Watching Colin Kapernick

I'm not sure lack of coaching was KS's problem, I don't think he had the mental makeup to be a great QB. Kordell had great success early in his career, when opponents 'tried to contain' him. When he wasn't pressured he could kill you. But when teams started to force him to make quick decisions he started to get scatter shot. He had trouble handling adversity, like when he cried in the sideline after being yanked. He wasn't a natural leader, he'd make sure to tell the press after a bad loss that 'it wasn't just him, it was a team effort', compare that to what Ben Or Manning or Brady does. I'm not sure better coaching would have overcome this. He didn't do the things that successful QBs do.

He had a lot of athletic ability, raw talent, but he never really seemed to develop much beyond that.

 

How do you coach him without having a position coach there for him?

He was also one touch SOB. He did not miss games and he trucked people downfield.

 

Cowher and the OCs tried to mold him, but Stewart bought into the BS they were selling. He went, "Yeah... Maybe I will be the next Dan Marino!" Instead of "Hmm, how about you guys shove this playbook up your collective ass and just give me and Jerome the ball and let us do our thing?" which is what he should have said.

He was at his best when it was a simple 3 steps: check read #1, if he's covered then check read #2, if he's covered then run for it. The simplicity minimizes mistakes, and if throwing isn't a good option, then we'll get at least 5 yards on a scramble, which is as good as any running play, and possibly a lot more. That, combined with our running game at the time and defense, we had no reason to lose. They bumped running way down the list and tried to make him go through all 4 or 5 progressions instead. I loved Kordell, but I loved him for what he was, and Peyton Manning he wasn't. It was foolish, primitive thinking to try and change him into what people considered a "proper quarterback" that I'm embarrassed happened on the Steelers, and I'm embarrassed happened in the 90s. Hell, we still had race controversies at the time, too. Football can be so behind the times.

That Pats game was amazing. I'd love to see it again. Kevin Henry's INT on a screen when things were looking grim was a head-exploder.

 

I think people forget about that. The comparisons to other running QBs like Vick and Griffin are obvious, but those guys are built more like wide receivers or cornerbacks playing QB. Kordell was built like a running back playing QB, and still one of the absolute fastest players in the league. He could really break tackles.

 

When the Steelers drafted Ward in 1998, there was potential to create all sorts of serious headaches for the defense. Remember, Hines played QB at Georgia.

 

Here's some of it... If you have 45 minutes to kill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5fGmT3AiVA

 

I am in the minority and I think Kapernick is going to have this season and then it will be hit and miss. I wouldn't even label him as Kordell, he is accurate when his recievers are wide open and when the running game is good but take that awawy or pressure him consistantly and he folds like a lawn chair, the Rams showed how it was done but keeping his recievers in press coverage at the snap and rushing from the ends and keeping the middle clogged, he didn't do much and GB's defense has never been great, they just make splash plays from time to time.

 

Thank you so much, and that was awesome, but I was thinking of a different game. I believe this was a regular season game. Lots of lead changes and chaos at the end, as I recall.

 

Correct. I too was referring to the regular season game in Foxboro, in which the Steelers got a late TD and 2-pointer to win. The TD was set up on the Henry pick and the drive stayed alive on the 4th and 7 pass from Kordell to Thigpen (just an amazing throw). I have the game on DVD. On the play, Stewart's arm was hit as he threw and he still got it in there. Here's a screen grab of Thigpen's catch:

View attachment 306

 

Running Q.B.'s can be successful long term if they adhere to the Steve Young mantra of 'run where they aren't.' Kaepernick seems to have a good ability of avoiding the hits that RGIII took too many of this year.

 

Kordell Stewart should have stayed a WR that was his calling.
He had the skill set to be a very good WR. He was an amazing
athlete, just not an amazing QB.

 

Awesome. I also remember thinking as he let the ball go that we were done for and would lose in agony. Great throw and catch. Here's a great bleacher report article (did I just say that?) on the game and the season:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-forgotten-classics-1997-steelers-vs-patriots

 

Absotively, posilutely AGREE!