The Colin Kaepernick Effect?

[RayThom]

Yay! This win is like Clorox to the Cleveland Brownstains. No longer the butt of most jokes.

[Lord Jim]

Kaepernick rallies 49ers to second win of season

That might be helpful if it was Week Three rather than Week Fifteen...

As unlikely as it might seem, The Redskins still have a shot at getting the second wildcard playoff slot in the NFC....

[Jarlaxle]

Didn't Cleveland WANT to loze, for the first draft pick?

[MajGenl.Meade]

They tried to lose, Jarl. But you know what happens when the Browns try to do something.

[Long Run]

Survey results published last week by Remington Research Group cites political protests such as the ones by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as one of the biggest reasons fans have been watching less NFL football this year.

1,945 people responded to the survey, with 60 percent of those responding considering themselves fans of the NFL. 63 percent of those people said they have watched less NFL football this season, with 29 percent of those saying the protests are the reason why. 47 percent of Republicans cited the protests as the reason, along with 13 percent of Democrats and 27 percent of non-partisan voters.

“It’s clear in the data that political issues are affecting the NFL’s viewership,” said Titus Bond, Director of Remington Research Group, “Especially amongst Republicans and Non-Partisans. It’s still a split issue amongst Democrats, but Republicans soundly reject the idea of football players using the NFL as a stage for their political views. Almost two-thirds of NFL fans are watching less football this year than they have in the past and Colin Kaepernick and other players using the NFL as a stage to express their political stances are the leading reason why.”

See some of the survey results below, via Bleacher Report NBA writer Tyler Conway:

Survey at: http://remingtonresearchgroup.com/surve ... 121316.pdf

[dales]

Players vote for Kaepernick to receive 49ers’ most prestigious award

2 and 14, a true inspiration!

[Bicycle Bill]

So far as I am concerned, this means Jack Squat.
Take into consideration the way the league is turning this into a two-hands-touch league, it ain't football any more.
And then the way they are making it so more teams make the playoffs, it's almost as bad as the Stanley Cup tournament.

-"BB"-

[Jarlaxle]

SIx teams per conference...that has been the NFL playoff format for 25+ years.

[rubato]

Teammates vote Colin Kaepernick 2016 Len Eshmont Award winner for inspirational, courageous play
103 comments
The protest has been a big deal this season, and this would suggest at least a majority of his teammates support him.
by David Fucillo@davidfucillo Dec 30, 2016, 1:46pm PST

The San Francisco 49ers announced their annual team awards, and the most intriguing one is the Len Eshmont Award. The 2016 winner is quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

I say this is interesting because the award is voted on by the players, and is given to the 49er who best exemplifies the inspirational and courageous play of Len Eshmont. The team awards are voted on by a variety of people, with some coaches, some positional unit players, and so forth. The Len Eshmont Award is viewed as the most prestigious of the player-voted awards.

Kaepernick has been on the radar all season long dating back to his decision in August to sit and later kneel during the National Anthem. There has been a mix of support and criticism around the league and in the media. It quickly became a talking point to consider whether or not his teammates resented his protest. A few of his teammates joined in the protest in different ways. Eli Harold and Eric Reid joined him taking a knee, while Antoine Bethea and Rashard Robinson raised their fist during the Anthem. ..."

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Big deal, so he wins an award given to him by a bunch of losers...

[rubato]

Salute to Colin Kaepernick, a stand-up kneel-down guy

By Scott Ostler
December 31, 2016 Updated: December 31, 2016 3:51pm

But since the Eshmont Award goes to a player, the 49ers’ players made a great choice in Kaepernick.

By kneeling during the national anthem, Kaepernick risked more than anyone else in sports in 2016. He risked his name and his football career. You could say he even risked his life, but fortunately there are no crazy people out there with guns.

Kaepernick’s protest resonated at the highest levels. President Obama gave his support, while Donald Trump voiced his disdain, challenging Kaepernick to find himself another country to kneel in.

Trump and Kaepernick were soul mates, in a way, and not just because they rocked the nation’s two most distinctive hairdos. They both wanted to make America great again, although Trump was referring to America of the Reagan era, while Kaepernick was thinking pre-Christopher Columbus.

And they both wanted to drain a swamp, but they were two different swamps.

Lest my message get lost in the jests, consider this a sincere salute to Kaepernick. I was deeply disappointed that he turned his back on the crucial tool of change, the voting process. But with his protest, his well-spoken explanations of it, and his million-dollar donation to causes, he proved himself a stand-up kneel-down guy.
More from Scott Ostler

Credit to 49ers’ CEO York and coach Chip Kelly for standing by their kneeling man.

The New Kaepernick also emerged as a team leader, as evidenced by the Eshmont Award. Not all the 49ers’ players agreed with Kaepernick’s protest, but most of them appreciated the team discussion he sparked and led, and also the new football-team leadership role he took on.

