If the play had worked, Colin Kaepernick might be drawing comparisons to Joe Montana right about now as he would be getting ready to face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Instead, the second-guessing continues.
The San Francisco Chronicle took an in-depth look at the 49ers' final play of the 2013 season (or the 2014 postseason) in which Seattle Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith intercepted a pass that teammate Richard Sherman batted away from San Francisco wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
The Chronicle reported that Crabtree was isolated against Sherman on the right side, while tight end Vernon Davis and wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Quinton Patton were on the left.
The Chronicle surmised that throwing to the left side was a more complicated proposition for Kaepernick because he'd have to read the defense quickly to determine which receiver would be open. It added that Kaepernick had been fooled by the Seahawks coverage earlier when he misjudged the speed of safety Cam Chancellor, who dropped back to pick off a Kaepernick pass.
So Kaepernick chose the safer read, which was the one-on-one matchup between Crabtree and Sherman. The Chronicle mentioned Kaepernick's comments after the game that he would always want to take a shot with Crabtree one-on-one.
But that logic is faulty, the Chronicle argued because it believes Sherman to be the better player in the matchup.
"Kaepernick has to realize that Crabtree is a good but not great receiver and Sherman is great. As a decision maker, he has to deal with reality not what he wants to be true," the Chronicle wrote.
Meanwhile, the newspaper explained that the Seahawks' plan on the left side was to prevent Boldin from making a play, so the coverage blanketed him. According to the Chronicle, no Seattle defender was within 10 yards of the rookie, Patton.
It reported that Davis also was open on an "in" route at the Seahawks 12.
Kaepernick and Crabtree are friends, the Chronicle added, so that relationship may have led to the decision. Or perhaps Kaepernick wanted to recreate Montana's hook-up with Dwight Clark, which came to be known as "The Catch" in the 1981 NFC championship game (played in 1982) but threw too short.
Either way, the Chronicle's obvious conclusion was that Kaepernick never should have gone to Crabtree.
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