Hello Niners fans! After months of trauma and drama, NFL training camp is upon us, with the San Francisco 49ers holding their first practice tomorrow night at Levi’s Stadium. Clearly, the 49ers have a number of questions heading into camp and the 2015 season; is NaVorro Bowman 100% healthy and ready; which of our esteemed offensive lineman are going to replace Mike Lupati and Anthony Davis; and how will Quarterback Colin Kaepernick fare in a make or break season with some new offensive tools, to name a few. But let’s focus on Kap today.
Kaepernick burst onto the NFL scene in 2012 leading San Francisco to consecutive NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl. And he was really, really close to winning the two of those his team lost. And then came the 2014 season, where everything in Santa Clara was a mess. We don’t need to rehash the details, but I think we can all agree, the 2014 season was a bad scene in Ninerville. It’s actually kind of amazing that they went 8-8, but I digress.
Kaepernick was not immune to the turmoil and the downturn in performance. In an offense that often looked confused and disjointed, he had the most passing yards of his short career with 3,369, but he was also sacked like 1,000 times, ok 52, but that’s a lot. Not all of those sacks were his fault but they were indicative of Kaepernick having trouble knowing when to hold em and when to fold em (or when to keep the ball, throw it away, and find an open receiver, even if it wasn’t the receiver he was planning to throw to when the play started).
In fairness to Kaepernick, last year’s performance is not the most appropriate one to judge him on. His offensive line was unhealthy and mediocre on its best day; his two top receivers, Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin, led the league in dropped passes (though Boldin still had a great season); his go-to tight end, superstar Vernon Davis, had a terrible season in which he played most of it injured; midway through the season C Daniel Kilgore went down with a leg injury, meaning that Kap had to start fresh with rookie C Marcus Martin; and last, but not least, the 49ers got away from the offensive scheme that made both the team and Kaepernick so successful.
As first-year Offensive Coordinator Geep Chryst told Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News here:
“Well, he’s got a unique skill set,” Chryst said. “If you want a cookie-cutter quarterback, Kap’s not going to be the first one you’ll pull out. But … Kap’s taller. Kap’s just as smart as any of these guys. Kap’s got as strong an arm as any of these guys. Kap’s faster than any of these guys. So you start checking these boxes…”
And all of those boxes are what make Kap so special and give me confidence that Kap is just the guy to lead the 49ers to a successful season.
So here we are, with the 2015 NFL season upon us, and there is both good news and bad news for our dual-threat QB.
Let’s start with the bad news.
Last year’s much aligned offensive line is up in the air with the aforementioned departures of Mike Lupati and Anthony Davis. There’s still strong veteran talent in the forms of left tackle Joe Staley and Alex Boone, but nonetheless, questions remain.
Sadly, and I mean very sadly, this will be the first season in over 10 years that the 49ers’ all-time rusher Frank Gore will not be wearing the red and gold. This will definitely be a blow to Kaepernick and his offense, but Carlos Hyde seems ready to step in and perform. If Hyde struggles, and I don’t think he will, San Francisco has the now healthy Kendall Hunter, former rugby star Jarryd Hayne and rookie Mike Davis – all of whom are looking to play a lot of downs. Meanwhile, veteran Reggie Bush can provide the 49ers with a good backfield receiver, and even after 10 years in the league, Bush can be explosive and make big plays.
And now, the good news!
#7 spent a chunk of the offseason in Arizona working with independent coaches on his mechanics and accuracy, as well as with former NFL Quarterback Kurt Warner on the mental aspects of the game. He’s got a new, explosive WR in Torrey Smith, who will rejoin former Baltimore teammate Anquan Boldin (the last time these two played together, they won a Super Bowl. No need to mention who they beat, but I like the combo).
And he’s got a slew of young and fast receivers competing for the third spot. Vernon Davis is healthy again and I really believe last season was a fluke and he’ll be back in championship form come September. So, I, for one, am very excited to see what Colin Rand Kaepernick has in store for his team.
Mix a little Don’t Bottle Kap with hard, offseason work and an explosive new WR, and I smell the recipe for a Super Bowl – ok, let’s not be crazy, a solid season.
Go Niners!