San Francisco 49ers: Colin Kaepernick's 5 Biggest Strengths Entering 2015

When we talk about San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick, we mostly discuss his weaknesses, the parts of his game he needs to improve.

Like his touch, or his accuracy, or his anticipation, or his throwing motion, or his footwork, or his ability to read defenses or his ability to go through progressions.

Which is fair. He certainly has limitations. But what about his good qualities? We’re talking about a 27-year-old quarterback who already has won four playoff games, three of them on the road. He must be pretty good.

In ascending order, here are Kaepernick’s five biggest strengths entering the 2015 season.

5. 3rd-Down Production

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Kaepernick plays his best on the “money down”—third down.

Last season, he averaged 6.9 yards per pass attempt, and his quarterback rating was 86.4—both career lows. But on third down he averaged 8.4 yards per attempt, and his quarterback rating was 90.5.

He seems slightly tentative and unsure of himself on first and second downs. Like he’s holding himself back, hesitating before scrambling or making a difficult throw. He plays cautiously, almost like his predecessor, Alex Smith.

But those two have nothing in common on third down. The Kansas City Chiefs' Smith continues to play safety-first football on the money down, and Kaepernick does not. Kaepernick tries to make a play and move the chains. That’s the main reason he took Smith’s job in 2012.

4. Scrambling

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Kaepernick averaged 9.1 yards per carry on second down last season, and most of those carries were scrambles.

He rushed for a 90-yard touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in Week 16 last season just by scrambling right through the middle of the defense.

Kaepernick rushed for 28 first downs last season, third most in the NFL. And in 2014, he rushed for 39 first downs.

He isn’t particularly quick, so sometimes he struggles avoiding sacks in the pockets. But when he decides to scramble and he gets his long legs churning, he seemingly can pick up five or six yards at will because he can beat just about any linebacker to the sideline.

That can be a gift and a curse. As long as his first instinct is to scramble away from pressure, he probably won’t master the art of pocket passing.

3. Passing over the Middle

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Kaepernick has such a strong throwing arm, you might think he excels at throwing long passes toward the sidelines.

But according to Pro Football Focus, last season he completed only 57 percent of his passes outside the numbers. And he completed 74 percent of his passes over the middle. How did that happen?

Here’s a theory regarding the passes over the middle: A lot of them went to Anquan Boldin, who catches everything.

Here’s a theory regarding the outside throws: They require arm strength as well as anticipation, and Kaepernick doesn’t have the second thing.

Passes to the outside travel farther and stay in the air longer than passes over the middle. Defensive backs have more time to spot the pass, run and break it up when it’s to the outside.

The quarterback must throw those passes before the wide receiver is open. If the quarterback waits for the wide receiver to free himself before throwing the outside pass, he waited too long. Kaepernick tends to wait too long. He gets away with that over the middle.

2. Durability

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Kaepernick never has missed an NFL start with an injury.

He has never even had to sit out a few plays to shake off a big hit, even though he runs and exposes himself more than almost any other quarterback in the league. What is his secret?

First, he’s huge—6’4”, 230 pounds, bigger than a lot of the players who hit him.

Second, he rarely gives a defender a clean shot. He always avoids the brunt of the blow.

Kaepernick grew up playing baseball, and he looks like a baseball player stealing second when he slides to avoid a hit. He has perfect technique and perfect timing. He always gets down before the defender gets to him.

Durability is one of the most underrated qualities for a quarterback. A quarterback can have all the talent in the world, but if he can’t play, he hurts the team.

1. Throwing on the Run

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According to Pro Football Focus, in 2013 when Colin Kaepernick took a standard, straight drop in the pocket, he threw 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, completed 59.4 percent of his passes and posted a passer rating of 89.5.

On rollouts, he threw four touchdowns and one interception, completed 65.9 percent of his passes and posted a passer rating of 106.9. PFF has not yet released these figures for 2014.

But we don’t need numbers to tell us how well Kaepernick throws when he’s on the run. We can see for ourselves. He’s a complete natural, able to throw accurately running to his right or left.

He’s actually more accurate on the run than he is with his feet set in the pocket, and the numbers bear that out. Amazing.

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