There was a lot of bad quarterbacking around the NFL in Week 1.
There was a lot of bad offense being played around the NFL during the first Sunday of the 2017 season. But what else would you expect in a league where Tom Savage, Brian Hoyer, Josh McCown and Scott Tolzein are starting on opening day?
The first games of the season had to be particularly frustrating for Colin Kaepernick, who remains without a job and does not seem to be getting any interest from teams in desperate need of a quarterback. We know why Kaepernick is currently unemployed, and it has nothing to do with his football ability – no matter what football experts like Kid Rock say. If McCown, Hoyer and Savage can win QB competitions, then Kaepernick is clearly talented enough to make a roster.
Here are three plays from Week 1 that prove Kaepernick should be on an NFL team…
Trumaine Johnson picks off Scott Tolzien and takes it 30 yards to the house! 10-0 LA. pic.twitter.com/SyDJES7UGQ
This is a terrible throw. From the decision to the execution, it’s just bad all around. The Rams are playing man coverage behind a blitz and have the Colts receivers locked up. It’s the exact kind of coverage you don’t play against a player like Kaepernick. Send an extra guy and have your secondary turn its back to the pocket, and a mobile QB is taking off for a HUGE gain.
But, hey, at least Tolzein stayed in the pocket like a real quarterback.
Luke Kuechly is the best coverage LB in the game. So slick, and receiver skills: pic.twitter.com/V2rLzqFpTO
Kaepernick gets a lot of crap for being a „one-read quarterback.“ A few year ago, that was a legitimate criticism. While he doesn’t read the defense like Tom Brady, Kaepernick does see the field much better than he did when he was taking the 49ers to two straight NFC Championship games.
A clutch pick by the man with the green hair. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/4lSEulJv8y
Now, before I analyze this play, let me make one thing clear: Kirk Cousins is a better quarterback than Kaepernick. But the main knock against Kaepernick is his pocket play. Well, this is atrocious pocket play from Cousins, who has never really been too comfortable in a tight pocket. Here he throws off his back foot rather than stepping into a throw against pressure. The throw sails into the arms of an Eagles defender. Cousins had time to step up and make an accurate throw but was unwilling to do so.
A better quarterback changes the protection to pick up that blitz, stands tall in the pocket and delivers a strike for a touchdown.
Colin Kaepernick: 28 of 38,266 yards, 2 TD passes, 1 TD run, 1 INT & a 99.2 QB Rating (Game-winning 2-point conversion w/ 31 seconds left) pic.twitter.com/ZvtRo6kWZl
Again, Cousins is the superior player, but one of these quarterbacks is about to be one of the highest-paid players in league history; the other can’t get a workout because he’s not good in the pocket. Something doesn’t add up.
