Chip Kelly: “You try to keep it consistent in terms of your approach to everything.”

SANTA CLARA

This is the transcript of Chip Kelly’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.

 

Do you have any updates on any of the guys who went down yesterday?

“Yeah, nothing specific in terms of times. The only two guys that we’re concerned with missing any time is [LB] Aaron Lynch has a high ankle sprain and then [CB] Rashard [Robinson] has an MCL sprain. But, there hasn’t been a timetable put on those guys yet, so we won’t know. Obviously, we aren’t playing this week and we’ll see how the rehab goes and all that in terms of their availability for the Saints game, but those are the only two right now that are a concern going past this week.”

 

There was a report after the game that T Joe Staley is on the trade market. Can you say one-way or the other whether that’s–?

“Yeah, that’s news to me. No one’s ever talked, had any discussions with me about Joe being traded. We need Joe here.”

 

Over the weekend, The Oregonian had an article speculating that if there were an opening at Oregon that you might go back to it. Would you? A head coaching gig?

“No. I’m the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. So, not looking at anything else.”

 

Past this season, you would stay here?

“Yeah, I’m here.”

 

Have you heard from any schools?

“Nope.”

 

What are your plans for the Bye week? What do you guys do as a staff to try to get things going?

“We’ve got a lot of self-scout that we have set aside. We’ve already talked about it, had it planned in the summer time of what our schedule would be. So, we’ll be in here all week kind of looking at what we’ve done in the first seven games, what have our opponents done to us in the first seven games relative to what we thought going into the game based on the break downs. Did they change? If they were 60-percent pressure going into our game and they were only 30-percent pressure in our game, trying to delve into how people are defending us. How are we, people are attacking us from an offensive standpoint in terms of attacking our defense and what their tendencies were going into the game and then what actually transpired in the game. So, we’ve got a lot of film work and a lot of studying to do here during this week.”

 

Is that Monday through Friday?

“Yeah, Monday through Friday.”

 

ME: I know you try to stay even-keeled, but do you have private moments of anguish over this losing streak?

“No one’s happy, so I don’t know if the word’s anguish, but I mean obviously you try to keep it consistent in terms of your approach to everything that you do. I don’t think being consistent and being even-keeled means that it doesn’t bother you or that you’re not frustrated in terms of what’s gone on. So, yeah I have those feelings if that’s what you mean by anguish.”

 

ME: You’re on the cutting edge of nutrition and sleep. Have you considered bringing in sports psychologists to work with your players and you and the staff on dealing with the losing streak that’s going to hang over things through the Bye week?

“No. I mean, we have people that are available to us, that our players use on a regular basis through our player engagement program for a myriad of reasons, whether it be personal or sports related. We have that available to our players in terms of if they need to talk to somebody outside of the football staff or outside of even player engagement. I think some of the things that they’ve done in our player engagement with the outreach with former players that have been through this before, sometimes that’s very helpful to them. But, that’s all done through player engagement through [vice president of football affairs] Keena Turner and [director of player engagement] Parys Haralson and that group.”

 

Aside from a few drops in each of the last couple of games, what are your thoughts on QB Colin Kaepernick’s accuracy?

“It’s been up and down. I think some of it is our protection issues, are we able to get to our spot, get to the proper drop and then get the ball off at the proper time. Again, and I know I’ve said this before, but it’s not one set thing where it’s if Colin is a little bit more accurate we’re OK. I think it’s a combination of the routes we’re running, the protection that we’re giving him and then giving him the time that he has to throw it. I thought he’s been OK so far. We can be a little bit better so the run after the catch is a little bit better. I’d have to talk about each of the specific throws to say, ‘Hey, where were we on that one or where were we on that one.”

 

Is it fair to say that you’ve been impressed enough with his running ability that he’s your guy going forward coming back from this Bye?

“Yeah, we’ll go through everything, but I don’t envision making any changes at the quarterback spot.”

 

Based on what you said about Staley, it sounds like you would be opposed to him being traded.

“I’m not in charge of the overall roster. I’ll give my weigh in and weigh in on where everybody is. Just my point to that thing is we’ve never had a conversation about that and we talk about everything on a daily basis. But, that’s never come up. And I understand how it comes up because we’re 1-6 and Joe is a veteran player, but it doesn’t matter where you are that’s going to be speculation no matter what team you are and where you are, who are your older players. It’s kind of the nature of the sport we play.”

 

Is this something that you needed to address with Joe today after the report–?

“No, I did not talk to Joe specifically about it. I don’t make it a habit of talking to our guys about erroneous reports. So, from what I understand, I don’t know any information on that.”

 

It seems like you got a nice boost from RB DuJuan Harris at times in the game. Is he somebody that you’d like to keep up on the active roster?

