No secrecy, Kelly says: Kap to start
SANTA CLARA — Chip Kelly sees no point in the kind of sleight of hand that goes on routinely regarding lineup changes in the NFL.
That’s why Kelly, in a stark contrast from ultra-secretive former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, went ahead and named Colin Kaepernick the starting quarterback, rather than conduct a charade to put doubt in the minds of the Buffalo Bills.
“I don’t buy where you put
a banana in the tailpipe and tell them the car is broken,” Kelly said Thursday.
Kelly doubted Buffalo coach Rex Ryan was staying up nights worrying about whether it would be Kaepernick or Blaine Gabbert under center, and said chances are the news would have leaked before Sunday’s game anyway.
“I think we live in a society where there are no secrets,” Kelly said. “So if Colin took all the reps with the ones Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, somebody’s mole would have told them. And I don’t really care. We have two similar quarterbacks. Our offense doesn’t change.
“I don’t think you’re go- ing to outsmart people in the NFL where, all of a sudden, the second quarterback is playing and Rex is going to tear up his game plan and say, ‘We’re screwed. We have no idea how to defend them.’ People over-analyze the whole thing. You ask me a question, I’m going to tell you an answer.”
Safety Antoine Bethea, an 11-year veteran, said he can’t think of a single instance where he was on a defense that wasn’t prepared for the quarterback that took the field.
“Regardless of who the quarterback is, if he’s in the system, they’re going to run that same system,” Bethea said. “Not much is going to change unless it’s a mobile quarterback, and you might have put a spy or some Dline stunts. But there’s not too many surprises in this league. You kind of get an idea of what’s going on.”
Before practice, Kelly declined to give a progress report on Kaepernick because it had only been two practices. After practice, running back Carlos Hyde gave a glowing review.
“Man, I see Kap on the money,” Hyde said. “The way he’s been practicing during the week, if he carries that over to Sunday, then we’re going to have a really good chance of winning this game.”
Kelly said it had not been determined whether rookie first-round pick Joshua Garnett or Andrew Tiller would start at right guard against Buffalo. The Bay Area News Group reported Tuesday that Garnett would be the starter.
“It’s a work in progress,” Kelly said. “Josh played more, he played about 20 snaps (against Arizona), he’ll continue to play more. We’ll just see how that goes. Hopefully you’ll see both of those guys.”
nGabbert, and not Christian Ponder, would be the backup quarterback for the 49ers against Buffalo, Kelly said.
Kelly seemed amused when asked if a comment regarding Kaepernick’s ascension and the depth of the roster was a thinly veiled shot at the roster assembled by general manager Trent Baalke.
On Tuesday, Kelly said elevating Kaepernick was “really one of the only maneuvers we could make based on our roster depth.”
Asked to clarify that comment Thursday, Kelly said, “You look at every position we have on offense, we rotate. All three running backs play. Five receivers are up, they play. All three tight ends play. We’re rotating on the offensive line ... the only position we hadn’t made a move at was quarterback. That’s all I meant by that.”
Rookie defensive end DeForest Buckner, who missed the Arizona game, was limited in practice Thursday, but said he is good to go for Buffalo.
“I definitely feel better this week with the time off that we had,” Buckner said. “I wanted to play, but had to be smart. I probably would have hurt the team more if I went in and played as hurt as I was. It was a smart decision, making the goal to come back this week. So far, so good.”
Cornerback Jimmie Ward (quadriceps) did not practice. Those who were limited aside from Buckner included guard Zane Beadles (ankle), linebacker Ahmad Brooks (groin), defensive tackle Quinton Dial (knee), defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey (knee), defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey (knee), wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (ankle), tight end Vance McDonald (hip) and safety Jaquiski Tart (quadriceps).
Buffalo defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (hamstring) missed practice for the second straight day and may not face the 49ers.
Linebacker NaVorro Bowman had surgery to repair his Achilles tendon earlier this week, according to Kelly.