Forty Niners Forever

Colin Kaepernick
Last QB at the altar
Denver is calling . . .

With Robert Griffin the III nearing a deal with Cleveland, the Broncos are down to the last guy standing. Colin Kaepernick. This certainly puts the 49ers in a better position than before RG III was snapped up. And it also commences the death of RG III’s career. Cleveland is the burial ground for many a decent QB, and many more mediocre ones. Hard to think things will get real peachy real soon, although I will say Hue Jackson is very good at getting blood from a turnip in the way of generating offense.

Funny thing is, with Kappy and Denver the last two wallflowers, the onus falls on Denver to sweeten their deal. They have no leverage in this fight. The 49ers have set the bar, and Denver has to come up to meet it. Plain and simple. There is no way in hell the 49ers are going to cut Colin loose at this stage of the game. Paying the $12 mill is no problem given the state of the cap. And, really, what can Kaepernick do? Sit out the season? That would be career suicide.  His options are sit tight and fight for his job under the new regime, and fight for his job under the new regime. If he loses to Glabbert, then he sits until Blaine gets hurt.

Trent Baalke may be a shitty talent evaluator, but he is very good at negotiating deals. If anyone out there thinks the Niners are simply going to cut Kaepernick, I have some beachfront property in Reno to sell you . . .

Here we are in the middle of the only story of the NFL offseason that has any staying power. Colin Kaepernick’s whereabouts come September. Funny to think there are people out there who think Trent Baalke will dump Kaepernick. Even though he’s under contract and (presumably) will be on the team after his salary kicks in on April 1st. Regardless of what anyone thinks of him, his salary and contract are team-friendly, no matter what team he is on.

And, believe it or not, the 49ers do have some leverage regarding their wayward QB. And the leverage lies with Denver. This makes the most sense for everyone involved. Cleveland wants to heavily restructure his contract to pay him nearly backup money. While Kappy would likely be fine with that kind of deal in Denver, Cleveland is another mater entirely,as they are shedding talent, their coaching staff is a revolving door of revolting, and are basically a different flavor of shit than we are right now. And therein lies the rub. Trent Baalke KNOWS that Denver, and Elway, do NOT want to start the season with Mark Sanchez as their starting QB. This is where we have our leverage.

Trent has made all the statements that we are going to stick with Kappy should the trade not come to pass. Even Kappy has said he’d come to camp should it fall out this way (his best interest as well). Trent is also holding out for a 2nd round pick. Cleve’s 3rd round basically IS Denver’s 2nd round, so Trent understands that Denver’s 3rd is way down the line. To make things interesting, Denver floated out there that Kappy is only worth a 4th round pick. Funnily enough Denver doesn’t HAVE a 4th round pick to trade.  So, they are playing their own brand of gamesmanship.

We’ll see how this plays out, but for all of Baalke’s shitty drafts, he has ben very shrewd at GETTING draft picks. We went through a similar scenario with Young Sir Alex when many though he would be simply cast aside. I rightly said that there was enough interest to get a some picks. I didn’t think he’d get a 2 and a 3 for him (I think I said a 3 and 4). As it worked out, Baalke got the following for Alex:

Tank Carradine, DE (second round, 2013)
Corey Lemonier, LB (third round, 2013)
Carlos Hyde, RB (second round, 2014)
Chris Borland, LB (third round, 2014)
Stevie Johnson, WR (trade for 2015 fourth-round pick)

Not a bad haul  for a guy that many thought would be tossed away. I don’t think we get the same 2 picks, but I can see something like Denver’s 3rd round pick, and a mid-level pick next year.