“Yeah, he did a really good job yesterday. There’s probably about two runs he wants back, but I think overall for his first extended playing time, I think everybody on the offensive side of the staff as we met today and talked about it were impressed with him. I also think [special teams coordinator] Derius [Swinton II] felt good with him on special teams, so I think he’s playing himself into a role in our offense.”

 

Do you have enough talented players on your roster to compete in this league?

“Yeah, we do. We do.”

 

Then why has the coaching staff not brought out that talent and win more games?

“That’s on us. I agree 100-percent in terms of what you’re saying. But, our job is to put our players in position to make plays and we’re not doing a good enough job of that right now.”

 

To stay with that topic, I noticed in the game yesterday they really ran against you well and a lot of running plays their offensive linemen were pushing DL Arik Armstead and DL DeForest Buckner just out of the way and creating big gaps. Is there anything you can do in the future to improve those two guys or help them or do something different?

“Yeah, there’s a lot of different things you can do. Some of those things when you occur and if you’re watching the game from the side and you’re watching, are they getting double-teamed? If they are getting double-teamed are we doing a good enough job of filling the gaps to peel the double team off of them to make sure that it’s a single block on those guys? So, there’s a lot of fits that we can get from our linebackers or from the secondary that we can do to help those guys in those situations.”

 

Why give the team the week off? I don’t know what the rules are, but I don’t think you need to give them a full week off.

“That’s what we’ve always done wherever I’ve been in the league. I think we’ve played seven games. They’ve been at it since July 31st. They haven’t had more than one day off in a row. So, I think at this point in time that’s what our whole MO has always been. We’re going to bring them in on Monday. We’re going to watch the game. We’re going to put the game to bed. They’ll meet with our strength and conditioning coaches. They have their lifting programs in terms of what they can do and what they have to do. And I think at this point in time we need to heal up. We’ve got two guys as I talked about in Aaron and Rashard that we’re not sure about long-term. But, there are some other guys that have played through a lot of issues so far and have continued to play and stay in games, but I think it’s a good break for them to do what they need to do and that’s the way I’ve always done it and our teams have been fresh coming out of the Bye week.”

 

Why didn’t LB Tank Carradine play yesterday on defense?

“Just the rotation that those guys had going. I think they felt really comfortable with what [LB] Eli [Harold], Aaron’s reps were up a little bit coming back. I think he’s got a little bit more wind in him in terms of where we are. We felt [LB Ahmad Brooks] Brooksy was playing really well. So, they tried to keep Aaron in the game as much as they can. So, it was just a rotation. And [outside linebackers coach Jason Tarver] Tarv’s in charge of those guys on game day in terms of the rotation that we’ve got going at the outside linebacker spot.”

 

So, it wasn’t a disciplinary thing?

“No.”

 

You didn’t mention Arik Armstead in the injuries. Is he fine?

“Yeah, from when I talked to [vice president of football operations Jeff Ferguson] Ferg, I just, literally we were over there and the two guys that we talked about were Aaron Lynch and Rashard. But, there was nothing long-term in term of specifics of people past this week.”

 

He mentioned I think before the first game that it was something that might have to get fixed after the season. Has there been any talk about cutting him more–?

“No. You’re the only one who’s asked that question to me before and that’s the extent of it. But, I’ve never gotten anything from our training staff about that.”

 

What about DL Glenn Dorsey?

“Dors just couldn’t go. Later in the week, he felt like his leg was bothering him a little bit, tried to see what he could do on Sunday morning and couldn’t go. And I think Dors also knows as a professional, we can’t have a guy up, when you only have 46 guys up on game day, that can only go for a couple plays in the first quarter. Then, we’re depleted a little bit from a line standpoint. So, felt like he couldn’t give everything he had to give at that point in time. So, really his call with Ferg in terms of that he couldn’t go and couldn’t give us everything he could yesterday. So, we’re hoping this time off will give him an opportunity when we come back for the Saints game.”

 

Is this the expected kind of stop and start that you would get from somebody who’s coming back from an ACL?

“Again, everything ACL I’ve ever dealt with in my career, and I’m not a doctor or anything, has all been different. So, I don’t think you can put, ‘Hey, this ACL’s like that.’ [Minnesota Vikings RB] Adrian Peterson came back after whatever and started and played really well with it. Other guys it’s taken a little bit longer. But, there’s more than when you look at each individual player, it could be more than that, that they have meniscus with it, was there a bone bruise in it. I don’t know the exact specifics of that. So, what I’ve learned with ACLs is you take them all as an individual and you just can’t say, ‘Hey, this is the concrete. It’s this. So, it becomes this amount of time.’”

 

With such a young defensive line, do you miss his veteran presence, somebody’s who’s been there?

“I think you do. I know he’s the leader of that group. It is a young group, but I think that they voted him the leader at that position. So, I feel like he adds some leadership from that and if him not being out there to provide that for them, it would help the young guys. But again, the one thing with Dors is he’s going to tell you what he can do and what he can’t do and he’s not going to fake it.”

