49ers vs. Packers preseason live blog

SANTA CLARA — This is the live blog for the 49ers’ preseason games against the Packers. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.

5:14 Blaine Gabbert reportedly will start.

No surprise here. The Niners probably want Colin Kaepernick to ramp up gradually. If he plays well tonight, I expect he’ll start next week against the Chargers.

5:18 Update:

5:19 Seems clear Smelter and Dorsey will start the season on the PUP List. Will Armstead as well? He has missed all of the preseason and almost all of training camp.

6:14 Seems like the order of appearance among 49ers quarterbacks tonight will be:

    1. Blaine Gabbert
    2. Colin Kaepernick
    3. Jeff Driskel
    4. Christian Ponder

6:31 I believe the 49ers will cut Colin Kaepernick if he doesn’t win the QB competition before Week 1. So much at stake for him.

6:45 Keep an eye on DeForest Buckner tonight. He generated zero pressure against the Texans.

7:03 The Packers win the toss and choose to defer.

7:05 Touchback.

7:07 Gabbert overthrows a deep pass to a wide open Quinton Patton on second-and-9, then scrambles for seven yards on third-and-9. Typical Gabbert. Can’t throw an accurate long pass even when he has time in the pocket.

7:17 Sloppy series. Packers commit two penalties and the Niners commit one — an illegal hands-to-the face penalty by Tank Carradine, who generated a lot of pressure on that drive. Packers punt. Ellington fields the ball on a bounce, spins and runs 17 yards to the 49ers’ 47.

7:22 Carlos Hyde cuts back to his left and gains 27 yards. Next play, Gabbert throws a backward pass behind Patton who reaches back to make the catch, then runs three yards for the touchdown. Officially a run, not a pass. 7-0 Niners.

7:39 James Starks runs up the middle for two yards on fourth-and-2 just before the end of the first quarter. First and goal from the 6 when the second quarter starts.

7:42 On first-and-goal, Rodgers completes a quick screen pass to Randall Cobb who jukes Chris Davis and runs over Keith Reaser for a touchdown. 7-7.

7:44 Kaepernick is coming in the game.

7:50 Kaepernick converts a third-and-6 with a tight-window throw to DeAndrew White, who gains 11. But Kaepernick cannot convert a third-and-10 a few plays later. His deep pass for Vance McDonald is broken up.

7:54 Johnny Manziel would be the best quarterback on the 49ers.

7:55 Quinton Dial is injured.

7:57 Packers go three-and-out after Tank Carradine sacks Joe Callahan on first down.

8:01 Kaepernick loses three yards on a read-option run on first down. His second-down pass gets batted down at the line of scrimmage. And on third down he scrambles for 10 yards and takes a shot as he goes down. Kaepernick has not played well so far.

8:05 Jared Cook may have just stepped on Eric Reid’s hand. He’s in pain.

8:06 Bruce Ellington injured himself on a punt return.

8:08 Packers punt a few plays after Callahan runs into his fullback, fumbles the and recovers it deep in his backfield.

8:14 Kaepernick scrambles for three yards on first-and-14, then scrambles for eight yards on third-and-10. He seems freaked in the pocket.

8:16 Ellington has an injured hamstring and is out. Dial has an injured knee and is out. Reid has an injured thumb and is available to come back, although he won’t. And now Mike Purcell is injured.

8:22 And now Eli Harold is injured.

8:32 Callahan throws an incomplete pass in the flat on fourth-and-goal from the 5, and the first half ends.

8:46 Ray Ray Armstrong is penalized for taunting. Not a smart player.

8:59 Rashard Robinson gives up a 10-yard catch to Geronimo Allison on fourth-and-9.

9:01 Joe Callahan throws an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jared Abbrederis on second-and-1. Joe Callahan would be the best quarterback on the 49ers. 14-7 Green Bay.

9:04 Jeff Driskel is the quarterback.

9:09 Niners punt after five plays and back-to-back drops by Jerome Simpson and DeAndrew White. San Francisco’s offense has had the ball for 10 minutes.

9:14 Ty Montgomery burns Rashard Robinson deep, but Callahan over throws the pass and the Packers go three-and-out.

9:19 Driskel gets sacked on second down and the Niners go three-and-out.

