Anquan Boldin is loving the San Francisco 49ers. The wide receiver who was traded to the team in the offseason has been thriving as a top target for quarterback Colin Kaepernick. As the team's offense continues its momentum with aggressive and diverse play calling, Boldin is applauding his quarterback and coaching staff.
Coordinator Greg Roman is firing up a diverse set of play calls that have the 49ers rolling through the season. The team showed off a solid amount of read-option and zone reads this season that are allowing both Kaepernick and Boldin to succeed. The wide receiver believes it is the quarterback's ability to execute the read-option that is giving the team a real edge.
"It makes defenses declare," Boldin said, per the team's official website. "Are you going to be bring an eighth guy down in the box to stop the run or are you going to stay with seven guys? It definitely clears things up for us. It allows us to throw the ball outside as well."
That type of productivity was displayed on Sunday as the 49ers showed no signs of struggle against the Tennessee Titans. Kaepernick finished with 68 yards rushing while Boldin had five catches for 74 yards. Running back Frank Gore had 70 yards on 24 carries. The defense could not handle the one-on-one matches. Boldin gives all the credit to Kaepernick.
"He brings a different skill set as a quarterback," Boldin said. "He does a lot of different things quarterbacks can't do. I don't think he gets a lot of credit for how good of a quarterback he is. He can throw it with the best of them. He can make any throw on the field. And when things break down, that's when you can really see how special he is."
At the beginning of the season it appeared the 49ers were attempting to hold Kaepernick back from rushing so much. It was likely they wanted to keep the quarterback injury free. As a result, the team struggled heavily to moving. Now, the 49ers are pushing forward, sticking to the formula that made them so successful last year. The defense respects Kaepernick and Gore as rushing threats, allowing for the receivers to make big plays.
The 49ers have rattled off four-straight wins as the offense looks better than ever. Health will remain the biggest factor in the team's overall success down the stretch of the season, but right now the read-option has every defense fooled.