 

I know you’ve been asked through the years a fair amount about the no huddle offense and its possible effects on fatiguing the defense. This year, you guys rank 31st in the NFL in plays per drive. I don’t think you were near that any time in Philadelphia. Do you have to reconsider the pace or the tempo?

“Yeah, I don’t think, again we had the conversation last week, we’re not playing with pace and tempo right now.”

 

But, you’re playing with more pace than most teams. What are the benefits of the no huddle if–?

“I guess I disagree with that point. I don’t think we’re playing fast right now. So, if someone said, ‘How are you playing offensively?’ I don’t think we’re playing fast offensively. I think we’re just not going back, we’re saving seven yards of run time for our offensive line because they don’t have to run back in the huddle, get a play called and then do it. We’re just calling it at the line of scrimmage. So, I think it’s a lot of what Denver used to do when [former NFL QB] Peyton [Manning] was there. But, we’re not, there’s a lot of times that we’re under 15 seconds when we’re snapping the ball and getting the play off. So, that part of it is, we’re not playing fast and we’re not calling tempo-type plays in those situations. We’re just calling plays.”

 

You said you slowed it down this year, correct?

“Mhmm.”

 

Is that a reflection of the offense not staying on the field?

“I’m confused.”

 

The offense isn’t staying on the field.

“Yeah, because we’re not converting on third down. So, I don’t think that’s because we slowed it down. I don’t think–.”

 

I’m not saying that there’s a correlation there. I’m asking, have you slowed the pace down because you’re not staying on the field?

“No. I think that’s what fits with this group of guys we have on the offensive side of the ball.”

 

After looking at the tape, did you see anything improvement-wise from Colin from just his first start to his second, specific things maybe that you picked up on?

“Yeah. I think there was some improvement there. I think the amount of third downs we gained just with him in there, I think he did a good job. Early in the game, they tried to play a lot of man coverage and I think part of Colin’s ability to escape on third down kind of took them out of some man coverage situations because of you have to defend the quarterback. When everybody has their back turned to the quarterback, they can’t see when he takes off and goes. But, I saw an improvement from the Bills game to this game. We hope he can continue to grow and build upon that. That’s part of what we have to do with him as a player is see if we can get incrementally better as the weeks go on. But, I think there was improvement from the Bills game to this game.”

 

When you have a guy that didn’t play for as long as he did and went this long between starts, is there an adjustment period for him in terms of just being able to read defenses again or what he’s looking at? Do you expect that, especially–?

“I think so. I think with anybody, when you get up to playing full speed in the National Football League, I think the speed of the game, when you talk to any rookie coming into the league, what’s the first thing? It’s the speed of the game and just trying to capture the speed of the game back. Colin has a lot to recall because he’s got extensive playing experience in this league. But, it’s still not something that it’s like that. You’ve got to get back into it. And it’s not replicated in practice. Again, we’ve talked about it here before. The quarterback’s not live in practice. So, he’s a lot more comfortable in the pocket in practice just because those guys aren’t going to hit him. They’re going to stay away. You hear everybody talk about stay away from the quarterback. We don’t want anybody hitting the quarterback in a practice situation, obviously, just like everybody else in the league. So, there is a change from the speed of the game as you get into games and I think the more experience he gets, understanding who his receivers are, understanding who’s protecting him, understanding where he can escape in protection, the little teeny things that, it’s not going to be something that you just pick up like that and jump back on the bike and just start riding again. It’s something that the experience is, hopefully you’re better from the experiences that you’re getting of taking those valuable snaps that he’s getting right now.”

 

On the second fumble, was that his responsibility to recognize that?

“No. We had a protection issue. Should have checked inside and then gone outside. The inside guys didn’t come. We should have fanned out and picked him up in protection.”

This article has 107 Comments

        1. Jack I thought those were the best questions asked and when you first suggested it I was hoping Grant would grant your request.

  1. So lets get this straight, the team has the the players to compete in the NFL, but the coaches suck.
    Is that what the coach said?!

    1. If he had said it the other way around he would picked apart for throwing his players under the bus. He gave the same answer that all 32 NFL head coaches would give when put to him in that way. The question was a setup, a “kobayashi maru” it’s a no win situation for the coach. If he takes the blame then he makes the coaches sound incompetent if he blames the players then he’s not a leader. His only approach would have been to recognize the setup and side step it by saying he wasn’t going to answer a question of that nature. Instead he took the high road and did what most good coaches do in this league and put the responsibility on the coaches rather then the players.

      Novelty journalism.

      1. I should add that if he puts it on the lack of talent of players he’s not only throwing them under the bus but his boss as well. Who themselves in Kelly’s position would have answered it that way?

