Kevin,

Where I did bristle a hair or two, however, was at these earlier lines of yours to me:

Kaepernick isn't the "Quarterback of the Future". Kaepernick IS the San Francisco 49ers Quarterback. He has been since the Bears game in week 11. He is, and will be for the foreseeable future, the "Face of the Franchise".

Discussions about what Smith might or might not have done are as relevant as discussions about what Joe, or Steve, or Jeff, or Shaun, or Trent, or J.T. (all former Niner QBs) might have done in a given situation.


To which I say, right, and perhaps you could direct such an observation to the next person who embarks on the same discussion from the Kaepernick perspective, as Asa did, thus:

One more thing about the Smith/Kaep debate, there isn't any. Ask yourself honestly, would Alex Smith been able to come back from 17 and 22 points to win? I know that he wouldn't have.


(I don't think well of myself for having felt the need to make that comment, but it's been a couple of days and the nag wouldn't go away. Sorry.)

Speaking of Asa, though, and to bring the conversation back to running backs, I loved your remark that Gore has the heart of a lion but lacks the legs of a cheetah. That's the most succinct statement of the peculiar frustration of being a Gore fan I've ever seen, and I agree completely.