Boone States the Obvious about 49ers quarterback position

The 49ers’ quarterback battle, which so many anticipated would be a hotly contested affair, has still yet to commence due to Colin Kaepernick’s continued injury rehabilitation. However one of his former offensive lineman, Alex Boone, shared his sentiments on the topic recently and echoed what we should have figured all along, that Blaine Gabbert will be the 49ers starting quarterback in 2016.

Said Boone in an interview with Pro Football Talk: “To be honest I think that Blaine did a great job last year and from what I know of Blaine, I think he’s probably going to take the reins.”
Coming from a guy who played closely with both Kaepernick and Gabbert, his words ring loudly. Kaepernick purportedly did not engage his teammates as some thought a franchise quarterback needed to and while some outside of the locker room may scoff at the importance of such an attribute, clearly it means something to his teammates.

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Regardless of his locker room leadership skills, what happened with Kaepernick was predominantly mental up until his 2015 season ended due to multiple surgical operations. He seemingly lost his ability to hit receivers accurately from short distances and long. He was never a dart thrower, but harken back to his two and a half seasons of glory and you’ll see a quarterback who dropped back confidently and fired away, most often giving his intended receiver a very reasonable chance of catching the pass. Beginning in 2014, Kaepernick began to guide his passes much more instead of letting them go. The emphasis upon him becoming more of a pocket passer played too much into his thought processing and he lost the ability to play naturally.

When such an athlete as gifted as Kaepernick stops playing the position like they have for their entire life, it makes them hesitant. A hesitant athlete is just like a hesitant normal person; you miss your opportunities. And when your opportunities are being closed on by Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman, you have no room for hesitancy.

All of which leads us to the simple conclusion that Blaine Gabbert will get the first crack at mastering the Chip Kelly offense in 2016.

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