With plenty of pressure on Alex Smith in 2012, there’s a chance that we’ll eventually see the man who was picked one spot after Andy Dalton in the 2011 draft. (Yeah, we know that coach Jim Harbaugh swears Alex Smith is the team’s quarterback. Harbaugh also swears he didn’t pursue Peyton Manning.)
Colin Kaerpernick, who has secured second-string duties so far over Josh Johnson, wisely kept the ball on a read option from shotgun formation and exploded through the hole created by the defensive end and darted 78 yards to the end zone against the Vikings.
San Fran leads, 14-6.
There was talk that Johnson could supplant Kaepernick as the backup to Smith in 2012. After plays like that one, it’ll be hard for Johnson to overcome Kaepernick.
It also could be hard for Smith to keep Kaepernick on the bench.