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“Deconstructing some myths about Colin Kaepernick, the ” By Steven Ruiz June 8, 2017

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. I thought I was done writing about Colin Kaepernick for at least a few days. There was nothing more to write about him, in my mind. Then Wednesday happened and Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman dropped this fascinating stat on , which prompted this take from The MMQB‘s Andy Benoit: “Amidst all the Kaepernick talk, let's not overrate the man. He'd be the 32nd best starter in NFL or the 15th best backup.” After (much-deserved) backlash — which forced MMQB founder Peter King to publicly back his employee — Benoit wrote a quick defense of the take. It wasn’t much of a defense. Just the same old things we’ve heard about Kaepernick dating back to his first season as a starter in 2013. Not comfortable in the pocket. Can’t read defenses. One-read quarterback. No anticipation. Forces coaches to change their entire . Blah, blah, blah.

There was no video evidence. No examples of Kaepernick bailing out of clean pockets or missing wide open receivers. Just one man’s evaluation presented as indisputable fact.

There was also a list. Oh man, this list. It’s a list of the 15 backup better than Kaepernick, according to Benoit:

Jimmy Garoppolo, Patriots Matt Moore, Dolphins Colt McCoy, Washington A.J. McCarron, Bengals , Jaguars , Giants , Cardinals /, Browns , Saints Derek Anderson, Panthers , Eagles Ryan Mallett, Ravens , 49ers Landry Jones, Steelers , Titans

Any explanation as to why ANY of these guys are better than Kap? Just one: They can operate in the pocket. Kaepernick, supposedly, cannot.

I’ve watched plenty of film on most of these guys — not all of them; I’m not going to pretend like I spent hours in a dark room watching Drew Stanton on the All-22 like some depraved version of . I haven’t. Benoit hasn’t either. NOBODY has. But I’ve seen enough of Foles, Osweiler, Cassel, McCarron, etc., to say that I’d take about two of the guys — Garoppolo and Smith — on this list ahead of Kaepernick.

And here’s the thing about most of the so-called pocket quarterbacks on this list: They can’t really play from the pocket. They don’t run and they’re white so, boom, pocket passer label by default. These guys aren’t any better than Kaepernick in the pocket. He’s not great either, but he’s improving. And he possesses physical tools that nobody on that list does.

But enough about that list. We’re here to talk about Kaepernick and all the myths about his game. According to Benoit and the “This is all about football” group, Kaepernick is incapable of playing in the pocket and that’s why no team has signed him. Let’s take Benoit’s assessment of Kaepernick piece-by-piece and figure out how much validity there is to it. We’ll start at the beginning…

I would take any of the 15 backups I listed before I’d take Kaepernick, because those 15 quarterbacks are all willing and able to play from the pocket. A few of them have even shown they can make throws from a cluttered pocket. That’s a trait most starters have and one Kaepernick is nowhere near possessing.

Inside the NFL, this is where 90% of the discussion about Kaepernick begins and ends. Playing from the pocket is not a quarterbacking attribute; it’s a prerequisite. If a team’s QB can’t play from the pocket, the vast majority of the play designs won’t work. Coaches can’t draw up plays that call for the quarterback to break down, run around and hopefully find an open guy.

Let me start off by saying that this statement is just untrue. There are plenty of quarterback who have been successful without great pocket presence. Russell Wilson is one of the six best QBs in the NFL right now and he consistently drops his eyes against pressure and leaves clean pockets (to be fair, those are rare in Seattle.) gets happy feet against the slightest hint of pressure. does the same. Even , the most talented quarterback this league has ever seen, is too quick to abandon the pocket at times.

But what about Kaepernick? Is he really so scared of the pocket that NFL coaches can’t design an offense around him? Obviously the answer to that is no. If that were the case, he’d never make the NFL as a quarterback. If it were true, plays like this wouldn’t be possible… [video of game play]

Neither would this one… [video of game play]

Yes, the play results in an incompletion but Kaepernick hangs in a deteriorating pocket and puts the ball in the only spot he can.

I didn’t have to scour Kaepernick’s entire 2016 season to find these examples, either. In fact, I didn’t have to do much digging at all. They’re both from the first half of his most recent game.

