(screengrab via ESPN)
Scott Van Pelt has become the face and voice of SportsCenter the past couple of years. His platform and his takes from the segment ‘1 Big Thing’ usually are outside of the box. Monday night was no different, but it surprisingly featured the San Francisco 49ers (1-10).
Van Pelt opened the monologue saying all the Fidel Castro talk in Miami distracted us from the real story: Colin Kaepernick looked like a quarterback you can build a future around.
“Kaepernick played really, really well. He threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for more than 100. He kept drives alive with his legs, he made tough throws. And given what the 49ers are working with at the moment, it is incumbent on him to give his team a chance to win. And he did, even though they didn’t.
“A lot has changed since the last time Kaepernick resembled this version of himself as a player. I doubted if it even existed anymore. Between losing his job as a starter and being more socially invested, protesting the anthem etc., I was one of many who wondered just how much being a quarterback even matters to him? I still haven’t got a clue how important it is in his hierarchy of needs.
“But it’s still clear: He can do it. In a league where the gap between teams is most glaring at the quarterback position, Kaepernick’s value is greater than I had imagined. Interestingly enough, Sunday’s game ended with Kaepernick being stopped just a couple yards shy of the end zone on the game-tying score.
“There’s a lot going on here. There’s a lot that comes with Kaepernick as your quarterback. But as he reminded Sunday, no matter what you get, there’s a combination of talents that translate awfully well on the football field.”