9:29 Joshua Garnett is flagged for holding just before the end of the third quarter.

9:32 Phil Dawson makes a 26-yard field goal after a nice drive from Driskel and the reserves. 14-10 Packers.

9:43 On third-and-19 Callahan avoids Corey Lemonier and L.J. McCray and completes a 51-yard pass to Allison. Next play, Burks runs 19 yards for a touchdown. The Niners’ defense is gassed. 21-10 Packers.

9:51 Ponder throws a pick. I’m crushed.

This article has 341 Comments

  1. 49ers tweet a few mins ago – Treggs, Bellore, Armstead, Dorsey & Smelter will not play tonight. Gabbert starts at QB.

      1. I want to see Arik more than any other player this preseason, in part because of all the buzz about how great he was in practices. Now I’m just hoping the shoulder issue isn;t serious.

      1. Understand you guys are disappointed. But why shouldn’t we trust the coaches on this decision? They probably have more information than we do.

      2. Nope. He lost his job last year so, he’s still the #2 QB until he takes his job back and, frankly, he hasn’t.

        He also missed significant practice time and has, what, 2 weeks of actual throwing the ball practice? He needs an easier time of it.

  2. Bad decision on Kaep. Get him in there with the starters, give him a chance to screw up… Not a fair competition.

    1. Who’s to say Kaepernick won’t play with the starters? Just because he is the backup doesn’t mean he will only play alongside the second team offense.

      1. Yes but your using him as a relief pitcher. Get him in there from the jump. Just like Blaine felt like it was his team for two weeks, give Kaep the same courtesy. As a starter not a backup

  3. I’m guessing Gabbert won’t play long and CK will get plenty of looks with the ones.

    1. Odds are Armstead would be playing if it was a regular season game.

      1. Yeah, I think that’s been the excuse for the last couple of weeks. Since this is the dress rehearsal preseason game, I would have expected that the coaches would at least put him in for a couple of series. I’m starting to get concerned that it is more serious than we’ve been led to believe.

  4. My most important things to watch tonight is Kap and his thumb, and Ward and Davis in coverage.

  5. Warm Up Tweets…
    – AD warming up with the starters.
    – Ray Ray warming up with the D starters.
    – No news who Garnett is warming up with.

  6. “I believe the 49ers will cut Colin Kaepernick if he doesn’t win the QB competition”

    Why?

        1. Might be worried about losing another $12m if he gets hurt this season. (mere speculation on my part)

              1. Won’t be his decision. If Kaepernick loses the QB competition the Niners will make an organizational decision.

              1. Well, they wouldn’t “have” to, but, you have a point, it would definitely signal the end for CK in SF. But wouldn’t the outcome most likely be just as it was for RG3 last year?

              2. If Kaepernick were on the roster, fans would demand they play him if Gabbert got benched/hurt. Wouldn’t stand for Ponder/Driskel.

              3. Not me. I’d rather bench of both them and go all-in on Driskel until he shows he can’t.

      1. There’s no point, Grant. They have to pay him no matter what. They may as keep him around if he doesn’t win the job back.

        1. Yes but they want to make sure they won’t have to pay him next year if he can’t win the starting job this year. Making him the backup this year would be very dangerous. He could play midseason and get injured. Then the Niners would be on the hook for his salary next season. That’s the last thing the Yorks want.

  7. Gabbert starting is exactly what I expected. I also expect he will play into the 2nd qtr, and Kaep will get a couple of drives with 1s to end the 2nd qtr.

  8. First real test for the 49ers secondary tonight. Will be watching closely to see how they hold up.

  9. 6:31 I believe the 49ers will cut Colin Kaepernick if he doesn’t win the QB competition before Week 1. So much at stake for him.
    —————-
    I’d hold onto him until the trade deadline passes.

  10. Another game sans TV. (Been watching the games a day or two later on internet). Rigging an TV antennae on top of the tractor shed this week. If that doesn’t work, continue driving to Healdsburg ever Sunday to watch at pubs.

    I’ll be glued to radio, tweets and this blog. Thanks to all that can provide commentary.

    Heard Buckner starting in Armstead’s spot. AD starting on O-line. Any news on Garnett?

