As games go, Blaine Gabbert solidified his grasp on the starting QB spot as Colin Kaepernick did little in his first game action since the middle of last season. Kaepernick also decided to not stand for the National Anthem to protest black oppression. Something that is garnering attention across the sports, and non-sports world. To me, this isn’t a John Carlos/Tommie Smith style protest. This is more of a look-at-me protest. For a guy who is ostensibly fighting for his NFL life, it’s curious to do something that will piss off a lot of people, including your own teammates. It might mean a little more if he did this in a regular season game as the starting quarterback, not in a preseason game as a guy fighting for a spot on the team.
Since he lives in a free country, he has every right to protest what he feels is discriminatory behavior. I just think this is more of an attention-getting stunt than anything else. If you want to help, donate your salary to inner-city charities. Other than that? Pfffffffffffft. He’s acting like he wants the team to cut him. Kappy needs to worry about fighting for his job, not casting aspersions on the country or whatever this is.
As far as the game goes, we got dinged up in this one. Ellington pulled a hammy, Carlos Hyde suffered a concussion, Quinton Dial hurt his knee. The 1st looked good as good field position led to a nice TD drive, and a swing pass TD. The D didn’t have some of their starters (Armstead, Bowman) and looked pretty good. They weren’t getting the pressure they had gotten earlier, and they gave up like 8-9 4th down plays, but the defensive backfield played another solid game. I’d hope that the starters will be getting more pressure, and the 3rd/4th down conversion rate isn’t so gaudy.
All in all, a fairly shitty night with the injuries. We NEED Hyde to be ready. Ellington is one of our only experienced WRs so we can’t lose him either.
Forty Niners Forever 
I think how Kappy is protesting is incredibly stupid. Making a huge donation to an underfunded school district in an inner city while hogging all the press attention he could garner would be a smart protest.
That being said, I’m profoundly skeptical of those who blame the player and not at the same time the league. This is the league which wraps the flag tightly around itself, national anthem, military flyovers, etc., while simultaneously refusing to pay taxes to pay for that military. Oh yeah, they started last year finally. That’s just the league office, not the individual teams. How much in taxes do the owners pay? Open your books. Do owners strong arm taxpayers to increase their personal wealth (See Stadium, Levi’s)? Do the owners get government enforced monopoly privileges? Jerruh’s picture in the dictionary next to “hypocrisy” is gold-plated.
Kappy didn’t steal, kill, rape, or commit any other mayhem. He quietly protested, a longtime American tradition. Don’t like the way he protested? Don’t watch it.
Levi Stadium is privately funded RT.
Since when?
http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Levi-s-Stadium-The-1-3-billion-bet-5687409.php
According to this 2014 estimate, the City of Santa Clara forked over $975 million. It does state that the stadium is publicly owned, however. I stand corrected on that.
Here’s the link, 12th. Nothing earth-shaking. I don’t think the fact he’s made money playing a game means he can’t comment on this. That means all athletes are exempt from commenting on social issues. Which is what Bron Bron and Michael Jordan used to catch shit FOR. the fact that they DIDN’T take a stand.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/6024734-181/lowell-cohn-49ers-colin-kaepernick
If that’s the case, then those who inherited their wealth have no right to comment either. See Owners, NFL.
A lot of owners are self-made, so give credit where credit is due. Building a business, working your ass off and building a fortune are good things. It means a lot of jobs for a lot of people. It means a stronger economy. Just because Jed inherited his money (something completely out of his control) doesn’t mean they all did. I’d wager that most did not.
Take a stand, no problem, just don’t disrespect our country and the citizens who paid a heavy price for his privilege to do it, and that is exactly what he is doing.
Cohn’s point is he thinks this is a publicity grab for a failing QB who is fast becoming irrelevant and needs to stay in the limelight, maybe he is right.
I agree 12th. Bad timing and place for such a protest. The fact that the irony is completely lost on him only fuels the debate about his intelligence.
Okay so when does Kap get cut? Does anyone have a clue? Besides Gabbert who else can help the team at QB? Those are the questions that interest me. I’m bored with all the social stuff.
They are between a rock and a hard place. Cut him now and its because of his principles right?
Use him at all this season, starter or back up, and if he gets hurt and isn’t healthy by April 1 next year he is guaranteed $14 mil, same way he gets $12 mil this year.
Trading him right now will be difficult, he would be cheap though.
Best option may be to have him a healthy scratch every game and cut him at the end of the season but he takes up a spot on the 53.
No good options as far as I can see.
As for the QB position depth chart, seems clear Gabbert is the starter ( Did I really just write that?) and unless they gamble with Kap’s health and risk him, then Driscol is the back up.
Obviously Kap is the qualified back up but the risks are big and so is the backlash. Tough decision.
That’s my take anyway.
Complicating all this is DSJ’s comment about leaving Chip’s Eagles that Chip was trying to get rid of all the black players.
Good thing everything is settled for the start of the season in two weeks.
They play him Thursday. He doesn’t look like a starter and they cut him for football reasons. No need to pay a back up 12 million with the chance of that escalating to 14 mil next year. Anybody who can’t understand that is to much into politics.
