Article by Lee Scott
he 2015 season promises to be a season of flux for the San
Francisco 49ers to this point the list of names of players that have departed
includes Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Mike Iupati, Stevie Johnson, Chris
Borland and Patrick Willis add to that the fact that Jim Harbaugh has departed
from his head coaching role and that offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman has now
moved on to the Buffalo Bills and the 49ers are moving in to 2015 with a new
look across the board. When general manager Trent Baalke announced the
departure of Jim Harbaugh in the off season he stressed that the move
constitutes a reload and not a rebuild, there is a tangible sense that the
49ers front office is holding on to hope that they remain a challenger but the
fact remains that to challenge for the division let alone the conference or the
championship the 49ers need quarterback Colin Kaepernick to step up and
realise his potential.
When the San Francisco 49ers moved up in the 2011 NFL draft
they gave up three picks to the Denver Broncos in order to take Kaepernick with
the 36th overall pick from the University of Nevada the experts
seemed to agree that there was a huge upside to the quarterbacks game but they
also agreed that he was extremely raw and that he would need to be coached up
to the NFL level. In his rookie season Kaepernick sat behind the more
experienced Alex Smith and saw limited game time but in 2012 Kaepernick ousted
the more experienced Smith and the offense started to mould itself around the
more athletic quarterback. The emergence of Kaepernick as the starter was aided
by something of a perfect storm, offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman had
implemented a zone blocking system with running back Frank Gore and tight end
Vernon Davis as the cornerstones of the offensive system. The emergence of
Colin Kaepernick allowed Roman to add an extra wrinkle to the offensive scheme
with the implementation of the read option given the athletic traits of
Kaepernick. This new scheme culminated in a run to the Super Bowl in the 2013
season and the high point for the read option implementation came in the
Wildcard game against the Green Bay Packers in which Kaepernick ran for 181
yards in a near unstoppable show.
Fast forward to 2015 and there are still questions around
whether Kaepernick will ever reach his undoubted potential. In the 2014 season
there was a clear focus from the 49ers to change Kaepernick in to a more
traditional passing quarterback although he only threw for 19 touchdowns with
10 interceptions compared to 21 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in the 2013
season. When you take away the threat that he may run then teams are better
placed to take away the threat of the pass. With Frank Gore having departed the
49ers have a lot of questions at running back going in to the new season with
Carlos Hyde currently projected to be the starter and he at least comes from an
inside zone/gap scheme with the Ohio State Buckeyes but in 2014 his playing
time behind Gore was limited and he only took 83 handoffs going for 333 yards
for an average of 4.0 yards per carry, Hyde has undoubted potential but for
teams to focus on him and allow Kaepernick the freedom to run from the pocket
then he will have to start to achieve his potential. Whilst Gore will be a big
loss to the 49ers running game arguably the loss of guard Mike Iuapati will be
even more keenly felt, last year Iupati was the strongest player on the 49ers
offensive line and he was a key part in the running game. His loss to
divisional rivals the Arizona Cardinals leaves a large hole to be filled before
the new season
In 2014 Kaepernick signed a new 6 year contract worth an
estimated $126 million, this deal represents a huge risk for a franchise that
does not quite know how best to utilise the quarterback, if he is going to be
at his most effective then Kaepernick has to be allowed to use his instincts
and vision to escape pressure and run the ball through gaps in the opposition
and the read option has to remain a prevalent part of the offensive scheme. If
however they continue to try to develop the quarterback as a traditional pocket
passer then they will need to manage their playing personnel accordingly.
Moving on Michael Crabtree was a relatively standard move and the addition of
Torrey Smith from the Baltimore Ravens gives the 49ers a vertical threat that
will stretch the field and at least keep the defense honest. That said tight
end Vernon Davis is another year older and with every passing season his
capacity to create separation over the middle is diminished.
What then will the 49ers choose to do going forward? It is
all very well for Trent Baalke to maintain appearances in asserting that they
are still going for the championship and are not rebuilding but in a division
in which the Seattle Seahawks appear to be developing a stranglehold then
realistically the franchise may be heading inexorably towards rebuild mode. If
they do start to focus more on a reboot and rebuild then being burdened with a
high cap number on a quarterback that is neither allowed to be a true mobile
threat and is not polished enough to be a pocket passer would be detrimental in
the long term. Would the 49ers be willing to trade their franchise quarterback
at this point? There is little doubt that there would be an active market. A
lot hinges on the performance on the field this season and whether the new head
coach and offensive co-ordinator can build a scheme that makes the most of
Kaepernick’s undoubted talent.
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