Colin Kaepernick got the choke sign from Richard Sherman, but he received something far different from the other first-team All-Pro in Seattle’s secondary: respect.

Seattle safety Earl Thomas, a leading NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, detailed how the Seahawks had their hands full with Kaepernick in the NFC Championship Game in this insightful post on his blog (www.earlthomas.com).

“To watch that guy take over a game – he did a hell of a job making play after play,” Thomas wrote. “That’s a special player right there.”

Kaepernick’s three-turnover fourth quarter in the 49ers’ 23-17 loss has a segment of the fan base questioning his franchise-quarterback merits. However, the testimony from a player of Thomas’ stature is reminder he possesses rare dual-threat gifts (In fact, Kaepernick’s agent probably should include a copy of Thomas’ blog in his contract-extension dossier).

In the NFC title game, Kaepernick had the second-most rushing yards by a QB in NFL postseason history (130), accounted for 92 percent of the 49ers’ 308 net yards and fired a jaw-dropping 26-yard, jump-pass touchdown to Anquan Boldin. Thomas, who seemingly had Boldin blanketed in the end zone, was surprised Kaepernick attempted the pass, let alone completed it.

Interestingly, Thomas said some of Kaepernick’s “scrambles” in Seattle were actually designed runs, with the 49ers receivers running “phantom routes” before turning into downfield blockers.

Here’s Thomas:

That was the first time Colin Kaepernick ever ran wild on us like that. Watching tape of him, we’d always see these explosive plays that he was getting against other teams. It never really happened to us until last week. He’s a fast guy as it is, but he seemed even faster when you take into account the game plan they ran against us. It was unusual. They really seemed to want to keep the ball in his hands. They were running phantom routes like they were trying to get open, but they were just decoys so Kaepernick could run, almost like it was a draw. It makes it tougher to get to him because you have to deal with blockers already down the field. It’s always going to be a mismatch. When he gets into that second level with the linebackers, he’s going to out run them nine times out of 10. Sometimes, he can even separate from players in the secondary. One of his strengths as a runner is his height. He has such long strides, it causes you to misjudge his speed. It doesn’t look like he’s running that fast. But once you get close to him, his stride is so long, he’s just running away from you. To watch that guy take over the game — he did a hell of a job of making play after play. That’s a special player right there. He plays for the 49ers, one of our biggest rivals, but I have to take my hat off to him. He played a hell of a game. He also throws one of the hardest balls in the league, almost like a baseball player, and it comes out like a fastball. Hot. The play I had against Boldin in the end zone, Kaepernick was jumping up in mid-air as he threw. That was a dime. I was kind of surprised he even threw it. They usually don’t when I’m that close in the area.

Thomas termed the Kaepernick-to-Boldin touchdown “… good offense vs. good defense and as a defender, I just think it was better offense.”

Of course, Thomas – not Kaepernick – is preparing for the Super Bowl because the quarterback attempted a similar risky throw against Sherman in the final minute.

In the aftermath, Sherman directed a choke sign at Kaepernick, while Thomas, presumably, exhaled.

“It feels great to know that we own the NFC,” he wrote, “but the 49ers made us earn it.”

********************************************************************

After the NFC title game, it was reported that Sherman and Crabtree had some unpleasant off-the-field history dating to an incident at a charity event in Arizona last offseason.

However, Thomas also had history with Crabtree. But his was on the field.

In 2008, Crabtree caught a last-second, 28-yard touchdown to give Texas Tech a 39-33 win over No. 1 Texas and Thomas, then a freshman. On Crabtree’s game-winning grab, Thomas (No. 12 in the video) gave up on the play, thinking his teammate, cornerback Curtis Brown, would tackle Crabtree a few yards short of the end zone.

Thomas’ unpleasant memories of that play are detailed in this entry on his blog.