Goes to show that personal growth and change are possible, and that’s hopeful news for all of us in the new year.

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler
... "

And another thing: Kaepernick smoked the crypto-racist rats out of hiding, on this board and elsewhere, and revealed them as overt racists.


yrs,
rubato

[dales]

Oh, I get it.

If I believe in standing up during the national anthem, I must somehow be a "racist".

TooFunny!

[dales]

And under the brilliant leadership of Colin Kaepernick:

49ers finish 2-14 season, lock up No. 2 pick for next regime

[Lord Jim]

And another thing: Kaepernick smoked the crypto-racist rats out of hiding, on this board and elsewhere, and revealed them as overt racists.

[Long Run]

49er quaterbacks who have won the Len Eshmont Award (The Len Eshmont Award, the 49ers most prestigious annual honor, has been given each year to the 49er who best exemplifies the “inspirational and courageous play” of Len Eshmont):

Colin Kaepernick - 2016, 23rd rated quarterback in the NFL (out of 30 rated QBs)
Steve Young - 1992 and 1994, MVP of the league both years, and Hall of Fame
Joe Montana - 1986 and 1989, NFL Comeback player of the year (1986), NFL MVP, and Hall of Fame
John Brodie - 1965, Pro Bowl, didn't win Eshmont Award in 1970 when he was NFL MVP
Y.A. Tittle - 1957, Pro player of the year, Hall of Fame

Other players to win the Eshmont award have all been outstanding at their positions, usually Pro Bowl or superior, or made an outstanding comeback after an injury.

[rubato]

This time they were inspired by someone who showed real courage and took a risk in a worthwhile cause: something more important than a mere sports victory. Not the fake courage of a primped and pampered athlete with a team of of hangers-on to take care of every twinge.

By kneeling during the national anthem, Kaepernick risked more than anyone else in sports in 2016. He risked his name and his football career. You could say he even risked his life, but fortunately there are no crazy people out there with guns.

And yet another crypto goes overt.


yrs,
rubato

[Bicycle Bill]

This time they were inspired by someone who showed real courage and took a risk in a worthwhile cause: something more important than a mere sports victory. Not the fake courage of a primped and pampered athlete with a team of of hangers-on to take care of every twinge.

By kneeling during the national anthem, Kaepernick risked more than anyone else in sports in 2016. He risked his name and his football career. You could say he even risked his life, but fortunately there are no crazy people out there with guns.

Not bloody likely.  Professional sports have always turned a semi-blind eye towards their players as long as they perform.  Look at the number of gamblers, alcoholics, drug addicts, 'roid abusers, and even dog fighters who were welcomed back to do what it is they do best.  Kaepernick's biggest risk to his career is not his brave stand in showing "real courage and taking a risk in a worthwhile cause" but rather his lackluster performance with a team that went 2 and 14 this year — 196 completions out of 331 pass attempts (59.2%) for 2241 yards and 16 TDs with 4 interceptions and 36 sacks; he also ran 39 times for a total of 468 yards and 2 running TDs (and two lost fumbles), finishing the season with a QB rating of 90.7.

Now compare that to Aaron Rodgers of the 10-6 play-off bound, division-winning Green Bay Packers ——
401 completions out of 610 attempts (65.7%) for 4428 yards and 40 TDs with 7 interceptions and 35 sacks; Rodgers also carried the ball 67 times for 467 yards and 4 rushing TDs (and also lost two of three fumbles) to finish the regular season with a QB rating of 104.2 — almost 15% better than Kaepernick.

-"BB"-

[Guinevere]

Ahem. TB12, at age 39, in 12 games this season (for the 14-2, number 1 team in the AFC, that went 8-0 on the road and has a very balanced offense):

291/432 (67.4 percent). 3,552 Total yards. 28 TD and only 2 interceptions (NFL record). Sacked 15 times. 112.2 rating (his second best ever, only behind the legendary 2007 50TD season).

MVP

GOAT

[Lord Jim]

By kneeling during the national anthem, Kaepernick risked more than anyone else in sports in 2016. He risked his name and his football career. You could say he even risked his life, but fortunately there are no crazy people out there with guns.

LMAO!

Before he started this asininity, (and then doubled down on ignorant when he bragged about not voting) he was washed up and on the verge of getting cut...

He had no career left to lose...

Rube has a thing for quoting people who are almost as stupid as he is...

He'd like to quote people who are every bit as stupid as he is, but those are very tough to find...

[Long Run]

We could play the game "one of these things is not like the other", but it is hardly a challenge for even the youngest viewer of Sesame Street. In the storied history of the 49ers, one award "winner" now and forever will stick out in contrast to all of the excellent award winners who proved their worth on the field: an under-achieving, bad decision-making, devolving, inaccurate, ignorant goofball who led them to the worst record in the history of the franchise. If the players who make up the worst group in the history of the team want to politicize the award, this will, of course, reflect on them as well.