Well, since this dude agrees with me, I might as well cite him. Bemjamin Allbright, a Denver-based writer, says that the Kaepernick-to-Denver deal will happen “given time.” Since I said this two days ago, this dude be a genius. Mainly because the second Kappy hit the bench, flags popped up in Denver that Kaepernick and Kubiak would be a great fit for each other. Here’s the article.

http://www.ninersnation.com/2016/3/18/11260366/colin-kaepernick-trade-rumor-deal-to-broncos-will-happen-given-time

Truth be told, the Broncos are the ones who are likely to blink in this impasse. They do not want to hit the season with Mark Sanchez as their starter and Trevor Siemian (splat) as their backup. Sources say, Kappy won’t push for a trade should a deal not be reached,  and Kappy and Chip have talked to each other about the weather. So, believe it or not, the Niners have a bit of a leg up on Denver. I guess the questions we should ask ourselves is, do we want Gabbert or Sanchez as our backup? Since Chipster did OK with him in Philly, he could figure into a trade scenario. Or shit, maybe we go wioth Butt Fumble as our starter while we develop Jared Goff.

Other than that? We picked up a fair-to-middling guard Zane Beadles. He’s a zone blocking guy so you’d think that is the direction Chip is heading. But this is our big free agent splash? Sure, it’s a position of desperate need, especially with the departure of Alex Boone to Minnesota, but I’d like to see a few more linemen come in and push Pears out of the lineup. Anyhow, Happy St. Patty’s hangovers.

Well, best laid plans and all, the Kappy situation remains in flux as Denver hasn’t moved on their offer, and Cleveland, being Cleveland, may have scared off Kappy already by shedding center Alex Mack,  RT Mitchell Schwartz, and WR Travis Benjamin. Last thing he wants is to come into a team that has is shedding talent and is looking to draft a QB anyway. He could (and very well may) stay here for that, despite his admiration for Hue Jackson.

No, this trade is about Denver. I’ve been thinking all along that this is what he wants. This is certainly what Denver wants, as Gary Kubiak has not been shy about his desire to get Kaepernick. The Niners want a 2 from Denver or a 3 from Cleve, mainly because the diff is 2 spots in the draft. In other words, a 2 from Denver IS basically a 3rd round pick from Cleve. A 3 from Denver is 30 spots lower. Denver just signed Mark (dirty) Sanchez, but no one sees that as anything but what it is. A backup signing.  Denver has made noise about getting Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Kubiak wants to run a more dynamic offense than what Fitzpatrick would offer. Elway has admired CK from afar, as has Kubiak and Wade Philips.

The Fitzpatrick to Denver talks seemingly would bring the Kappy/Jets scenario back into play, but there haven’t been any whispers around that. Yet. It could happen, but much as I hate to say it, I hope Kaepernick finds his way to Denver and does well there. The 49ers seems to be only adept at shooting themselves in the feet like old Sourdough Sam used to. The 49ers now are a collection of disorganized parts and pieces put together with no sense or rhyme. Chip Kelly is walking into a buzzsaw. And Trent Baalke is on his last legs.

This draft is fairly huge in the immediate future of this team.

I didn’t think it would happen this soon, but the 49ers and Broncos are already discussing a trade for their once-and-future-passed-him-by quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. The 49ers want a 2nd. Denver wants a 3rd. If this is the only sticking point, this will happen fairly quickly. I thought they’d wait till after April Fools day, but I think Denver is in, not desperation mode, but ‘let’s get this shit done and move on’ mode. The rumors around Gary Kubiak wanting Kaepernick started the day Kappy was benched by Jimmy (bad dream) Tomsula last year.

Since there are a ton of fans that are waiting to say ‘good riddance’ to the bicep-kissing one, I have to say be careful what you wish for. Kaepernick, for al his problems last year, is a shit-ton better than Blaine Gabbert. But for 2 botched FGs, Gabbert is 1-7 here. Sure, he’s been on shitty teams, but the 49er team he had was better than the one Kappy had to deal with. The line got better, and the run game came around some. The biggest problem with Gabbert is gaining 5 years on 3rd and 7. He constantly checked down in the face of getting first downs downfield. This is what drove Alex out of here. What good is a great completion percentage if you are throwing 4 yard passes?

Beyond that, Kaepernick must be dancing in the streets to have the possibility of going from the 49ers to the Super Bowl champs.  And that has to mean something that they see something in him that we don’t. So, if he goes, what then?

