It seems the media is still in awe of Colin Kaepernick's display against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. With only four teams remaining in the postseason, the San Francisco 49ers have gotten a good amount of attention from the national media.
Now, everyone has a perspective on Kaepernick and the read-option. Personally, I like to hear from the former players -- particularly the ones that shared the position with the person they are analyzing. This week, former New York Giants QB Phil Simms provided some interesting insight.
FOX analyst and four-time Super Bowl champion QB Terry Bradshaw also came away thoroughly impressed, judging by his post-game reaction here. On Tuesday, another former signal-caller discussed the San Francisco quarterback. Ex-division rival, Kurt Warner, went on NFL Network and had a chance to talk about Colin Kaepernick and the unique skill set he brings to the field.
What makes him so difficult to defend is you can play great defense and still get beat. When you’re a pocket passer like me, you play great defense that cover guys down the field, there’s not much for me to do with it. Or if you blitz me and a guy is coming free, I’m either going to get sacked or have to throw the ball away. You know, when you watch he did against Green Bay last week, there were a number of times where they had everyone blanketed down the field and he is able to tuck it and pick up a huge gain or a touchdown. Another time where they bring a free blitzer off the edge and he makes a guy miss and runs for another 20 yards. So you can play good defense and still not win against a guy like this.
Basically what Warner is saying is; Colin Kaepernick is an enigma for opposing defenses because he is a true dual-threat. He makes you defend every inch of the field. And between his arm and his running ability, he keeps this offense in forward motion.
It's risky to play man coverage because it takes the defense down the field and gives him room to run. And it's tough to play zone, knowing he can make all the throws and tear you apart with his cannon arm.
Like Simms said earlier in the week, "Forget the running, that arm alone is enough to make you a franchise quarterback." If this is just the beginning of the Kaepernick era, his dual-threat ability should be quite the conundrum for teams down the line.