Colin Kaepernick is working on his game, that much is certain. We know he’s spent some time working in Arizona, including some sessions with Kurt Warner. He’s working on the mental side, he’s working on his body, he’s working on his footwork, he’s working on his mechanics. Trent Baalke even added today that Kaepernick is working on taking a little bit of the pace off his shorter passes.
Kaepernick provided an update of his own on Twitter today.
1000 abs…. arm workout….. 10 min straight on the jump rope…. 2 hour study session in February….. that’s what we call a recovery day!
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) February 18, 2015
Kaepernick has over 700,000 followers. People this famous get trolls responding with pithy/vulgar/hurtful comments to what they tweet all the time. This particular tweet was no exception.
@Kaepernick7@49ers ab workout won’t help find open receiver #study — stephen batten (@battman_returns) February 18, 2015
Whether or not he can read defenses is something for Kaepernick and his coaches to determine, but the quarterback is known for reading (and favoriting) certain tweets. Instead of just clicking the “favorite” star, he responded to this one — and not just with a counterpunch. He threw three haymakers at Batten.
@battman_returns are you illiterate or just ignorant? Read the tweet again better yet give me your breakdown of every defensive coverage
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) February 18, 2015
Batten didn’t respond with his breakdown of every defensive coverage (which, to be fair, would be a difficult task given Twitter’s 140-character limit).
@battman_returns I want every players responsibility on every coverage if you can’t do it mind your damn business clown! — Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) February 18, 2015
Still no response from Batten.
@battman_returns you got 8 followers bruh your own family don’t even want to know what you doin! Get better at life!
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) February 18, 2015
Last time I checked, Batten has over 1,200 followers. So he’s gotten quite a bit better at life today, and he probably has Kaepernick to thank. Kaepernick then retweeted several notes of encouragement from others, including one from Erin Andrews.
Kaepernick under enormous pressure, and working as hard as possible only to have someone who has no idea what they’re talking about question his effort and intellect has to be infuriating. However, the favoriting of tweets last season, his on-field arguments, and today’s three-tweet outburst show that it’s not all that difficult to get under his skin.
In Week 2, he jawed with Lamarr Houston after an interception and received a penalty for “inappropriate language.” That led to one of the sillier non-football 49ers story lines in a season full of them, complete with fans and media alike examining a grainy video of the exchange.
In the Week 14 loss to the Raiders, Kaepernick threw two interceptions, absorbed five sacks, shoved a camera away at halftime and got into it with Sio Moore (who later posted an image of their exchange on Instagram and called Kaepernick a “freakin chump” in the caption). After the game, defensive lineman Antonio Smith said the Raiders got into Kaepernick’s head.
Some public figures shrug off all the insults. Others deal with negative feedback in ways we can’t see. Kaepernick appears to be a celebrity who feels that responding publicly provides motivation, inspiration, and that little something extra he needs to stay on edge, which is his prerogative. And if Kaepernick’s method helps, it’s smart to keep it up — because when trolls and talkers of trash see that their words have an effect on a particular public figure, they become motivated to lob more insults at that person.
