The new Colin Kaepernick

hawknation2016":1blw8ebi said:

Answering questions in a positive manner and smiling . . . it looms like Kaepernick has been taking classes at the Russell Wilson School of Not Being a Prick.

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Popeyejones":1tsobgbs said:

hawknation2016":1tsobgbs said:

Answering questions in a positive manner and smiling . . . it looms like Kaepernick has been taking classes at the Russell Wilson School of Not Being a Prick.

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He was doing this last year too, which a lot of 9ers fans commented on at the time.

His unwillingness to engage with media, crack a smile, etc. seemed to be the coaching or influence of Harbaugh, TBH. Whatever it was, he either stopped doing it after Harbaugh left, or somebody talked to him after Harbaugh left.

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kearly":g540xv9v said:

Kaepernick is maybe the best mechanical QB of all time. Structure an offense around his limitations, and he can do amazing things. The mistake was ever believing that he could be more than a mechanical QB.

Chip Kelly's history at QB is mostly made up with QBs who are natural to the position. His only true mechanical QB was Jeremiah Masoli during Kelly's first HC season at Oregon, a player who started essentially because he was the lesser of two evils between he and Nate Costa. Kelly moved on from Masoli after just one season and then went to Darron Thomas (a mechanical / natural hybrid in the mold of Tyrod Taylor), then to Mariota, then to Foles / Sanchez, then to Bradford.

Based on that history, I get the sense that Chip Kelly strongly prefers prototypical QBs. Blaine Gabbert was a high draft pick precisely because he checked all the prototypical QB boxes on the scouting checklist. Gabbert also showed massive improvement last season. And heck, Gabbert can even run pretty well.

I've been saying since the day that Kelly got hired that Gabbert is the guy for Chip. I think the only way Kelly goes for Kaep is if Gabbert completely falls flat on his face.

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Marvin49":1vcwe8k0 said:

Probably fair.

I dunno if Kap has ever been as motivated as he is right now. Should be fun to watch. Hopefully one of those guys really steps up OR they BOTH fall completely flat so that the Niners will know unequivocally that they need to address the position. My fear is one of them will be just good enough to knock them out of the running for a high draft pick.

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Marvin49":1qaukai6 said:

kearly":1qaukai6 said:

Kaepernick is maybe the best mechanical QB of all time. Structure an offense around his limitations, and he can do amazing things. The mistake was ever believing that he could be more than a mechanical QB.

Chip Kelly's history at QB is mostly made up with QBs who are natural to the position. His only true mechanical QB was Jeremiah Masoli during Kelly's first HC season at Oregon, a player who started essentially because he was the lesser of two evils between he and Nate Costa. Kelly moved on from Masoli after just one season and then went to Darron Thomas (a mechanical / natural hybrid in the mold of Tyrod Taylor), then to Mariota, then to Foles / Sanchez, then to Bradford.

Based on that history, I get the sense that Chip Kelly strongly prefers prototypical QBs. Blaine Gabbert was a high draft pick precisely because he checked all the prototypical QB boxes on the scouting checklist. Gabbert also showed massive improvement last season. And heck, Gabbert can even run pretty well.

I've been saying since the day that Kelly got hired that Gabbert is the guy for Chip. I think the only way Kelly goes for Kaep is if Gabbert completely falls flat on his face.

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Probably fair.

I dunno if Kap has ever been as motivated as he is right now. Should be fun to watch. Hopefully one of those guys really steps up OR they BOTH fall completely flat so that the Niners will know unequivocally that they need to address the position. My fear is one of them will be just good enough to knock them out of the running for a high draft pick.

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MizzouHawkGal":3mfjxrk5 said:

Marvin49":3mfjxrk5 said:

kearly":3mfjxrk5 said:

Kaepernick is maybe the best mechanical QB of all time. Structure an offense around his limitations, and he can do amazing things. The mistake was ever believing that he could be more than a mechanical QB.

Chip Kelly's history at QB is mostly made up with QBs who are natural to the position. His only true mechanical QB was Jeremiah Masoli during Kelly's first HC season at Oregon, a player who started essentially because he was the lesser of two evils between he and Nate Costa. Kelly moved on from Masoli after just one season and then went to Darron Thomas (a mechanical / natural hybrid in the mold of Tyrod Taylor), then to Mariota, then to Foles / Sanchez, then to Bradford.

