Saving Kaepernick?

  San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula announced at a press conference earlier this week that he has decided to bench starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The Niners (2-6) are off to their worst start since 2010, the year before former head coach Jim Harbaugh was with the team.

"I met with the quarterbacks on Monday. I've made a decision to go with Blaine Gabbert this week. It was a tough decision," said Tomsula.

Gabbert, a former first-round draft pick, selected No.10 overall in 2011 by the Jacksonville Jaguars was traded to the Niners in 2014. he [Gabbert] has 23 passing touchdowns, 24 touchdowns and 4,395 yards for his career, so far. In his last three games as a starter in Jacksonville (2013), Gabbert had one touchdown, seven interceptions, 481 yards passing while only completing 48 percent of his passes. 

"In no way is 2-6 all on Colin Kaepernick. That's all of us"

Kaepernick, 28, has over 10,000 career passing yards, 56 touchdowns and just 26 interceptions in his four years as the full-time starter. Tomsula said that he wants Kaepernick to be able to just "step back" and look at things through a different lens.

Kapernick has a career record of 27-20 as a starter (regular season).  

Coach Tomsula says that he's seen Gabbert improve in the two years since he's been with the team and he feels that this is the correct decision for the team right now. he[Tomsula] never came out and said if this were a long-term decision. He said that this is the decision, this week, going into Atlanta.

Through the first eight weeks of this season Kaepernick has 1,615 passing yards, six touchdowns, five interceptions while completing 59 percent of his passes. Also, adding a rushing touchdown.

We can't honestly sit here and pretend as if this is a move that's going to hurt Kaepernick. This move hurts the team and Tomsula, essentially. After trading former all-pro Vernon Davis to the Denver Broncos Monday, it seems as if the 49ers are in full rebuild mode. Davis was the last foundation piece to what the Niners had used to build around Kaepernick. Frank Gore had departed over the summer, going to Indianapolis; the once intimidating defense is not the same as it was just two years ago, or one for that matter, with defensive lineman Justin Smith and Aldon Smith no longer on the team, or former team captain and all-pro linebacker Patrick Willis.

The defense is currently ranked 28 out of 32 in yards per game, 23 of 32 in points per game.

Expectations and anticipation are hurting the perception of Kaepernick. After seeing him go to the Super Bowl and two NFC Championship games so early in career, we became use to seeing him win and after losing in the fashion that he and the Niners are it's only normal that we question weather or not he's declining. His recent failures have, in my opinion, have been most in-part due to his lack of talent around him. Sure, Carlos Hyde is going to be a very good running back. However, it's his first year as the starter, he has to learn and grow and also overcome these injury issues that he's dealing with right now.

The Niners are struggling right now on both sides of the ball. Kaepernick takes the blame because he's the quarterback ... They [quarterbacks] take the glory, too ... but in reality the team isn't very good and his talent at the receiver position isn't the same as it was in the 2013 season.

Receivers in 2015: Anquan Boldin (35 years old), Vernon Davis (31), Torrey Smith, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington

Receivers in 2013: Michael Crabtree, Anquan Bolin (33 at the time), Vernon Davis (29), Kyle Williams, Quinton Patton.

Also, he had Frank Gore a hall-of-fame running back who took a great deal of pressure off of him and the passing game.

Being "benched" is never a good thing for a players confidence. But Tomsula could be trying to salvage him from the media's perception of his abilities. I don't know if pulling the Gabbert card is the answer this early in the season. Maybe coach Tomsula is seeing something that we aren't from Gabbert? or MAYBE he's seen a breakdown approaching with Kaepernick through frustration?

The benching of Kaepernick is either Tomsula's way of saying that the team needs a fresh start and Kaepernick might not be the answer like they assumed before resigning him to a long-term contract. Or it's his way of saving Kaepernick on a season in which they've clearly struggled in and would like to keep his confidence high, as well as his winning percentage as a starter.