PROGRAMMING ALERT: 49ers head coach Chip Kelly will join Tolbert & Lund on KNBR 680 at 5:05 pm Monday. Listen live here!
It’s Monday, which means the 49ers are watching film of a 19-point loss to the Carolina Panthers.
San Francisco played lights-out in Week 1 but got smacked in the mouth by a much better opponent in Week 2. Credit Chip Kelly and the coaching staff for the competitive culture change they’ve instilled: players aren’t thrilled with a 1-1 record to start the season.
“It’s unacceptable,” Carlos Hyde said to reporters in Charlotte about his 34-yard performance.
It was, on offense and defense. Adjustments are coming.
As defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil tweaks some packages to defend the run and attack the quarterback, Kelly should think about creating a package of his own on offense.
Colin Kaepernick should see some snaps against the Seattle Seahawks.
No, I’m not saying Kap should start, like other national columnists are calling for. Giving Kaepernick snaps is much more about Blaine Gabbert than it is about seeing what No. 7 can do.
The preseason is over, but there is still a quarterback competition going on every week for the 49ers, which Kelly even acknowledged in his Monday press conference. So far, Gabbert is not passing the test. His completion percentage has dipped from 63.1 in 2015 to 54.9 now — ranking 33rd in the league so far. The regression on his end has been real and it’s slowing down Kelly’s offense. Accordingly, his stranglehold on getting every snap under center as the starting quarterback has to be loosening.
Even Gabbert apologists have to recognize what’s going on. In 2015, Gabbert was more accurate and calm in a basic but unproductive offense. Decisions are much easier to make when you are trying to win field position instead of scoring touchdowns.
Now in Kelly’s system, which lives and dies on the quarterback’s tempo, Gabbert’s footwork is frantic and it’s causing errant throws that stunt drives. The excuse that he doesn’t have weapons doesn’t work when Gabbert is missing open receivers (okay, they did drop some passes). His offensive line play has been much better than a year ago, too. So is Kelly’s coaching. Circumstances are better for Gabbert in 2016 but he’s playing worse. That’s not an acceptable combination.
What if there was a way to see if Kaepernick could provide any type of spark? There is. Create a handful of sub-packages for him this week in practice to use against Seattle. Even if Kaepernick sees just two drives against Seattle, at least Kelly is trying to solve a problem. Of course the running game was a mess against Carolina, but the five punts in a row between the second and third quarters featured four different three-and-outs. It’s really not absurd for Kelly to give Kaepernick at least one of those possessions next Sunday.
Again, the argument isn’t that Kaepernick has earned these snaps. It’s that Gabbert is losing his privileges as the standalone starting quarterback. If Kaepernick had won the job and played this poorly, the cries for Gabbert should be real, too. This is about finding a solution, not punishing a player.
Obviously, using two quarterbacks in the same game is never an ideal situation. Sharing the football is not a long-term strategy for a success, used more situationally in a game-by-game basis — especially when the starter is struggling. It’s understood that toggling back and forth makes it difficult for the QB1 to stay in rhythm and it’s extremely challenging for the QB2 to step right in and deliver. But lo and behold, this is where the 49ers are at the quarterback position. They have two cards to play. It’s time to use both.
As September turns into October, Kelly can’t make an educated quarterback decision going forward if he doesn’t at least see Kaepernick against a live defense. If the Seahawks dismantle Kaepernick with sacks and interceptions, or he’s just as inaccurate as Gabbert, we can table this discussion. Kaepernick can go back to the bench for another week.
Kelly’s trigger-finger has been known to get itchy in the past. He elevated Nick Foles over Mike Vick. He benched then-Pro Bowler Foles for Mark Sanchez. Like Bruce Bochy, he isn’t scared to make the call to the bullpen.
Listen, Gabbert has leadership qualities, he says all the right things and he surely studies the hell out of Kelly’s playbook. But that hasn’t changed his status as a bottom-five starting quarterback in the NFL. It’s also understood he’s hardly the only problem with the 49ers to start the season.
But there’s a better way to go about this before throwing Kaepernick overboard to the sharks and benching Gabbert. Easing Kaepernick in will be a measuring stick of sorts, especially with two critical weeks of training camp missed. Kap can see how he reacts to one of the best defenses in the league, Kelly can see if the small sample size is worth naming him the starter in Week 4 against Dallas.
Get creative next Sunday, Chip, and it could pay dividends down the line.