1. Kawakami: Kaepernick, Alex Smith and the battle since 2012

By Tim Kawakami - Mercury News

"Colin Kaepernick is older, richer, more experienced and far more famous now than he was almost two years ago, when he took Alex Smith's job.

That was the whole point of the switch, right?"    READ MORE…

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2. Chiefs-49ers scouting report

By Terez Paylor - The Kansas City Star

"When the Chiefs run

EDGE >> 49ers

The Chiefs have morphed into a ground‐oriented attack, as they've rushed the ball at a surprising 68‐percent clip this season. They rank fourth in the league in rushing, and backup Knile Davis is the league's fourth‐leading rusher with 321 yards while starter Jamaal Charles is one of the league's best backs.

However, the 49ers rank second in the league in run defense because of their physicality and gap discipline. Their front seven is missing two stars in outside linebacker Aldon Smith and inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman, but defensive end Justin Smith and inside linebacker Patrick Willis are still great run stoppers, and safety Antoine Bethea is adept at coming up and helping out the run defense."    READ MORE…

3. Q and A: Which Chiefs team is real one?

By Adam Teicher - ESPN.com

"Here is this week's edition of the Kansas City Chiefs mailbag. To ask a question for a future edition, send it to me via Twitter (@adamteicher) and tag it #ChiefsMail. "    READ MORE…

4. 49ers review – Colin Kaepernick is playing better than last season

By Eric Branch - San Francisco Chronicle

"As the 49ers prepare for the Chiefs, here are some quick observations from the last game.

-Rookie running back Carlos Hyde bounced his last three runs against the Eagles and gained a total of 6 yards on those runs, despite breaking three total tackles on those three carries. If Hyde had followed the blocks of fullback Bruce Miller or pulling guard Mike Iupati, he might have gained about 15 yards. Had Hyde followed his blocks on third-and-5 from the Eagles 13 in the fourth quarter, he probably would have plunged forward for the first down. Instead he was stopped for a 3-yard gain after bouncing the play to the outside, and the 49ers settled for a 31-yard field goal."    READ MORE…

5. Elite NFL running backs have plenty of ground to make up

By Lindsay Jones - USA Today

"Count Denver Broncos running back Montee Ball among those who cheered Eddie Lacy's breakthrough rushing performance Thursday night for the Green Bay Packers.

Ball knew that heading into Week 5, his stats and Lacy's were similar, separated by just 4 yards (165 for Ball and 161 for Lacy)."    READ MORE…

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