An exchange with Drummer helped clarify my thinking about Kaepernick's play this season, its context and what that could mean for his future. I just wanted acknowledge his role, and not have that post buried in a weekly game thread, as it is more relevant here...
"Off the top of my head, the one new thing I learned was about the former SF personnel lead that is now in SEA. I agree that they have been great at building the defense (like you said, spanning several personnel regimes). Impact free agents at every level (Justin Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Donte Whitner, Carlos Rogers). Committing high picks such as first rounders Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith and Eric Reid, and a great value pick in Navorro Bowman. Third rounder Russell Wilson is probably the best value pick on offense in the entire division. I think third rounder Bowman is his defensive counterpart in the entire division. On offense, I think they did a good job building the OL, and committing draft resources to that area. But I agree, they have whiffed badly on some recent picks (as noted, RB James and WR Jenkins, among others), which left Kaepernick's potential skill position weapons depleted when Crabtree went down with the ruptured Achilles tendon (have to think that was before preseason and earlier in the offseason for him to be back on the field in December). He flashed some explosiveness against SEA in just his second game back, I'm guardedly optimistic and hopeful he can come all the way back like Demaryius Thomas (also retired LB Takeo Spikes), who had the same injury. There was a medical paper floating around in the aether, with conclusions coopted by football sites, that were pessimistic about the prognosis of this type of injury based on some medical case histories. Staffer Dr. Jene Bramel pointed out a few flaws in his opinion on how the study was set up and the conclusions they drew, but among his most substantive criticism imo was that it was an older study that didn't account for modern surgical and rehab techniques. They were very good for each other, and Kaepernick helped him to emerge as a star in a way Smith never had before, so the obvious inference to draw is he is far more talented than Smith. I agree he has far more upside, I never questioned the move at the time and applauded it. Kaepernick should go to the positive ledger among the few recent success stories on that side of the ball for the 49ers GM. It is unfortunate rookie WR Patton had the injury setback, he could have helped while Crabtree was out. IMO he has the talent to eventually emerge as a starter opposite Crabtree once Boldin rides into the sunset (FAR more talented than the likes of since departed Williams and Jenkins - and I don't mean that in a damning with faint praise sense

). DAL third round rookie WR Terrance Williams of Baylor led the NCAA with 1,800+ receiving yards in 2012. But Patton led the nation in receiving yards for 2011-2012 COMBINED. Davis isn't old, and is the Calvin Johnson of TEs as a physical specimen and athletic phenom, so Kaepernick has some good weapons (when healthy) to mature and develope with.
I think we had similar facts to work with (you seem to be wired in to the social media side, which is interesting to me, but not as much as scouting-type info and the draft... the draft is great, because each year and season is new). Maybe it wasn't for lack of them that I saw things somewhat differently (I was aware of the injuries), but due to differences of interpretation of those same facts. But after thinking about it, maybe our difference had more to do with you having more realistic expectations, and maybe what he has done in the first three months or so accurately reflects what his approximate expected capability should have been given these challenges. Ironically, far from being a hater, my expectations may have been higher than yours, which led to a larger sense of disappointment. Not just the first game against GB... but taken in combination with the playoff game against GB, which was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen by a running QB (record?), my expectations were high going into the season, even knowing about Crabtree's injury. The fact that even AFTER GB had eight months to study how to defeat him, and STILL couldn't neutralize him, accentuated this sense. So this dynamic might have conspired to create unrealistic expectations. In retrospect, that might have been my first mistake, in inferring too much from the two decisive wins and Kaepernick performances against GB. If a bad defense can be gashed once, it can be gashed twice, etc."