Colin Kaepernick was the subject of countless features over the course of the NFL Playoffs. There were stories about his family history, tattoos, ethnicity, girlfriend and college career. There was an offer of free burgers for life extended to him, and he bought free pizza for some members of the media. From the sound of some articles about the second-year quarterback, Colin Kaepernick was the second-coming of Jesus Christ. (We even mentioned in an article of our own how he was Time Tebow 2.0.) By laying the love on thick for the Niners player, it set some pretty high standards for his performance. Between his interception and his team losing the Super Bowl, where does it leave the public's opinion on Colin Kaepernick?
What people will want to remember most about his Super Bowl XLVII performance is his second half resilience. There's no doubt that Kaepernick was a different quarterback in the third and fourth quarters than he was in the first two. In fact, his third quarter totals belong at least a cut above even his fourth quarter numbers, as the Niners outscored the Ravens 17-0 that frame right after the power outage.
Although running wasn't his forte in Kaepernick's game this time around, he was still effective when called upon to move the chains with his legs. He managed just under a nine yard per carry average throughout the game, notching four first downs with one of them being a touchdown. Kaepernick was sacked three times, including the play before the power outage.
Kaepernick had a decent day via the air, throwing for 302 yards. He had one passing touchdown in the third quarter, but a pick in the second stalled another Niners drive early.
Looking at his playoff stretch instead of just the last game paints a much more favorable picture of the QB. In the divisional round, Kaepernick set a record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in any game, ran for two TD's and threw for two more. He put up even better passing numbers in the NFC Championship Game, helping his team erase a 17-point deficit to win. Considering that he hasn't even been a starting quarterback for an entire season, there's a great base of ability and knowledge for the 49ers play-caller with room to grow as well.
Colin Kaepernick may win a Super Bowl someday, but he won't necessarily have to in order to solidify his position as one of the more exciting and talented players in the NFL. A loss in one big game doesn't change that.
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