8% 7.9 5,011 31-11 93.9 2014-2015 60% 6.9 4,984 25-15 83.7 But stats, in this particular case, don't tell the entire story. Namely, stats alone don't explain why Kaepernick experienced a regre sion. He regre sed because ... 1. The team around him declined. The 49ers' regre sion, as a team, is demonstrated below: Sacks allowed QB hits allowed Rushing yards per game Points allowed per game 2013 39 57 137.6 17 2015 53 94 96.5 24.2 2. As a result of that decline, Kaepernick was asked to do more. He couldn't. On that note, it's important to remember that Kaepernick is not blamele s for his struggles. The decline Romeo Okwara Jersey of the 49ers exposed Kaepernick for the quarterback he has always been: a game manager -- not a savior -- with the added ability of making game-changing, explosive plays. That second part is why so many of us initially fell in love with Kaepernick. For one, the 49ers won a ton of games. But more importantly, he did stuff like this during those wins: Kaepernick performed so well in 2012 and 2013 because he played in a system that catered to his strengths and limited his chances to makes mistakes. After going back and watching his film from the 2013 season (his best full-season as a starter), the 49ers' system stood out over the quarterback. The offense relied heavily on the run game, which served as the strength of the offense considering defenses had to account for both Frank Gore and Kaepernick. When they threw the ball during the 2013 season, they didn't ask Kaepernick to navigate crowded pockets with challenging deep drops. They used quick reads and simple throws. Like this pa s to Vernon Davis: Kaepernick isn't a timing quarterback. He's a quarterback who thrives when he can see a man get open and then drill the ball into that man. He's not anticipating or throwing his receivers open. Kaepernick, often times, locks onto one receiver and fires away. His arm strength has never been in doubt, which allows him to get away with his lack of timing. In the golden days, when his first read failed to get Tim Boyle Jersey open, his offensive line provided him with protection that allowed him to sit back in a clean pocket and locate a secondary option. And for a quarterback who lacks timing, that protection came in handy in the tight confines of the red zone. The protection below was already good at the onset of the play. Add in Kaepernick's decision to extend the play wi
Colin Kaepernick has a perception problem. He throws an interception on le s than 2 percent of his attempts. He averages more yards per carry than Cam Newton. His career pa ser rating, 88.4, rests above Joe Flacco's and Eli Manning's. Yet even those two players, both of whom face more than their fair share of criticism, don' Jameson Williams T Shirts t take anywhere close to the amount of flak Kaepernick's endured in the past year. The reason for that -- the reason Kaepernick has turned into one of the most maligned players in the league -- has more to do with his perception than his actual ability. After he came a fourth-and-goal away from a championship following the 2012 regular season, Kaepernick was dubbed the next great -- dare I say, #ELITE -- quarterback. He followed up his impre sive introduction by falling a tipped pa s short of a second consecutive . So, the 49ers gave him befitting a king. Then, the alleged decline. In 2014, Kaepernick sputtered and the 49ers won eight games. Jim Harbaugh escaped San Francisco for Michigan. The 49ers hired Jim Tomsula for whatever reason. Kaepernick lasted eight starts. Blaine Gabbert eventually overtook an injured Kaepernick on the depth chart. The 49ers won five games, Tomsula got canned, and Kaepernick ended the season rehabbing in Colorado, a mountain range away from the team's facilities in Santa Clara. Now, the team and quarterback sit in a strange situation. Kaepernick doesn't want to play for the 49ers, but he's still on the roster and showed up for offseason activities The 49ers' new head coach, Chip Kelly, doesn't sound like but the team failed to finalize a trade to end the relationship. For the time being, Kaepernick appears to be on the eve of a quarterback duel with Gabbert. So, just to be clear, Kaepernick went from a Super Bowl to Blaine Gabbert. It certainly sounds le s like a decline and more like a disaster straight out of But there's a reason why I used "alleged" when talking about Kaepernick's decline. Despite common sentiment, Kaepernick