FanPost

The Case For Kaepernick

About two months ago I started looking at potential QB's that we could draft. I was looking through tape of Jake Locker, Ryan Mallett, Cam Newton, Christian Ponder etc etc. I read article upon article looking for the right QB to run the West Coast Offense. As I went down the list of draft eligible QB's the name Colin Kaepernick QB, Nevada caught my eye. I then searched for tape of him and the first video I watched was "Kaepernick's first start". It was a game vs Boise State 4 years ago. In this game he seemed to be the second coming of Joe Montana with his ability to keep plays alive and his accurate throws. In the WCO I believe there are four things that are considered "musts" to run the WCO. A quarterback in the WCO must have good footwork, intelligence, accuracy, and mobility. Here is my analysis of Colin Kaepernick

Arm Strength: Has an above average arm when you compare him to the rest of the 2011 college QB class. He throws the deep ball with precision and accuracy and usually delivers the ball in stride. On most all of his passes Kaepernick delivers the ball with a zip and tight spiral. In my opinion the deep ball is not a main point of focus when looking at a QB.

Accuracy: This is an interesting topic because going into the first day of Senior Bowl practices many of the draft analysts did not think that Kaepernick was an accurate passer but judging by all the games I have seen him play in he regularly shows good accuracy(just goes to show how mutch homework the top analysts do on players). From what I saw, throughout his college carrier, Kaepernick was consistantly an accurate passer. My only concern is that in the WCO accuracy needs to be your strong point.

Footwork: People constantly wrote Kaepernick off because he played in the Pistol offense at Nevada. I never understood why people were more skeptical of a QB in the piston than a QB in the spread because in the pistol you have more of a drop back than in the spread. Kaepernick showed great drop back mechanics during the snaps he got at practice at the senior bowl and in the game. So from what I can see, he will likely transition well in a pro style offense.

Intelligence: From all the interviews that I watched and all the articles I have read Kaepernick has stood out to be a very intelligent QB. I recall the Mannings speaking highly of him during film study sessions at the Mannning Academy last year. Intellingence is a must when it comes to the WCO because it is a complex system.

Intangibles: I decided to throw this topic in because he has a lot of them and it should not go noticed. When Kaepernick took over as the QB for the Wolfpack he inherited a mediocre WAC team that nobody ever payed any attention to. He lead them from obscurity to their best ranking ever at 12-1last year. I constantly displayed that he was the clear leader of that team and it showed on game day.

Kaepernick's First Start (part 1) (via blackbenz05)

Kaepernick's First Start (part 2) (via blackbenz05)

This is video really got me all hyped up on kaepernick. He lead Nevada from 17 points down to win the biggest game in program history.

Boise State at Nevada - Nov 26, 2010.wmv (via argus1948)




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