San Francisco 49ers name Colin Kaepernick starting quarterback for Week 13 game against St. Louis Rams
The San Francisco 49ers have named Colin Kaepernick starting quarterback for Week 13 game against St. Louis Rams.
49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh made the announcement while talking to the media on Wednesday.
After replacing Alex Smith during Week 10 game against Rams, Kaepernick went on to start the next two games as Smith kept on recovering from a concussion.
The decision to start in Week 13 was much awaited because Smith has now reportedly gained full fitness and is available to play.
In such a situation, getting preference over Smith is certainly a commendable job for Kaepernick, who has played impressively in his two starts this season.
According to the details present on the team’s website, Harbaugh said:
“It’ll be our plan to start Colin and prepare him to make that start this week against the Rams.”
Explaining the reason behind selecting Colin instead of Alex, the 49ers head coach said:
“The rationale is you’ve got two quarterbacks that we feel great about as the starting quarterback. Both have earned it. Both deserve it. And [QB] Alex [Smith] over a long period of time. Colin by virtue of the last three games. What tips the scale, is Colin,
we believe, has the hot hand and we’ll go with Colin. And we’ll go with Alex. They’re both our guys.”
Appreciating Colin’s athletic instincts, Harbaugh said:
“He’s a very good athlete. You see it in practices. You see it in games.”
49ers are currently leading National Football Conference (NFC) West and they have a very strong chance of winning a few more games to qualify for the playoffs as a better seeded team. In such a case, Kaepernick must be thankful on receiving this opportunity,
because it was Smith who had a breakout season last year to lead the team into the postseason and replacing him certainly adds pressure on the youngster.
However, Colin’s recent performance justifies this decision. He is in form and has already secured a couple of victories for the team – against New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. He must maintain his rhythm because the position can be taken away if the
team sees any lapse in Colin’s performance.
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