If the San Francisco 49ers can defeat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVII; it will be the greatest of all six of the 49ers’ Super Bowl victories. I could also likely argue that it would rank among the top-five Super Bowl victories in the history of the NFL, given the circumstances.
For now though, that is a conversation best saved for another day (possibly next week). What I would like to focus on, is this potential impact of Colin Kaepernick leading his team to victory on the NFL, offensive schemes and the future of the quarterback position from high school to the NFL.
Kaepernick will be making just his 10th career start this Sunday, the fewest career NFL starts for a quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. What he’s been able to do in such a short time has been well documented and talked about, but just one more time, for the record: what this kid (yes, he’s younger than me...wow I’m old) has done thus far is spectacular and literally unprecedented.
Kaepernick has stepped up and become a leader on the field, sidelines and locker room. He’s everything we had hoped Michael Vick would be and everything we hope Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III will become. He has the perfect mix of smarts, awareness, arm strength, accuracy, speed, elusiveness and shows a veteran poise when under pressure or playing from behind that shouldn’t be possible for a player with so few starts under his belt.
If the 49ers can execute their complex and explosive offense to it’s full potential will rest heavily on Kaepernick’s shoulders. If he’s able to have a big game and lead San Francisco to their sixth Super Bowl victory (with no losses), Kaepernick will catapult himself into instant superstar status. Think about it: if he wins, he will have made the fewest starts ever at quarterback to win a Super Bowl, while putting up record-breaking numbers to get there and playing as a mobile-quarterback in a spread/read option offense; both things that have long been said can’t win you a ring at the NFL level .
We’ve already seen three teams embrace the “new” option-style quarterback that can kill you with his feet as well as his arm. If Kaepernick can secure a victory on Sunday, it will force the old-school thinkers to realize this is the way the NFL is going to shift and the best way to beat even the most stout of defenses. With former-college coaches like Chip Kelly and Doug Marrone joining the NFL ranks this year, it appears the NFL as a whole may be ready to embrace the mobile-quarterback and college-inspired spread/read option offense.
If this is the case, it will have an immediate trickle-down effect on the NCAA and high school levels. Young, talented athletes who were once forced to switch to wide receiver or another skills position will now get their chance to shine at quarterback.
Obviously, this all puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Kaepernick. Even if the 49ers lose, Kaepernick (along with Wilson and RGIII) have gone a long way to prove that this style of quarterback and offense can win at the highest levels of the NFL and won't really set back the progress detailed above; but a win would surely keep things moving at a much faster pace.