Sunday’s start will mark the first time QB Colin Kaepernick has not started a game for the San Francisco 49ers since November 19, 2012, when Kaepernick took over for then starter Alex Smith.
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Now that Colin Kaepernick has been sent to the bench, it’s time to ask the next logical 49ers question: Who is the new quarterback Blaine Gabbert and how did he get here?
On Friday, it was Kaepernick’s turn to speak.
While Mariucci acknowledged that Colin Kaepernick could use the break to regain his confidence, the NFL Network analyst isn’t banking on Blaine Gabbert to save the last-place team.
“I don’t have any comments on any position on our field right now”, Tomsula said. “Pressure’s not being prepared for what you want to do”. He says he’s played full seasons before and that he’s not incapable of going through things. It’s something that mentally I’ve been through before.
But Kaepernick hasn’t been through anything quite like this.
It is the kind of game the San Francisco 49ers, being a 2-6 team, will need a huge performance under center in if they want to win. He was completing 59.9 percent of his passes for just 6.6 yards per attempt, with six TDs, five interceptions and a career-low 78.8 passer rating.
The 49ers failed to contain Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch and St. Louis’ Todd Gurley the last two weeks when they could pretty much focus on stopping the run. He ranks 23rd in the National Football League in completions of 20-plus yards (19), but doesn’t share Chryst’s belief that he’s played too cautiously.
“I don’t believe that’s accurate”. I’ve watched the ball that he throws. “So that’s just a matter of opinion”.
Kaepernick clearly wasn’t thrilled with his demotion, which shouldn’t come as a shocker. Kaepernick was 16 of 21 for 233 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions an one sack in that Super Bowl-clinching win. “This is a guy I care about a lot, OK?” Tomsula said, “I made the decision to go with Blaine Gabbert this week and it was a tough decision”.
The Wisconsin-native signed a six-year, $126 million contract with the 49ers in 2014, that includes a $12 million signing bonus and $61 million guaranteed money, giving him an average annual salary of $19 million, per Spotrac. After a good week of practice, he’s ready to start again and knows what he has to do. Part of the issue with Kaepernick was his inability to take the game plan from the week of practice and apply it on Sunday.
Kaepernick had success previously against this week’s opponent Atlanta.
“They told me they were going to sit me, and that was the extent of the conversation”, Kaepernick said. He will face a Falcons defense that could have as many as three new starters on Sunday.
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Gabbert threw for 22 touchdowns, but was intercepted for 24 times in his 28 games with the Jaguars, according to his NFL.com profile. Tomsula made his decision and cleared it with General Manager Trent Baalke and thinks it will be beneficial to the team and for Kaepernick.
