The San Francisco 49ers falling to 2-6 with another abysmal offensive performance has led them to what some have been asking them to do for a very long time: Bench Colin Kaepernick. The problem? The guy coming in for him is Blaine Gabbert.
Not that Kaepernick has anything to say to defend himself. While he’s had some good games this season, he’s had some awful ones, and his overall numbers: 59.3% completions, only six touchdowns to five interceptions and a 78.8 passer rating, all putting him among the worst in the league at the position, means that the bright days of 2012 and 2013 are gone. Kaepernick might have a big contract, but its laden with incentives, and the 49ers feel they’re not getting their money’s worth out of the guy who was supposed to lead the Niners for a very long time.
But without a running game now that Carlos Hyde is out and Reggie Bush, surprise surprise, is injured again, what is Kaepernick going to do? Throw for 250 yards and run for 150 every game? He has been sacked 28 times this season, 4th most in the NFL, showing just what kind of offensive line he has to work with. However, since the blowout loss in week 3 to the Arizona Cardinals in which he threw four interceptions including two pick sixes, he’s been walking a very fine line, which he hasn’t been able to balance on.
Their 27-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams was the fourth time this season the Niners have been held to 7 points or less in a game, coming in back to back weeks against division rivals. It was the fifth time this season he wasn’t able to throw a touchdown pass and the second time completing just 50% of his passes. Missing a wide open Torrey Smith in a 100% touchdown situation was another example of how bad his game and situational reading ability is.
Is Gabbert the answer? Probably not. The Niners did an amazing job of destroying a Super Bowl team in a very short time, first getting rid of the head coach who made it possible, and now sacrificing the quarterback who hasn’t lived up to the hype, but probably wasn’t the main problem on one of the worst teams in the NFL, that’s not going to get any better with someone like Gabbret playing behind center.