SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Is it time for the San Francisco 49ers to bench Colin Kaepernick?

Not necessarily to say it's Blaine Gabbert Time, but to give Kaepernick time to clear his head, stop overthinking things, allow his body time to heal from the numerous blows he has taken through the first quarter of the season. To let him get back to being the athletic playmaker he was when he burst upon the national scene three years ago.

"Won't even go into that discussion," coach Jim Tomsula said following the 49ers' 17-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, which dropped them to 1-3.

"It's not on my mind."

But should it be? The question does not come lightly, or does it necessarily mean that Gabbert is the answer. It's more along the lines of, the offense can't look much worse than it has under Kaepernick, who worked on his pocket passing skills this offseason with Kurt Warner but, behind an increasingly leaky offensive line, has no time to throw the ball downfield.

And that's if he even has the vision to make the throws.

Against the Packers, Kaepernick completed only three passes at least five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and his interception came on an underthrown long pass to Anquan Boldin.

And it's not just Green Bay that gave him fits. Over the last two games, Kaepernick is 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) with four interceptions on such passes.

On the year, Kaepernick has completed 72 of 116 passes (62.1 percent, which is higher than his career mark of 60.1 percent entering this season) for 727 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also been sacked 14 times, with six coming courtesy of the Packers.

Projected out over a 16-game season, that gives Kaepernick 2,908 passing yards (which would be a career low as a full-time starter), eight touchdowns (also a career low), 20 interceptions (which would double the career high of 10 from last year) and 56 sacks (he was sacked 52 times last year) for a team that would be 4-12. And what's the point?

The offense is stuck in neutral, trying to climb a steep hill some 40 miles north in hilly San Francisco, and in danger of rolling backward if it hasn't already.

In fact, Kaepernick admitted he was being cautious against the Packers after last week's debacle in Arizona, where he threw four interceptions, including two pick-sixes.

"I'm not just going to throw a ball into coverage," Kaepernick said. "I'm going to protect the throws myself so we can protect the ball as an offense."

Then what about the "grounders" he threw, passes so far and low off target it looked as though he was targeting squirrels in the Levi's Stadium sod? Or the deep ball he threw to rookie Arik Armstead, who, unfortunately for the 49ers, is a defensive lineman for the team and was standing on the sidelines near the bench?

Yes, Kaepernick was off target, a theme throughout the season, even if his completion percentage is actually up. He just looks shaky, rattled even.

"I would say the one throw I want to have back is the one to Reggie [Bush] in the red zone," Kaepernick said of a sinker that would have made retiring San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Hudson proud.

"He made a great move, [but] I didn't make the throw. But the other ones, once again, I'm not going to throw a ball into traffic and risk this offense and this team and putting them in a bad situation."

Too late.

After being cautious, dare we say a game manager, in the 20-3 defense-and-Carlos Hyde-fueled season opening victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Kaepernick unleashed his passing skills at Pittsburgh, albeit, after the score was 29-3 in favor of the Steelers.

Then came last week's meltdown in Arizona.

"Study as much as I can, work as much as I can," Kaepernick said. "That's the only way I know how to fix things, is go back to work. Talking about things, analyzing things, all that is good and has its place, but at the end of the day you have to work to get better."

But might he better be served doing those things as an observer, at least for the time being, or should he be afforded the respect and opportunity to work through his issues?