Kaepernick causes a sit storm and some hot takes
One of my favorite football related quotes is “the most popular player on the team in the eyes of the fans is the backup quarterback”. Whether you agree with Jim Gehman or not, the current backup for the San Francisco 49ers is certainly the topic of conversation right now.
More on that later, but first a few hot takes on the current state of the wide receiver group.
Bruce Ellington sustained a torn hamstring and will now be out for the season joining Eric Rogers on the injured reserve. An already thin group of wide receivers has become even more light over the past six weeks.
Quinton Patton showed a nice flash of what he can bring to this offense with a touchdown against Green Bay and it will be imperative for him to have a continual impact as the team gears up for the regular season. After the injury to Ellington and decision to release troubled receiver Jerome Simpson, the team traded for Jeremy Kerley from the Detroit Lions.
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The recent injury opens the door for the remaining young receivers to seize the opportunity and claim a spot on the final roster. As the pre season draws to a close I will be keeping my eyes on DeAndre Smelter to see if he can capitalize on this chance. He spent all of last year on the practice squad after being one of Baalke’s yearly ACL injury selections in the draft. The previously mentioned injuries to Eric Rogers and Bruce Ellington make this a perfect opportunity for Smelter who hasn’t played in the pre season due to an ongoing hamstring strain.
It is typical for the majority of the starters to not play in the final pre season game in an attempt to avoid injury and also give one final chance to any players on the cusp of making the regular season roster. While a few other teams are using the final game as a chance to continue to gain chemistry and momentum I expect Chip Kelly to follow the more traditional route by sitting his starters tonight against San Diego.
I’m looking forward to seeing if the second unit within the offensive line can continue to solidify and add depth to a group that at the beginning of the off season was completely depleted but through the draft, free agency, and return of Anthony Davis the entire group is in much better shape now.
The second string offense will most likely feature quarterback Colin Kaepernick who finally returned to live action for the first time since November 2015. The response from a majority of the media and fans regarding his thirteen snaps varied from justifiably “rusty” to outright “horrific”. The lingering shoulder issues that held him out of the second pre season game continues to loom large. Once that happened there was very little chance that Colin could have enough reps with the first team to make this “competition” more of a decision for Chip Kelly.
Heading into this game it will be important for Kaepernick to continue working his way back into a rhythm and show an increased command of the designs and schemes within the offense. His thirteen snaps showed that his level of comfort with the offense is still limited and resulted in a mediocre debut. He finished the game 2 of 6 for 14 yards passing and ran the ball 4 times for a total of 18 yards.
Of course the majority of the conversation surrounding Kaepernick has nothing to do with his play on the field. As a platform for protesting the current state of racial inequality in this country, he chose to not stand for the national anthem during pregame. His decision to do so has become a hotly debated topic via social media. Whether or not you agree with his decision, I implore that people should take the time to read the transcript of his media session following the controversy.
The final pre season game sends the team to San Diego which of course is known for its tie to the military and surely that crowd will let Kaepernick know exactly how they feel about his protest. I don’t know if I’ve ever referred to a week four pre season game as “must see t.v.” but the powder keg of emotions is sure to create an intense atmosphere for the 49ers. Let’s see how Kaepernick and the team handle the situation as we close the book on a pre season that has been anything but ordinary.
Lehman, J. (2009). “Then Gibbs Said to Riggins…” : The Best Washington Redskins Stories Ever Told.
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