Lott: 49ers' Kaepernick no longer having fun, confidence lost

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Ronnie Lott made a living out of studying and dismantling some of the best quarterbacks the National Football League has ever seen.

The 49ers great and Pro Football Hall of Fame safety, who has continued to follow his old team, weighed in on the team's spiraling downfall, and Colin Kaepernick's regression in particular. 

"I've seen Joe [Montana], I've seen Steve [Young], I've seen a lot of great quarterbacks go through what he's going through, where they have days where things don't work out," Lott told KNBR. "The question is, where is the road map to get out of it? . . . He is not playing with the kind of confidence, and just having fun, and just balling.

"The fun thing that was great about him is that when you did see him kiss his biceps, it was because, not to me because he was showing off, it was because 'I'm just having fun. I'm out here balling. I'm out here doing my thing.'"

[MAIOCCO: 49ers Mailbag: Early wake up call for team in New Jersey]

Kaepernick is 2-7 over his last nine games, dating back to last season when rumors of Jim Harbaugh's inevitable exit were swirling hard in Santa Clara. He is 1-3 this season, throwing two touchdowns to five interceptions, averaging just 182 yards passing per game. 

Over the last two games, the worst of his career, Kaepernick has thrown zero touchdowns and five picks, completing 50 percent of his passes (22 of 44) and amassing a dreadful 25.7 rating. 

Lott, however, doesn't believe it's about what Kap's done, but what he can do to reassert himself in the league. 

"It's going to be interesting to see if Kap can realize that this opportunity, which is right in front of him to be great . . . To me, it's not about what you've done the last three or four weeks. It's about where you're at right now. And hopefully he'll take advantage of this opportunity.

"In a lot of life, when I see guys, young guys especially, when they're just balling to ball -- I've been referring to this statement that Steph Curry said -- imagination. You've got to wake up imagining how great you're going to be. You got to see that. You got to see that in front of you."

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