Forget whether he kneels before the game. Just worry about whether Colin Kaepernick is upright during it.
Kaepernick, the controversial quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, is certain to continue his protest on Sunday when San Francisco is home against the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Bucs have a chance to get to 3-3 on the season with a victory.
But the 49ers can be a challenge with the offense of coach Chip Kelly.
“They run a whole bunch of different reads and they’re going to leave somebody unblocked,” said Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter. “Sometimes it’s the end, sometimes it’s the tackle, sometimes it’s the linebacker. That’s the beauty of that system and I’m not an expert on that system. When you just sit back and watch it, like our scout team against our defense, it’s pretty cool and it’s the same thing Carolina was doing. That’s not in my wheelhouse, I don’t run that offense, but when you watch it and they have the right guy doing it, it’s definitely a dangerous offense.”
The 49ers have been slow to adapt to Kelly’s blueprint, however. They’re 27th in yards allowed defensively and 32nd in yards gained on offense.
No wonder the team turned to Kaepernick, who has had success in the past with the 49ers. However, he has won only three of his last nine starts.
“I thought he was OK,” Kelly said after the game. “There are some positives that you can really build on with him that he did. I thought he extended some drives, keeping plays alive with his legs. He did a good job, so it was a pretty good situation in terms of him running the football.”
Game time is 4:05 p.m. Eastern.