Based on that history, I get the sense that Chip Kelly strongly prefers prototypical QBs. Blaine Gabbert was a high draft pick precisely because he checked all the prototypical QB boxes on the scouting checklist. Gabbert also showed massive improvement last season. And heck, Gabbert can even run pretty well.

I've been saying since the day that Kelly got hired that Gabbert is the guy for Chip. I think the only way Kelly goes for Kaep is if Gabbert completely falls flat on his face.

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Probably fair.

I dunno if Kap has ever been as motivated as he is right now. Should be fun to watch. Hopefully one of those guys really steps up OR they BOTH fall completely flat so that the Niners will know unequivocally that they need to address the position. My fear is one of them will be just good enough to knock them out of the running for a high draft pick.

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With what is going on with the 49ers right now I just don't see them winning more then 4-5 games. They'll still get a decently high draft pick regardless of what Gabbert or Keapernick do.

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hawknation2016":u4t384pg said:

Marvin49":u4t384pg said:

Probably fair.

I dunno if Kap has ever been as motivated as he is right now. Should be fun to watch. Hopefully one of those guys really steps up OR they BOTH fall completely flat so that the Niners will know unequivocally that they need to address the position. My fear is one of them will be just good enough to knock them out of the running for a high draft pick.

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That's the worst way you could look at rebuilding your team, but I guarantee Baalke shares your fear.

Seahawks were not very good in Pete's first two years - and not bad enough to score high draft picks - because he was slowly building something incredible. Even the faint whiff of wanting to suck for higher draft picks will drain all the energy out of the building and lead to sucking for another decade or more.

This is why "bad" teams continue to be bad for years, despite high draft picks.

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Laloosh":sr1jv3gf said:

^^ Marv, mind sharing a synopsis of what's changed w/ your team this off-season, what you're looking forward to seeing unfold and what the fans are saying on your end?

I haven't talked to my sources with 49er roots lately and I don't know much about what's happening w/ the team. Feel free to post or PM if you have time to do it. I've been slacking on my reading as of late and I'd love to get your take.

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Laloosh":2vehmyc9 said:

Thanks Marv. Now I know what to look for in the preseason games. Hope you've enjoyed your summer.

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Marvin49":24xcwvfx said:

Laloosh":24xcwvfx said:

^^ Marv, mind sharing a synopsis of what's changed w/ your team this off-season, what you're looking forward to seeing unfold and what the fans are saying on your end?

I haven't talked to my sources with 49er roots lately and I don't know much about what's happening w/ the team. Feel free to post or PM if you have time to do it. I've been slacking on my reading as of late and I'd love to get your take.

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Honestly I haven't talked to a number of Niner fans this offseason. Kinda took it off and had fun watching the Warriors play.

What do I think about the teams fortunes? I think they'll be better than last year. How much better I have no idea.

The O-Line has a chance to be improved significantly. That doesn't mean it;ll be great, but last year the right side of the line was possibly the worst in the league. Their first round pick and POSSIBLY an in-shape Anthony Davis (reported down to 330LBs from the 370 he last played at) is an ENORMOUS improvement from last year.

Scheme should help there too as the ball should come out fairly quick and the pace of play should slow down the rush.

Hyde if he can stay Healthy (big if) might have a big year. This offense really suits him.

WR is a HUGE question mark. Lots of young guys, but outside of Torrey Smith nobody is proven (and I'm not even sure you can put HIM in that category either).

Defense? I really like the young guys on the line. Bowman is back and in much better physical condition than the beginning of last year. Lynch will miss four games, but I really wanna see Eli Harold who gained 20+ lbs in the offseason and is up to 270lbs.

Safety should be a strong spot with Reid, Tartt and Bethea. CB is a question, but I like that they've moved Jimmie Ward from safety to CB. We'll see how that plays out.

To be clear, I'm not exactly saying all this adds up to playoff team...or even a .500 team. They are going with ALOT of youth so we'll see what happens. Very few known quantities. Should be fun at least.

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