Well, we get to the draft. Trent Baalke has ignored the QB position his entire tenure here. Kappy himself was Harbaugh’s guy, and he ignored the position for the last 3 drafts. Once Alex went he should have taken a shot in the middle rounds at a viable backup. I’m of the mind that we either go with Goff or forego drafting a QB early. he’s the only one I like.

Without Goff, I foresee at least another 4 years of suckitude. barring some crazy maneuvering down the road. Chip os going to have a tough row to hoe if Baalke doesn’t get a boatload of talent on the offensive side of the ball this year. Including quarterback, if this trade comes to pass.

Something tells me this is going to be an interesting opening to the 2016 NFL season. One of the old ‘new young guns’ that were on track to revitalize the position of NFL quarterback was just released. Robert Griffin III, the guy the Redskins paid dearly for in draft picks, was unceremoniously cut from those same Redskins. after of course spending last season on the bench as the 3rd strong guy behind Kurt Cousins and Colt (yikes) McCoy. The other supposed game-changer, Cam Newton, just lost Super Bowl L in a spectacularly awful showing, amid constant pressure, missed plays, and finally a loss of heart by the end as he fumbled and whined his way to the finish, despite his MVP showing last season. And we all know what is going on with our own guy, Colin Kaepernick.

Speaking of the Rams, they turned the plethora of draft picks garnered from the Redskins for the right to draft RG III into basically nothing. They got DT Michael Brockers, a solid if unspectacular defensive tackle on a great D line. They got OLB Alec Ogletree, an above-average LB who covers well. They got CB Janoris (Mr. Toasted) Jenkins, nuff said. RB Isaiah Pead, a one-year wonder that hit the dog house. OL R Watkins, cut before he played a down. WR Steadman Bailey, another in a log line of disappointing WRs (sound familiar?). RB Zac Staley, another RB du Jour who had a great year and fell of the depth chart for the next guy, Tre Mason (and the Todd Gurley). And. last but not least 2nd pick in the 2014 draft, the biggest disappointment, OT Greg Robinson. Being considered one of the worst tackles in the game in 2014, and didn’t improve much last year.

There you have it. The Rams turned all their high picks into a bunch of meh, and still haven’t been in the playoffs as the Cards have zoomed past them, the Seahawks are, well, balanced on their own precipice, and of course our Niners are a clusterfuck in waiting. The reason I bring up the Rams is because they are now in the same raft that the Redskins were in back in 2012. The Rams are in desperate need for a quarterback. Nick Foles, their guy, went 4-7 and played himself to the bench in favor of Case (who am I?) Keenum.

Tennessee, the team holding the #1 pick, is not. They have Marcus Mariota and a horrible line. They are actively looking to trade down with someone in need so they can draft a slew of O linemen.  Who better than the Rams? They gained first-hand knowledge of how trading picks away can help (Washington hit the playoffs immediately), and they see that hoarding picks isn’t necessarily a guarantee of success either, as they have aptly proven. So I can see the Rams making a play for that top pick to draft either Carson Wentz or Jared Goff.

Want to know what’s really fucked up? The team that now looks to become a playoff fixture is the one-and-only Scotty McCloughan-led Washington Redskins. The Cowboys are in a huge pile of disarray as their defense racks up huge losses, and Tony Romo keeps trucking millions into his bank account. The Eagles are in another tumultuous offseason (hi, Chip), and the Giants are coming off an underwhelming year themselves as they search for a new chemistry.

Don’t know what the deal is with non-teetotalling Scot. He apparently drank his way out of the 49ers GM-ship after building up a great team, and he did the same in Seattle, leaving for ‘personal reasons’ there as well. Now, however, he is responsible for the Redskins prompt turnaround last year by nailing last year’s draft with 4 starters, drafting guard Brandon Scherff, outside linebacker Preston Smith, running back Matt Jones and wide receiver Jamison Crowder, and signing his guys Dashon Goldson, Rickey-Jean Francois. He also picked up  NT Terrance Knighton and special teams ace Jeron Johnson. He has now built a team that is suddenly stable and has a promising future. Not a bad day’s work for the guy. Fuck. 

