Pumpernickel benched. Would not be surprised if his time in the Bay Area is done. Is it just me or is it becoming more and more clear that the any given Sunday parity maxim should not exist anymore? Especially with how the majority of NFL teams have mediocre or terrible qb's? I mean... half the guys in the league are either downright terrible or below average at best. Then the other half you have a select few elite guys at the top and then some good qbs who are considered franchise guys but not top tier elite. Pretty clear there is a bigger gap between the "rich" and the "poor" more than in the past few seasons in regards to the quarterback position. Are spread offences ruining the qb position on both sides of the border? There seems to be a dearth of talent in the qb pipeline with how they are developed coming out of high school and going in to college. They are not taught traditional pro concepts and instead run simplified offences that rely on very basic reads and don't teach the qb to have good decision making or work through their progressions on a particular play. The coaches are more concerned about winning however possible and making money for the school by having an athletic qb and designing an offence around him that puts up points and is flashy but as we see it is increasingly setting up these guys to fail at the NFL level. Each offensive concept that has come along the NFL has adjusted too over it's history. Recently we had the wildcat and read-option and now both more or less have been reduced to change of pace or trick play status instead of something close to a base offensive set used on plays. Chip Kelly's spread shotgun no huddle tempo offence has also been less effective as teams have gotten more tape and realized how to neutralize the tempo by understanding how simple the offence really is outside of the motions and option routes and screens. As crazy as this will sound despite how trash guys like RGIII and Colin Kaepernick have been there are teams waiting for them to get cut so they can sign them because the alternatives either via trade, free agency, or even the draft are not a whole lot better. What are the chances you get lucky and land a Derek Carr or Russel Wilson a franchise type qb? Guys who can both comfortably throw from the pocket but also are mobile enough to be a threat to escape pressure and run if necessary are rare to find. Most qbs can either do one thing and are limited at best at the other or in some cases severely lacking altogether ie Tim Tebow. It's a total crap shoot. I understand why NFL teams are so reluctant to give up on guys like Stafford or Cutler even though they are overpaid and probably overrated. The alternatives are not really much better when you realize the terrible state of affairs at qb around the league right now. QB is probably one of, if not, the most difficult position to evaluate in pro sports and to get players to play at a high level consistently year in and year out requires a great team around the player and surely a good helping of good fortune too. Especially with the NFL having rules where everything is geared towards increasing offence and points scored it is difficult for teams to have truly great defenses anymore that are capable of winning playoff games and making up for mediocre qbs by relying on a heavy run game between the rb and qbs and the d to bail them out.