      2. I have to agree. Those 2 questions are a “kobayashi maru” and could be asked of any coach who doesn’t win the Superbowl. Although, I found that line of questioning entertaining, I’m kind of conflicted on it. Chip Kelly gets paid big bucks to coach the 49ers and part of the deal is interacting with the media. However, I don’t necessarily like the “Are you still beating your wife?” type of questions. Seems like a dirty trick – like entrapment. Having said that, when your 1-6 you should expect to be asked if the performance is the fault of the players, coaches, or front office. So I guess the line of questions is not bad but the way in which he asked the setup question to follow up with a gotchya question was a little distasteful to me. Im so conflicted on this one. Anyway, Chip did the only thing he could do there which was to take the blame.

        1. The no win situation is very apropos.

          Niners need to think outside the box, and start thinking like Bill Walsh, or they will just be doomed to failure.

          Kirk said it best when he said it was not a test of strategy, but a test of character. Chip, by accepting blame, passed. Jed and Baalke are failing miserably.

    1. Thanks for the link cubus. I would prefer a banner about Jed or Denise but this is a start. Baalke needs to go.

      1. Hooray ! …

        Such a worthy cause ..
        I’m checkin’ under the couch
        cushions .. as we speak !

    1. Another guy that for his sake I hope they make the trade happen. He’s much better than his 49ers production indicates.

        1. Good question. A 3rd doesn’t sound too far off the mark to me. Could be some form of conditional pick type trade, with the value of the pick dependent on production for the rest of the year.

          I wonder if rather than a draft pick they might look at an ILB in a player swap?

          1. I first thought ILB too but I also wondered about RB. Kenjon barner played for Kelly in Oregon.

        1. My guess if they make a tradw with the Eagles is Nelson Agholor comes the other way. He was a Chip pick.

            1. I doubt they would let their best WR go the other way. Besides, Matthews is a slot WR primarily. Smith would be a direct replacement for Agholor, not Matthews.

              1. Makes senses, Thanks. i recall something on Agholor being investigated by the league for sexual assault allegations.

            1. As above in my response to Mando, that is a move that would surprise me by the Eagles. Agholor would seem a far more likely choice.

              1. True, but I doubt the 49ers would take that him without a pick to go with it.

  2. Well, being a die hard faithful Niner fan is a tortuous burden with a 6 game losing streak, but there is a silver lining. I know for a fact that the Niners will not lose next week.

    Dont ask me how, but I have a hunch.;p

    1. Like the one about the 7torm that was just someone spitting into the wind?

  3. Well we could end up with a lot of extra draft picks and the first or second pick overall with a ton of cap space. GMs should want to come here but who wants to work for and with Jed and Chip.

  4. Jason La Canfora ‏@JasonLaCanfora 36m36 minutes ago

    Eagles exec Joe Douglas was with the Ravens when they drafted Smith. His speed has been wasted in San Fran. 49ers wanna dump salary

    1. I would not shed a tear seeing Kelly leave the 49ers for the Ducks. But how would that work with Knight compensating the 49ers for the remaining part of his contract?

    2. Chip channelling Bill and Hillary Clinton: “You gonna stay beyond this year”. “Yeah, I’m here”. Didn’t ask you where you are. Asked where you might be next year. Sign of the times I guess. Never lie and never tell the truth.

    1. Kizer down to third best QB. Don’t know about that. My top 4 QBs as of today.

      1 Kizer
      2 Trubisky
      3 Kaaya
      4 Watson

  5. Ha ha. Don’t y’all just love the faux technical probing football questions all these reporters ask while avoiding the only REAL question we all want to ask Kelly … Coach, how come your team stinks when compared to all the rest of the teams in the NFL?

    1. No bad owner, in the history of the NFL, has sold his team because some idiot flew a banner, or said something mean on the radio or had stupid bag over his head. Not the Rooney’s in Pittsburgh. Not Glazer in Tampa. Not the Bidwells in Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona.

      Not one. Not ever.

      It’s a pointless, childish whine.

      1. Your historical point is taken, but in what Bizzaro World are the Rooneys bad owners? Their franchise is the model for consistent winning IMO.

        Besides, investments in banners isn’t about return on investment (regime change), it’s about fans pushing back and trying to embarrass ownership for embarrassing The Faithful; just as a FY! chump-slap.

          1. Really? 45+ years of near-ancient history?
            And disregard the intervening 44 years and how many SBs with different HCs and QBs? I dunno, looks like a good track record to me.

            1. Point was, that team was horrible for half of its franchise history and things flipped. A horrible owner became a great owner. A pitiful franchise became a league leader.

      2. Lest you forget the ‘Aints’ fans in New Orleans. I thought our fanbase was a bit more classy than that, we will all look back in 5, 10, maybe 15 years and shake our heads with disgust that we had some fans that were that fairweather.

