At least one of the quarterbacks last night showed he could throw the ball.
But the thing that 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick displayed to his coach in a bounce-back game might be the thing that separates him from his Washington counterpart at the moment.
“Some people have baby deer skin,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “And some people have armadillo skin. He’s got armadillo skin. It’s just strong, good leadership.”
Like Robert Griffin III, Kaepernick has taken his share of heat lately for his team’s inability to move the ball through the air.
But Kaepernick came back with an efficient night, going 15-of-24 for 235 yards and three touchdowns, for a single-game best passer rating of 134.5 (after a 42.0 and a 72.9 the previous two weeks).
“It was a good step in the right direction,” Kaepernick said simply, after the dominant 27-6 win.
For their part, his teammates acted as if nothing was ever wrong.
“You’ve got to ask the people who were questioning him,” wide receiver Anquan Boldin said. “I mean, for us, we didn’t lose confidence in ourselves. We know what we’re capable of doing.
“He [Kaepernick] was himself. I think he’s that way every week. He comes out. He prepares the right way. He has great practices. He’s into meetings or giving his opinions, so I see that from him every week.”
For all the angst in Washington about their situation, Kaepernick resolved his by working and performing, and for a moment, has silenced those who wonder how effective he can be as a passer.