Well, since the speculation is that we are switching QBs after Kappy is paid and traded, what do we do about our QB situation? I’ve made it pretty clear that we should keep Kappy, keep fucking Gabbert, and sign the best guy available with the 7th pick. This team cannot flounder around and treat the quarterback position like it’s the back up TE spot. They need a solid plan to find out if Kappy is salvageable, and draft his successor regardless. Gabbert is nothing more than a backup in either case. All this talk about Gabbert getting it better is unadulterated horse shit. He can study til the cows come home, but he’ll still be Blaine Gabbert, the guy who gets you 5 yards on 3rd and 8.

The QBs that are in play are:

Upshot NDAKST QB Carson Wentz. A guy who went from mid-2nd rounder to likely the 1st QB drafted because of the hype machine. He’s a 2 year starter who played on a run-based offense in the 2nd-tier of college football. Not sure how he rose so fast, but hey, them’s the breaks.

Jared Goff, Cal’s wonderboy who would have won a lot more games had Cal played even a little bit of defense. The dude broke just about all Aaron Rodgers’ collegiate records, and Cal, as we all know, plays a pro-style offense against bigger and badder competition than NDAKST.

Paxton Lynch. The Memphis QB was the consensus first QB pick about 3 months ago. However, with his poor showing in his bowl game and iffy combine, he’s dropping faster than Bill Clinton’s pants at a Miss America contest. He showed a lot of accuracy on the move however, and could fit nicely with Chipper’s speed game.

Connor Cook. Here’s a guy who is being openly courted by Trent Baalke. Maybe as a smokescreen, or just a straight out truth. He’s big, strong, has all the physical tools, but his shortcomings lie between his ears. He would be another work in progress, much like Carson Wentz would be.

The rest would be outliers and risks that would not likely pan out. Hackenberg is a dinker and dunker who doesn’t complete a lot of passes. 3rd round flier? No thanks. Dak Prescott? He seems to have the brain for the game at the NFL level, but he’s a runner who needs to adapt to the NFL passing game and not lock on to guys.

Anyone after this would be pretty much mailing it in. Coker? Hogan? Cardale Jones? Meh. This isn’t a strong QB class, but the top 3 could be impact guys. Cook is too risky in my book. After that is nothing.

Given the shot, they should take Jared Goff. He comes in with the most polished game. The rest are varying shades of potential and drama. Should they not get the chance, one of the other two (Lynch or Wentz) should be there.

. . . fuck of an offseason to bring you the Golden State Warriors.

They have a big game against the Okie City Thunder. A team that just lost a team owner Wednesday as he drove his Escalade into a freeway pillar at excess of 100 MPH.  He was indicted Tuesday by the DOJ for bid -rigging of oil and gas leases. Notable in that the Dubs are playing them tonight, and OKC blew a 17 point 4th quarter lead last night.

The Warriors are on the verge of the greatest season in basketball history, and they are riding a 43 game home winning streak. This is a team that is functioning in all areas. From the draft to the front office to the coaching staff. When you get Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, and Festus Ezili in one year, and Klay Thompson the year before, and you have a pretty good look.

Pair that up with the  Monte Ellis for Andrew Bogut trade, and you have a team that has been built through the draft, trades, and excellent free agent signings. Livingston, Barbosa, Speights, and Igluodala all were great pickups. The coaching staff is so good, they survived Steve Kerr being out for 43 games. His understudy, 2nd year coach Luke Walton, directed the team to an unprecedented start.  And Kerr has picked up the yoke by going 12-1 in his stead as the coach.

All that being said, the Warriors are still only 4 games up on San Antonio. As good as the Warriors are playing, they would be well-served to keep home-court advantage, and avoid playing Portland at the 7 seed. They are the 2nd hottest team in the league right now.

With that, here’s to hoping Steph Curry and Andre Igluodala play. This isn’t desperation time for the Dubs, but this will be a playoff atmosphere.

