I’m not going to get many more opportunities to show Colin Kaepernick highlights while he’s still with the team (it looks doubtful he’ll be back), so I better get all of these out of my system now.
This week, we go to 2014, not that far back. It was Harbaugh’s last year though the rumors of his departure were just rumors, and the 49ers were in the thick of things (at the moment). The St. Louis Rams were the Week 6 opponent and they did about what you’d expect—gave the 49ers fits.
Then this happened:
(Note: As always, head to YouTube. DMCA biscuits. You know the drill.)
So that’s kind of why Jeff Fisher got fired. 20 seconds left and you have your secondary in close. Maybe I’m crazy, but wouldn’t you want them to be spread out so Kaepernick COULDN’T do that kind of thing? I know he barely makes those throws when attempted anyways, but you at least can’t put it past him. Especially when you want them to fail and take a knee. Oh well.
That’s not really what Throwback Thursday was for. After that throw we got treated to this beauty...
(This again was blocked by the DMCA biscuits. Head to YouTube)
This was why everyone was high on Kaepernick. This was why everyone thought he’d be a franchise QB to lead us to the promised land multiple times. This was what Kaepernick was supposed to be. There are very few quarterbacks with the capability to make that throw and everyone thought that could become the norm for the young quarterback.
Unfortunately, what he was supposed to be happened every 2/3 games with Jim Harbaugh and 1/10 games with everyone else. These plays made us hold on and think this would take us back to the glory days. The 49ers would go on to win the game against the Rams, thanks to a Dontae Johnson pick 6 and no thanks to an accidental Vernon Davis shoulder tackle that forced an incompletion to fellow tight end, Vance McDonald. Oops.
As most of you know, the 49ers drama would begin to unfold very badly as the season went on, leading to an 8-8 finish and Jim Harbaugh’s “mutual departure.”
Even at 8-8, these things gave us better highlights than what we’re getting now. It’s going to feel weird talking about when Kaepernick was on the team.