Five top questions facing the 49ers against Bills

We have no clue what to expect from Colin Kaepernick when he faces the Bills in Buffalo, but we know what we need to watch for. These are the top five questions facing him and the Niners this Sunday.

1. How long will Colin Kaepernick take to adjust to game speed?

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This article has 42 Comments

  1. Under promise and over deliver. I fully expect an adjustment period, and the Bills defense to start the game in quarter zone coverage to the strong side. If Kaepernick can make them pay with throws into the middle of the field, that’s going to open up running lanes for Hyde. I think he can benefit from Kaepernick running the zone read, but he’s going to need to hit some throws early on first down. Stopping Shady will be problematic for this defense and I seriously doubt they hold him under 100. This game is a toss up with Kaepernick as the wild card….

        1. Anybody catch the 2016 Madden outcome of Kap’ game vs the Bills tomorrow on NinersNation today. I know it’s all computerized fabrication, but it was entertaining just the same.
          Oh, and spoiler alert, the 49ers lost (lol).
          But Kap did flash and made some plays.

          1. I haven’t played Madden this year. The lag switchers and IP booters have ruined the online experience.

            I still own the previous three editions. On each of those games, Kap had great speed and great arm strength. However, his accuracy was terrible, especially on short passes.

    1. Coach “ok Jed that didn’t work out last week, you returning punts. You got rocked pretty bad. Well you’ve made it through the concussion protocol now and we are going to change things up a bit. We would like you to play slot receiver and we will get you the ball on a lot of short slants in front of the linebackers. We’ve got some Wes Welker and Julian Edelman video for you to study up on.”

  2. I think the only fair metric to use when evaluating Kaepernick is if he leads the team to a W.
    Regardless of what the defense does, if he can demonstrate the ability to move the chains, lead the offense to scores, that to me is a fair evaluation

  3. My biggest question mark is
    about the defense …

    can they stop … anybody .. ?

    if not .. CK will have a l-o-n-g .. day

  4. I do not think we the fans can accurately evaluate Kaepernick until he has played at least three games.

  5. I love the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but they are the most overrated team in college football right now.

      1. They are ranked mainly because of beating an Oregon team without its star RB. Barely surviving against Indiana does not alleviate that feeling.

  6. I think Kap will be conservative for the most part. He may throw a couple of deep balls to Torrey, one early, and one in the second half.

    He will try to get back to his roots and run. I expect him to rush 7 to 10 times. I really don’t know if he will play well. If I had to guess, I would say he will be an average QB.

  7. I think the niners reworking of his kapernicks contract completely affirms that he will not be on the team next year. Even if he tears it up and does really well.

    It’s kinda silly. I would’ve probably let him play out the year. The contract is just year to year anyways. The niners couldve gotten out of it at any point without much impact to cap. Only problem was severe injury.

    But with 50 million in cap space. I would probably take that risk. Especially because most human beings would not expect them to be very good next year either and have no good players to extend except for Hyde and maybe 2 more people

    It’s a cheap move and a resentful move.

    1. The niners concern with Colin is not about paying him money. It’s about the money that will count against the salary cap. No team wants to have that much money tied up for a player that doesn’t want to be there and isn’t very good when he does play.
      In this the niners are no different than any other team. Other teams were interested in Colin but no one was touching him at that price because of the hard cap.

      1. With 44 mil in cap space, that argument is specious. They should fire whoever wrote that contract.

  8. The whole idea that a team would resent a player getting paid for being injured is churlish , mean spirited, and business as usual for a football team, with very few injury guarantees ever written into a contract.

    Even if Kaep does well, he will be gone because Baalke will never pay him what he is worth. Only if Baalke is gone do I see a scenario where Kaep stays.

    I hope they put in Garnett for Beadles, Rush for Tank, Skove for Bellore, and Cromartie for Bethea.

    1. No, they want to pay him what he is worth. They are over paying him right now. He is worth less than Gabbert. You’ll see today. He isn’t worth 14 mil. He isn’t worth 7 mil.

      1. When the Niners have 45 mil in cap space, they have 45 mil less talent than most teams. No wonder they are 1-4.

        With so much less talent, no wonder the stadium is half filled, which means the Niners are losing money on game days. It is an economic model that will continue to spiral downwards.

        Kaep, if he helps them win, will be worth every penny. In fact, compared to other QBs like Osweiler and Cutler, he is a good bargain.

  9. Kaep’s effectiveness was always predicated on his running ability. That is what allowed his predetermined throws to be effective. If he can’t make plays with his feet he’s toast. I seriously doubt that he has progressed as a passer to the point of being solely pocket effective. With that being said, Kelly’s system gets guys open and Gabbert consistently missed them by astonishing margins. Kaepernick can make those throws. I think Rex will sell the blitz and drop guys at the last second on most passing plays and simply blitz on third and long, hoping Kaepernick makes a mistake. At the end of the day, they just aren’t a good team and the Bills have beaten some good teams. I expect a long afternoon for Kaepernick and the boys.

  10. Blowout city!
    East coast game
    A rusty qb who can’t throw.
    Buffalo is hot.
    49ers are not!
    33-13 buffalo

    1. S.F. 9
      Buf. 27

      I expect Kap to move the ball but stall in the red zone. As always the defense will give up a lot of rushing yards and get little pressure on the QB.

    1. Yikes, every qb listed shows accuracy issues:/. I see McCaffery was dropped from the list as well. I maintain he is second rounder… but who knows how it will work out in the end.

      1. I would hope that they stay with their SB QB, and select a pass rusher. Maybe select McCaffrey in the second.

  11. Ian Rapoport says Kaepernick took out a $7.5m insurance policy prior to restructuring his deal.

    Not sure if that’s really significant. Brings up a few questions. Would it be wise to rely on team doctors for documenting severity of injuries? Could we see a return of last season’s personal doctor vs team doctor situation?

    1. Oh, that makes me even more furious. Niners have no class at all.

      Niner docs are quacks. One even killed himself after they found out he was drugging and raping people.

  12. Last year it was so painful to watch Kaep struggle under Tomsula. This year maybe having a offensive minded coach can help him get it together. Harbaugh was also defense minded. Can Kaep be Nick Foles and can Hyde be Shady McCoy and maybe can Kuerley be a little Desean Jackson?
    If so then Kaep might do well. I said it last year that I thought Chip was the guy that can get the most out of Kaep. If you watch some of Gabbert’s run, it took the FS or SS to come up and make a stop. If Kaep get by that guy it’s a TD.
    Niners are going to lose because they suddenly have no talent, after being the most talented in the league just a few years ago.
    See ya Trent!

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