SANTA CLARA – Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said Thursday the 49ers would consider giving backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick more playing time in the final stretch of the season but said he was confident the rookie would hold up well in an emergency.
"He's made leaps in every phase of his game and continues to do so," Roman said. "He's definitely becoming more comfortable in a pro-style system."
The 49ers gambled this season by having two rookies – Scott Tolzien is the other – back up Alex Smith, and so far the gamble has paid off. Smith suffered a concussion in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys but has not missed any playing time because of that or any other injury.
Kaepernick took one snap against the Eagles in Week 4 and entered in the fourth quarter of the 49ers' blowout win against the Buccaneers. He was 3 for 3 for 35 yards in that game, and he nearly threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Joshua Morgan, who was stopped at the 1-yard line.
Kaepernick said he feels more comfortable with the offense now than he did during the Tampa Bay game. He said the so-called mental repetitions he takes on the sideline now are different as well.
"Yeah, at the beginning, I would look to see how Alex is doing different things," he said. "Whereas now, I'm getting more comfortable with what I'm doing out there, so I'm more worried about the defenses."
Poker lessons – The lesson from poker star Phil Hellmuth, who attended Wednesday's practice, was about staying mentally focused, especially when your stack of chips is towering over that of your opponents.
"He faces that every year in his championships," wide receiver Brett Swain said. "And he told us that even though he's ahead in the chip count, he can't start thinking he'll be at that final table. He still has to make sure he's making all the right moves and not slipping up anywhere else because before you know it, you could be out of there. It kind of all tied together and was pretty cool."
Swain, meanwhile, likely will be active Sunday if Braylon Edwards (knee/shoulder) doesn't play. Edwards did not practice Thursday for the second consecutive day, and Swain indicated that Edwards might miss more than one game.
"They're saying Braylon's going to do some rehab in the next week or two, and they're trying to get him ready for the playoffs," Swain said.
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