The San Francisco 49ers - A Year in Review: Part 1 - The Quarterbacks

Colin Kaepernick broke free for a 90-yard TD in Week 16
Source: Kirby Lee  |  USA Today Sports

Jim Harbaugh is a Wolverine. Mike Iupati, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore are free agents. Justin Smith is pondering retirement. Vic Fangio & Greg Roman have both interviewed for positions different for the ones they held for the 2014 49ers. This weekend marked the official end of an era. (Jim) Harbaugh was seen on the Ravens sideline sporting Baltimore gear last night. With the end of 2014 comes a review of not just the season, but of where the 49ers currently stand and the potential offseason moves for the future. This kicks off a multi-part review of the 49ers on a position-by-position basis (except special teams, I doubt an in-depth look at gunners and the long snapper is needed).

Quarterback                      2014 Review: C+                                                               2015 and Beyond: B

                             The Players                        2014 Cap Hit                         2015 Cap Hit
Starter                                  Colin Kaepernick              $3,767,444                           $15,265,753
Backup                                 Blaine Gabbert                  $2,011,587                           N/A (Unrestricted Free Agent)
Third String                         Josh Johnson                     $    335,294                          N/A (Unrestricted Free Agent)

Last season, Colin Kaepernick signed what at first appeared to be a massive contract--$126 million. In actuality, it was more of a “pay as you play” contract, wherein Kaepernick has de-escalators if the 49ers, or Kaepernick, are not successful. This season was thoroughly not a success. All is not lost, however, as Kaepernick’s season was only a failure when compared to the lofty pre-season expectations for him. I myself even said in the preseason that Kaepernick had way too many weapons to have any more excuses. After the season did not live up to expectations, many fans were clamoring for Alex Smith, claiming they preferred Captain Checkdown to the young gunner. Please, for a moment, review these season-long stats:

                                                          Player A                               Player B
Completion Percentage               60.5%                                    61.3%
Total Passing Yards                       3,369                                     3,144
Touchdowns                                  19                                           17
Interceptions                                  10                                           5
Yards/Attempt                               7.0                                          7.1
Sacks                                                52                                           44
Rushing Yards                                 639                                         179
Yards Per Rush                                6.1                                          3.4

These two players are pretty similar except Player B has only 5 interceptions and Player A is a much more effective runner. Player A is 2014 Colin Kaepernick with his “disastrous” 2014 and Player B is 2011 Alex Smith—the last full season he had as the starting QB for the 49ers. I understand that fans are frustrated, and I was frustrated right alongside them. There are fans calling for the 49ers to bench Kaepernick or bring in a vague, theoretical quarterback as “competition.” Fans are getting a little ahead of themselves, as 2011 was Alex Smith's best full season he had with the 49ers. As you can see, Colin Kaepernick is essentially the same player (if not more frustrating because instead of 2 completions for 7 yards, it's a completion for 13 and a completion for 1 yard).

Here’s the simple fact of the matter: If replacing a quarterback was so easy, then a lot of QBs would not have jobs right now. There are less than 100 NFL quality QBs in the world (factoring in age and eligibility), and the cliffs of elite, to great, to good, to mediocre, to awful comes very quickly, well within the first 30 or so quarterbacks in the entire world. The 49ers should stick with Colin Kaepernick, but the pocket passer experiment should smartly be over. He works best on the run and improvising. He is not Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, and he never will be. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a fine quarterback for the 49ers in the future, and it certainly doesn’t mean he’s a bust or a fraud.

Kaepernick received a C+ for this season because he performed poorly by our expectations, but he produced the most passing yards since Jeff Garcia in 2001, the second most touchdowns (to himself) since Garcia’s 2001 and the most rushing yards by a 49ers quarterback ever. The offense was uninspired, disastrous and moved in fits and starts, but by and large, Colin Kaepernick was a perfectly good NFL quarterback, especially by the standards the 49ers have had at QB since Jeff Garcia.

Kaepernick’s backups, Blaine Gabbert and Josh Johnson, will likely not be with the team next year. Gabbert was dreadful in his time as a starter with the Jaguars, and is an unrestricted free agent. If he is back, it is likely for his same salary—roughly $2 million. If all goes according to plan, he never sees the field, and the backup QB is a moot point. The third string QB, Josh Johnson, was a Jim Harbaugh disciple, playing under Harbaugh at SDSU. Johnson is 28 years old and at this point, he is complete as an NFL product. He is likely gone as it is unlikely he fits into the new head coach/offensive coordinator’s plans.

The 49ers quarterback situation was slightly better than mediocre in 2014, but I have hopes for Kaepernick in 2015 and beyond. He gets a B rating for the future since we’ve already seen what he can do when the offense is properly schemed for his talents. The rest of the QB situation will be different in 2015. It’s likely the 49ers draft a project QB late (like BJ Daniels) and bring in a solid backup veteran (if the cap allows, otherwise it’s more of the Blaine Pain Train).

This marks the end of part one of the multi-part series taking an in-depth look at the 49ers and what went wrong (and right) with 2014. I hope you all enjoyed it and I will be back with Part 2 – The Running Backs.