Yeah RT, he got rid of two black players and replaced them with two black players. You would seriously have to be looking for a fight to say he was racist over that situation.
Kappy’s comments are in no way directed at the military. He’s ‘commenting’ on the police.
And I don’t think he gives a shit about endorsements as they have pretty much dried up anyway. No one is looking to have a backup QB doing any ads for them. I see this more as a move to get cut.
Beyond that, there are plenty of black players that stand behind Chip from his time coaching in Oregon. The whole DSJ thing is bullshit. LeSean McCoy? Didn’t get THAT move, but both those guys have been labelled as shit disturbers themselves.
Apparently Kap is too slow to play in Chip’s system. He doesn’t process the plays quick enough forcing him to run for yards. If this is true, then he may be forced out of the 53 man roster.
They should have cut him yesterday for being a terrible QB. He hasn’t learned shit. The reason I am pissed is the vagueness of his protests. He is talking about isolated city instances mainly police actions in depressed black neighborhoods. This shit has been going on for ever. I can understand the frustrations of both sides to this coin. There has been innocent people killed and subjected to unwarranted brutality. And, there have been a lot of cops shot for no reason. To blame the country for this is just seems like a fools errand to me. These kind of issues need to be dealt with by the city they happened in.
And two days ago Dwayne Wade’s innocent cousin was gunned down by two black gang members. The only reason we’re hearing anything at all about it is because Wade is a superstar athlete and high profile individual. These types of incidents occur every day in our inner cities and very few of them garner any kind of media attention at all.
I have to question Kap’s judgment on a lot of things; on the field, where he constantly makes poor decisions, and now choosing a very poor platform for his “protest” about minority oppression, which is a fucking joke in and of itself.
As far as I’m concerned, he’s worn out his welcome in S.F. and saying that doesn’t come easy for me, because I was a huge supporter and then apologist for him from the beginning. I’ve reached my limit.
Same.
Kap has one last pre-season game to show something, anything. 49ers at least need a back-up.
Will be interesting to see if the team tries hard for him.
In the first series against GB they came hard after Kap and the line was a sieve except Staley. After the play Staley walks towards his teammates with his arms wide open. I interpreted that to mean what the heck just happened, because protection had been good for Gabbert.
Can’t say for certain, and GB did come after him, but sure looked like the O line didn’t play as hard for Kap as they did for Gabbert.
Maybe I’m seeing things.
I wondered why the blocked so well for Gabbert and not for Kap. Afterwards, when I heard he sat for then anthem I thought the same thing.
If Chip truly runs a run-based offense, then the QB is less of a focal point than, say, a team that runs the WCO. Meaning Gabbert should be able to be successful by not making mistakes, making good decisions in the read option, not forcing the ball into coverage (a Kap specialty) and not taking sacks. A la, dare I say, Alex Smith, albeit with a much better arm.
I say excise the tumor, Kap, cut your losses, stay with Gabbert for now, Ponder as your backup and keep working with and developing Driskel. I don’t know what the 49ers really think about Driskel, but he passes the sniff test at first glance. Nobody is predicting this season is going to be easy. There’s going to be growing pains all the way around. So, gut it out with the QB’s who actually want to be with the team and figure out a way to make it work.
Kap is not doing the team any good right now. Gabbert has clearly done his off-season work and kept his head down and focused on learning Kelly’s offense. The Niners need positive things moving forward and Kaepernick is disgruntled. If his first pre-season game is any indication, he looks a lot like he did last year and he is way behind the learning curve.
Don’t know how the other guys see it but I think of this O, what little I’ve seen of it, as a hybrid.
It is run centric but not necessarily power. It is a run first, spread formation offense with WC precepts.
I felt Kap would thrive in this O, but the pre-season hasn’t worked out for him and he flunked his first game back. Add to that the huge distraction factor and he gifted Gabbert the job. Probably was going to lose it anyway on performance as he had done so little.
I think you’re right that Gabbert can run this scheme fairly well.
Just to be fair to Kap, he was rehabbing most of the off-season, so he couldn’t put the field work in. But he lost most of his teammates last year (witness Alex Boone’s recent comments regarding his “protest”) and that’s a bad thing for a QB. If he can’t lead, what good is he? He’ll never get the maximum out of this teammates. How do they know he won’t just bail on them again?
At this point I don’t think there’s much chance Kappy stays here all season. The team will likely cut him between thursday’s game and the regular season.
Colin Cowherd has a terrific show today on the Niners. He rehashes Harbaugh’s tenure (agree or disagree, depending on which conspiracy you believe), Kappy with the Niners…
“Kaepernick was never a leader. Anquan Boldin was the leader of that clubhouse. Unquestionably. You didn’t mess with him.”
On the current controversy, he plays Belicheat’s response: “I don’t know about politics (-I’m paraphrasing). We’re focusing on the Giants.”
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Week 1 is MUST WIN. After that the Niners may not win again till week 7 or 8.
New thread is up.