It's not Colin Kaepernick's mechanics that are his underlying issue; it's his fourth quarter decision-making.
ESPN is reporting that any miraculous changes that the San Francisco 49ers quarterback must show have less to do with pocket-passing - although that aspect of his game certainly did not help him in 2014 - and more to do with his pocket decision-making.
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"But no matter how much two-time league MVP Kurt Warner's teachings may have tweaked Kaepernick's delivery, this much is true -- the San Francisco 49ers quarterback must improve his fourth-quarter performance," ESPN reported.
"Consider: Kaepernick became the first player in the past two decades with at least 100 fourth-quarter passes to not throw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass (in 2014), per ESPN Stats & Info. He had 118 such pass attempts last year, and 405 players have thrown at least 100 fourth-quarter passes in the past 20 years.
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"Kaepernick's 118 fourth-quarter passes without a TD pass were 25 more than the next closest in the last 20 years, surpassing Michael Vick's 93 such passes for the Atlanta Falcons in 2006, Cade McNown's 87 passes for the Chicago Bears in 2000 and Andrew Walter's 85 passes for the 2006 Oakland Raiders."
His fourth quarter passer rating of 60.3 was well below is overall rating of 86.4 last season. And his average yards per play of 5.85 in the fourth quarter was significantly less than his 7.4-yard average through the first three quarters, ESPN reported.
Kaepernick supporters would argue that his offseason work should have a direct impact on his decision-making in the fourth quarter. If he is comfortable making more types of throws from the pocket, then he can add that to his decision-making in the fourth quarter.
Last year, his decision-making was limited to the throws he felt he could make, which limited his options and likely gave the defense a better read on what he might do late in games.
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