        Anger, frustration, disappointment, all acceptable responses to your team (no matter the sport) floundering, but flying banners, putting bags over your face, constantly talking negative (funny how this board is filled with a lot more people talking once the team goes bad…bit of schadenfreude going on here), it gets old and it gets old quick.

        If you can’t support the team in the down years, you wont truly appreciate the success in the up years.

        1. OK you disagree with BroT’s point. Many of us don’t. You’re talking bad about other fans is what? Positive. Leave it alone.

          1. It’s all good. I disagreed with Moses and eMjay disagreed with me. Since both of those posters have been around for a while I thought maybe they’d get that I’m no fair weather fan, that I’ve been riding this train for a long time thru good & bad. This here is painful, and some gallows humor and some avoidance behavior may be necessary for me to await the next metamorphosis. I don’t apologize.
            I’m not the one who should be apologizing.

        2. Em, I will support this team through thick and thin, but when I see glaring deficiencies, I will comment on how they can improve.

          I just wish the FO wants to win as much as I, and other faithful fans do, but they seem content to tank so they will be rewarded with a high draft position.

          Jed said to hold him accountable. I am just doing what he asked me to do. Flying banners may not affect him, because he seems to soak up abuse like a sponge, but it will be cathartic to the die hard faithful.

      3. Billionaires don’t live in the real world. If the money continues to roll in, they think everything is fine, unless we push back. The Yorks only interest is money and unless the fans let them know otherwise, they believe that the fans are satisfied with a 1-15 or 2-14 product. No company or entity improves until it listens to its customers. The banner flying simply provides a sounding board for the “customers” to clearly state their dissatisfaction with the product the Yorks have produced.

        Last year Jed stated that he was aware of the banners, so why wouldn’t we use that medium to convey our discontentment. If you are a happy “customer” then by all means do not support this effort.

        1. +1000 cubus. Since when does wanting your team to win or at least be competitive make you not a fan. Look at the next thread. We are the worst franchise in sports.

          But guess what, instead of turning off our tv we complain about Jed, Trent, and Chip. Some even donate money for banners. Ultimately the banner guys and us complainers want the team to win. Thats what being a fan is all about.

          1. No, it feels like you guys get more joy out of the team losing…or the majority of a lot of commentators here. We get it, people hate Jed, people hate Trent, people hate Chip, Kaep, Blaine, whomever…its been said before by the same people over and over. Has anything changed? Nope. Nothing wrote here, as much as some believe they are secretly being listened to, will change the decision making.

            No banners will change the process.

            No calls to radio shows will change the process.

            The only thing that will change is lack of money. Vote, if you will, with your wallet. Stop going to games, stop buying merch. That is the only thing that fans can do that might..MIGHT..get through.

            But this idea that Jed isn’t interested in winning truly lacks any thought. The team, under his oversight, has fired 4 coaches (Nolan, Sing, Harb, Tomsula). And they’ve hired 4 coaches. Hiring and firing guys is not cheap and shows they aren’t satisfied with the same thing, I mean you could be a Rams fan with that coach who has done nothing to deserve being a coach of them for 5 seasons.

            Point is, constantly reading and seeing the same negative comments “fire baalke”, “fire jed”, etc, just gets old and old quick. Even in the days of Erickson, Nolan, and Sing, it seemed this board, when run by Maiocco, was more positive and talking up the performances of young guys, finding the positives and coming together to go after the negative trolls like the Darrens of the world (I know there were other names, but his was the most prominent in my memory).

            No one ever said wanting your team was bad, or makes you less of a fan, its how you do it…being here for the good times and threatening to leave when things get bad, thats what makes the difference.

            1. eM,

              I can’t say for sure but I think Tomsula would still be coach if it weren’t for the banners. As far as talking about positive stuff, I can only speak for myself. I predicted a 7 win season with a shot at the playoffs. But then the wheels fell off.

              I went from saying (hoping) that Blaine will be a good game manager or better to saying (accepting) that he is terrible. I even predicted the Niners to beat Seattle last month.

              I want to be positive but I’m still looking for something. If we were all positive. This blog would be filled with nothing but Robinson posts.

    2. Yep, I donated. Tired of ownership and this FO bending this team over on the daily just to satisfy their egos and distorted sense of reality… York does not like to be embarrassed so keep them flying.

  6. You need write an article — Be Careful What You Wish For

    So, through the first five games with Gabbert as the starter, the 49ers averaged 291.4 yards per game, 4.5 yards per play, 19 first downs per game and 22.2 points per game. With Kaepclown behind center, the 49ers have posted 286.5 yards per game, 4.6 yards per play, 18 first downs per game and 16.5 points per game.

    Which means the 49ers, with Gabbert, the offense was average in scoring. Right around 17th. With Kaepernick it’s 31st. So, yeah, you got your ‘Future HOF QB’ back… And he picked up right where he’s been going since Mid-2014.

