Colin Kaepernick's Modest NFL Debut
by David Fucillo on Oct 3, 2011 3:10 PM PDT
in San Francisco 49ers Game Recap, Review 2011
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PrintSomewhat lost amidst the hubbub of the 49ers 24-23 victory over the Eagles was the very brief NFL debut for rookie quarterback Colin Kaepernick. It was a somewhat bizarre situation that might have made it easy to overlook what was happening. I watched the first quarter before listening to the rest on the radio and I remember I was not looking at the television when Kaepernick came in. Suddenly Jim Mora mentioned he was coming into the game after the false start and it actually took me a second or two to figure out what the heck was going on.
Alex Smith was actually on the field prior to that play. On 3rd and 12 at the 49ers 39, the team was called for a false start, which backed them up five yards. Initially after the penalty Alex Smith remained on the field but then Coach Harbaugh decided to make the switch to Colin Kaepernick.
The team ended up calling timeout as the play clock was about to expire, but we got to see the play at least get started. The team lined up with Kaepernick in the shotgun and Frank Gore to his right. The team went with a shotgun formation with two receivers to the right, one to the left and Vernon Davis on the left side of the offensive line.
Kaepernick brought Davis in motion to the right side of the line before snapping the ball. Kaepernick made the snap and proceeded to immediately roll to his right.
As you can sort of see, Frank Gore is moving into a blocking position and Vernon Davis is blocking as well next to Anthony Davis. The three receivers on the play are running their routes and this would seem to be a likely pass play. There might have been a run option mixed in, but given that it was 3rd and 17, Coach Harbaugh must have figured why not see what he can do with the deep pass.
It's an interesting call from that part of the field. An interception could have set the Eagles up in excellent field position. While the 49ers ended up with a simply hand-off after the timeout, if this play had been run, Kaepernick likely would have been throwing the ball. I wonder if he was told, look for a couple reads, and if it's not there throw it away. By rolling out immediately he would get out of the pocket and not risk intentional grounding.
Coach Harbaugh was briefly asked about Kaepernick and inferred the team might mix him in here and there moving forward.
With just one play you got QB Colin Kaepernick in there, was that strictly a third and long, do you have a package for him now, are we going to see some of that maybe more?
"Could be. That's all very possible and something that we've been building and practicing."
This play does put teams in a position where it's now on film and they have to at least make some note of it when they are game-planning. Not a lot, but at least a little bit.
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Depth chart
I believe harbaugh had hit pause and adjusted depth chart based on throw power and speed, just as any good madden gamer would.
by 9wa on Oct 3, 2011 3:18 PM PDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
Love that coaches are forced to spend at least a little bit of time preparing for this.
Come on, Alex, please be good this year...
My guess on Coach Harbaugh's thinking
I think Coach Harbaugh knows that Kaepernick isn’t entirely ready to lead the team, and that Smith is our best option at the moment. That said, there’s no such thing as redshirting in the pros. I think Harbaugh wants to have Kaepernick essentially study on the sidelines this season, but occassionally get into the game for a play or two, just so his body and mind don’t forget what it feels like to be lined up across from a live full-speed defense. I don’t think this is any kind of a package, but rather a psychological thing to keep his prized rookie mentally sharp.
I agree, give the kid some snaps here and there.. especially where his talents can be used.
CK can definitely run so that means the defense has to not only cover the receivers, and Gore and Davis in delays, but also for CK if the routes don’t open up. I like this setup.. also, from the pictures, He was going to have time. With the two WRs opening up the right side.. if Davis would release and go out, he would have all day to run after catching a 5 or 10 yard pass.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
Wish they would have let him air it out on one play.
Alex Smith did get top honors for Yahoo Sports top 5 most valuable players.
Hope he builds upon it. Good thing we got Harbaugh!
That was nice to see
The writer expressed disbelief in himself for the opportunity to put Smith on the list.
Where
Can I find a transcript of yesterdays post game interview.
by Dilon on Oct 3, 2011 3:27 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
A question for NFL scholars.
Curious,
When Gore scored the go ahead TD on Sunday, some of you must have felt the same way I did. The niners scored too soon. All the Eagles had to do was get into field goal range. They had three minutes to do it, and Vick was unstoppable between the 30 yard lines. I wanted the niners to slow down, take time of the clock and force the Eagles to use time outs. When the niners scored with three minutes left on the clock I thought the niners are going to lose, and only a fumble or int. could prevent the loss.
Question: has any team ever deliberately downed the ball on the one yard line rather than score the winning TD in hopes of draining the clock and then scoring on third down? If so what was the results?
MJD didn't score
A year or 2 back. He ran along the 1 yard line to eat clock instead of scoring. I don’t recall the exact situation, but it was a victory sealer.
He burned some of the remaining seconds from the clock before going in to score.
WIth 3 minutes left… I wanted them to go slow too, but a score is a score.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
Brian Westbrook took a knee at the 1
But that was to run out the clock instead of scoring a TD and giving the other team a chance to score a TD (and 2 point conversion) to tie it.
saw the Westbrook play live.
