Colin Kaepernick

[DingoLadd]

I know the name alone incites rage and hatred because reasons, but I'm not here to talk about that.

I'm here to talk about how good of a good QB he was at the top of his game. 

At the top of his game Colin Kaepernick was 1 play away from being a superbowl winning QB in his 2nd season with less than 11 starts that season, He followed up that season with two pretty solid seasons. 

So without mentioning the nonsense that will get this thread locked, what do you think of Kaepernick as a QB? 

[jrry32]

Flawed QB with incredible gifts who was always going to have problems when the rest of the league caught up to him. FWIW, I want the Rams to sign him now as our backup QB. He's an elite backup and a guy who can be a competent enough starter.

[Kiwibrown]

great arm but a below average passer.

Excellent long speed but injuries hammered his athleticism.

At his peak he was a top 3 athlete at the QB position for his time.

I don't think he had the leadership irregardless of his politics to be a great QB. I don't think he was a student of the game.

Great back up QB imo that got hot. 

He is the athlete of Russel Wilson without the leadership an inner stability of the guy.

 

[BayRaider]

There was never anything special about Kaepernick. He couldn't make reads and always threw to the first guy. He was fantastic his first year where he took over for Alex Smith the second half of the year as teams had not figured him out yet. Same with RGIII in his rookie season.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

Good quarterback in Harbaugh's offense. Gave us a MUCH better chance to win the Super Bowl compared to Alex Smith at the time. Which is why we got there with a worse squad compared to the previous season.

When the talent started to dwindle, so did he. He wasn't someone that was going to throw guys open. I don't really agree with the notion that he was a "one read" quarterback or only threw to his first option though. I just don't think he could carry a lackluster squad, which was evident in 2014. 

He hasn't been on a well rounded team since. He's absolutely gifted enough to be a backup quarterback somewhere. Unfortunately, he's been blackballed by the NFL after his political crusade. Probably won't play again. At least not in the NFL. 

[megatechpc]

I think he even had a solid year with Chip Kelly in his last season with the Niners.  Nobody has really ever questioned whether or not Colin can play QB in the NFL, its just a matter of whether his ability can overcome the distractions that would come with signing him.  If he was Aaron Rodgers' level of QB then none of the other stuff would matter, he'd be playing right now.  But while I believe he is still a solid starter in the NFL, he's not good enough for any team to want to deal with the headaches.  That's just the fact of the matter.

[Onizuka]

Not saying they were the same, but, I think it was sort of like the RG3 scenario; where teams figured out how to game plan for his running ability. After that, I think it's what others stated; he did not have the accuracy and leadership that is needed to remain a starter in the league. 

[Soko]

Inaccurate passer who doesn’t often do what you want your traditional QB to do, but has a rocket arm and some good legs. He’d be a good backup on a lot of teams.

[Superduperman]

I remember seeing him play in the preseason as a rookie and thinking, they took this guy in the second round? he looks like a 5th rounder to me. Not a great arm, not great at reads, good athlete but not like Mike Vick good.

He turned out better than that but even at his peak I never bought him as a real star QB, ever. Having said that, he belongs in the NFL and I'd say there are a few teams he would start for, easily.

[RaidersAreOne]

I'd be all for the Raiders signing him as our #2. Cook and Manuel suck, and if Carr were to go down, Kaep could certainly keep this team afloat until he returned. He should be playing in this league still.

[Nex_Gen]

He sucks. I thought he was one of the worst 'starting' QBs in the league even before the whole kneeling thing.

[Forge]

Not a great passer, but an effective quarterback is the way I like to put it.

[Ryan_W]

I really liked the 2012 Divisional game with him vs the Packers. 45 is a lot of points

[Nabbs4u]

26 minutes ago, Forge said:

Not a great passer, but an effective quarterback is the way I like to put it.

Sums it up nicely.

 

 

There are plenty of inaccurate passers currently "Starting" in the NFL let alone 2nd and 3rd string scrub backups. Anyone suggesting he couldn't run the RPO's currently taking the league by storm and be dangerous are fooling yourselves or just hating!

Agenda's aside, He should be playing on someone's 53 man roster in the NFL. However NFL owners are in the business of making money. Kaepernick doesn't provide that. In fact he does the opposite which is why he is and will remain currently unemployed!

[JAF-N72EX]

I have always looked at him as a borderline player between Chris Chandler and Kordell Stewart. Both of which showed limited ability on the field who can be a decent backup on their best days but nothing more. 

edit: All this talk about him being blackballed only because of known reasons is complete BS. He's just a 30 yr old limited QB who is not very good at the position. I would rather use a 5th pick on a flyer than sign him for one year. More upside. Atleast then, I know exactly what I'm getting with Kaep.