Tagged: Anquan Boldin
NFL (49ers) Off Season: Torrey Smith Headed West??
Let’s be honest: I mostly/primarily/really only care about what we are doing this off-season, so while I may give opinions and comments on what the rest of the League is up to, my focus is on the only team (to me) that matters — my beloved San Francisco 49ers. Tuesday is going to be a wild day, I reckon. It’s a good thing that this week is Spring Break and probably pretty quiet, because I’ll be checking updates like a man with a problem.
Interesting. *IF* this pans out, I’m quite intrigued. Last year, our passing threat was really only Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin. As far as I’m concerned, Vernon quit on us — maybe he was injured (again) but he certainly wasn’t giving 100% effort when he was on the field, and he wasn’t a reliable target; Crabtree also struggled and didn’t perform as we had anticipated; McDonald/Celek/Carrier failed to shine (hence, why I think Baalke made the guarantee that Davis would be back — I reckon, had either of those guys looked like someone who could step into the starting role, that Davis would be traded by now, without question); and Stevie Johnson didn’t see as much action, as the least experienced in the system.
I know that Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin is going to do his job — I’m not worried there; the man’s a warrior — however, *if* it’s true that Vernon is a new-man and ready to play hard… AND, now, with a full year and off-season getting Stevie Johnson more in sync with Kaepernick…. AND we get Torrey Smith who can stretch the field deep??? It could be a HUGE development for us. The only potential downside (right now, that I see) is that it would further delay the development of Patton and Ellington. Having three veteran WRs at a higher pay-grade on roster, unless they get outworked this summer, they are going to get the bulk of the playing time. And, with the signing of Jarryd Hayne (for the purpose of the return game, I imagine) that makes Ellington – in particular – on the edge of redundancy.
One of the downsides of our past few seasons, offensively, is that almost EVERY play that our offense ran was, by and large, capped at 15-20yds….maybe even 10-15yds. We had solid/reliable inside receivers, but not much in the way of speed or a deep threat. However, now, if we can have the Smiths (Stevie and Torrey) on the outside — Stevie doing the mid-range/side line work; Torrey on the deep ball — with Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin and Davis attacking the middle, we accomplish a few big things:
1– Give Kaepernick more options; in addition, veteran/experienced options.
2–Expand opposing secondaries, as they no longer could just contain 1-2 receivers 10-15yds from the line of scrimmage.
3–Ease pressure on the running game — if we are able to keep the secondary back, I think that our offensive line is good enough to make lanes, and I think that Hyde/Hunter are good enough to gain yards. Neither are probably as good at finding holes as Gore, so I don’t know if they’d break off BIG gains, but as long as they’re good for a handful when we need them, that is HUGE. Losing Gore will be tough but I think it’s still a talented backfield, and, who knows?, maybe we’ll add another RB in the Draft — as insurance.
Oh, not to mention that Baalke/York had said, prior, that they’re taking Kaepernick off the leash — which is a good sign. The thing that annoyed me about last year is that there were many times where Kaepernick held off running in order to throw — which led to either a) high-risk passes, b) incompletions, or c) getting caught by defenders for either a sack or minimal gain. If they’re taking him off the leash, though, then I’m thinking that we’ll see him get out of the pocket and, if daylight is there, taking off. Seattle’s defenders had said (in that NFC Championship Game) that tackling him was deceivingly difficult. I think it would be even more difficult if, as a defender, you are have your back to him and are giving him a 20yd cushion because you have to respect Torrey Smith and the deep ball — after all, Kaepernick has the arm (and accuracy) to hit the deep ball: he just hasn’t had the talent in the WR position to make it work.
I know that I said a lot of the same things when we drafted LaMichael James a few years back (I figured we’d use him like a Darren Sproles-type, into the flat against a OLB or Safety), and that didn’t pan out…..at all…..as Roman instead tried using him between the tackles, which was just bizarre, before trying to make him a return specialist….which also didn’t work….before ultimately releasing him after he became a distraction. So, my visions haven’t always worked out — BUT I think that, if we do land Torrey Smith, there is only one reason we would be pursuing him: utilization of his speed and deep-ball abilities. Especially, since it’s unlikely we’ll have a shot at any of the premiere deep threat WRs in the Draft. #GoNiners
Update: Vernon Davis Hold Out
Reportedly, Vernon Davis doesn’t seem to optimistic or disgruntled about the whole new-deal-contract situation, according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, stating that he “won’t lose sleep” over it — which is good to hear. I had written my initial thoughts about his hold out a few weeks ago, and with this more recent update, I will now update my opinions based upon what I have read.
