Greg Cosell's Look Ahead: Colin Kaepernick's continued struggles

There has been a lot of talk about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's struggles this season, and I think the first two plays last Sunday were a microcosm of his issues. It has to be hard for the 49ers to put him out there at this point.

Keep in mind when we look at these first two plays against the Green Bay Packers that these are "game starters," plays that are usually put in Wednesday and practiced through the week. The coaches know what they want in the first few plays, and the players should know too.

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On the first play, it was a straight dropback out of the pistol formation. Tight end Garrett Celek was wide open right in front of Kaepernick's vision within the timing of the drop. There was no pressure in the pocket. Kaepernick brought it down and ran. He gained 12 yards on the run but for this discussion that's irrelevant; he did not see the play like he should have, and that's a recurring problem for him as a quarterback.

On the second play, Kaepernick's bad pocket footwork prevented an easy completion. He looked to Celek in the flat and didn't like it, then came back to Anquan Boldin on a short five-step curl route. Kaepernick's feet were not in sync with his eyes and he was a beat late. He threw the ball into the ground to a wide-open Boldin.

Not being able to execute these plays, physically or mentally, is a really troubling sign.

Kaepernick had an incompletion to Reggie Bush late in the fourth quarter. It was another example of his inability to function and execute simple throws. He had Bush wide open against Clay Matthews for what would have been a touchdown, but he threw it into the ground.

When you look at why Kaepernick has regressed, you have to look back to when the 49ers were playing well with him a couple years ago. His footwork was never good, and he had another parts of quarterbacking he had to work on, but he could compensate at times. A couple years ago it was a perfect storm of things going well in San Francisco. No. 1, they had a really good run game, and No. 2, they had a really good defense. Kaepernick never had good footwork, but he could see things. But he never had a lot of pace on his passes, never had a lot of touch, and now add that he's not seeing things at all. And because the 49ers aren't as good around him, his flaws aren't being camouflaged.

In the last two games Kaepernick has completed only 6-of-19 passes thrown more than 5 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage. He has also thrown four interceptions on those throws. As Kaepernick and the 49ers go into a Sunday night game against the New York Giants, there's a lot Kaepernick will need to improve upon to help the 49ers' offense.

Donald dominating

St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is having a great second season, following up on an NFL defensive rookie of the year campaign. He'll be a focal point for the Green Bay Packers' offensive line this Sunday.

Here's a great play from Donald last week. On a third and 3 with the Cardinals in the red zone, Donald got underneath left guard Mike Iupati (No. 76). He drove Iupati back to close the hole and stopped David Johnson for a 2-yard loss.

Seahawks issues

The Seattle Seahawks' offensive line was physically overmatched against the Detroit Lions. That could be a big problem on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Quarterback Russell Wilson's ability to make random improvisational plays is the best in the NFL. The question is whether the offensive is too dependent on those plays. Part of the problem is the offensive line, which had trouble with the length and quickness of the Lions' defensive line, and also had trouble blocking the edge pressure of the second- and third-level defenders.

There are issues aside from the line. You do not see many combination route concepts with the Seahawks. You see primarily individual isolation type routes where their receivers need to win against man coverage, and that’s been a problem. Their receivers are not good enough to win isolation routes with the exception of Doug Baldwin at times in the slot. Also, you watch the Seahawks offense and it’s difficult to get a feel for what the plan is with tight end Jimmy Graham. He’s really not utilized as the movable chess piece that he is.

As a result of all of this, there’s absolutely no rhythm to the Seahawks pass game. It’s becoming more and more a function of Wilson making special improvisational plays.

Norman picks off Winston

Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman is off to a great start this season, and he picked off Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston twice last week. Here's a look at his second interception, which was set up by a good defensive pressure concept.

On a third and 8 in the third quarter, the Panthers ran a nickel blitz out of an initial double A gap alignment (players lined up in the gap on both sides of the center). Both linebackers, Thomas Davis and A.J. Klein, dropped out of the A gaps at the snap and slot corner Bene Benwikere and safety Roman Harper both blitzed from the three-receiver side, which was Winston's back side. Benwikere attacked the outside shoulder of left tackle Donovan Smith and defensive end Jared Allen attacked the inside shoulder of left guard Logan Mankins, opening the lane for Harper, The pressure forced Winston to deliver before he had route and coverage definition.

Norman has played very well, and deserves a lot of credit, but on this play he got help from a really nice defensive scheme.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.