[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
49ers vs. Saints tomorrow.
Should be fun. FUNNNN![/quote]
I added Kaepernick to my fantasy team and put him in the starting lineup over Eli Manning. I feel that good about this guy.
Whoever said that Alex Smith does not represent an upgrade over Sanchez is off their rocker though. He probably wouldn’t win any more games in NY than Sanchez, but he certainly wouldn’t look nearly as bad in the process.
Sanchez doesn’t do one thing really well at all. He’s not much of a runner, his arm strength and accuracy are both about average, he doesn’t appear to be a very smart, instinctive player in terms of reading defenses or being smart with the ball, his pocket presence is shaky at best (although his line being so bad doesn’t help things at all) and he’s never been considered a very mentally-tough player throughout his college and pro career. His performances in the playoff wins were good, but that was two and three seasons ago now and he’s clearly regressed since then, not improved, regardless of the fact that the overall talent level on offense is waning as well.
Smith isn’t a great QB by any means, but he DOES do some things really well that Sanchez does not. He reads defenses before the snap better, he has better command of the offense he plays in (which is much, much more complex than what Sanchez is running), he makes smart decisions for the most part and while he doesn’t run exceptionally well, he’s still light years ahead of Sanchez in that department. Harbaugh’s superior coaching has a lot to do with this as well, but Smith deserves credit for responding well to his coaching also.
That being said, Smith’s days as a starter in SF may be over, and quite frankly, I’m more than surprised at the way it has come about. I’m not surprised with Kaepernick’s play thus far. I’m surprised with how quickly Harbaugh seems to have opened the position up to competition as well as the circumstances under which he’s done so. The fact that is that you NEVER see a QB having as good a season as Smith potentially lose the starting job to a guy with so little experience, especially on a team with a record as good as SF’s.
Granted, Smith was injured and I’m not sure as I type this if he’s been officially medically-cleared yet. But every indication is that Kaepernick already has the starting position locked up for as long as he plays well, no matter how healthy Smith is now.