Sorry for another Kaeperncick article MMQB nails it

[Uncle Si]

That's the NFL in a nutshell and it's the same today as it was in 1992.

Isn't this why people watch sports? It's the ultimate meritocracy.

If you're good, we'll put up with just about anything you say or do. If you're mediocre or bad, you're out.

Which makes no sense in reference to Kaep. But seem really want it to be simply about his play.

The two don't add up, no matter what numbers are used.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

That's the NFL in a nutshell and it's the same today as it was in 1992.

Isn't this why people watch sports? It's the ultimate meritocracy.

If you're good, we'll put up with just about anything you say or do. If you're mediocre or bad, you're out.

Which makes no sense in reference to Kaep. But seem really want it to be simply about his play.

The two don't add up, no matter what numbers are used.

I said if you're mediocre or bad, you're out.

Kaepernick's play hasn't been good for over two years. Not terrible, but certainly not great either.

Throw in the distraction factor and not sure why everyone's shocked no one's signed him yet. SF didn't think his distraction was worth it as a starter, teams certainly aren't going to bend over backwards to sign him as a backup.

I do think he'll sign somewhere once the season starts and QB's start getting hurt.

 

[brimsalabim]

You're missing a much bigger picture here. And maybe that's fine..

He's not very good, and that is part of the situation. I do not believe it is bigger than the other part of the situation is though. We certainly recognize the factors working against him, we just have the weighted differently.

He's not good enough to be a starter but he evidently wants to be paid higher than a back up. Teams have to work within a salary cap and most teams can't pay two starters especially if they have other options. In a way Kaep is a victim of his own protests though. His actions helped foster a movement that did cause some fringe viewers to tune out the NFL and dropping viewership numbers affect advertising dollars and ultimately help the NFL set the annual Cap limites. A lower cap means teams can't spend as liberally as they would like and I'm sure some team that would have liked him as a backup could not afford him.

 

[Uncle Si]

You're missing a much bigger picture here. And maybe that's fine..

He's not very good, and that is part of the situation. I do not believe it is bigger than the other part of the situation is though. We certainly recognize the factors working against him, we just have the weighted differently.

He's not good enough to be a starter but he evidently wants to be paid higher than a back up. Teams have to work within a salary cap and most teams can't pay two starters especially if they have other options. In a way Kaep is a victim of his own protests though. His actions helped foster a movement that did cause some fringe viewers to tune out the NFL and dropping viewership numbers affect advertising dollars and ultimately help the NFL set the annual Cap limites. A lower cap means teams can't spend as liberally as they would like and I'm sure some team that would have liked him as a backup could not afford him.

I agree here.

However, noone really knows what he's asking, or how far off a team would be, because outside of PC and the Hawks, noone has shown even the slightest interest in him. That's discerning.

 

[replicant]

For the record, the anthem kneel-down wasn't the only politically charged action he took. Remember the presser he had wearing the pro-Castro shirt? Also, him at practice with the those socks that depicted cops as pigs? I agree with the majority here that his services aren't wanted because he's just not that good, but his particular beliefs didn't help.

 

[Hyak]

His beliefs/actions would be conveniently ignored if he was a high caliber QB. The NFL has proved that time and time again.

The activist/protest stuff doesn't help him at all but the driving factor is his limitations at QB and the sacrifices a team has to make schematically to accommodate him. RGIII is getting the exact same treatment.

It also doesn't help that the offensive guru HC at SF, who had experience running a scheme with a player very much like him in RGIII. opted to go with Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley as opposed to trying to make it work with Kaepernick. This on the heels of having the prior two head coaches (Tomasula and Kelly) bench him for Blaine Gabbert.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

His beliefs/actions would be conveniently ignored if he was a high caliber QB. The NFL has proved that time and time again.

The activist/protest stuff doesn't help him at all but the driving factor is his limitations at QB and the sacrifices a team has to make schematically to accommodate him. RGIII is getting the exact same treatment.

It also doesn't help that the offensive guru HC at SF, who had experience running a scheme with a player very much like him in RGIII. opted to go with Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley as opposed to trying to make it work with Kaepernick. This on the heels of having the prior two head coaches (Tomasula and Kelly) bench him for Blaine Gabbert.

I think we're all saying the same thing, what I gather is Si thinks it has more do with the blackballing than some of us do.

Certainly that's playing into it, but IMO it's far more about Kaepernick's skills. He's a very specific style of QB, with very few teams that'd remotely be considered a good fit. You don't bring in a one read option style running QB if you run a pro style drop back progression offense, which is 90% of the league.