    That is, backwards, since the NFL figured his junk-*** out years ago.

    1. But he needs an oline to protect him…

      But he needs good wrs who get open and catch balls…

      But he needs a good run game…

      But he needs a top 5 defense…

      But he needs special special teams…

      But he needs a good qb coach…

      But he needs a head coach who can use him right…

      The boy sure has a lot of buts…

      1. The O line is better than last year because Devey and Pears are gone, but they still allowed 4 sacks and a blitzer who blind sided Kaep for a fumble.

        The WRs need to get open, but they looked slow and predictable, with no separation. Vance was Vance.

        They ran Hyde into the teeth of the defense until he was injured, so now they are playing UDFAs, and the third stringer looked better than the first and second stringers.

        Top 5? How about higher than last?

        They let go Garrison Smith to hold onto Burbridge, and he was the one who caused Kerley to fumble a punt. Another example of shooting themselves in the foot.

        I do not even know who the QB coach is. If he thought that Gabbert was the answer, he should be fired.

        Chip has not utilized Kaep properly. He needs to put him in positions to succeed. He should be smart enogh to figure out ways to let Kaep roll out, but they still are forcing Kaep to be only a pocket passer.

        Kaep does not need a lot of butts, he needs talent surrounding him. Above all, he needs a FO that is not totally incompetent.

    2. I will still defend Kaep. No team that gives up a thousand yards in 2 games is going to win. The Bills and Bucs marched up and down the field, dominating time of possession, so Keap was stymied by not having enough opportunities, and when he did play, his supporting cast was deficient.

      I still will support him over Gabbert because I still think he gives the team the best chance to win. You can whine about the QB play, but ignoring what the rest of the team is doing just means you do not understand how important it is to have all the team playing well in all phases of the game, in order to win.

      Yes, the players do not have much talent, but the coaching has been atrocious.

      Yes, they have 45 mil in cap space, so that means they have 45 mil less talent than other teams.

      Posters who will rip Kaep have very little football knowledge, because Kaep is not the only problem. In fact, my son claims that Kaep and DuJuan Harris were the 2 best Niners on the field last game. He said the rest of the team was hot garbage.

      It all comes back to Baalke. He is the architect of this dysfunctional dumpster fire, and the fact that he is leaking that the Niners want to lose more talent by trading away players just to save money is another sign that he is totally clueless.

      Who cares if he gets more draft picks. Baalke will just waste them on more ACL picks. By picking 2 CBs who are injured, and 2 OL who are sitting, and ignoring the middle LB position, Baalke has doomed the season.

      1. Let’s see what happens after
        the first banner flies over the stadium..
        next week …

        (with apologies to Cassie.. of course)

      2. You’re right Seb. But that doesn’t change the fact that Gabbert faced the same situation. Fair is fair. An argument could be made that Gabbert faced better defenses too. It’s beginning to look that Kaep can only function in a protected environment where the whole offense is designed around him. I think some other team should get the luxury of designing him his own offense and the 49ers need to move on ASAP. I also think Kelly would be crazy to stay on beyond this year and I see him moving back up north. Time to push the reset button on the whole 49er operating system.

        1. Yup, it is another Groundhog Day scenario. Like Jax and Cleveland, the Niners have embraced losing, and will continue to lose, be rewarded with high draft picks, and keep on losing.

          I agree, after all the backstabbing, they do not deserve the services of Kaep, and I expect he will go to a team that will treat him with respect, and utilize him properly. Since Kaep is not as dangerous throwing from the pocket, Why do they insist on highlighting his weakness? SMH.

        2. Even when Kaep had the whole offense (and whole team) geared around him, or at-least was on a super bowl level, he was not a consistently GOOD qb. He showed some flashes/peaks here and there, mostly in his 1st season, and then as the games mounted, the film on him (and others who ran the zone read) grew and dc’s figured out how to scheme, he went down hill, game over game, year over year, until where we are now which is a death valley level basin.

          The guy is very one dimensional, in a lot of dimensions. Hes a single read qb, doesn’t go through his progressions almost ever. He doesn’t read defenses well, poor pre-snap reads, poor vision when the play is in motion. And he’s not a good short and intermediate passer, he has a strong arm but those throws are not the majority of a qbs game.

          I don’t see him ever growing in those areas that he lacks, growing enough to ever be a top 15 guy. At this point, he’ll be a back up for a few years and be gone before the decade is out. He’s too nontraditional for his own good. Having a big arm (but slow release) and fast straight line speed is not enough to be a good, let alone competent, qb in this league. Thats like 2 aspects out of ~15 or so one needs to succeed (vision, pre-snap read, touch, accuracy, pocket awareness, throwing outside the numbers, quick release, decision making, footwork, etc etc etc) and those 2 won’t ever overcome the dearth of skills needed.

