San Francisco 49ers vs. Atlanta Falcons: Game Day Open Thread

For the San Francisco 49ers, it’s been a tumultuous week in a tumultuous season. The 49ers finally did the right thing in benching Colin Kaepernick. Of course, the not so sunny side of that is that they now must turn to Blaine Gabbert to somehow lead them out of the darkness of 2-6 start.

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Yes, the same Blaine Gabbert who has a 5-22 career record as a starter, a 53 percent completion percentage, has thrown 23 touchdowns and 24 interceptions – oh, and he hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular season game since 2014.

Needless to say, this could be a very long day for 49ers fans.

Of course, San Francisco did themselves no favors when they let it slip that the reason they were making the QB switch this week as opposed to waiting for he bye week was that they felt Gabbert could light up the Atlanta secondary.

It was a reason the Falcons, as you could imagine, took a little exception to.

It was a short, simple reply to the report but it said oh, so much, didn’t it?

You never want to give your opponent’s added motivation. You never want to give your opponent that bulletin board material, but it looks like the 49ers may have unwittingly done just that. Athletes are proud people and when you challenge them and their ability to perform – well – it may not go very well for you.

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Gabbert is at an extreme disadvantage going into the game – he’s going to have to play behind the same line that was getting Kaepernick killed all season long. And let’s make no mistake here – Gabbert is nowhere near as mobile as Kaepernick.

He’s also handicapped by the fact that Carlos Hyde and Anquan Boldin are out with injuries and Vernon Davis is now a Denver Bronco.

To be fair, the Falcons pass defense isn’t fantastic. It does rank near the bottom of the league, giving up 262 yards per game. So you can sort of, kind of, understand the thinking of the 49ers in making the move when they did.

What is utterly perplexing though, is the decision to make mention of it – to a reporter.

Talk about setting Gabbert up to fail. Or at least take a serious beating.

With so many pieces missing on both sides of the ball, a quarterback who is largely inexperienced – and let’s be honest here, not very good – a defense that has been gashed regularly, and an offensive line that has more holes in it than swiss cheese and it doesn’t add up to anything good for Gabbert and the 49ers.

And then factor in the fact that the Falcons’ defense was called out by the 49ers and you can already sort of see how this is going to go.

Next: San Francisco49ers: Previewing the Falcons

What do you think, 49ers fans? How do you see this game shaking out? What are some of the bigger storylines in your mind? Do you think Gabbert will defy expectations and succeed? Or will he and the 49ers go down in flames today?

Time to sound off. This is your soapbox, so step on up and tell us what you think! This is your place to talk all things 49ers. So let’s hear from you!