One of the stories to come out of yesterday's first day of the "Camp Alex" 49ers minicamp was word that a Colin Kaepernick pass knocked wide receiver Lance Long backwards as he was not expecting that kind of power behind the throw. It's an amusing tale and if Kaepernick develops into the 49ers long-term starter, I bet this will be part of the tale of Colin told to future generations. However, for the purposes of the here and now, it's simply good to see him get out on the practice field and run a few plays out of the new playbook.
Once a new CBA is signed and training camp and exhibition games begin, Kaepernick will finally get to work with Coach Harbaugh and quarterbacks coach Geep Chryst. While there is not a concern about a weak arm with Kaepernick, some throws require a little bit more touch than others. The receivers need to catch the balls, but having a quarterback firing fast balls on every single throw is not always the best thing in the world.
While Kaepernick could very well find himself playing during the regular season, I'd say the odds are good that a vast majority of his playing time in 2011, if not all of it, will come during training camp and exhibition games. My question right now is what you expect to see from Kaepernick in the preseason and what you think he'll need to work on in the preseason? We've heard some criticism about the long throwing motion, but Harbaugh has said he doesn't have a problem with it. Of course, we'll see if he changes his mind once he starts working directly with Kaepernick.
I guess outside of actually winning the starting job, what would you like to see from Kaepernick in this first preseason, assuming there is much of a preseason? After all, we saw Nate Davis put together some impressive throws but it's hard to say he had success considering he's gone. This goes beyond just the stats or showing the arm strength.