The San Francisco 49ers head into their second preseason game with question marks surrounding the quarterback position. Not THAT quarterback position. While Colin Kaepernick is the starter for years to come, the backup spot is in a bit of a bind. Blaine Gabbert looked abysmal last Thursday, Josh Johnson showed some things, but was still a bit limited, and McLeod Bethel-Thompson did nothing to really justify a move up the chart.
Jim Harbaugh told the assembled media on Friday that Gabbert would remain the No. 2 for Sunday's game. Harbaugh said he was pleased with the job Gabbert has been doing. He mentioned his training camp work, but he also said he thought the game was a "good first step."
I think we all know Harbaugh is going to avoid tearing down any of his guys in public, so we can take his comments with a certain grain of salt. However, are we looking at another Colt McCoy type of situation? By that, I mean, is he basically locked in as the backup no matter what the preseason brings? We do not see everything that goes on in practice, so we don't necessarily have enough to say that Johnson and/or McBLT has clearly outplayed Gabbert. Of course, if Gabbert puts up another performance like he did last week, it's not like it's easy to overlook that.
How do you see the backup quarterback situation playing out? Considering the difference between what Kap can do, and what the backups can do, I have to think the 49ers are looking for a backup who would just not rock the boat, and could basically be a poor man's Alex Smith. Josh Johnson might prove to have more dynamic upside, but the 49ers could decide that their backup is just their to not make mistakes, and rely on the ground game and the defense.