A weekly examination of the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback play.
Rewind: It was a weird one. The 49ers blew out Houston 34-3. The offense was fine, Colin Kaepernick didn’t look terrible. But he completed just six passes and had a stretch of seven straight incompletions. Still, Kaepernick was part of the reason the 49ers won big.
Fast-forward: After a tough early-season slate, the schedule starts to ease a bit. The 49ers host Arizona on Sunday. But Arizona has a decent defense and it can make some things happen against the pass. Kaepernick will need to be sharp.
Back to Smith days? Kaepernick’s predecessor, Alex Smith, was known as a game manager. That’s what Kaepernick was Sunday. The 49ers’ passing game is being affected by a lack of depth. The run game starts this offense and Kaepernick is being asked to enhance it. That may continue for a while before Mario Manningham and Michael Crabtree return from injuries.
Prediction: Kaepernick will likely be asked to do more against the Cardinals. I think he will complete 17 of 28 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.