One focus former-MVP quarterback Kurt Warner and his group of signal-callers has attempted to instill in flame-throwing Colin Kaepernick during offseason workouts is better use of touch on passes.
The current NFL Media analyst stumbled upon a perfect testing ground for Kap's progress: Warner's charity football game earlier this month.
"We had some guys come out from the office playing in my corporate charity event, and there were a couple of times where I went, 'Whoa! Was that a little bit of touch I just saw?" Warner said of Kaepernick's performance this week while speaking at a Super Bowl 50 promotional appearance during the NFL Annual Meeting, per USA Today. "Colin laughed and told me, 'We're not out here working for nothing.'
"The situation forced him to throw with a little more touch. He couldn't throw it as hard as maybe he wanted to with those corporate guys.
"So we've seen strides being made. ... He's growing and wants to get better."
(I'll wait for you to finish making your flag football jokes before I continue.)
(Still waiting ... )
Warner's crew of coaching gurus has focused on engaging Kaepernick's lower half to help him add touch and not rely on his pitching arm to gun passes in every instance. The other goal is to upgrade the quarterback's footwork to help him get through a progression quicker, something Kap has struggled with mightily the past two seasons.
"Is 10 weeks enough time for you to change what you've been doing your entire career? And what does that look like when bullets are flying and people are attacking you?" Warner asked. "Have we gone far enough where that becomes the norm for Colin?
"That's the big question none of us can answer. ... You talk about a guy who has been playing the position one way for 20-something years, and we're (trying) to change him in three months?"
It's a question the 49ers desperately hope comes out affirmative. But it's one we won't know until deep into the regular season, when the flag football games have long been shuttered in favor of the real thing.
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