What I Think This Means for 2014 & Summer 2015:
As I had suspected (and hoped), I think that this means that Vernon will not sit out late summer activities, the pre-season, or regular season games in search of a new deal. I haven’t heard his full interview, but, from what I’m gathering, he seems to understand that he doesn’t have a lot of leverage right now and so, if it happens it will be great, but he doesn’t seem willing to hurt himself or the team in order to pout for more money. Which is good.
Again, I don’t fault him for wanting more money — it is wholly his right to ask for more money when he believes that he deserves it (which I think that he does); however, we aren’t obliged to honor the request, and I don’t think that we are going to renegotiate a new deal for him right now, because it would set an undesirable precedent in the locker room, I reckon. Furthermore, I don’t think that he’d find much support in the NFLPA ranks or amongst the general public, simply because he willfully signed a 6-year deal in his prime, so he had to have known that he was going to limit his opportunities for another big contract, of which he still has 2 yrs remaining.
Similarly, he doesn’t have the leverage that Jimmy Graham has because, while even though I don’t agree with the stats-obsessing sometimes, he doesn’t have the offensive production that Jimmy Graham, Jason Witten, or Gronkowski have to where those guys can make a case for themselves as either a) a big part of the offensive – by citing their statistics; or b) wanting to be classified as a WR instead of a TE, in order to get a higher pay scale. Vernon doesn’t have that leverage, even though he is a true TE who is GREAT in pass protection and blocking schemes, who can then also sneak out into the open and be a receiver.
HOWEVER, I think that the way that our offense is shaping up, he could be primed for a big production year that can get him more money next summer.
Now, a lot of this has to do with the health and production of our WR corps, of which I am optimistic but can’t outright say, confidently, that they will live up to their potential. Time will tell. HOWEVER, if our WR corps remain healthy and productive, this could translate into a HUGE year for Vernon Davis.
What has held Vernon back (for lack of better word) is that he has been a primary target in our passing game for the past few years, which means he has had to be covered by opposing defense’s top players. I don’t think that will be the case this year. If defensive secondaries are having to account for Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson, and then a speedy threat combo of Patton/Ellington, I think that our offense can, and will, spread the field and spread out the defense. That means that there could be a lot of open space for Vernon to exploit and that he no longer gets covered by a CB or Safety — he’s going to get covered by a LB….. and he can beat any and all LBs in the open field. I guarantee that.
I don’t know what will happen this coming season, but — on paper — our offense is primed for a big year. *IF* everyone can stay healthy and our offensive line maintains the same high-quality production, then we could be a very dangerous offense to go up against. We have a stable of good RBs in Gore, Hunter, Lattimore/Hyde, and maybe even James; the aforementioned WR corps; Kaepernick’s multi-threat abilities; and then Vernon Davis, too?? Even in the NFC, and specifically the West, where defenses reign supreme, that is a formidable offense to try and defend.
If our WRs can perform at the level that we expect them to, and Kaepernick continues his growth at the QB position, Vernon Davis could see a lot of passes this season, simply by virtue that secondaries have to focus on the WRs now, with Davis no longer being our automatic 1st-2nd option. He could have a big year and get some more money the way that, I believe, he really wants to get more money: through his play and not through sitting out. #GoNiners
-Ryan.
My Thoughts on the 49ers Recent Few Weeks
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for my beloved San Francisco 49ers. It seems as though my Facebook News Feed (or whatever it is called nowadays, Timeline?) has been populated with 49er news — mostly of the unsavory nature — and so, rather than taking a break from football* and enjoying my beloved Colorado Avalanche and their amazing charge into the playoffs, I’m now having to read various news stories and, inevitably, the comment sections — which I always say I’m not going to read but then I always do end up reading them. You find some really fascinating, disturbing, and illiterate people in those comment sections.
