SANTA CLARA -- Hall of Famer Joe Montana’s advice to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is to speak to the coaches about turning the clock back to his college days when he was a true dual-threat option at Nevada.
Appearing Friday on "NFL HQ" on the NFL Network, Montana said Kaepernick should resist the 49ers’ vision of him as a pocket passer.
“I would tell him to get to the coaches and say, ‘Look, I’m here because this is what I did in college and my first year I was here you let me do it. Now because I’m making a lot more money, you’re trying to keep me in the pocket, you’re trying to make me do things,’” Montana said.
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“The timing is different. The ball has to come out of your hand and guys – not just Colin but you look at guys with big, strong arms, they want to wait until the last minute. When we talk about touch and things, those are the things that are different from those guys because when they run their offense, they’re outside and they’re usually throwing to guys who are pretty open. Let him do it. He’s big. Tell him just protect yourself but you have to get him back to doing the things he’s comfortable with doing.”
The 49ers used Kaepernick more behind center and fewer times in the pistol or shotgun formation on Sunday night against the New York Giants. Kaepernick responded with a good showing, completing 23 of 35 passes for 262 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Yeah, he says he can play in the pocket – everybody says that as a quarterback,” Montana said. “I’ll tell you I can run the read option. I’m not sure you want me to run the read option but I’ll tell you I can, just like he’s going to do the same. And it’s different. It’s completely different.
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“So let him do the things that he does well. He’ll take that team back and get it winning again, but you can’t force him to do something and make him start thinking and then everybody questions every throw he makes. Let him be himself. That’s what I would tell him. Tell those guys you want to be Colin Kaepernick, the guy you drafted and who you let me be the first year I was here.”