  11. I expect he’ll start next week against the Chargers.
    —————–
    That would makes sense, the #2’s usually play most of the 4th game.

  12. Tell me about it. I’m up here in Portland and I got nothing. Not even radio. I need a blow by blow.

    1. For preseason, you could have forked over 20 or maybe it’s 30 bucks to see all of the games on NFL GamePass. There’s even a way to do this during the season, but the NFL wants you to subscribe to DirectTV if you’re out of market

      1. I did that a few years ago but the last 2 years they stopped offering the pre-season games as a separate option. It’s was all or nothing.

        1. Didn’t know that. So it’s part of the “Rewind” package. I mean they aren’t going to let you “legally” watch games live during the season on NFL Gamepass.

      2. A couple of years ago I did that but the last two years the preseason package was removed and it was all or nothing.

  13. Want to see the defense get off the field in a timely matter
    No fumbles
    No interceptions

  14. The Saints are the poster child on why you don’t write an open check to your QB no matter how good he is. Brees cap hit according to spotrac…and I had to do a double take on this number…$30 m i l l i o n dollars. A three with 7 zero’s…unbelievable. Saints front office is making ours looks like Mensa Chapter presidents.

    1. They didn’t really have a choice. Someone would have paid him. It was Brees’ job, as the president of the NFLPA, to set the bar high for future QB’s.

    2. They really should have released him this season, he’s 37 years old. They could have saved $10m in cap space this season by cutting him. They know they’re aren’t contenders this season so it would have been a much wiser long term decision to cut him now and start the rebuilding process.

  15. He gave a penalty, but great to see Tank with the 1s and generating pressure.

    Secondary held up well that drive.

  16. Gabbert starts slow. I wonder if there is some way they can warm him up better before he starts the first drive? Might not work, but why not see if something can be done.

    1. Ya he looked great handing off to Hyde! His passes are majority low and behind.. Great field position too..

  17. Gabbert has been off target on pretty much every throw so far today. Making his receivers work for the catch.

          1. Don’t the coaches coach-up Gabberts weaknesses? Very frustrating. We see this-how could they not?

  18. A few missed tackles on this drive. Need to clean that up.

    But impressed with the tackling of Reid and Tartt so far.

  19. Another bad angle from Davis. So far not looking like a great open field tackler.

  20. You can just feel the Gabbert dislike flowing from the words. Such nitpicking. On the missed throw he had a defender rushing an oline into his throw so he had to release early.

  21. Nearly two INTs, plus a batted down pass. Against a Packer’s defense that’s already going to #2s… Great…

    1. If you mean throwing into coverage because he couldn’t figure out the defender was coming in, yes. The pass knocked down at the LOS was a good play by the defender to make something out of nothing when Brown stopped him at the LOS.

  22. Carradine, despite the penalty, is having a good game. The secondary, over-all, is doing pretty well.

  23. The broadcast I have said a defensive guy for the 49ers went down. They never showed him nor mentioned his name; felt that was disrespectful. Who was it?

    1. No idea. I’m getting really tired of this crew. They ramble on-and-on-and-on about the Packers. I’m like ‘who was the defender?’ And now they’re focusing on a Packer’s back-up safety who might of hurt his hamstring.

  24. 7:54 Johnny Manziel would be the best quarterback on the 49ers.

    o.0 I think Driskel is probably better then Manziel at this point. Hell, Thad Lewis at home on his couch with his busted up knee is better then Manziel at this point.

          1. Manziel didn’t beat Gabbert. He beat the 49ers D.

            By that argument David Fales should be a better than Derek Carr because he beat him in college.

  25. Lost three. Second down pass batted down. Third down and he couldn’t find an open WR and ran with ghost pressure. Runs for 10 on 3rd & 13.

    1. I guess I was harkening back to his early days. Kap is looking like he’s stuck on 2015 – no bueno.
      So much for the hyped QB competition.

  26. 49ers will trade Kaep to the highest bidder, ponder will be #2 and driskle will go to ps.

    1. I think they’ll keep three. Makes Ponder the odd-man out because he’ll be available next year.

  27. KAEPERNICK: Yeah. Most definitely. I’m going to go out and show everything I can these next two games and make sure I put my best foot forward to show this organization, this team, this coaching staff what I’m capable of.
    ——————-
    Just remember that you’re watching everything he can do and that this is everything that he’s capable of.

