SANTA CLARA — At 12:30 on Wednesday the phone rang in the 49ers media room. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was on the line, readily answering questions about the upstart Cowboys. His upstart Dallas Cowboys.
Fifteen minutes later, 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert stepped up to a podium housed in a tent outside the 49ers practice facility. The 26-year-old was poked and prodded by media members. Why can’t you seem to throw the football past the first-down marker? How are you dealing with all this criticism?
“That’s the nature of the beast,” Gabbert said. “Everybody has their own opinions.”
Happy Week 4, 49ers fans. Gabbert’s talent, and the organization’s judgment of his talent, are both justifiably under fire. Meanwhile, San Francisco’s opponent this week is starting a rookie who’s displaying franchise quarterback characteristics three weeks into his career.
This is the path GM Trent Baalke has carved for the 49ers.
Of course, no one knew the fourth-round pick Prescott would be this good, this quickly. He has the NFL rookie record for most pass attempts without an interception. It’s unwise to suggest Prescott would’ve just waltzed into the facility and taken the 49ers offense by storm. We certainly don’t have conclusive evidence to predict whether he could turn water into wine with San Francisco’s decaying group of playmakers.
Here’s what we do know: Baalke’s backwards approach to the quarterback position has pushed this franchise into a dark corner. This 49ers roster should have a Prescott, or a Jimmy Garoppolo, or even a Connor Cook waiting in the wings. After two straight seasons of Colin Kaepernick struggles, Baalke refused to throw a dart in the NFL Draft on a quarterback, and 49ers fans suffer every Sunday because of it. Baalke’s own negligence should make him sick to his stomach.
In a league that has become increasingly decided by the quarterback position, Baalke has chosen to prioritize defense. His last four first-round picks have all been defensive players, and good ones, too. Eric Reid, Jimmie Ward, Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner are all fine players. And yet without a competent quarterback who can deliver the football accurately — let alone make plays — none of these promising young defensive players really matter. The 49ers won’t be playing meaningful football in December until they find a quarterback.
This is not a plea asking Baalke to trade the farm for Carson Wentz like the Eagles did — although that move is looking like a steal so far. I’m not even asking Baalke to trade a first-rounder for Sam Bradford, like the Vikings did.
But if the 49ers were equipped with a young quarterback like Prescott to mold for the time being, the miserable season that’s on tap would be so much more bearable. Gabbert is nothing more than a serviceable backup quarterback, and 31 other teams around the NFL grasp that. So while fourth round pick Rashard Robinson — picked two spots ahead of Prescott in the fourth round — is having a nice little September debut, the 49ers would obviously be in a much more advantageous situation with Prescott on the roster.
The 49ers already have a full stable of cornerbacks and an empty refrigerator with no quarterback of the future. Taking the ultra-athletic Robinson is another one of Baalke’s flawed strategies. Nobody in their right mind would look at Gabbert or Kaepernick and argue this duo is sustainable long term. And if you don’t have a long term quarterback answer on your roster, you have to take a stab every single year in the draft until you find one. It’s pretty much rule No. 1 of being a general manager in the NFL.
Chip Kelly confirmed the 49ers thought highly of Prescott in the pre-draft process, but Prescott said they were one of few teams who barely communicated with him.
“I just figured they had their QB position set,” Prescott told reporters on the Wednesday teleconference.
Nope, they don’t, Dak. For a variety of reasons, it’s a position that’ll remain in disarray for 2016. It’s a position that probably should be yours.
Kelly spent much of his Wednesday press conference backtracking comments he made regarding Kaepernick’s playing weight and when he could potentially start. Gabbert was asked by media members to go through specific plays, such as multiple 3rd and 4’s where he threw the football short of the first-down marker. The quarterback questions are only going to become tougher as this season drags on for the 49ers.
Prescott’s instant success was not predictable. Baalke’s ignorance of the quarterback position? That was.