          If this were the 80s and 90s, he’d be out of the league by now, seems like this NFL teams hold onto guys way too long…where as back then, once the book was out on you, you were out and very rarely did you become something (Rich Gannon).

          1. Yes, i see you hitting all the talking points about Kaep being one read and one dimensional, a poor pocket passer with a long wind up.

            However, I have also seen him dominate defenses, pass for over 400 yards with a good supporting cast, and run for records.

            You say the league has figured him out, but they do that for EVERY QB, so it is how they can stay ahead of the curve, put him in positions to succeed and make adjustments that will determine his future. Obviously, the coaching is holding him back, and they are not smart enough to devise plays that accentuate his strengths.

            I also want to disagree with your assessment about his touch. I saw many throws where Kaep dropped the ball over the LB and in front of the safety, and his short passes would hit his receiver in both his hands, but were dropped.

            I concede that he tends to lock in on a receiver, but that is why I have been advocating for years that he should face one way, while looking in another direction.

            You may compare him to Gannon, I hope he becomes another Plunkett, with SB rings, where they tailored the offense around his style of play.

        3. WC, I think I have been fair to Gabbert, and even have postulated that Chip should play both, in a competitive manner. Flip a coin, and the winner starts and plays until he does not score, then the other gets his chance. It would reward success.

          1. Stupidiest thing I have ever heard. Maybe in college that would work but in the NFL, ridiculous! Good job though Seb, keep bringing the ignorance!

            1. Prime, you swore you were going to leave this site. What happened?

              Stupidest thing you have ever heard? No, you should read some of your posts…….

            2. Seb doesn’t understand the point to play both would be that each offers different aspects…but they are both in many ways the same player. Its not like subbing Mike Vick for Peyton Manning.

              And I berated him all summer long on how a 2 qb system doesn’t even really work in college, so to expect it to ever work in the NFL shows a total lack of any sense of football IQ.

              1. Seb does not understand the fundamentals of the game of football. He thinks he is being innovative and unique but in reality his ideas are foolish.

                Seb as for me leaving this site, I was here well before you and will be here after you leave when CK ends up in the arena league playing football. So, the bad news is you will have to deal with me telling you how stupid your ideas are all day, every day!

              2. Kaep, in a recent interview, said that they were not going to change the system, that both QBs know the system well and can execute plays in it.

                It will not be a dramatic difference between each QB, both will try to take what the defense gives them and get the ball into their playmaker’s hands.

                Letting Gabbert play may bring out the best in each ones’ play. Competition is good. A team on a 6 game losing streak should not be worried about protocols and traditions. Maybe Chip should say he is trying to find the best QB that gives them the best chance to win.

                Since Gabbert is one hit away from starting, it might also be wise to let him play, and sharpen his skills.

                Like you say, Kaep is not demonstrably better statistically, so it will not tear apart the team to be desperate enough to think outside the box. Gabbert is also very popular, and this might help team cohesion.

                About my football acumen. I am perfectly comfortable with my football knowledge. My last mock hit on 3 players the Niners picked. I also have been advocating for DuJuan Harris since the end of the TC. I said that they should use him on kick offs, and not risk injuring their number one receiver. I said that he is a better fit for those Zone Read runs because he has quick hips. Looks like he has proven me right. He made some nifty moves last game.

                I also said that they should not run Hyde into the teeth of the defense. They did, and now he is injured. How predictable.

              3. Seb this is how stupid you look:

                “About my football acumen. I am perfectly comfortable with my football knowledge. My last mock hit on 3 players the Niners picked”

                All that means is you are good at guessing. Job well done! Guess away, throw the crap at the wall and hope something sticks. Admirable approach!

                ” I also have been advocating for DuJuan Harris since the end of the TC. I said that they should use him on kick offs, and not risk injuring their number one receiver. I said that he is a better fit for those Zone Read runs because he has quick hips. Looks like he has proven me right. He made some nifty moves last game”

                He had 39 yards rushing on 11 carries, 18 yards receiving on 2 catches. BIG DEAL!
                And he was the next man up because Hyde got hurt, that’s the only reason why he played. Not because of your advocating.

                “I also said that they should not run Hyde into the teeth of the defense. They did, and now he is injured. How predictable”

                Where is suppose to run? On his magic carpet above the defense? The guys a china doll, injury prone since entering the league.

                Seb keep the stupidity coming, I got all day!

            3. You must be new to 49ers football Prime. When Red Hickey invented the shotgun formation in the 60s he rotated John Brodie, Billy Kilmer and Bobby Waters as his QBs. Fact is, it did work for a while. Story was that Hickey came up with the plan when he asked his offensive players if they could beat a very good Baltimore team with their current offense. They said basically no way. Chip might want to ask what the current players think – it couldn’t hurt.

              1. Whine country says “it did work for a while”

                Yeah and then what happened? Some of you old timers need to come to the reality this isn’t 1904 anymore! If that style worked then the coaches would be employing it in todays game!