  28. How can you execute when you have zero time to throw! Don’t get me wrong he is not playing well but man give the guy a shot…

    1. He had time. He’s had clean pockets. He’s dazed and confused and holding the ball too long.

    2. Rebuild,

      I just went back and watched the offense again. He has time but gets 2 passes batted down at the LOS, throws into triple coverage on 3rd down, stares down one guy then takes off scrambling from a clean pocket and gets taken out of bounds short of a first down on another scramble when he didn’t need to take off.

      This is the same ol Kaepernick we saw last year. But hey, at least he has a consistent arm slot.

          1. Kaepernick attempts and occasionally completes tight window throws. Gabbert doesn’t attempt them because he knows he can’t complete them.

            1. Who cares? Neither are world beaters, but Kaepernick is nothing but a shell of the guy we saw in 2012 and 2013. He’s horrible and completely shut the offense down in the 1st half. Driskel is a better option for this offense right now as the backup based on what we saw tonight.

              You may be 100% correct about the arm slot thing, but right now that doesn’t mean anything when comparing these two guys.

              Gabbert is who he is, and Kaepernick is who he is which is the second worse option available to this team right now.

  29. Kaep is scrambling a lot, but not because he’s being pressured into it. Holding the ball too long. Can’t see what the receivers are doing, but Gabbert was pulling the trigger when he was in there.

    1. Ellington hurt huh….surprise surprise

      It’s like theyre asking for it when they ask him to do so much in the return game. I just don’t understand.

      Man our DL took some hits.

    1. Yeah. If the ball wasn’t behind and going away from the WR, that was a touch-down. Damn good play by the Packers’ back-up QB.

    1. He just needs 16-games in street clothes then he can pursue other interests. Maybe he join Tebow in playing baseball.

  30. We gots 4 qb’s who can run. Ummmmm………but don’t we need…….?……..? Um….?

  31. Sorry Harold is hurt. Still waiting on him. He’s better. He’s pretty much making his assignments but not making plays.

    1. Who did Ward get beat by? He’s given up 1 catch I can recall, which was on 3rd down and he prevented the 1st down.

        1. Ward was in position. The ball was ‘dropped’ because he only got one hand to it stretching out for it. Looked to me that even if he caught it he likely wouldn’t have gotten both feet in.

          1. He only got one hand up because he was behind a step. Maybe I’m wrong, I will watch it again.

        2. Grant,

          Are you talking about the one handed, diving “drop”? You’ve got to be kidding. That would’ve been a highlight reel catch.

          Ward had good coverage.

            1. I would need to rewatch it too, but Ward was in good enough position to get his hand up in Davis’ face.

            2. Ward was trailing, but was in position to at least try to break up the pass, had it been on target. Also, we aren’t privy to what coverage the 49ers were in, it could be that Tartt was supposed to provide help, over the top and was late.

              You mad it sound like he was toasted on the play and he most definitely wasn’t.

              1. Your initial comment was that Davis beat Ward deep and dropped the ball end zone. I don’t think that accurately describes what happened. While Ward was trailing, he was still in decent position to defend an on target pass, plus there’s a pretty good chance that Tartt should’ve been giving over the top help.

              2. If Ward was beaten, it was by the slimmest of margins. Either way, that play didn’t illustrate the point you were trying to make about Ward’s coverage.

              3. Getting stacked deep can lead to a touchdown catch even if the corner is close. Can’t get stacked like that.

  32. Time to protect the (remaining) defensive players by putting in a quarterback than can maintain a 49er offensive drive?

    Right now 49er defenders on the field all the time. Achilles heel of the Kelly system showing up this evening.

    1. They’re on the field because they’re not stopping drives. You don’t give mutiple 12+ play drives and then get to whine because the offense got stopped.

      That’s not Kelly’s offense. That’s crappy defense.

      1. Is it the fault of the defense if the offense is not able to sustain drives?

        1. No, but it’s their fault they’ve give up three huge drives.

          NFL average is 6 drives per half, 12 per game. The Packers have had 5 drives, the 49ers 5 drives.

