Over the past few years, a strong rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks has developed. For the most part, the rivalry has been back and forth as both teams have had success against one another. That being said, if there were to be some sort of “winner” in the rivalry at the moment, it would be Seattle. Seattle has found their success against San Francisco by shutting down one of the league’s most dynamic quarterbacks: Colin Kaepernick. If he is so dynamic, how did Seattle contain him to throwing a measly 152 yards per game? To be fair, it is not just the Seattle defense, nor is it just Kaepernick’s deficiencies. It is a combination of a handful of factors that come together to ultimately expose Kaepernick. Without further ado, lets dig into those factors. 

The Numbers

vs SEA average in 2013: 14/27 (51.9%), 152 yards, 0.6 TDs, 2 INTs

vs Non-SEA average in 2013: 15/26 (57.7%), 207 yards, 1.4 TDs, 0.3 INTs

@ SEA average in 2013: 13.5/26 (52%), 140 yards, 1 TD, 2.5 INTs

@ Home vs SEA average in 2013: 15/29 (51.7%), 175 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Disrupting Kaepernick Directly

Part of Kaepernick’s struggles are simple. Seattle’s defense is just very talented at every position. As if that alone is not enough to cause problem’s, Dan Quinn’s scheming is wonderful. More often than not, Seattle only sends four players to rush the passer. Despite only rushing four, Seattle disrupts the pocket consistently, often forcing Kaepernick to either rush the throw or bail the pocket. Since Seattle is able to get consistent pressure by rushing only four players, that means that six players are able to drop back into coverage to cover what is often four receivers. But that math does not add up, I know. Four rushers plus six in coverage is only ten, but the eleventh player is key in shutting down Kaepernick. 

This eleventh player is typically a spy (often K.J. Wright). For those who do not know, a spy shadows the quarterback around