Fuck. This is Alex Smith all over again. Here we are once again in the middle of a quarterback controversy. One that is now accentuated by a wholesale coaching upheaval. You know, after last year’s dramatic coaching upheaval and subsequent talent drain. Alex Smith was the aw-shucks nice guy first round draft choice that was folded, spindled, and mutilated by a shitty team and a procession of coaches. Then, along came Jim Harbaugh. The coach who could do no wrong. During the middle of Smith’s successful  run, he drafted Colin Kaepernick, a guy who played like a man among boys at Nevada Reno. Amassing over 10,000 yards in the air, and 4,000 on the ground.

Harbaugh made the move to his guy when Alex went down, and ushered Young Sir Alex out that offseason. With Kaepernick in place, they had a large amount of success together. then they didn’t as the offensive line caved in, and the front office bullshit machine got cranked to HIGH. Once the talent (and coaching staff) left, and the new regime came (and went) the team went into free fall. Which is where we are now. Cause and effect can be debated till the Earth slowly slips away into the depths of space, but the reality is, we are once again on the precipice of the unknown.

Chip has said he wants to see what CK has to offer. Jed has said he thinks CK should stay to see how things go with ol’ Chipper. Trent says CK will absolutely be on the roster after his guaranteed salary kicks in on April Fool’s day. CK? Well, if anything, he’s learned a hard lesson about dealing with this front office. Send out as much bullshit smoke signals and misinformation as you can and wait to see how the wind blows.

Make no mistake, there are teams out there looking hard at acquiring Colin. The usual suspects like Cleveland and Houston are making noise. Colin’s agent’s hairdresser’s mom floated the Jets out there, but they themselves pretty much quashed that by stating categorically that they want Fitzpatrick as their QB. The most intriguing to me is the rumors out of Denver. CK’s name popped up for Denver the moment Colin was benched last season. Payton is retiring, and Osweiler showed his ineffectiveness last year as Manning dealt with his injuries. Kubiak has an offense that he can excel in. An offense that utilizes a big-armed QB that he can now use on the move.

Now that we are here in the offseason, Kaepernick’s name has been linked again to Denver. As bad as things have gone for CK here these past few years, I still think Colin can play top-level football. Thing is it won’t be here. Yay. The Blaine Gabbert era is here. Funny thing is, he dumps off more than Colin’s Predecessor, the aforementioned Young Sir Alex.

Shoot me now.

As the trainwreck of this offseason unwinds, the fate of the team, it’s direction, who their QB is, and many other burning questions, still remain in the dark. And anything likely won’t come to light any time soon. However, the upcoming combine should provide a whole new plethora of innuendo and rumor. Gather enough football people together in the same location, and you guarantee a whirlwind of unsubstantiated truthisms flying around. I’m sure the Kappy trade talk will get bandied about out in strip clubs and bars all over Indianapolis. Wherever the team execs, scouts, and agents hang out.

In the 49ers case, the frenzy revolves around our once and future quarterback. As I said even before Chip was hired that it would be interesting to see what Kaepernick and hip could do together, it just may happen. The Colin camp has already leaked out the fact that he would like to go to the Jets. However, the Jets are likely going with Fitzpatrick, and have to account for Mo Wilkerson’s $$$. So that’s probably a non-starter. There are a ton of team that need QBs, and certainly ones that need a guy who could step right in, but the truth remains, his best shot at being successful is likely to be right here with Chip.

The best bet for a trade would seem to be Houston. They managed to get into the playoffs with a strong defense and a weak-ass division. Any kind of consistency from the QB position would help them immensely. Throw in the fact that they wont be getting a Goff type guy since their draft position is low, they can take a mid-round QB and hand the job to Kaepernick.

An interesting destination that I thought of would be Chicago. The Bears HAVE to be frustrated with the inconsistency that is Jay Cutler. Plus he’s not getting any younger, so at least giving Kappy a shot to displace the mistake at the bottom of the lake is a possibility. Other than that, lots of unknown guys will get their chance to shine, and a lot of studs will blow this combine off. Seeing as we need help just about everywhere, I’m sure the ‘brain(fart)trust’ will keep their eyes peeled.