Many NFL story-lines as we enter week 14. There's the MVP race, two rookie quarterbacks lighting up the league, Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson - either of whom could be the MVP or the Comeback player of the year, Baltimore's road woes and now apparently their home woes against a Charlie Batch led Steelers, and much much more. But I wanted to talk about quarterback decisions made in San Fransisco and New York and why Harbaugh has it right and Ryan continues to make the wrong one.
First the Kaepernick decision: I sympathize with Alex Smith. As he best put it, he did nothing to lose his job except get a concussion. But switching to Kaepernick is the right decision for two reasons:
1. Smith is a solid quarterback and Harbaugh knows this. However Smith is a game manager and a good decision maker. The offense is decidedly conservative because of it. He's not the quarterback to lead your team on a comeback down 14 points to Matt Ryan and Falcons in the playoffs. We don't know if Kaepernick can do that either but we can find out. Kaep certainly has the skill set. He's got a stronger arm and can make all the NFL throws plus he has the legs to bail him out of most bad situations and get some serious yardage. As a player he's a poor man's Cam Newton with maybe even a stronger arm. He's just not as polished a passer yet.
Harbaugh knows all of this. He's seen enough in practices and games to want to go after Peyton Manning in the off season. So far the 49ers have been able to dominate against average opponents while stay alive against quality opponents. The Giants blow out of the 49ers in October has been a rarity in the Harbaugh era. The Niners have a dominant defense, a very good offensive line and running game. But like any defense made of humans, they'll have their bad days and it's games like that where the lack of a great quarterback is evident. Whether Kaepernick is that guy remains to be seen, but it's a proactive decision to want to find out.
2. The second reason I like the Kaepernick decision is because switching to Alex Smith is very much in play. If Kaepernick proves to be unable to perform well in games, Harbaugh can easily pull the plug on the second-year player and plug the veteran Smith back into the lineup. And having a motivated Alex Smith trying to lead your team can't be a bad thing. But now let's flip the situation around. If Harbaugh had stuck with Smith and lets say the Niners are forced to pull him in the middle of a playoff game when they're down big or even after the game (if they survive with a win), putting in a green Kaepernick at that point is a much worse situation. At least with the current situation, Kaepernick will get some much-needed experience in the regular season and the coaching staff will get to get a long look at him and cater a game-plan to his strengths which they wouldn't get otherwise if Smith fails and they end up making this decision at halftime in the divisional playoffs.
Bottomline, I love the decision by Harbaugh because its a head coach doing everything he can to make it to the Superbowl this time and win it. They still have the all world defense and running game to keep them in most games. Kaep might be able to get them over the hump.
In New York, Rex Ryan continues to exemplify just how much of a circus show the Jets really are. Mark Sanchez is not a franchise quarterback. I don't even think he's as good a quarterback as Alex Smith. The whole world has seen enough of Mark Sanchez. We've seen him do enough to get his team to the AFC championship game but now we've also seen his shortcomings when the Jets are without their best defensive player and probably their best offensive player. Even the Jets owner, Woody Johnson, wants Ryan to start McElroy over Sanchez. With over $8 million guaranteed to Sanchez next year, he's a lock to be on the roster. And unless the Jets go out there and get some solid veteran insurance and put the Tebow project to bed or give him a chance, Sanchez will probably be the starter.
To me, this is the type of decision that could end up slowly hurting your franchise for the next 5 years. Ryan should take a page out of Harbaugh's playbook and start McElroy. They're not going to the playoffs this year (although they are still mathematically alive), but they do need to figure out what to do with Sanchez next year. And finding out whether McElroy can at least be serviceable help make the decision. Plus Rex Ryan has lost at least part of the locker room. Anonymous players have come out and said that they do not think Sanchez is a good quarterback. This is a mess and there are many reasons for it but like any other football team the head coach and the quarterback will take the brunt of the blame for it.
First the Kaepernick decision: I sympathize with Alex Smith. As he best put it, he did nothing to lose his job except get a concussion. But switching to Kaepernick is the right decision for two reasons:
1. Smith is a solid quarterback and Harbaugh knows this. However Smith is a game manager and a good decision maker. The offense is decidedly conservative because of it. He's not the quarterback to lead your team on a comeback down 14 points to Matt Ryan and Falcons in the playoffs. We don't know if Kaepernick can do that either but we can find out. Kaep certainly has the skill set. He's got a stronger arm and can make all the NFL throws plus he has the legs to bail him out of most bad situations and get some serious yardage. As a player he's a poor man's Cam Newton with maybe even a stronger arm. He's just not as polished a passer yet.
Harbaugh knows all of this. He's seen enough in practices and games to want to go after Peyton Manning in the off season. So far the 49ers have been able to dominate against average opponents while stay alive against quality opponents. The Giants blow out of the 49ers in October has been a rarity in the Harbaugh era. The Niners have a dominant defense, a very good offensive line and running game. But like any defense made of humans, they'll have their bad days and it's games like that where the lack of a great quarterback is evident. Whether Kaepernick is that guy remains to be seen, but it's a proactive decision to want to find out.
2. The second reason I like the Kaepernick decision is because switching to Alex Smith is very much in play. If Kaepernick proves to be unable to perform well in games, Harbaugh can easily pull the plug on the second-year player and plug the veteran Smith back into the lineup. And having a motivated Alex Smith trying to lead your team can't be a bad thing. But now let's flip the situation around. If Harbaugh had stuck with Smith and lets say the Niners are forced to pull him in the middle of a playoff game when they're down big or even after the game (if they survive with a win), putting in a green Kaepernick at that point is a much worse situation. At least with the current situation, Kaepernick will get some much-needed experience in the regular season and the coaching staff will get to get a long look at him and cater a game-plan to his strengths which they wouldn't get otherwise if Smith fails and they end up making this decision at halftime in the divisional playoffs.
Bottomline, I love the decision by Harbaugh because its a head coach doing everything he can to make it to the Superbowl this time and win it. They still have the all world defense and running game to keep them in most games. Kaep might be able to get them over the hump.
In New York, Rex Ryan continues to exemplify just how much of a circus show the Jets really are. Mark Sanchez is not a franchise quarterback. I don't even think he's as good a quarterback as Alex Smith. The whole world has seen enough of Mark Sanchez. We've seen him do enough to get his team to the AFC championship game but now we've also seen his shortcomings when the Jets are without their best defensive player and probably their best offensive player. Even the Jets owner, Woody Johnson, wants Ryan to start McElroy over Sanchez. With over $8 million guaranteed to Sanchez next year, he's a lock to be on the roster. And unless the Jets go out there and get some solid veteran insurance and put the Tebow project to bed or give him a chance, Sanchez will probably be the starter.
To me, this is the type of decision that could end up slowly hurting your franchise for the next 5 years. Ryan should take a page out of Harbaugh's playbook and start McElroy. They're not going to the playoffs this year (although they are still mathematically alive), but they do need to figure out what to do with Sanchez next year. And finding out whether McElroy can at least be serviceable help make the decision. Plus Rex Ryan has lost at least part of the locker room. Anonymous players have come out and said that they do not think Sanchez is a good quarterback. This is a mess and there are many reasons for it but like any other football team the head coach and the quarterback will take the brunt of the blame for it.
