FOXBORO -- The Patriots are preparing for Colin Kaepernick to play quarterback on Sunday night as well they should. And what they see from him is similar to what his own San Francisco 49ers team sees in him -- not just youth, but a whole lot of skill that trumps the inexperience.
"He's another young quarterback that we're playing, that we're going to have to just try to make things tough on him, do different things," said Patriots safety Devin McCourty on Wednesday. "But he's really grasped onto the offense fast. He hasn't played in many games, but he's been very productive.
"He's not making many mistakes at all. He's not throwing into coverage where guys are just dropping balls. I think because of his arm strength, he's able to throw into some tight windows and get the throw in there and get the right read. So it's going to be tough for us."
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich even admitted that it won't be easy preparing for the versatile quarterback this week.
"He's definitely a hard quarterback to prepare for, just because of his ability to run and to throw," said Ninkovich on Wednesday.
"When you have an athletic quarterback, no matter who he is, obviously they can beat you with their legs and they can run and get out of the pocket and extend plays," added Ninkovich. "So, that's the tough part about playing a guy that can get out of the pocket and hurt you with running."