I’m not rooting for another team besides the 49ers (aside from the Vikings for just this week). I’m not as confident about the 49ers winning the Super Bowl as I was before Smith was concussed in week 10 (note: The 49ers were down 0-14 in that game, and I never questioned whether the 49ers were a Super Bowl team then). I have been open to evidence suggesting that Kaepernick is an improvement to the team. Any such evidence has been unsustained and filled with asterisks.

I have never said that the 49ers cannot win with Kaepernick, although it’s forthright of me to qualify that statement by mentioning that since the 49ers began starting Kaepernick, I picked the 49ers to lose twice in Pick ‘Em leagues (to the Saints and to the Patriots, making me 2-5 on the 49ers in Pick ‘Em since Alex’s injury; I never picked against them in Survival Leagues; I never picked against the 49ers while Smith was starting; I don’t wager money on any games). If ‘being a fan’ means forfeiting my objectivity, I am not a fan by that definition. Of course, last year, I was cheering for the 49ers when everyone thought they were a long shot for the playoffs, and back then, many would have argued that I was not objective. My confidence in the team at that time was well placed. Said confidence was higher then than it is now.

I own a business I have operated for 9 years, and I have been married for 11 years (her name is not Alex), so I infer from that that I am not a quitter.

That is simply not true. ‘Mirroring’ suggests the numbers are different from a purely acedemic standpoint. These figures are substantially different. They identify and consolidate what you’ve been seeing during the games. Kaepernick’s individual numbers are better than Smith’s in some measures. What happened to everyone else? “It’s the coaching!” “It’s the kicking!” “It’s the defense!” “It’s the schedule!” Users of the site have been making those complaints, but it is none of those so much as it is that Kaepernick is not the better complement to the team next to Smith. Some of the QB’s numbers are up, while the numbers for rushing are down across the board. Quarterbacks are like a puzzle piece. Kaepernick doesn’t fit as well.

And I never said nor implied that “the 49ers cannot win the Super Bowl with Kaepernick,” nor anything like it. Don’t attribute to me that which I never said, and don’t suggest that I am less a fan of the 49ers than you are because I think Kaepernick is less of a quarterback than Smith. Do I believe Harbaugh has more information concerning Kaepernick and Smith than I do? Yes. Since neither you nor I are privy to all details concerning the two quarterbacks, I go with what I’ve got, and that is the game footage, the record, and the stats. All three suggest that Smith was the better quarterback, and that Kaepernick’s performance has been inferior to what Smith was doing this year. You have every right to place your trust in Harbaugh rather than any analysis I provide; I can’t quantify the eye test, and therefore your complete opinion of the matter is going to differ somewhat from mine.

I am not the only one that feels this way, although I am perhaps the most vocal about it on this site. My reasoning on this is transparent, opening the way for dialogue. Instead of attacking me as a bandwagon fan (I can think of a lot of easier ways to bandwagon than to support a quarterback with the history of Alex Smith), you might just try coherently explaining what Kaepernick does that should give anyone reason for confidence in the 49ers.

Thank you for reading.