didn't suddenly degrade in 2014 and 2015. A thief didn't sneak through his window at night and steal his talent. He didn't mysteriously lose all of the ability that convinced the 49ers to fork over his untradeable contract in the first place. Colin Kaepernick is still Colin Kaepernick. He's still the same (or at least close Joel Heath Jersey to the same) quarterback he was in 2012 and 2013 -- and that's both a good and a bad thing. This is where perception comes into play: The Kaepernick of 2012 and 2013 was never as good as he was made out to be. The Kaepernick of 2014 and 2015 was never as bad as he was made out to be. I'm not the first person to reach this conclusion. The 49ers and Jim Harbaugh understood Kaepernick's game early on, and part of the reason he got the starting job over Smith in the first place is because Harbaugh felt that if he was going to be simplifying his offense for Smith, building in automatic checkdowns and generally trying to pare down what he asked of the quarterback, he might as well throw in the guy with all-world athleticism to run it. The 49ers were built on the back of the league's best offensive line (at the time) and a powerful running game. Add in Kaepernick's big arm, ability to make key throws in the right situations Craig Reynolds Jersey , and the wrinkle he brought with his running ability (which factors into our grading of him), and you had a recipe for succe s. The i sues have developed as the 49ers have gone away from that recipe. The more they have placed on Kaepernick's shoulders, the le s he has been able to carry, and the support around him on the field has deteriorated. And I won't be the last, as Cian Fahey also covered this in the .Colin Kaepernick was neither great during his peak or awful during his worst moments. He is who he is, just use him accordingly. Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) Statistically speaking, it's impo sible to deny that Kaepernick regre sed. Completion % YPA Pa sing yards TD-INT Pa ser rating 2012 -2013 59.8% 7.9 5,011 31-11 93.9 2014-2015 60% 6.9 4,984 25-15 83.7 But stats, in this particular case, don't tell the entire story. Namely, stats alone don't explain why Kaepernick experienced a regre sion. He regre sed because ... 1. The team around him declined. The 49ers' regre sion, as a team, is demonstrated below: Sacks allowed QB hits allowed Rushing yards per game Points allowed per game 2013 39 57 137.6 17 2015 53 94 96.5 24.2 2. As a result of that decline, Kaepernick was asked to do more. He couldn't. On that note, it's important to remember that Kaepernick is not blamele s for his struggles. The decline Romeo Okwara Jersey of the 49ers exposed Kaepernick for the quarterback he has always been: a game manager -- not a savior -- with the added ability of making game-changing, explosive plays. That second part is why so many of us initially fell in love with Kaepernick. For one, the 49ers won a ton of games. But more importantly, he did stuff like this during those wins: Kaepernick performed so well in 2012 and 2013 because he played in a system that catered to his strengths and limited his chances to makes mistakes. After going back and watching his film from the 2013 season (his best full-season as a starter), the 49ers' system stood out over the quarterback. The offense relied heavily on the run game, which served as the strength of the offense considering defenses had to account for both Frank Gore and Kaepernick. When they threw the ball during the 2013 season, they didn't ask Kaepernick to navigate crowded pockets with challenging deep drops. They used quick reads and simple throws. Like this pa s to Vernon Davis: Kaepernick isn't a timing quarterback. He's a quarterback who thrives when he can see a man get open and then drill the ball into that man. He's not anticipating or throwing his receivers open. Kaepernick, often times, locks onto one receiver and fires away. His arm strength has never been in doubt, which allows him to get away with his lack of timing. In the golden days, when his first read failed to get Tim Boyle Jersey open, his offensive line provided him with protection that allowed him to sit back in a clean pocket and locate a secondary option. And for a quarterback who lacks timing, that protection came in handy in the tight confines of the red zone. The protection below was already good at the onset of the play. Add in Kaepernick's decision to extend the play wi
