NT

Gatom wrote: So #7 from San Fran is making his #8th or 9th start ever in the NFL and now some think he is the greatest ever?


Really?

Has he been cool so far, sure. Has he ever played in our dome in front of our crowd before?

Seems in Seattle's dome it did not go well for him, in the Rams dome it did not go well either.

Just sayin....

Seahawks don't play in a Dome anymore, making it even crazier that their fans get it that loud (though I think it maybe has to do with how the sound bounces? can't remember), but they also lost to the Vikings in their dome.

They did beat the Saints as their lone dome victory, but so did pretty much everyone else this year...

But yeah, I was the first to say that Harbaugh was crazy for naming him the starter so late in the year when they were trying to hold on to the #2 seed, but after doing what Alex Smith could never do to put up 38 and outscore the Pats, and then running wild on Green Bay, it was clearly the right move for the future, maybe even their best chance to keep up with a high-scronig team like the Falcons right now, but it could obviously cost them a Superbowl if his green shows through in a hostile environment.

I mean, that team was in the NFC Championship last year with just Smith as a game manager, so the bold move to put it in the hands of the guy who's only played half a season, well...

Gatom wrote: We will see. Dude is raw and has a lot of talent. Weird how fast he is. Looks too goofy to run that fast. He always seems to be the fastest on the field. 

Anyone know his 40 time?

He said the fastest he's been clocked at is .443

Wilson is better....

He's "paid his dues" in Harbaugh's system as a 2nd yr. player and one would have to trust coach H's judgement on such matters.
C.K. was named the starter during their bye week and I'm sure the time was right. The 49ers O had only 6 plays of 40 yds. or more last year and Alex Smith's lack of deep accuracy arm strength was limiting their approach to the point where DBs were "sitting on" short and intermediate routes. Imo - it was a brilliant, timely move by Harbs and with the addition of deep threats Moss, Manningham and 1st rd. pick Jenkins... this was the type of offensive identity the 49ers really coveted.
They have a former pupil of Harbaugh's ( From USD ) in QB Josh Johnson who was brought in to speed-up Kaep's development by pushing him.
Jim Harbaugh is ******...a fine coach and a helluva good guy. His dad's a former coach and you already know his brother.

luvdabux wrote: He's "paid his dues" in Harbaugh's system as a 2nd yr. player and one would have to trust coach H's judgement on such matters.
C.K. was named the starter during their bye week and I'm sure the time was right. The 49ers O had only 6 plays of 40 yds. or more last year and Alex Smith's lack of deep accuracy arm strength was limiting their approach to the point where DBs were "sitting on" short and intermediate routes. Imo - it was a brilliant, timely move by Harbs and with the addition of deep threats Moss, Manningham and 1st rd. pick Jenkins... this was the type of offensive identity the 49ers really coveted.
They have a former pupil of Harbaugh's ( From USD ) in QB Josh Johnson who was brought in to speed-up Kaep's development by pushing him.
Jim Harbaugh is ******...a fine coach and a helluva good guy. His dad's a former coach and you already know his brother.

Go away NFC West homer!

Haha, well B3, while I'm def a Rams fan...having grown-up and spent about 35 yrs. in Atl - I guess I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Falcons and particularly their long suffering fanbase.

I also keep a keen eye on the 49ers ( especially Harbaugh as I really think he's a brilliant coach ) as division rivals and I studied the Kaepernick move closely.

If the Falcons had the Rams' pass rush, I'd like your chances a lot better but this team has proven they can hang.

I have a lot of respect for Harbaugh, also (both Harbaughs, actually). My take on Harbaugh replacing Smith with Kaepernick is that Harbaugh wanted to strike while the iron is hot. Right now there are a number of similar QBs that have suddenly arrived in the NFL - Kaepernick, Wilson, RGIII, Newton - and the league hasn't quite caught up with how to deal with them yet, but I'm pretty sure it will. So, here's Harbaugh with one of these guys available this season and with a realistic shot at the Super Bowl. Next year might be too late. It's possible that by next year the league has figured out an effective response, and the window for having a huge advantage with this type of QB will have closed. Look at these past divisional games, surely next year no one will look as totally unprepared as Green Bay was this year. People talk about this being a gutsy move by Harbaugh (and remember, Alex Smith had one of the highest QB ratings in the league when he was replaced), but I think it reflects Harbaugh's realization that a dramatic change in tactics only has a big advantage shortly after it is introduced.

People seem to forget that the Green Bay game was the only one which game planned for Kaepernick to run.  Prior to that, he was strictly a passing QB, although he was known as a runner/passer in college.  According to Phil Simms, Kaepernick is an elite QB because of his arm, not his feet, that's how good a passer he is.  Green Bay's biggest mistake was playing man coverage which allowed Kap to run free once he crossed the line of scrimmage.  I am sure the Falcons won't make the same error but, looking at Atlanta's light defensive ends, the 49ers will eat them alive with Gore and the power game and then play action pass from it. Good luck.

guy03 wrote: People seem to forget that the Green Bay game was the only one which game planned for Kaepernick to run.  Prior to that, he was strictly a passing QB, although he was known as a runner/passer in college.  According to Phil Simms, Kaepernick is an elite QB because of his arm, not his feet, that's how good a passer he is.  Green Bay's biggest mistake was playing man coverage which allowed Kap to run free once he crossed the line of scrimmage.  I am sure the Falcons won't make the same error but, looking at Atlanta's light defensive ends, the 49ers will eat them alive with Gore and the power game and then play action pass from it. Good luck.

