An encouraging stat for Kory Faulkner

I bet you didn’t know that the 49ers’ newest undrafted free agent QB, Kory Faulkner, led Southern Illinois’ offense to a 46.4 third-down-conversion percentage last season, 14th-best in FCS football.

Eastern Illinois’ offense —  which was led by  QB Jimmy Garoppolo whom the Patriots just drafted in the second round — converted third downs 44.3 percent of the time last season, 21st-best in the FCS.

This article has 58 Comments

  1. Like you, I was hoping for Fales, to add the threat of field vision into the mix. Gabbert has to be still hearing footsteps, it seems it should take some time for him to be comfortable. It is a carousel, but the coaching is as good as it gets.

  2. This suggests to me that they know what they are doing when it comes to QBs and therefore are to be trusted for little things like wanting to extend Kaepernick and trading for Gabbert.

  3. It will be very interesting to see how this QB battle shakes out. Faulkner it would seem would have the inside track on a practice squad position, with Gabbert/Johnson fighting it out for #2/#3, and McBLT on the scrap heap (sad, ’cause I really like that nickname).

    I’m not sure why anyone is worried about “field vision” though. As Grant outlined last year: Harbaugh’s offense does not lend itself to multiple post-snap reads. It’s basically a one read offense that tries to gamble on tendencies to beat the defense. Field vision then takes a back seat to pre-snap judgement, pass release quickness, and football velocity. Yes/No?

  4. “….14th-best in FCS football….”

    How many teams are in the FCS ?

    14 .. ?

      1. ah ! … well, the 14th best stat looks better, then ..
        still .. way too many college teams for this brain
        to keep up with ..

        Looks like Gabbert is a lock for the 53 .. I read somewhere,
        the Niners would be on the hook for about $2 Million
        in dead money, should they cut him …

        Josh, on the other hand ..I’d feel bad for him, if he doesn’t make it
        this time around ..as I recall, he was pretty good

  5. I’m only going on a few highlights, but here is what I see Faulkner

    – A fast release.
    – He passes well (and frequently) over the middle… a challenge for many college QBs trying to make it in the pros.
    – Though no Kaepernick, he gains yards against defenses with sloppy pass rush lanes.

    What’s missing is passing from a collapsing pocket. Not saying he can’t, its just not there. His highlights show throwing from a clean pocket, or running.

    Please note: One of his highlight clips is not for the faint of heart. No, there aren’t any gruesome injuries. Its the late 70’s highlights that would embarrassed Dirk Diggler. Where the did they get that sound track?

    1. On further review… though no classic collapsing pocket, he did complete several passes just before getting hit. Also “makes all the throws”, and shows good pocket footwork.

      1. nice goin’ brodie ..
        got a link to the highlights handy ..?

        (or are you gonna make me look it up ?)

          1. thanks for the link, brodie! The kid can actually move pretty good for his size.

      2. B2W,
        Waiting until the last possible moment before throwing the ball, and being accurate on those throws is very encouraging and promising for me.

  6. Unfortunately that really doesn’t amount to anything in the big leagues except maybe in the fourth preseason game.

  7. The kid looks pretty good, like his poise and accuracy, checks out the entire field. Now that being said, he has a crap load of time and hardly has any pressure up the middle or side. Thanks Brodie for the tape.

  8. he does look good, real-neal .. but a couple times
    he scrambled, he didn’t have the ball very secured..
    I’m betting The Harbs will teach him how it’s done, tho

  9. A discouraging stat for Kory Faulkner
    .
    Undrafted free-agents rarely make the squad.
    .
    .
    .
    ~ALOHA~

  10. Hmmmm, Faulkner last name…some literary bones? “The Sound and the Fury” would be apropos in Seattle.

  11. Looking at the tapes, it seems that he’s waiting for his first option to get open until he throws. His body is pointing in the direction of where he’s going to throw before he throws. Making him easy to read.
    Like his throws and runs, of course we don’t get to see his INT’s and misses.

  12. He looks fast, big, and smooth when he runs, not like Kap. Kap strides his way down the field. He might make a great TE conversion. He’s a bit scatter armed. Strong, but inaccurate. Even with a clean pocket, he has happy feet and doesn’t deliver it into an area that the reciever can catch and run. There’s a lot of twisting for balls that are too high or behind the reciever. A lot to work with, but we’ve seen this with Kap. Can they coach this up?

