Howdy Folks!

Long time no post!

Sorry ... I'm around, but smashed with work. But I am, however, savoring every moment of this SB run, rest assured.

I've been meaning to post for quite some time, but I've been a little disillusioned with the Harbaugh/Smith/Kaepernick Twilight Trilogy soap opera. I think GT relayed some of my facebook comments a month ago, which is fine. I think I summed up my position fairly well.

Needless to say, Win has been doing an admirable job defending Smith, so in the interests of time,

DITTO to Win on all his fine commentary over the last two months. I agree with his football commentary 99.9% of the time.

That said, what I will say at this point is that I'm relieved that Kaepernick had the epic day that he had -- I actually thought it was a MUST-WIN game for the franchise, not just for this season, but for the future. I think a loss to the Packers at home in the year that Harbaugh made a mid-season switch, in the year that Alex Smith beat the Packers AT Lambeau to start the season (and masterfully at that, besting Rodgers), in the season that Alex Smith broke two 49er passing records, after the season in which Alex Smith led an epic comeback against the Saints in the Divisional Round (ranking as one of the finest post-season 9'er victories ever) ... well, to say the least, after all that, had Kaepernick blown yesterday, there would have been terrible consequences for the off-season.

But after the first series, in which the potentially CATASTROPHIC pick-6 play happened, Kaepernick took this game by the GRAPES, scored the next possession, never let go, and announced to the world that he is ready for superstardom.

I have to say that, objectively, even if I were not a 49er fan, that the display that Kaep put on last weekend was amongst the most phenomenal displays of athleticism I have ever seen on a football field.

It's not just the running -- it's the Brett Favre cannon he can put on the passes when necessary. It's the touch pass to a streaking Gore, thrown on the move, that turns into a huge gain. And it is the TIMING of his running that makes him so unstoppably fast -- lots of guys are fast, but not a lot of guys know WHEN to be fast. Like Rice, who was more 'quick than fast', but was always ahead of the secondary.

My word, Kaep showed all of the above and then some on Saturday. Truly, truly awesome.

I will always stand by my support of Alex Smith. I was a fan of Alex Smith when it was an extremely unpopular thing to be, and I stand by my analysis that Alex Smith is a top 10 QB in this league.

I also liked Kaep, from the get go. He was my 2nd favorite QB out of that draft. (WTF was I thinking, he should have been #1! ;-) )

But I didn't think he was ready, and I certainly didn't see the rush in forcing him into the lineup, when we had Alex Smith breaking 49'er records and leading the team admirably.

And when Harbaugh did what he did ... echoing some of the worst cliche' lines from the worst HR departments in the world ... well, the whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.

But after Saturday, I can say that Harbaugh made the right call. (Albeit, I sure hope he handled things with more grace than he did with the media. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that his heart to heart with Smith and Kaep at the same time was much better).

Kaep has a chance to be the best QB in the NFL -- Kaep has a chance to change the way this whole MFing game is played. That's pretty special.

I will say one more thing about Alex Smith. Is there a classier guy in the NFL? There is a reason that I love this guy. He has been a class act for his entire career at SF, he has been a the ideal teammate, and now, as a mentor and friend to Kaep, he is all class again. He doesn't fall for the silly 'bait' questions that seedy sports journalists throw his way; instead, he congratulates Kaep, he helps him, he is supportive of him, and he celebrates his victories and accomplishments. MFing Class.

Just my .02.