Film Room: 49ers' Kaepernick showing signs of development, but still inconsistent

In Week 4, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Philadelphia Eagles at newly opened Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers were losing 10-7 in the second quarter and were facing a second-and-7 on their own 45. 

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was in shotgun with running back Frank Gore to his right. Two receivers were to his far left and a receiver and tight end were to his far right.

The action began and Kaepernick took a quick drop. The far receiver to his left ran a clear-out route to make room for the slot receiver, who ran a pivot route. It was a simple read for Kaepernick. Once the slot receiver bounced outside and separated from the defender, he would find him for an easy pickup with potential yards after the catch.

Except when Kaepernick hit the top of his drop, he was pressed. An outside linebacker came from the left and behind him, forcing him to climb the pocket. Only there was interior pressure looming, which flushed him out of the pocket entirely.

As he scrambled, the pivot receiver turned down the sideline like he was running a wheel route. Meanwhile, the tight end from the opposite side of the formation ran a deep crossing route and was open. There was room between him and the sideline for Kaepernick to drop a dime in. Kaepernick saw it, opened his right hip and pinned his right arm back.

He threw it, and it went across the field, spiralling and disappearing into the open hands of Gore, who had leaked out of the backfield when the pass protection fell apart. Gore turned outside, downfield, up the sideline, and broke a tackle to score a 55-yard touchdown.

Kaepernick’s athletic instincts, as head coach Jim Harbaugh calls them, kicked in and fooled the Eagles’ defense. Plays like those are the ones that make assessing his development difficult. He makes them once or twice a game, and there’s no stopping him. He breaks every rule of quarterbacking (i.e., throwing across the body), but who is going to tell him not to do it when the result is a touchdown?

It’s the non-touchdowns that are concerning, when he throws interceptions or incompletions that could be avoided if he had simply taken what was given to him. Quarterbacks are sometimes harassed for checking the ball down, but it’s important to do it in order to keep the chains moving. Checkdowns help avoid long down and distances, which sometimes Kaepernick gets the offense into because of his propensity to look for the big play. 

Five weeks into the 2014 season, Kaepernick squatted under center on second-and-10. The 49ers had a twins right set and faced single-high coverage from the Kansas City Chiefs defense. It was a passing play.

The outside receiver released outside and ran a vertical route near the numbers. To his left, a tight end detached three yards from the formation, and also released outside, running a flat route. He was open, but Kaepernick was under duress again.

Pressure seeped in from the right, in between the right guard and tackle. It forced Kaepernick to slide out, further to his right, and keep his eyes up. This is what he does best, especially when moving. Pressure came at him again. It pinned him backward, onto his back foot.

The tight end underneath came back and slid to the inside of the strong safety defending the flat. He was right in front of Kaepernick, who had to hurry with the ball. He had three options: throw short to the tight end and set up a manageable third down, throw the ball away or hit the receiver downfield. The last of the three had a slim chance for completion. The cornerback was covering the receiver and the safety was already rolling over to the matchup. It would require perfect ball placement.

Kaepernick wound up his arm off of his back foot and heaved the ball vertically to the receiver. The ball took flight like an airplane, arching, before landing out of bounds and setting up third-and-10.

That was in the fourth quarter, when the 49ers were down 17-16. If the ball was thrown inbounds, it could have been batted away by the cornerback, potentially to the safety, forcing an interception with field position near midfield. Those are the plays that leave one wondering about Kaepernick’s development.

It’s unlikely he’ll ever become a pure pocket passer, because why should he? He has far more talent than a traditional quarterback has. His scrambling is nearly indefensible. It looks easy. And even though he sometimes maddeningly passes up open receivers to scramble, he picks up chunks of yardage or makes dazzling plays like he did against the Eagles.

Despite that, he needs to manage games better and go through his reads more often. He’s inconsistent at it, tucking the ball away when he shouldn’t. But he’s flashed potential of doing it, like he did against the Chicago Bears in Week 2.

It was third-and-10, from their own 46. Kaepernick was in shotgun and had trips left. In between the guards, the Bears showed a double A-gap blitz, leaving  Kaepernick to look straight down the barrel.

When the play began, both linebackers who showed blitz backed into coverage and Kaepernick took a three-step drop. His outside receiver ran a 16-yard curl route in between the Bears’ Cover-2 cornerback and outside linebacker. Kaepernick saw that he wasn’t open and rhythmically bounced to his next read.

The slot receiver ran a 5-yard quick out, half the distance to the sticks, where the same cornerback was sitting. Kaepernick could have thrown it, but it would have been short of the marker, so he bounced to his third read.

The flex tight end ran a 12-yard curl route in the middle of the field. He was between the same outside linebacker and a middle linebacker, open. Kaepernick raised his arm and fired a missile for a 14-yard pickup. The chains moved.

He could have scrambled, but he didn’t. That’s the first step to managing the game. He’ll have to take more steps to becoming a complete quarterback. Once he does, the 49ers will be winning Super Bowls again, like they did when Steve Young became a complete quarterback.