A talented former 49ers quarterback joined The Audible on Monday morning to recap the team’s 45-16 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Jeff Garcia gave his initial review of Colin Kaepernick’s first start of the season, and his review of the 28-year-old wasn’t half bad.
“From a decision-making standpoint, he didn’t force balls. He didn’t put his team in a real negative situation by turning the ball over. Those were good things,” Garcia said. “He had some opportunities early in the game, he’ll look at the film and he’ll look back on missed opportunities… With the rust being shaken off after his first start, maybe those are throws he makes down the road. But you have to understand, he’s never going to be that Drew Brees type of guy.”
If you go and take a look back at all of Kaepernick’s 16 incomplete passes, accuracy issues were not the true cause. There were five drops and some tight plays in coverage from a solid Buffalo secondary. Garcia explained that the way Kaepernick throws the football makes it tough for receivers to adjust. That seemed like a problem on Sunday.
“You have to understand: Colin is who he is. I mean the guy throws a fastball,” Garcia said. “I know people will talk about there were some drops out there on the field. But it’s not a real easy ball to catch. That’s what guys have to adjust to. They have to be ready for it.”
But considering the 49ers gave up 312 rushing yards and fumbled a kickoff right into the hands of the Bills, the fact that this score was 17-13 late in the third quarter said something to Garcia.
“For Colin not having started a game, I thought going into a difficult situation in Buffalo — I mean that’s a hostile environment, tough crowd, tough football team, built strong on the defensive side — I thought he handled things fairly well for a first start.
“For three quarters of that game, it was a tight ball game. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that it got blown. I thought for three quarters, the team hung in there.”