  13. Grant,

    I can’t believe what a homer you’ve become.

    Way to cherry pick stats to prop up every move the 49ers make.

    Forget about what we think of your shilling for the 49ers, what is your dad going to think? We know you didn’t learn this kind of “writing” (more like 49er PR department release promulgation) from him.

    Sorry, Grant, I couldn’t resist.

    1. Exgolfer,
      Yes, lol, this piece must have been written by Grant’s alter ego (or other half of a split personality?). Who is this guy that’s digging up these hard to find stats that make something the Niners did look like it might have been a good move? This can’t be Grant! Haha just having fun Grant. I’m very encouraged to see that you can write positive things about the 49ers if you want to. Thank you. I appreciate it. Even if you only did it as a test to see if anyone would notice.

      1. Yeah, Grant’s coverage is definitely fair and balanced. After multiple columns and dozens of comments criticizing the 49ers’ draft selections and downplaying the contributions the team can expect to receive from those selections (and from Stevie Johnson), he writes a two sentence entry noting a single positive statistic about an undrafted player.

        This was Grant’s Alan Colmes column.

              1. I wouldn’t presume to lay down any rules of journalism. I’m just a reader calling it as I see it. Lots and lots of material on how the 49ers screwed up the important stuff; two sentences on how this one minor thing wasn’t screwed up. You presented both sides; that’s completely fair and balanced.

              2. Thanks for pointing that out. Some of the stuff was important, some of it was minor. My coverage reflected that.

              3. I should read your thanks as being sarcastic like my “completely fair and balanced” assessment, right?

              4. Through you, I learned a definition for “caution” that I did not previously know. Thanks for that.

            1. Well done Ribico. Did he say anything when you started waxing poetic about the Smith era a few weeks ago?

              1. “The offense has momentum going with Kaepernick. This is no knock on Alex, who has done a great job for us. He’s a team player and he supports Colin 100 percent.”

                Pretty much nailed it, except it was, “Kaepernick has the hot hand”

              2. You did nail that one Grant. As the saying goes, “even a broken clock is right twice a day.” ;)

              3. “even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

                Three times on some days – Grant also made the call on Jenkins.

  14. Meet the Faulkner now because you won’t hear his name again once the season starts. He’ll either be on the PS or he’ll be trying to catch on with another team.

  15. Hmm, a discussion of the prospects of the 4th or 5th string QB?! Faulkner’ll be lucky to make the PS, and folks would have forgotten his name in a couple of years. But then, many heated debate raged around Nate Davis, now with the Amarillo Venom of the indoor Lone Star Football League!!

    More interesting is Maiocco’s column on the implication of Marshall’s contract on Crabtree’s negotiations. What do folks here think should be the contract that Niners should offer Crabs? I was thinking in the region of 3 years, $22-25 million, with $13-15M guaranteed.

    1. I may be off base but I feel Crabtree just wants to get the max contract he can find. Part of Balke’s Genius is letting players go a year or two early like Walsh did but the big differance in today’s NFL is if you let a crabtree and/Iupatti go, you get compensatory picks that could be anywhere from the end of the second round down and this can keep the roster fresh and you can not pay everyone the max anyway. As much as I would like to see Crabtree stay, I feel part of the Johnson trade was to keep a capable receiving threat if Crabtree walked away. I am still amazed how the organization keeps things moving along. We did not suffer with Goldson leaving and we seem ok with Bethea after losing Whitner. Just hope these young players pan out.

    2. That sounds reasonable Mood, which means it won’t happen. Crabtree will likely go to the highest bidder and I would bet the farm that is not the 49ers. With the trade for Johnson they have given themselves the safety net to let him walk.

      I would guess Crabtree also believes he would be better served in a pass oriented system rather than the run oriented one the Niners employ. That’s why it’ll be interesting to see what, if any changes are made to the passing offense this season.

      1. Rocket and Rebel,

        Pretty much agree with your assessment. Crabtree may offer more value for the money for other teams’ systems that for the Niners. I can see him get $8-$9M for 4 years elsewhere.

  16. Grant when is the next time you get to watch practice? Are they letting the media watch any of the mini camps?

    1. Those who can, do.

      Those who can’t do, coach.

      Those who can’t coach, go to work in the league office.

      1. It does make you curious to know who turned down those positions. Probably quite a long list…

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