          If the defense would stop the Packers, then maybe you point that finger. But that’s not the issue right now.

    2. FWIW, teams defend about 12 drives per game. In this half:

      First Packer drive — 11 plays
      Second Packer drive — 15 plays.
      Third Packer drive — 3 and out.
      Fourth Packer drive — 5 plays.
      Fifth Packer drive (this one) 16 or 17 plays now.

      That isn’t Kelly’s offense.

    3. The Packers have gone for it 4 times in the half. That’s not something that you’ll see during the regular season. And even then they still only gave up 7.

      1. And there’s that too. They’re being extremely aggressive. A couple of those 4th down moves would have been FG attempts.

      1. Yep, and 15 of those plays came on the last drive which during which the Packers went for it on 4th down three times.

      1. 94 yards of total offense isn’t good. One drive for the TD was a good looking drive. For the most part the offense looked out of wack.

        1. It is when rhe first string offense only has 2 drives.

          The offense was awful only after Kap entered the game.

  33. Can Kaep pull the trigger anymore? Impossible to tell on the broadcasts, but he sure seemed to have happy feet. Plus he still has problems throwing over the DL, two passes knocked down in such limited action is not good.

    Too many people forget that he was likely benched because he played like a QB that had lost his confidence, and nothing tonight has made me change that opinion. Kaepernick needs to make a move, his career maybe flashing before him.

    1. I doubt it’s confidence. He was never very good from the pocket. Back in 2013 Grant charted ever pass. His QB rating, in 2013, from the pocket was 80.9 or some such.

      That’s pitiful.

      He did his good work outside the pocket. Teams took that away from him. What you see is what he is.

  34. I might be drinking the preseason koolaid, but I’ve been really impressed by the strength of this roster which I had very little hopes for coming into the preseason. Everywhere except quarterback of course which looks like a complete dumpster fire. If this team had average QB play I think it could hover around .500, but I don’t think we’re gonna get it.

      1. Watching Cleveland’s secondary and Josh Gordon tonight made me chuckle. You might be the smartest guy in the building Grant!

      2. Kinda hard to tell since Gabbert doesn’t look their way ever, but yeah probably the second biggest weakness on the team.

    1. Reaser seems to figure prominently on several deep throws that fortunately were not caught.

    1. Don’t totally agree with you Coffee, but there is absolutely no need for 4 of these things. 2 is plenty.

      1. On the dropped TD. If it was a good throw the best Ward could have done would be to wrap him up by the legs and hope for a drop.

        1. No. Just no. Ward had a hand in there. If the ball was placed where Davis could catch it, Ward has a play at the ball.

            1. FWIW, I’m with Scooter on this one.

              BTW, if the offense executes a perfect play, sometimes they’re going to score. This wasn’t one of those cases, but the opponents get paid, too.

            1. He got only one hand on it, while laid out and a defender on him. You and I have a very different definition of “catchable”. If you mean it wasn’t impossible to catch, sure. To me, a catchable ball is one that should be caught.

              1. I think it was catchable because it hit his hand as opposed to just hitting his fingertips. Maybe I was spoiled by #80.

            2. It might have been catchable, but definetely not a drop.

              It would have to be a terrific catch.

          1. Tarrt looked fairly good last year, Reid not so much. Now it’s reversed. Is it the defensive schemes from two different DCs that are causing these, for lack of a better phrase, boom-bust cycles?

      1. To be fair, I was rooting for CK to do something, too, I just wasn’t holding my breath.

    1. I consider myself a CK7 fan and I’m here. I’ll be here whether Kap flashes or fizzles. Right now Gabbert is the clear choice.

      1. I don’t recall that Scooter. What do you think they’ll do with Tarrt? Maybe Baalke’s second rounders just take longer (McDonald, Carradine). Maybe he should just trade that pick away in the future.

        1. I think Tartt should be the #4 safety behind Johnson, and the #2 dime back/ hybrid S/LB behind Johnson.

          Still too soon to give up on him, but he’s not yet the player 49ers hoped he would be.

          Looks to me like Tank and McDonald will play pretty big roles this year, just showing you shouldn’t give up on talent too quickly.

