The San Francisco 49ers open practice afforded the media some opportunities to observe quarterback Colin Kaepernick back in action. You can see all sorts of pictures and video in the 49ers media Twitter list I created.
Cam Inman posted the following picture Instagram. It shows Colin Kaepernick throwing a swing pass to running back Kendall Hunter.
It is waaaaaay to early to draw any definitive conclusions about Kaepernick's throwing motion, but little tidbits like this give us a chance to re-visit certain points of debate from the past few months. We've discussed Kap's throwing motion frequently, so having more context can add to the discussion.
Back in February, Oscar from the Better Rivals podcast (latest podcast HERE) took a look at QB coach Steve Logan's Coaches Choice DVD to get a better handle on what Logan brings to the table. In the second article of the two-part series, Oscar discussed Logan's emphasis on a "fall away jump shot" technique. The idea being that it helps get the ball over the rushing end on certain throws.
Oscar was taking a look at Cam's five-picture post and posted this to Twitter:
I’m REALLY trying to not draw too many conclusions from one set of images… BUT (lol)
— Oscar (@BetterRivals) May 22, 2015
Steve Logan mentioned in his coaching videos that he likes his QBs to handle a free rusher through changing the throwing angle/position
— Oscar (@BetterRivals) May 22, 2015
If you look at Kap on that swing pass he looks to have been jumping/falling away. That’s specifically what Logan calls what he teaches QBs
— Oscar (@BetterRivals) May 22, 2015
I’m not saying that’s definitely going to happen, but it’s interesting to connect those thread. Let’s see if this continues into the season
— Oscar (@BetterRivals) May 22, 2015
We can't say anything for certain at this point, but as training camp approaches and we start to see Kap in preseason action, this will be something to track. Back in April, Matt Barrows commented on some video that circulated of Kap's new throwing motion.
Kaepernick is not getting rid of the ball as quickly as Aaron Rodgers, of course. But he seems to be holding the ball higher and his delivery seems more efficient than it's been. The change in motions hasn't appeared to take any speed off his passes. He was still throwing a 'heavy' ball to his receivers and his zip was notably faster than that of Blaine Gabbert, the only other quarterback on the roster.
Mike Davis tweeted about hurting his thumb on a Kap pass, so clearly the zip is still there. That being said, we don't know the context of that particular throw. We know Kap can get the ball from point A to point B with plenty of mustard on the ball. As the preseason approaches we'll be watching to see how well he mixes the changeup in with his fastball. That will be one of many keys to Kap making some progress in 2015.