Against the Cowgirls. Was one of the smartest and selfless things an NFL player has ever done. Ever.
by wtlichens on Oct 3, 2011 5:02 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
in both of these cases
the team guy taking the dive either had the lead, or only needed a field goal, not a TD. I think if you need 7 to go ahead (or tie) then you take the points and try to make a stop.
Brian Sabean: Sing His Praises To The Heavens!
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PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game that seems to have resurrected itself in my absence...
by zenbitz on Oct 3, 2011 9:14 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
The only time I would disagree is if you can stop inches in front of a 1st down inside the one
Where you can get 6 or 7 chances to punch it in
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Oct 3, 2011 11:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Exactly correct, never take the knee if you need 7
MJD stopped at the 1 because the Jets were actually parting like the Red Sea and inviting him in. With under 2 mins to go with no timeouts, Jets were up 1 and knew that if the Jags had last ball they would have 90% chance of making the kick and winning without giving the Jets a chance to match. I’d say that conceding the score like the Jets tried is the best tactic, given the situation – it’s a 10% win/ 90% loss chance when you risk losing to a short field goal. For MJD, it’s a bit sketchier. Once the score is obviously being conceded and you still choose the knee, you are trading a 100% chance of having the lead and trusting your D, with a 90% chance of making a short kick for the win. I guess the math says that by giving the Jets the ball back, they’d have more than a 10% chance of scoring a TD, and therefore the knee + wind the clock + FG for the win is the safer bet.
Too much math, my head hurts. Just play the damn game!
Reminds me of the Bills-Patriots game this year
Where Fred Jackson ran in for the TD early, but the review brought it back out to the 1 yard line. That actually was better for Buffalo, who could run out the clock and then kick a FG for the win.
I dont think the 9ers have the experience or confidence to plan scores to a specific time
When we can score you can bet we are going to take it. Right now we have to chance situations like that and put the confidence in the Defense.
Odd call at the time of the game....
but if you are going to use Kapernick, why in the world for a just simple hand off?
Heck I could of done that snap.
I was at the game
Thought I was just seeing things. But im pretty sure your wrong about one thing. CK was in before the false start too. I remember saying to my friend.. wow is CK really in. Then the false start. And i said. Well there goes his one chance this year jokingly. And then he came back out and ran the play.
No.
Ck was in when they called the TO and the draw play after.
Clayton Kershaw, Giant Killer
KEMVP
Kempin' ain't easy
"By now if u don't believe the Niners are for real ur probably not that good at what u do..." - Donte Whitner
False start
I went back and looked and Smith was in before the false start. They got the false start and then Harbaugh sent in Kaepernick.
by David Fucillo on Oct 3, 2011 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Really? I'm pretty sure Kap was in before and after. I remember clearly Kap being in and me saying "what?" and then Kap came in again.
I’ll have another look after MNF.
I'm positive
I just looked again for a third time and it was Smith.
by David Fucillo on Oct 3, 2011 8:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Alright I'll take your word for it.
And that makes more sense, as it would kind of ruin the surprise of the play to get a false start on it and try again from five yards farther out.
Top Ten NFL Passers (after 4 games)
Name—————— QB rateing————Comp %
1-Rodges————-124.6————————73.0
2.Brady——————111.3————————66.9
3-Manning————-105.6———————-64.0
4-Hasselbeck——-104.7———————-66.7
5-Brees——————-102.9———————-69.0
6-Schaub—————-101.7———————-65.5
7-Stafford—————-100.3———————-62.1
8-SMITH———————97.7———————67.3
9-Fitzpatrick————-96.9———————-63.4
10-Romo——————-91.9———————-65.1
interesting…Alex w/the third highest completion % so far this season, behind only Rodgers and Brees
by Doni S on Oct 3, 2011 4:27 PM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
Mr. Stat guy - you're missing a whole bunch of information here.
Top 10 NFL passer rating maybe, but top passers are also jugded by total yards and touchdowns. Alex is almost bottom of the list on both those equally important stats.
I’m on Alex’s side because of one even more important stat – WINS.
I want to point this out because it’s annoying when people post random stats to try to prove their point of view.
Now to back up the completion percentage stat- he actually has a decent yards per completion at 7.4, which is only 2 yards and change less than the top guy – Tom Brady.
Don’t take this as me hating on Alex, I think he is improving at a pretty good pace. I just like to see the whole picture when I see some stats.
Play to Win!
Justin Smith is my new hero.
If you notice
BigMar posts quite a bit of these stat rundowns.
Generally it seems to be in order to start conversation, he doesn’t always take a stance one way or the other. He may not be implying what you think, then again he may…just something to consider.
Ummm I think we can all agree that total yards and touchdowns are not a very good stat.
They are raw numbers that tell us almost nothing about how a QB is doing, unless in the context of “per attempt” or something.