        2. Johnson played the hybrid role last year after Bethea got hurt and Tartt moved to safety fulltime.

  35. I don’t know what everyone is expecting from Kaep, but he looks like the same guy I’ve seen the last 2 years. Greg Cosell was right!
    First read & run.

    1. It was entirely fair. He frequently stunk it up in camp. He stunk it up tonight. He stunk it up last year. He stunk it up for the second half of 2014.

  36. No point in continuing on the misery of this game. We’re down to back-ups and the future unemployed.

  37. First preseason game – hope starts to show
    Second preseason game – believing the team could be something
    Third preseason game – reality sets in

    1. I don’t really know why you Feel that way.

      I’m pretty encouraged by the small sample I saw today.

        1. We only saw the offense for 2 drives and they scored a TD on one and may have scored on the other if Gabbert hits Patton.

          1. That’s what I’m saying.

            And even the TD the D gave up, we have to consider that Armstead was out, Ray Ray was out, Dial was out, and I guess Bethea and Brooks were out too.

            I’m expecting this team to be competitive in more games than people imagine.

            My biggest concern are the WRs.

          2. The offense had only one good drive. Close calls don’t count. If they did, then the Packers would be pounding the 49ers right now.

            1. So they had one good drive out of two. Hardly what I would call bad.

              The positive on the missed pass to Patton was that Patton got wide open. Gabbert won’t always miss those opportunities. Counted for nothing, but there was a positive to take out of it.

              1. To each his own, but I don’t consider that good given how slow the offense starts.

              2. Did I say good? You said they were terrible. If it’s terrible, I’m fine with terrible.

              3. Uh…yeah, you did say good in regards to the first of their two scoring drives. My point is the slow starts on offense could come back to haunt the team.

              4. Actually you said good. To which I replied to put that into context – if you believe they had one good drive then they had one good drive out of two.

              5. I placed the word only before good though. That is showing the drive as the lone bright spot of an otherwise poor offensive showing.

              6. Yeah, I know. But lets be honest about it – the 49ers 1st team offense only played two drives, so if only 50% of those drives were good and ended in a TD, that’s hardly a terrible outcome.

                The offense was terrible with Kaep leading it.

              7. I guess I would have been more impressed if it had not followed a similar pattern to the other two preseason games.

              8. The 1st team offense has a total of 8 possessions this preseason and scored a TD on 3 of those. That’s actually a pretty good showing I think.

              9. Until you take into consideration that the offense scored those TDs against primarily backups.

  38. Poor decision by the coaching staff not to challenge that play.

  39. Driskel looking sharp & accurate.
    can’t cut him & hope for practice squad or well loose him.

    Harris can’t be cut regardless of fumbles.

    1. He gave me a scare a couple plays before he got the sack. Looked like he had hyper extended his knee. But obviously wasn’t bad.

  40. The 49ers could have absolutely the worst receiving corps in D1 football let alone the NFL. Ponder’s INT was a bad throw yes, but the previous throw bounced off the receivers hand.
    And I don’t understand kicking a field goal inside the 20 in preseason. Use some fourth down plays just for practice. Score does not matter and it gives the team some experience. GB does it every preseason and yet SF coaches play conservative. I am beginning to wonder if Baalke is calling the plays in SF

    1. My 13 year old daughter asked me if Ponder would make the team a little before he threw the pick. I told her no and was in the middle of explaining the who he played against last week, etc., when he threw the pick. Without missing a beat she said, “Yeah, he’s gone.”

    2. Yes, I think he still makes the team. The receiver could have run the wrong route that lead to the INT (obviously being sarcastic), but he is really in day 10 of his time with the team. Which QB do you see on the current roster that is out playing him with all of TC and PS under their belt?
      I think Ponder will make the team over Kaepernick. Sure looks like they should have paid the difference to move Kaep to Denver.

  41. Combined stat line for all 4 QB’s: 9/20 82 yards 0td 1int

    Long season folks, long season.

      1. To my knowledge Baalke and team have never shown any ability to pick offensive skill positions (the one exception would appear to by Hyde). Next year is the year to draft skill and enough with the CBs already. Somebody else (possibly Gamble) needs to make those picks.