Now, does he do this consistently enough? No, he doesn’t. Pressure still rattles him a little too much. But to say that he is incapable of playing from the pocket is just inaccurate.

Back to Benoit… “Also, when Kaepernick moves, he ceases to be a throwing threat. Watch —he moves with subtly and nuance, his eyes stay downfield and he almost never sacrifices his readiness to throw. Watch Aaron Rodgers—he moves a lot, sometimes unnecessarily, but he never sacrifices his readiness to throw. Stylistically, most NFL starters are like this. (The Bradys and Rodgerses of the world, of course, do it at a much higher level. Kaepernick, on the other hand, brings the ball down, gets out of his throwing stance, takes his eyes to the pass rush and immediately assumes a runner’s mindset.”

OK, one question: Why are Rodgers and Brady the standard here? We’re talking about a guy who can’t even get a job; but, sure, compare him to two of the best quarterbacks EVER.

So once Kaepernick takes off, the threat of the pass is gone, right? So then what gives with these plays? [video of game play]

There’s Kaepernick manipulating the planted in the middle of the field, knowing that if he moves to his right, he’ll open up a window for the receiver streaking across the middle. He’s ready to throw the entire time. No runner’s mindset here. Here’s a free rusher forcing Kaepernick to move out of the pocket. Does he drop his eyes and just take off, as Benoit’s scouting report suggests he will? Nope, he calmly moves to his right while keeping his eyes up and finds an open receiver. [video of game play]

Again, these examples are from the first half of the last game Kaepernick played.

Anything else? “A coach of his once told me, “He only has one club in his golf bag.” What the coach meant was Kaepernick can throw fastballs, but only fastballs. When he nails those, they look as good as anything you’ll see. His arm can be incredible. But touch passes? Anticipation passes? They’re not in his bag.”

No, I don’t have any video evidence to disprove this. It’s spot-on. Kaepernick lacks touch and anticipation. But plenty of quarterbacks have succeeded with that weakness. rarely throws with touch and is a year removed from winning NFL MVP. doesn’t anticipate well and he won a . Kaepernick has weaknesses, but a lack of touch and anticipation are not, and have never been, deal-breakers in this league.

Moving on… “I know what you’ll say next: In 2012, Kaepernick went to the Super Bowl! Yes. It was on an uber-talented 49ers team, and Kaepernick stepped in midseason. His style of play was extremely unconventional, especially considering 2012 was the year the read-option burst onto the scene. Defenses had not seen a quarterback like him and, in the middle of the season, they didn’t have time to figure out a full response.”

Never mind that basically any team with a quarterback who has any bit of athleticism is still running the read option in 2017, it makes little sense to apply the “read option is a gimmick” theory to Kaepernick’s fantastic 2012 season. The 49ers didn’t really make the read option a staple of their offense until the playoffs, and, yet, Kaepernick thrived in the regular season, producing a of 98.3. And spare me the “gimmick offense,” cliche. You’ll find the same passing concepts was then in every NFL playbook.

So why was Kaepernick so good back then? Because he had a stellar offensive line, a great running game and a solid set of receivers. Kaepernick did not regress and defenses did not figure out how to defend him. He’s a better quarterback now than he was then. The 49ers just got worse. Much worse. And if we’re going to take credit away from him for thriving with a great supporting cast, does he not deserve some credit for putting up decent stats with the worst supporting cast in the league?

Maybe Kaepernick would have looked better in the pocket if he actually had a pocket to play from. Maybe he would’ve anticipated receivers getting open if his receivers actually got open.

His best receiver was Jeremy Kerley (who has averaged 32.1 yards per game over six seasons). JEREMY KERLEY! Kaepernick never stood a chance last year and somehow came out of 2016 without totally embarrassing himself.

Look, Kaepernick is not a good quarterback. He’s not as bad as his detractors will have you believe, either. He’s a slightly below average starter. Slightly below average quarterbacks have no trouble finding jobs in the NFL. Josh McCown is a bad quarterback who has no problem finding a job every season. Kaepernick’s inability to find a job has nothing to do with his talent or playing style, so let’s stop pretending it does. Maybe then I can finally stop writing about Kaepernick.