Despite Loss, Colin Kaepernick Shows Signs of Improvement for 49ers Offense
Wait, is this author suggesting that an element of the San Francisco 49ers offense is improving after what happened to them in Week 7 when they suffered an embarrassing 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos?
It's a simple answer: yes.
The improvement lies within the playmaking abilities of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who, in spite of a relatively lackluster showing on Sunday Night Football, is giving us reasons to believe that his maturation and development is progressing into something that could become very special.
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This aspect will be critical if the 49ers hope to punch another ticket to the NFC Championship this season. While there is a flurry of weapons around him, Kaepernick ultimately will bear the brunt of the burden in keeping San Francisco's offense potent.
So where did we view the 49ers' signal-caller's strengths in Week 7?
Let's have a look.
The Numbers
Before we go any further, let's get the numbers from Kaepernick's Week 7 performance out there for discussion.
Kaepernick completed 24 passes out of 39 attempts for a total of 263 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per pass.
He connected with wide receiver Stevie Johnson for his lone touchdown, while tossing an interception that was picked off by Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib.
Kaepernick's final quarterback rating was 79.3. He also rushed three times for a total of 18 yards.
On the surface, these numbers are not particularly inspiring. They stand in stark contrast to the stats he posted in Week 6 against the St. Louis Rams—343 passing yards and three touchdowns.
But the Rams and the Broncos are vastly different in terms of their defense. Entering the matchup, St. Louis had totaled just one sack on the year. In comparison, the Broncos posted 15 prior to Week 7.
Both the Rams and the Broncos ranked in the top 10 in total passing yards allowed.
Denver holds an obvious advantage in the pass rush—an aspect the Broncos exploited on Sunday, as they sacked Kaepernick six times over the course of Sunday Night Football.
So Kaepernick's numbers were hindered by Denver's pass-rushing prowess. The 49ers offensive line has to bear a good portion of the blame for this, as this unit was repeatedly beaten by Broncos pass-rushers like DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller.
Yet Kaepernick was still able to pass for more than 250 yards against a defense that entered the contest ranked No. 6 in fewest passing yards allowed (1,207).
The Issues
We saw the differences between Kaepernick and Manning on Sunday. One is still developing. The other is at the pinnacle of his game and among the conversation for "greatest that ever was."
Kaepernick's game is far from perfect. His progression reads are one ongoing concern. His lack of touch and precision is another.
But even in this ugly loss, Kaepernick still provides us with signs that his development is moving significantly in the right direction.
Let's start by addressing the lack of protection Kaepernick has endured for the majority of this season. As stated previously, the 49ers O-line has been widely inconsistent over the course of the year. At no point has this been clearer than during its poor showing against Denver.
"According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the 49ers' offensive line was ranked sixth in the NFL in run-blocking and 19th in pass-blocking prior to Sunday. A strong running game, a stout defense and Kaepernick's previously mentioned mobility helped mask some of the pass-blocking issues and helped the team score an average of 23.5 points per game (14th in the NFL) through Week 6. Unfortunately, the offensive line's issues were on full display against the Broncos in Sunday's prime-time spotlight.
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Think about this for a moment.
The 49ers offense is based around having a strong running game which, in turn, sets up play action and the read option. A weak and depleted O-line prevented San Francisco from establishing itself on the ground, thus hindering any chances of setting up the run.
Thus, the vast majority of the 49ers offense was forced to revolve around Kaepernick's abilities to move the ball through the air.
His 263 yards passing against a top-ranked defense suggests he can adequately do this.
But Kaepernick will still make mistakes. He is far from perfect.
Perhaps this was best revealed by his interception toss that was picked off by Talib in the third quarter.
Kaepernick admitted, via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, that this interception was the play he would remember most from the disastrous loss.
Wide receiver Bruce Ellington was wide open on what could have been a first-down reception. But Kaepernick opted to challenge Talib instead, who was covering Stevie Johnson, and the results spoke for themselves.
Denver scored its fourth touchdown shortly after the play.
To state that Kaepernick will find the correct target every time is far from accurate. He'll continue to make mistakes, perhaps more than many other signal-callers of similar caliber.
But that doesn't change the fact that Kaepernick actually played pretty well.
The Positives
Yes, Kaepernick actually performed pretty well when one stops to think about it.
In spite of his O-line and the running game letting him down, Kaepernick showcased plenty of positives during the loss.
While we could file the multitude of stone-hands cases of Kaepernick's receiving targets that were prevalent during the contest as negatives, let's instead list those attempts as positives.
Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis each dropped easy passes that would have given San Francisco added momentum on offense.
Davis' drop hurts considerably. He would have hauled in a 25-yard reception on a beautifully executed pass from Kaepernick, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. Instead, the ball dropped and the 49ers offense continued to suffer setbacks.
Perhaps the incompletion was directly related to Davis' back injury—a setback that held him out in Week 5 and possibly hindered his efforts the following week in St. Louis.
But the biggest dropped pass resulted from a lack of execution from the otherwise sure-handed Boldin.
Inman describes this further by writing, "What hurt the 49ers early were four passes getting dropped, including one by Anquan Boldin that would have resulted in a touchdown and 14-7 deficit."
Kaepernick found Boldin on the play, and the latter would have had an easy score. But for whatever reason—Boldin heard footsteps, took his eye off the ball, etc.—the veteran wideout simply could not come up with the ball in the red zone. Instead, the 49ers had to settle for a field goal.
Yet from Kaepernick's perspective, it was the correct read and target. It also suggests that Kaepernick is doing much better of a job to help convert San Francisco's red-zone attempts.
Boldin simply didn't do his part, but we shouldn't expect more of that moving forward.
Perhaps the biggest sign of improvement came from an 80-yard drive that culminated in a four-yard touchdown reception by Johnson with 11 seconds left in the first half.
Taylor Price of 49ers.com describes this further:
"Stevie Johnson recorded three catches for 45 yards on San Francisco’s touchdown drive, one that went 80 yards on seven plays. Johnson finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown grab to give Kaepernick 14 consecutive games with a touchdown pass.
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The 49ers were trailing 21-3 prior to the touchdown and with just over three minutes remaining. Having exhausted their timeouts, San Francisco was able to march down the field and notch the red-zone score on a well-executed pass from Kaepernick to Johnson.
Again, it was the right read at the right moment. Fortunately, Johnson was able to make the grab.
San Francisco's Week 7 loss is as frustrating as it is revealing.
The 49ers' patchwork O-line hindered what offensive presence the team could have generated over the course of the game. With the running game stalled, the reliance upon Kaepernick to make plays only increased.
Hopefully this is something that can be addressed now that San Francisco will enter its bye week. With center Daniel Kilgore likely done for the year after suffering a fractured leg, rookie Marcus Martin will probably get the call after missing the first half of the year with a knee injury.
Other stalwart O-linemen like Mike Iupati also need to get healthy, and the production from veterans like Joe Staley and Anthony Davis needs to increase in a positive direction.
On top of this, San Francisco's defense will also get reinforcements. This will help keep opponents' offenses off the field, which will require a greater presence from the defenses the 49ers will face. The ground-and-pound prowess of San Francisco's offense should be better suited for this sort of scenario.
With these pieces in place, Kaepernick and Co. will have all the more opportunity to make things happen.
While this loss is about as horrid as could be, one has to keep in mind that the 49ers are not yet firing on all cylinders. Soon, they'll have the pieces in place for them to do so.
Kaepernick will be a key cog in making that happen.
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.
Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers' news, insight and analysis.
Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.
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