    1. No, I did forget that the one pass was “technically” a run so they did have the one TD.

    2. I thought Driskel was by far the best QB tonight on the Niners. 4 drops he dealt with. This kid is talented.

    3. Guess it’s a good thing the starter was 2-3 and did a good job handing the ball off during his 2 series.

      Seriously, the offense fell apart due to Kaepernick being nonfunctional in the 2nd quarter and the WR’s dropping balls left and right from Driskel in the 3rd.

        1. Come on Grant, the offense was moving just fine while Blaine was playing. The only reason his passer rating wasn’t at 100.0 and his Total QBR wasn’t closer to 75.0 is becasue the swing pass he completed for a TD counts as a run (and lateral). So let’s not pretend the offense sucked with Blaine at the helm. Which brings me to this:

          THE QUARTERBACK COMPETITION THAT NEVER WAS!

          Colin Kaepernick claims that the shoulder “tightness” had been building. On Friday, 8/12 Chip Kelly said: “His (Colin’s) throwing shoulder’s, just from the accumulation of what we’ve been doing, is a little sore,” Kelly said. “So, we’re going to monitor that. Hopefully we can get him to play againt the Texans on Sunday.” Kaepernick did not throw in practice for the second consecutive day Friday, so Gabbert took all of the repetitions with the first team offense, instead of the customary 50-50 split with Kaepernick. And so you had it. The much anticipated QB competition that so many 49ers fans had been looking forward to as the highlight of training camp, abruptly ended before it even really started.

          And he we are. Despite the narrative that GRANT COHN was desperately trying to make, which was likely driven by his dislike for Blaine Gabbert, the much anticipated 49ers QB competition never materialized! It wasn’t just Blaine’s job to lose, it was more than that. Kaepernick would have had to absolutely throw down with Blaine, run the gauntlet, and outright take the job from Blaine, like an alpha male lion would overthrow the reigning alpha male and claim his pride of lioness’.

          And Blaine proved to be the dominant lion in 2015, and has only gotten stronger while leading Chip’s offense! The fact of the matter is, Grant was either conciously trying to stoke controversy where none truly existed, or Grant has a complete lack of understanding of NFL players psychology, locker room dynamics, and the relationship between coach and player. And I am not talking about tonight’s incredibly uninspiring performance!

          Contrary to the Grant Cohn’s narrative, this competition was never in question once Colin’s shoulder decided to take a vacation midway through camp.

          How did Grant frame it? “ACCURACY ISSUES COULD SLOT BLAINE GABBERT ON THE $(ERS BENCH” As if competition doesn’t matter.

          In reality, the only thing preventing Chip from making it official and naming Blaine the starting QB for week 1 last week, was the determination Chip made that he needed to keep his word. And since Chip made the decleration that Colin would get an opportunity, on the field, to compete with Blaine for a starting role, that it would be premature to name Blaine the starter, before Colin stepped into the filed and took one, season like snap.

          Here is the point, and I cannot make this point strong enough! How incredibly wrong Grant was on this subject! If the players on the 49ers roster, belived that in any way, the Chip was always leaning towards naming Colin the starting QB regardles of how well he performed in this offense. despite Chip’s words and what he was telling his team. That perhaps all Colin needed to do was simply show up for one game, and complete a couple passes, perhaps orchastrate 1 or 2 effective drives, and Chip would essentially hand Colin the job.

          The reality is, that would have been the worst thing Chip could have done in regards to his tenure as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. It would have sent exactly the wrong message to this young roster, and would have undermined Chip Kelly in the worst way possible. In terms of analogies, it would have sent the exact opposite message that the front office sent by extending Navorro Bowman’s contract way before they had to, in order to send the message that if you have a possitive attitude, dedicate yourself to this team, to your teammates, work your fanny off, show integrity and take nothing for granted that you will be rewarded accordingly.

          And when you give your word as a new HC, that every single player starts with a clean slate, a “reset button” so to speak, and that every position on this team, with the exception of those veterans who have clearly earned their stripes, will be earned FAIR & SQUARE, through leadership and hard work, not politics and favoritism!

          BlAINE IS THE STARTING QUARTERBACK FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS IN 2016/17!