Cam Newton is a yardage stud
He is also a poor decision machine if he doesn’t hit Steve Smith on a 75 yard TD
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Oct 3, 2011 11:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Stats are not random.
They are a reflection of reality. Just take them for what it is.
Look at this list. Yep, it is a list of well performing quarterbacks. QB rating does in fact correlate with good play.
Glad hasselbeck is in afc now.
by Zintzun22niner on Oct 3, 2011 6:39 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
other stats:
WPA 19th (-0.09)
EPA 14th (13.1)
Success Rate: 24th (~43%)
Yards per attempt: 16th (7.4)
Adjusted YPA: 10th (7.8)
NET YPA (includes sacks): 23rd (5.9)
Adjusted NET YPA: 16th (6.2)
Interception % 2nd (0.9) … only guy ahead of him is Sam Bradford
I would put DVOA up there, but it’s not calculated for this week yet. I think opponent adjustments are added this week though… he’ll probably be about 20th
Stunningly average.
Brian Sabean: Sing His Praises To The Heavens!
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PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game that seems to have resurrected itself in my absence...
With a stunningly below average offensive line
As noted by his YPA drops from 7.8 to 5.9 when you include his 1.5 second sacks.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Oct 3, 2011 11:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Take Notice...Josh Morgan is 9ers leading WR
I think Josh gets overlooked but I dont understand why, the guy can play!
Morgan – 10 rec / 145 yds / 14.5 Avg / 30 long / 1 TD
Crabtree- 9 rec / 96 yds / 10.7 Avg / 38 long / 1 TD
Edwards- 4 rec / 48 yds / 12.0 Avg / 21 long / 0 TD
Ginn———- 4 rec / 38 yds / 9.5 Avg / 14 long / 0 TD
Williams—— 2 rec / 16 yds / 8.0 Avg / 12 long / 1 TD
And Vernon David not in the top 5?
Wow.. topsy turvy…
by D.P on Oct 3, 2011 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Davis is the leading reciever on the team by far
19 receptions for 224yrds and 1 TD
Play to Win!
Justin Smith is my new hero.
Morgan can play…just needs to be a bit more consistent; that and he’s more or less behind Crabtree and Edwards on the chart…unless I’m mistaken and Josh unseats Braylon for one of the starting positions in the interim…
by Doni S on Oct 3, 2011 4:24 PM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
He looked great on that slant. I want to see more of those.. it will open things up
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
it says.............
LEADING WR lol nor leading receivers.
by San Fran Niners on Oct 3, 2011 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions
All I have to say is I hate Roger Goodell… really? Yanking Hank Williams Jr. MNF song for political statements he made this morning?
Goodell is NFL’s Hitler!
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Everyone loves that song...
That’s why Goodell is the biggest douche bag the NFL has seen. Not only is he ruining it with his idiotic rules, he is just a bland, vanilla, poor excuse for a commissioner
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by Drew Kerr on Oct 3, 2011 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Goodell
claps along with the dull Sunday Night Football song. Says it speaks to him. He wrote the lyrics himself.
“If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands….”
::crickets:::
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There is something wrong with the refresh
I have seen this comment several times in many threads, and I think I finally figured out what is going on. If you expand actions and click rec, is removes rec (since you cannot rec twice) and puts the value after Flag. It kinda looks like you just flagged it. If you refresh, the rec is replaced with unrec and you can see that it is rec’d and not flagged. If the refresh after you click Rec worked properly (and Unrec was immediately displayed instead), it would be clearer.
That was not Goodell call
You got to go higher for this one….
Hitler…
Jews….
Television…
Poor choice of words
I'm in business of giving the business and business is booming!
If you think this was about Hitler and Jews...
You are sadly mistaken. This was totally about comparing Obama and Biden to Hitler. Funny thing is that was not really the point. He was just using an extreme example to illustrate a point. Certainly Netanyahu would hate Hitler as much as it goes the other way. He did not say anything shocking there. The shock value was comparing the media darling as Hitler…
end of discussion
We don’t need to go any further down this rabbit hole so time to end it.
by David Fucillo on Oct 3, 2011 5:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Rec?
I’m new here can someone tell me what Rec. Is thc
by ndsf1994 on Oct 3, 2011 5:04 PM PDT via mobile reply actions 3 recs
recommending a comment.
If someone gets 3, it turns the comment green to stand out
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see how you have a little one next to your name?
that is because I rec’d you. You typically rec when you enjoy a comment so much that you want to show it to other people.
Also, use the reply feature to always ensure that the conversation stays streamlined
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thx good to be here
And very good to b a NINER FAN in PA
by ndsf1994 on Oct 3, 2011 5:15 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I have to say
I totally missed Copernicus’ debut. I was watching the game, I remember the play… (3rd-n-12 → false start 3rd-n-17 → inside hand off) but missed the QB change.
Brian Sabean: Sing His Praises To The Heavens!
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game that seems to have resurrected itself in my absence...
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