 

[Jville]

Excellent article. :2thumbs:

We see fastball artist try and get by with only one club in their bag. Although a few make a career of it, most don't. Randy Johnson got enough opportunities over the years to finally made it big time in his sport. John Elway leaned on his fastball and one man show until one day the light came on. But, there are many ..... many who don't fair as well.

Kaepernick may have used up his opportunities a couple years ago. After all, professional leagues figure out those who fail to learn and grow their game. After which, the competition runs most of them out of the league.

Randy Johnson isnt a good comp. He had 2 clubs in his bag. The heater and Mr. Snappy, one of the best sliders in MLB history. But....... I get what you are trying to say.

Your right ...... that hard wicked slider was a second club. So it really did take a second club. Even in the case of the greatest wood chopper in MLB history.

And of course, Elway eventually learned how to take a lot off his fastball and throw some nice touch passes to complement his fast ball in the later days of his career. So John eventually had another club as well.

 

[Hyak]

I think we're all saying the same thing, what I gather is Si thinks it has more do with the blackballing than some of us do.

Certainly that's playing into it, but IMO it's far more about Kaepernick's skills. He's a very specific style of QB, with very few teams that'd remotely be considered a good fit. You don't bring in a one read option style running QB if you run a pro style drop back progression offense, which is 90% of the league.

I think the market value of RGIII illustrates how ability is the driver on this. The same flaws that RGIII has in his game are in play for Kaepernick too. The noise with CK sure doesn't help but I'd think he'd be in the same basic situation as RGIII given the accommodations a team has to do schematically for that skill set and for scout team prep for the opposing teams during the week.

 

[Fudwamper]

Plain and simple he is being blackballed because of his stand on politics. He would win you 3/6 games as a back up on a decent team maybe more on a good team. If he did not have his stand he would be signed to a team already.

A team will come calling with an injury, a team will come calling after game 1 when contracts are not guaranteed.

 

[5_Golden_Rings]

I guess he's getting killed on social media because he says Kaepernick isn't very good.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/06/07/coli ... arterbacks

People don't like to hear the truth.

Nah it's that people have a lot of emotion invested in him due to his politics.

 

[Uncle Si]

His beliefs/actions would be conveniently ignored if he was a high caliber QB. The NFL has proved that time and time again.

The activist/protest stuff doesn't help him at all but the driving factor is his limitations at QB and the sacrifices a team has to make schematically to accommodate him. RGIII is getting the exact same treatment.

It also doesn't help that the offensive guru HC at SF, who had experience running a scheme with a player very much like him in RGIII. opted to go with Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley as opposed to trying to make it work with Kaepernick. This on the heels of having the prior two head coaches (Tomasula and Kelly) bench him for Blaine Gabbert.

I think we're all saying the same thing, what I gather is Si thinks it has more do with the blackballing than some of us do.

Certainly that's playing into it, but IMO it's far more about Kaepernick's skills. He's a very specific style of QB, with very few teams that'd remotely be considered a good fit. You don't bring in a one read option style running QB if you run a pro style drop back progression offense, which is 90% of the league.

Current teams with similar QBs (off the top of my head):

Dallas Cowboys (back up just retired, no contact)
Buffalo Bills (drafted QB with completely different skillset)
Carolina Panthers (who is their backup?)
NY Jets (hell, they don't even have a starter right now)
Seahawks
Titans

and I don't want this to turn into a "Marcus Mariota has a better feel for reading Defenses than Kaep" because that is irrelevant. Both are mobile drop back QBs who use that mobility to their advantage. Mariota is obviously better.

So.. yeah. I think it's more about his stance on politics. Look, we know that NFL teams will look the other way when weighing the fall out of signing someone with transgressions.

However, this is a national level story. It is polarizing. The NFL is all on in supporting the military and police.

I don't know why many want to ignore or waive away the very alarming issue with Kaep with a nonchalant dismissal o0f "he's not very good."

He's not great. But he's a hell of a lot better than what many of you are suggesting, and he's certainly better than the list made by the asshat linked in the article.

(also: bringing RG3 into this conversation is ludicrous. His injury history and inability to actually move on a football field seems to be discounted for the purpose of this narrative)

That's my issue. I don't think he's being considered at all, and I think its a grave reflection on what the NFL thinks of its fans.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I don't know why many want to ignore or waive away the very alarming issue with Kaep with a nonchalant dismissal o0f "he's not very good.".

You're starting to inject too much hyperbole into this conversation Si. Most of us have said we agree with you, we just don't think it's 80% sinister blackballing.

