THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE, June 8, 2014

In the wake of Colin Kaepernick's $126 million, 6-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers, Seahawks fans are probably wondering how a quarterback who can look so clueless against them can deserve all that money.

Good point. However, most teams have looked really bad against Seattle's defense in recent years. And, looking on the bright side for the 49ers, until the final quarter of the NFC Championship game, he looked less bad in that game than he has in previous meetings at Seattle.

So maybe he's starting to figure it out. People who know far more football than me have told me not to worry about Kaepernick, that he'll be just fine.

Hope so. The 49ers were 5 yards from a Super Bowl two years ago and couldn't figure out how to punch it in, and hopefully that wasn't their best shot.

Besides, in all honesty, what other options did the 49ers have? Start over? Find someone who is to Kaepernick what Kaepernick was to Alex Smith?

Alex Smith was a "cerebral" quarterback and a "game manager," and he might have been able to figure out a way to move the 49ers 5 yards with the Super Bowl on the line. But with his lack of arm strength, the 49ers had to run their offense in a 10-yard box.

At least Kaepernick can throw the ball down the field, so he was an upgrade there. In addition, he can run, which is a plus on this team because he often has to run for his life, but I still think quarterbacks who run eventually end up like dogs who chase cars. And he still needs to make defenses pay for stacking the box to stop the run, as well as to make him have to beat them.

Starting over would mean another couple of years before the new QB got up to speed - if he even worked out at all - and some of their star players might not be around that long. With Kaepernick, you have to hope whatever head-scratching things he does during a game doesn't outweigh the really good things he can do.

Besides, Adam Schefter said it was a good deal on ESPN, so that's good enough for me.

MEANWHILE, UP the road, Seahawks fans are wondering how Kaepernick's deal will affect their savior, Russell Wilson, when he's due for an extension after this season.

Chances are, Wilson will agree to a team-friendly deal which will allow the Seahawks to reward most, if not all, of their other rising stars.

Like other Super Bowl winners, Seattle lost/cut a few players in the offseason due to money reasons.

But unlike most other champions, most of the Seahawks' losses were people easily replaced.

Wide receiver Golden Tate took his doughnuts and chased the money in Detroit. Doug Baldwin is just as talented and far less annoying, and Sidney Rice was kind enough to accept a deal for slightly more than minimum wage (even by the city of Seattle's ballooning standards) and return to the Seahawks after they cut him a few months ago.

Speaking of people who get under your skin, Richard Sherman will probably buck the trend and beat the "Madden Curse" when he graces the cover of this coming year's video game.

Hopefully for Seahawk fans, he won't suffer the same fate as other Madden cover boys, including former Seattle running back Shaun Alexander, who made the cover of the 2006 game and suffered a broken foot during the season.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.