Yeah, he really dominated Seattle with his arm when they opted to stop the run

Also the Dome registered more decibels the other night than Centurylink does, so I guess we'll see if the hostile environment and big stage rattle him again or not. Because I can tell you that Samuel is ready to bait him like Sherman did.

An elite QB? LOL, maybe in another year or 2 he can get into that conversation, but the kid is still a green one-read-and-run QB. Vick won us a playoff game too before getting beaten, so good luck...

if Phil Simms says it then it must be true!!  And you are going to run on us and then pass? Wowzas...sounds hard to stop...very impressive!  Tell us more, Obi-wan!!!

Actually, I very seriously doubt that Phil Simms said that Kaepernick is currently an elite QB because of his passing ability. He might have said he has the potential to be elite because of his ability (including his arm), but he's still very much in the learning-curve phase as far as reading NFL defenses, dealing with game situations, etc. Steve Young was talking about how the ability of these young QBs to run and the adaptation of the offenses to that ability is allowing all these guys to come into the NFL and be successful right off the bat as they transition to a mature understanding of the game.

By the way, I'm not saying Kaepernick won't do well on Sunday - he might do very well (although as a Falcons fan I hope he doesn't) - but nobody reasonable can say that a QB is already elite based on a handful of starts. He has done really well, at times amazingly well, but it's still just a handful of games. As I said before, it seems likely that the NFL will figure out a way to counter these run-option offenses with highly mobile QBs, and that may have been why Harbaugh accelerated Kaepernick's transition to a starter because next year may already be too late. Time will tell if Kaepernick is truly elite, or kind of a trick pony.

Of course, none of what I said means I'm not nervous about what he might achieve on Sunday.

What the hell does a handful of games really mean?  Either you have it or you don't and putting together 12 more games won't determine anything.  Is Michael Vick going to get better? Is Tom Brady going to get worst?  Is Matt Ryan throwing the ball better or did he get better weapons around him? When the 49ers replaced Alex Smith, they saw that over the years he improved with coaching stability but he will always have the same limitations.  With Kaepernick, the sky's the limit because of his size, speed, arm and brains.  I would take those qualifications any day considering whats out there for the majority of teams.  

We are looking at the teams as a whole now.  Can the Falcons put together a solid game plan, stop the Niners attack and come away with a victory.  We'll see this Sunday because I think it is going to be one helluva game.

guy03 wrote: What the hell does a handful of games really mean?  Either you have it or you don't and putting together 12 more games won't determine anything.  Is Michael Vick going to get better? Is Tom Brady going to get worst?  Is Matt Ryan throwing the ball better or did he get better weapons around him? When the 49ers replaced Alex Smith, they saw that over the years he improved with coaching stability but he will always have the same limitations.  With Kaepernick, the sky's the limit because of his size, speed, arm and brains.  I would take those qualifications any day considering whats out there for the majority of teams.  

We are looking at the teams as a whole now.  Can the Falcons put together a solid game plan, stop the Niners attack and come away with a victory.  We'll see this Sunday because I think it is going to be one helluva game.

Apparently you've never heard of a rookie wall or sophomore slump. Past results don't always predict future performance and the kid has never played in a game this big in a hostile environment, so yes, it's noteworthy how green he still is. You don't jsut figure out all the ins-and-outs of being an NFL QB overnight, and defenses will eventually figure you out if you just try to skate by on how good you are now.

guy03 wrote: What the hell does a handful of games really mean?  Either you have it or you don't and putting together 12 more games won't determine anything.  Is Michael Vick going to get better? Is Tom Brady going to get worst?  Is Matt Ryan throwing the ball better or did he get better weapons around him? When the 49ers replaced Alex Smith, they saw that over the years he improved with coaching stability but he will always have the same limitations.  With Kaepernick, the sky's the limit because of his size, speed, arm and brains.  I would take those qualifications any day considering whats out there for the majority of teams.  

We are looking at the teams as a whole now.  Can the Falcons put together a solid game plan, stop the Niners attack and come away with a victory.  We'll see this Sunday because I think it is going to be one helluva game.

QBs always take years to learn to play at a high level in the NFL.  In their first years, the coaching staff adjusts the game plan to take into account their limited ability to read defenses, etc.  Some guys are capable of making the transition to a higher level, some guys can't.  As I mentioned earlier, I heard Steve Young talking about how being able to run allows these young QBs to make the transition to the NFL more easily.  None of this is even vaguely controversial.  Yes, Kaepernick has tremendous raw ability making his ceiling very high, but if people could just look at a player's ability and know that they will succeed in the NFL then there wouldn't be all these busts - and there are lots and lots of them.  Heck, look at the rookie year Cam Newton had, and the jury is still out on him at this point.