                If I’m new to football then maybe you are too old for football. Wake up, its 2016!

              2. Prime,

                Remember the uproar Harbaugh caused from fans when he did this a little bit in early 2012?

                Oh it’s a distraction, it ruins the flow, and on and on an on.

                Just goes to show how fickle fans can be. And also how little most really understand.

              3. Prime, if you want to be a punching bag, I will be happy to oblige.

                I think you like farting around and bloviating because that is only what you are best at.

                I notice that you have devolved to hurling insults, which just defines you.

                Football knowledge? You are the troglodyte that cannot comprehend that mobile QBs that are quick as gazelles and have a howitzer for an arm, are the new prototypical QB for the foreseeable future. Cam, Mariota, Winston, Dak, Wentz , are the wave of the future, and you are stuck in the stone age.

                Go ahead, Diss Kaep all you want. Just expect a response. Keep engaging me, I relish the chance to taunt you about a storm is coming. I like using your own words against you.

              4. Taunt away Seb. I’m still waiting for the storm to hit. It looks like it might now I was right. It aint coming. It was 3 years ago and then the league figured out your boy. Splash in the pan then fizzle out.

                Seb says You are the troglodyte that cannot comprehend that mobile QBs that are quick as gazelles and have a howitzer for an arm,”

                But if the wind up takes an eternity to get there, how does it make it a howitzer?

              5. Sigh, Prime, you really do not know much. The link up between QB and his receivers is not simple and easy. It requires many reps to develop timing, and with DBs disrupting routes, it is hard to automatically sync up after a few practices.

                Gabbert had all the advantages, throwing to his primary receivers from before the OTAs through TC. He should have been a lot more accurate than Kaep, but when he failed during games, he was hurting the team.

                Kaep did have some reps during TC, but was shut down due to soreness. It is amazing how well Kaep has done with so few reps.

                With more practice, Kaep will start syncing up, but they really need to replace Vance as a receiver. He is afflicted with a case of the dropsies, with no cure in sight.

                Niners do not need to use that system for the rest of the season. Chip should just say that it will be a competition until one QB wins the job outright. It may take one game, it might take 6 games.

                I gotta laugh. The Niners are on a 6 game losing streak, and Prime declares that rotating QBs is the stupidest thing he has ever heard. Yet he still hates one QB with such a passion, he should jump at and promote that idea. This would be a good way to sit Kaep, especially if Gabbert can shine, but he is too stubborn to admit that an idea that I propose could work.

              6. Yeah Prime – The shotgun was just a temporary thing. I guess every NFL team has the same problem as me because they still use it. I’m old but I still got a sense of humor. I don’t know how old you are but I haven’t seen any sign that you have one. If you don’t get a joke, try just keeping to yourself.

      3. “You can whine about the QB play, but ignoring what the rest of the team is doing just means you do not understand how important it is to have all the team playing well in all phases of the game, in order to win.”

        And yet you whined about Gabbert when he was starting, despite him facing the same issues. Do you have any self awareness at all? Do you truly not see just how hypocritical you are being?

        1. Scooter,

          I actually don’t think this is about Kap. It’s about being right or wrong. I remeber a post where Seb said something about lording his football acumen over other posters. That desire has left Seb compromised. He backed a bad QB and is now stuck between a rock and a hard place.

          Seb,

          If you remeber I was a Kap supporter. When I saw him play again I knew he was the same player that got benched for Gabbert. Someone here asked where are all the Kap supporters. I said “I’m still here but I no longer support Kap.” Nobody is right all of the time, I’m certainly not. Admit you were wrong and move on.

          1. 80, I fully admit that Kaep is not doing well, but even Joe Montana would have struggled to win on this present team. 1000 yards in 2 games. Pathetic.

            Like many who cheered on Joe when he went to KC, I will cheer for Kaep when he goes to another team with decent players to support him and coaches who are smart enough to utilize him properly.

            I will still root for the Niners, but will also rip the FO for destroying a once proud franchise that succeeded to make it into a laughingstock of the whole league.

            Kaep will be fine. He might go to Minnesota with their strong roster because I do not think Bridgewater will return soon. However, he may go to the Rams or Cards because he may want to play the Niners twice a year to show Jed and Baalke what a huge mistake they made.

            My only hope is for Chip to be able to right this sinking ship, and he can convince Kaep to stay. I will root for Kaep to do well, and he might have at least 8 years in the league, because of attrition, and QBs who washed out. After Kaep retires, I will still continue to be a faithful die hard Niner fan, and hopefully by then, they will have leadership that values its players instead of treating them like chattel.

  7. Glad I took a knee on watching after Kaperdork started stating personal messages during the Star-Spangled Banner while ignoring over 11,000 BonB murders in the last few years.

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