I'm more in the 30-40% range. This is still the NFL, where rapists, drug abusers, wife beaters and criminals still get 2nd and 3rd chances. So one guy kneeling during the national anthem isn't going to evoke some massive blackballing collusion.

The facts are yes I bet a LOT of owners, GM's and coaches are pissed off at Kaepernick for what he did.......but in the end if they think he can help their team win for the right price and right situation, they're going to kick those tires.

I just don't think for the majority of teams, Kaep is a good fit.

 

[hawkfan68]

I can name 7 teams that Kaep could start for now and it would be an upgrade over what they have right now. If their ownership/FO had a clue, they would be reaching out to him right now. -

Cleveland Browns - Osweiler is a joke
LA Rams - Goff?
Buffalo Bills - Taylor is overrated
NY Jets - Hackenberg, Petty? Ok...
Jacksonville Jags - Bortles
Chicago Bears
Houston Texans

Pete was clear after meeting with Kaep that he felt he could be a starter in the league. Which means that money and wanting to play is a huge factor. Signing Davis to the deal he got basically confirms it for me. Kaep can say all he wants about money not being an issue. It's an issue. You don't just go from earning $20M year to under $1M year. No one would do that. He's looking for something in the $5M-$10M/year range. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. It's not a money issue for Kaep as he's taking a huge cut in pay, it's an issue for teams because they don't want to give that much for a backup. As I mentioned, he can start for a number of teams so he's seeking equivalent value monetarily to be a backup.

 

[Uncle Si]

I don't know why many want to ignore or waive away the very alarming issue with Kaep with a nonchalant dismissal o0f "he's not very good.".

You're starting to inject too much hyperbole into this conversation Si. Most of us have said we agree with you, we just don't think it's 80% sinister blackballing.

I'm more in the 30-40% range. This is still the NFL, where rapists, drug abusers, wife beaters and criminals still get 2nd and 3rd chances. So one guy kneeling during the national anthem isn't going to evoke some massive blackballing collusion.

The facts are yes I bet a LOT of owners, GM's and coaches are pissed off at Kaepernick for what he did.......but in the end if they think he can help their team win for the right price and right situation, they're going to kick those tires.

I just don't think for the majority of teams, Kaep is a good fit.

I think you're misinterpreting my audience here. This is the wide spectrum of NFL fans, not the great members of .net.

And here is where the big difference lies. I don't think the GMs give a shit about what Kaep has done. They care that a large majority of NFL fans do though.

And that is alarming, because the Greg Hardy's of the NFL get multiple chances because, hey, the large majority of NFL fans just don't care. A few PAs and that should do it.

This is a whole different animal. Without taking this thread in a direction it can't go, I think you know what I'm referring to.

It's just my opinion. Happy to be wrong and GMs dont want Kaep because he throws like his shoulder is attached to his pelvis and his hair is ridiculous. I just think its more, and that's sad to me.

 

[chris98251]

In a time where many are losing jobs for having a opinion about a Certain person right now and the politics involved surrounding that person and any beliefs that someone in a visible position may have contrary, it is career suicide right now to support and or indulge a person that is in that situation for fear that the supporting people will also be subjected to some kind of retaliatory backlash.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

. I just think its more, and that's sad to me.

It's definitely messed up. Jerry Jones has no problem signing someone who tossed his GF down on a bed of guns, then held her hostage inside his bathroom at gunpoint..............but kneel for the anthem? Not Interested!

 

[ivotuk]

The reason he isn't signed is because he can only function as a spread QB, cannot make a 2nd read, and IMHO, has acted immaturely when he lost his starting gig.

The only coach that can make him look good was Harbaugh.

But don't take my word for it, listen to Doug Baldwin:

Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin doesn’t think Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protest is the reason he remains unsigned

Doug Baldwin said he has "no doubt" a team will sign Colin Kaepernick soon. (AP)

RENTON – The way Doug Baldwin sees it, Colin Kaepernick’s curious inability to find work so far this offseason isn’t really that curious. He thinks it has less to do with fallout from the quarterback’s national anthem protest last season than it does one of the basic truths in the NFL:

Younger is better because it’s cheaper.

http://sports.mynorthwest.com/292187/se ... signed-be/

 

[Sealake80]

.

 

[Cyrus12]

Big Ben raped women and got away with it and kept his job...why?..because he was winning games for the Steelers. If he sucked he would of been gone. If Krapper was a good qb he would of been signed. Since he is not and he has a lot of baggage that he created for himself no on wants to bother. As well with his vegan diet the guy looks more like a skeleton than the athlete he used to be. He will get signed somewhere when there is an injury or the Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking for a qb since Vince Young is already hurt.