Column: 49ers will win Super Bowl with Kaepernick at helm

If Colin Kaepernick was not a household name already, he should be now.

Kaepernick took over as quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers after starter Alex Smith suffered a concussion.

Despite Smith getting healthy after sitting out just one game, Coach Jim Harbaugh had a difficult decision to make.

Would he go back to Smith, who was having a very solid season, or would he go with the second-year quarterback who had one big game?

Fast forward to today. The 49ers are in the NFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season, but this time, it’s with Kaepernick under center.

Harbaugh decided Kaepernick was the man who would bring San Francisco a Super Bowl championship.

I completely agree.

Before the season started, I believed even with Smith at quarterback, the 49ers would be the Super Bowl champions.

That stance has not changed since Kaepernick took over — in fact, I feel more confident now more than ever about that prediction.

Smith was just a solid quarterback who San Francisco was relying on, not to be a top quarterback — instead he was just supposed to not make mistakes.

Unlike Smith, Kaepernick is a game-changer.

We saw what he’s capable of against Green Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs. Kaepernick set a record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a playoff game, scoring four total touchdowns in the process.

He isn’t even a liability. He’s only thrown four interceptions since taking over the starting job midway through the season.

As much as I’m a fan of Kaepernick, it doesn’t hurt him that his offensive line is among the best in football.

In fact, they are the primary reason the 49ers will win the Super Bowl.

When they win battles in the trenches, Kaepernick gets time in the pocket and he and running back Frank Gore get rushing lanes.

But Kaepernick still gives San Francisco the best chance to win.

He’s a threat in every area. He’s improved greatly on short and intermediate pass routes, but he has one thing Smith doesn’t: an accurate deep ball.

Because of that, the playbook overflows with options offensively, as if it already didn’t.
The 49ers line up in many different formations, so they’re already a mystery to the defense.

But when Kaepernick is the one taking snaps, defenses always have to be on its toes.

Quarterback draws, option plays and play-action deep passes all become realistic options San Francisco can find success with.

In comparison to the remaining playoff teams, San Francisco has the deepest offensive playbook.

They may not have as much talent on the offensive side as the Patriots, Ravens and Falcons do, but I believe they do have the most difficult offense to defend.

En route to the Super Bowl, San Francisco will have to beat Atlanta in the Georgia Dome, no easy task, but we just saw Seattle nearly pull it off.

Then in the Super Bowl, they could have a rematch with the Patriots, a game they won a few weeks ago, or Harbaugh could face his brother and the Ravens.

Either way, as long as Kaepernick is the quarterback, I don’t see this team falling short this year.

­— zstavis@indiana.edu