Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young played on a pretty good offense of his own, but he said he was envious of Colin Kaepernick, for getting to run the 49ers current pistol-based system.
Coupled with a strong supporting cast, Young said the young quarterback is being given an incredible opportunity to succeed.
“He’s got a lot of great weapons with the best offensive line maybe since the 2000 Rams, and maybe then since the ’92 or ’93 Cowboys,” Young said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “I mean, this offensive line is well ahead of most everybody else. That dictates terms both for Alex [Smith] and for Colin Kaepernick. And then you’ve got Frank [Gore] and you have weapons, and Vernon [Davis], and now you have this pistol.
“I’m actually really jealous about the pistol. I think it’s such a cool thing.”
With Young’s ability to run, the idea of him running such a system would have been a natural fit, even though he never so much as took a snap from the shotgun formation. But in his role as an ESPN analyst, he admitted there was some concern about Kaepernick’s ability to move the ball downfield.
“The pistol isn’t going to go away, but the job in the long run is going to be to deliver the ball from the pocket,” Young said. “This is a wonderful bridge for young players.
“Look what’s happened to these mobile guys, my heroes, my guys. There’s this bridge now that they can have success, get more confidence, go to the Super Bowl.”
Kaepernick has made plenty of plays on his own, but the reality is, the 49ers have insulated him well and put him in the right positions to make plays, giving him the best opportunity to flourish.