2014 NFL off-season thread

I believe that is intentional with a lot of guys. John Kruk is another.
Kaepernick just seems like an all-around boring personality.
Having a zillion tattoos doesn't make you interesting.
And his parentage is old news by now.

 

Anyone interested in the facts of the 49ers' cap situation next year can break it down here:

http://ninercaphell.com/2014/03/15/shouldnt-worried-2015-offseason/

This site (which is quite reliable) has the team, with a few reasonable assumptions, at $39.75 under the cap in 2015 before the free agents are signed. We can add the following to that number:

Kaepernick: 17.25
Miller: 1.75
Stevie Johnson: 6.0
Rookies/2nd year players/depth: ~6.0
-----------------------
~31 million

So that leaves the 49ers with approximately 8.75 million of cap space in 2015 before Iupati, Hunter, Gore, Culliver, Dorsey and Crabtree are accounted for, without any other restructuring, extensions, etc. I think it's clear that the writing is on the wall for Mike Iupati. Frank Gore is almost certainly heading off into the sunset after this season, and Hunter is probably gone, as well. Dorsey would be nice to retain, but the 49ers don't value that position too much, and he's likely played himself into a bigger contract with his next team. I wish him luck.

My guess is that extra space gets put towards contracts for Crabtree and Culliver, which seems pretty doable with a little backloading if Crabtree's demands are reasonable (which is not certain). I think he's probably an 8 million/season receiver, and the team will have Justin Smith and Boldin coming off the books for about 13 million in 2016, so there seems to be some breathing room there for Aldon (already calculated in here at his not cheap option year number of 9.75 million) who won't be in for a huge raise over what he will make in 2015, and maybe Boone, as well.

The team will definitely feel the pinch from these contracts in terms of depth, and luxuries like the Dorsey and Dawson contracts will soon be a thing of the past, but I don't see any reason to believe that the core of the team is in immediate jeopardy, because of the Kaepernick contract, or for any reason.

 

I don't see Kaepernick as a great pocket passer yet. Maybe he'll improve in that area. But there are at least a dozen current NFL guys who are better pocket passers.

 

Yet Kaepernick right now doesn't HAVE to be a great pocket passer. He might in five years or if/when his legs go.

Kaepernick is like the Madden QB with an 88 on speed and a 94 on acceleration. Most pocket passers are the Madden QB with the 58/62 on those.

He extends plays because he can escape. Unlike most other QBs, when Kaepernick is running free out of the pocket, he can outrun everyone except for the cornerbacks.

 

Yeah, I believe he did rush for more than 500 yards last season.

 

So you gotta design your offense for that, same as the Redskins with Griffin.

 

You always have to design your offense around a QB. It's just that now, I don't feel you need a quarterback with deadly accuracy as much now. A mobile quarterback who extends plays doesn't need to be terribly accurate because the defense often breaks down, leaving open lanes to throw into.

A QB with mobility and the proficiency in making good decisions is paramount now. Kaepernick is incredibly mobile. The decision-making is a work in progress.

You can't teach fast but you can teach decision making.

 

But the consensus here seems to be that he's an idiot. Though I disagree. I think he's very intelligent, and while I don't think he can be at the Brady/Rodgers/Brees level, he certainly can be one of the top 6 or 7 QBs in the league. And his running threat is a valuable asset.

 

And you guys don't think Andrew Luck sounds like a dope? I know it's not the case, but he sounds like a complete idiot. Talk about uninteresting.

 

One can be smart but not be a leader. That's where Kaepernick is at this point.

I think he's intelligent but not always prone to smart decisions, whether on the field or on social media.

I also think he's worth the money because of his skill set.

 

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I think Kapernick's arm strength compensates for some of the accuracy issues. His average per completion was eighth in the league despite his relatively low completion percentage.