  42. Here’s what Florio is saying over at PFT about Kap. Backs up what Grant has been saying:

    “If he’s cut, the 49ers could save a portion of his $11.9 million guaranteed salary, since an offset would apply to whatever he makes elsewhere. If they keep him, he’ll get it all.

    If he gets it all, at some point they should play him, right? The problem with playing Kaepernick is that, if he emerges from 2016 with an injury, the 49ers may not be able to cut him before next year’s base salary of $14.5 million becomes fully guaranteed on April 1.

    There’s a chance, then, that they’ll put him in bubble wrap, RGIII-style, waiting for a starter elsewhere to suffer a season-ending injury but otherwise not letting Kaepernick get on the field for fear of chasing this year’s $11.9 million with another $14.5 million next year.”

    1. I’m beginning to think they should cut Kap. Maybe we can get that Callahan kid if GB is forced to cut him. If Kap and Ponder are gone we should be able to put him on the 53. If Gabbert, gets hurt, there won’t be much difference in performance if either Driskell or Callahan were to play.

    2. That’s exactly what I’ve been saying. If you’re going to put him in bubble wrap you might as well cut him. No team will trade for Kaepernick the way he’s been playing.

  43. On Rotoworld:

    “Torrey Smith was not targeted in the 49ers’ third preseason game.
    Smith is a part of the 49ers’ starting offense, but you wouldn’t know it if you based your takes solely on preseason games. He’s seen exactly one target through three exhibition affairs, and has a goose egg to show for it. Smith revealed this week that his 2015 effort sagged because he felt like Colin Kaepernick “wasn’t looking for him.” Blaine Gabbert isn’t looking at Smith, either. “

    1. Cubus:

      What did you expect from Torrey Smith??!! He is a 3 catch per game type of player, and you can’t hardly fault the QB–the dude can’t run most routes. Check out his career in Baltimore: only once did he break 1,000 yds with 65 catches and 4TD’s.

      Hardly a difference maker. Expect more of the same…

  44. Uh oh. Rotoworld is reporting:

    “49ers DE Quinton Dial suffered a sprained MCL Friday night against the Packers.
    Knee sprains usually carry a two-to-four week timetable, which puts Dial’s Week 1 status in serious doubt. Dial started the first two preseason games at right end. “

  45. This was the first time on the field for Colin in a long long time. You guys don’the want to cut him some slack that you’re right. But you’re not very accurate dissing him. And by the way, I guess the word now is stack or stacked. You guys are working it to death. When I was a boy stacked meant something entirely different.

  46. GRant: “9:51 Ponder throws a pick. I’m crushed.”

    The echo-chamber.

    The Niners are NOT a good team, and certainly they are not better coached than they were last year.

    This is an ugly team. But reading the majority of your audience’s posts, you’d think we are discussing the Patriots, and not a third rate team coached by a mediocre coach.

    1. We’re fans. By definition we have a certain optimism about the team especially during the preseason. We have the whole season to have that optimism crushed – no need to start now.

  47. This was a bad game overall. Kaep did not do well, but the whole team did not do well. Gabbert did not win the starting job. The defense flat out sucked. Could not make a stop. Maybe it has to do with how well GB played. GB looked poised to return to the playoffs. Their backup QB looked better that all 4 Niner QBs.

    Glad Kaep played, but he looked rusty, which is to be expected. Looked like Capers pulled out all the stops to thwart Kaep, and the O line looked leaky. Still think they should have rolled out Kaep, but he wasnt not in long enough to establish any rhythm or continuity.

    McCarthy finally learned his lesson, and went bold, instead of settling for FGs.

    The lack of discipline on this team is alarming. Ray Ray should be told to shut up and never say another word on the field, or they will bench him. Robinson should be told the same thing. Hyde had a great run, then all the Niners slapped his helmet. That is obtuse. Stay away from the head, slap his shoulder pads. Now we hear that Hyde received a concussion. Stay the flock away from head blows, wont they ever learn? Skov wears his war paint, but when the Niners lose like they did, it looks like clown paint. Tank shot himself in the foot again. Good defensive stop wiped out by a hands to the face penalty. 12 men on the field? No, no, the Niners should be doing that to the other team.

    Way too many unforced errors, but am glad it was only a preseason game. Hopefully, they can correct the errors, or it will be a LOOOOOG season.

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