SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jim Tomsula on Wednesday said benched quarterback Colin Kaepernick is not solely to blame for the 49ers’ sorry season but that he wants him to “step back and breathe, look at things through a different lens.”
Tomsula said he felt he needed to relieve Kaepernick of the burden the quarterback was under.
“That position gets way more credit than it should when you win and it gets way more junk than it should when you lose,” he said. “That pile just keeps getting bigger. And I want him out of there. This is a guy that I care about a lot. This is a guy that I respect a lot. This is a guy that I think has talent. This is just me, what I’m watching and what I’m feeling. And I want him to just step back, keep working, do your thing and move forward.”
For the first time this week, the 49ers officially acknowledged that Blaine Gabbert would start Sunday’s game against Atlanta. But Tomsula stopped short of saying Gabbert would be the starter for the second half of the season. That raises the possibility of Kaepernick retaining his starting role at some point this season.
“It’s this week,” he said. “Going into Atlanta, Blaine Gabbert will be our quarterback.”
For the first time since he took over as starter in 2012, Kaepernick did not speak to the media at a mid-week news conference. Instead that duty went to Gabbert, who said he was fine with a week-by-week evaluation.
“I’m just taking it as a chance to go out there and just prove to this team what I can do,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to go out there and play against a good Atlanta football team and, like I said, I’m just going to go out there and enjoy this. It’s fun to play ball again, especially in the regular season, and we’ve just got to get something going on offense.”
Tomsula also suggested other changes would be made to a 49ers offense that ranks last in the league in yards gained and points scored but declined to describe them.
The 49ers won’t have their long-time No. 1 tight end, Vernon Davis, who was traded to Denver on Monday. They also will be without running backs Reggie Bush and Mike Davis, both of whom had surgery Tuesday. Another tight end, Garrett Celek, is being evaluated for a concussion.
The 49ers have liked Gabbert as a backup in recent years because he has some of the same strengths as Kaepernick, including a strong arm and the ability to throw on the run. The 10th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Gabbert hasn’t started a regular-season game since October of 2013 when he was with the Jaguars. He had a dubious 54 passer rating during the 2014 season with San Francisco — at one point drawing boos from 49ers fans — but doubled it to 108.8 during the most recent preseason.
“Blaine’s been here for two years, and I’ve watched Blaine get better every day,” Tomsula said.
Gabbert’s issues with the Jaguars included a porous offensive line, and he was sacked 74 times in 27 starts. He acknowledged the 49ers’ problems were similar to what he experienced in Jacksonville.
“We’re going through a little rough patch here and I’ve been through plenty of those in Jacksonville,” he said. “The biggest thing that we have to focus on is just sticking to our routine, sticking to our guns, going out and having great practices and carrying over that practice to the game.”
Tomsula, meanwhile, had been unfailingly supportive of Kaepernick until after Sunday’s 27-7 loss to the Rams. He acknowledged he consulted with the team’s front office, including general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York, before informing the quarterbacks of the move on Monday but insisted the decision was his.
“I watched tape, I had my feelings and talked with the offensive coaches and then went upstairs and let them know what my opinion was,” he said.
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