Asked about having to prepare for Colin Kaepernick this week, you could hear the weariness in Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey's voice: "Yeah, it's a lot," he said. "That puts a lot of stress on your defense to prepare for that week in and week out. He's done a good job of running what they've put in and done a good job of keeping it varied so it's not the same all the time."
The 49ers, of course, finally ripped the veil off of Kaepernick Sunday against the Jets, and Kaepernick took full advantage. He ran for 50 yards on five attempts - including two kneel-downs at game's end - and he chucked the longest pass of the year, a 50 yarder to Randy Moss that was incomplete. He even lined up as a wide receiver, surprising the Jets and forcing them to call time out.
Asked who the Bills would use to simulate Kaepernick in practice this week, Gailey said it probably would be backup quarterback Tyler Thigpen. He's no slouch when it comes to running with the ball. As a senior at Coastal Carolina in 2006, Thigpen ran 113 times for 656 yards and four touchdowns.
Still, that pales to Kaepernick's senior-year production on the ground: 173 carries for 1,206 yards and 20 touchdowns. And Gailey realizes that Thigpen isn't a true facsimile.
"Tyler can run the football," he said. "I mean, he can't mimic exactly what Colin is able to do because of his size and speed. It's like the rest of the (49ers) players. We can't mimic all the players, either. You come as close as you possibly can. We might use Brad Smith in there a little bit."
Smith is a former Missouri quarterback, who has been converted to wide receiver in the NFL. He's quite familiar with Patrick Willis and the 49ers defense from his days with the Jets. To wit:
-- Matt Barrows
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