SANTA CLARA — Everyone heard it in the third quarter from the stands of Levi’s Stadium.
“We want Kap! We want Kap!”
The 49ers are five weeks into a miserable season and Blaine Gabbert keeps Blaine Gabberting. In front of a national audience on Thursday Night Football, the quarterback overthrew passes, tossed two interceptions and, although he isn’t this team’s only problem, Gabbert was the recipient of fan outrage.
His offensive linemen heard the chants.
“Yeah, I’m not deaf,” Joe Staley said with a slight smile to reporters. “Yeah, I mean I’m focused. I’m doing my job. Just like last week, we gave the Cowboys a lot of chances. This week, (the fans) chanting that. I’m out there doing my job to the best of my ability. That’s what I have to focus on in the game.”
“I did, yeah,” center Daniel Kilgore said in the locker room afterwards. “We’ve got tunnel vision on our job and what we’ve got to do, regardless of whose back there. I’ve got to make sure I snap the ball to somebody. Blaine or Kap. I’ve got to protect for them.”
Gabbert, who admirably apologized to the organization for his poor play on Thursday, would not admit that he heard the Kaepernick chants — which were audible to media members on the eighth floor press box.
“I did not,” said Gabbert (18-for-31, 162 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) at the podium after the loss. “I’m focused on leading the 11 guys on the field. When you’re in the game in a situation like that, your focused on that play. That specific drive. So we’re all locked in. That’s it.”
That actually might be it for Gabbert, at least for now. A week after praising Gabbert in the minutes after the loss to Dallas, Chip Kelly did not commit to a starting quarterback for next week’s matchup on the road against the Buffalo Bills. He did admit Gabbert has looked better than Kaepernick in practice, but also said the current state of the offense is unacceptable.
“We’ll assess the film and move from there but we’re not talking about who’s playing in a game that’s 10 days from now,” Kelly said.
The 49ers will receive the weekend off.