*That is a joke — football season never ends, really. I don’t take breaks from it. 😉
Anyway, I figured that I could not kid myself any longer and so I decided to sit down and write out my thoughts on the latest happenings that have populated my News Feed and gotten me several text messages and taunting posts from my Seahawks fan friends:
The “Incident” With Kaepernick
I’ll start off with this one because I think it is the easiest one to dismiss: I’m fairly confident that no wrong-doing occurred and that Kaepernick will be cleared. I don’t understand the hate that the guy is getting from people. Every interview I’ve seen him in — both with the press and in regards to his family — he seems like a pretty cool, laid back guy to me. Yeah, the sunglasses inside at the ESPYs was silly but, hey, he’s young, has quite a bit of fame and success, I’ll take his “acting out” of having a hundred pair of shoes and wearing sunglasses inside over some of the other tabloid exploits of other young and famous people.
From what I’ve gathered from this story is that it appears to be just a routine follow-up by the Miami PD since the girl ended up in the hospital without memory of how she got there. From what I’ve read, she was partying with them — yes, other people were there too, including Lockette, Seahawks fans — and went to bed with Kaepernick but they didn’t do anything sexual, then he left at some point, and Lockette wanted her to leave but she refused, twice, and so the police were called. Smash cut to her being in apparently bad shape (from weed, it sounded like) and so she was taken to the hospital where she woke up in the morning and didn’t know how she got there.
I’d be very surprised if anything illegal — aside from the weed, of course — went down that night. Kaepernick seems, to me, to be a guy who is too focused on his future to do something stupid like that; especially on the eve of a big payday. Hell, the guy started training for the season almost immediately after last season ended; with a fire and passion to take his game (and us) to the highest level next season. I don’t think that he would do something like this to derail everything he has been working so hard for. I’ll be very surprised and disappointed if evidence to the contrary arises.
I knew it was a mistake to train in Florida, though. Nothing good comes from Florida. And nothing good comes from associating with Seahawks, either, and so when you have both in tandem, it’s doubly bad. 😉 I’m standing with Kaepernick on this, though, because I genuinely don’t think he is that type of person. The positive that I hope comes from this is that he uses this to fuel his game this season. He has the potential to be scary good and if we enter this season with a “hey, prove to us that you deserve $18-20M a year”, I think that he can rise to the challenge.
Culliver… Effing Culliver
I haven’t followed up with this story since it initially broke but this one irritates me the most. During the lead up to Super Bowl, I supported him when the world came crashing down on him for his “anti-gay” comments; which, if I recall, he was asked an honest question and he gave an honest answer, I have no problem with that. Was it a popular answer? No. But I don’t think that he was trying to be hurtful or offensive, and so I respect his opinion. Regardless, the world came down on him, were demanding that he be traded, that he’s insensitive, and so forth, and, while it may not have been the reason he played poorly to start the Super Bowl, I’m sure that it didn’t help his performance. Well, lesson learned: he apologized, attended sensitivity classes, and, I believe, became involved in the community. It was just unfortunate that he was injured all of last year and so we didn’t get to see what he was capable of doing on the field.
Then, with the knowledge that Cully was coming back, we let go of Brown and Rogers because their salaries were too high and we didn’t need them anymore. So, he has to know that he is now very important to our defensive scheme. So important that, perhaps, we can take a WR first in the draft and a CB in the 2nd round. All of the talk and buzz was on the impression that we had Cully back and so we had that secondary issue nearly-addressed. But then came the report of an (alleged) hit and run….. expletive….. then I kept reading….. was finally stopped by the lone witness WHO HE THEN (allegedly) THREATENED…… expletive, expletive ….. with a pair of brass knuckles… that are illegal weapons…. EX-PLE-TIVE.
I don’t know what is going to happen here. I’m sure that he’ll plead not guilty to the hit-and-run (who knows? Maybe someone else was driving), but threatening the witness would be all on him, I imagine. He’s a high-profile guy, people know him, hell, we’ve been awaiting his return and saying his name for almost the past year!!! I’m sure, now, that we’ll end up playing most of the season without him. I don’t know if the legal process will conclude during the season, but I’m confident that the League will suspend him for at least 5 games, maybe half of the season. Had he (or the driver) stopped after hitting the cyclist, that’s one thing and could be seen as an accident — still punishable but perhaps not as severe. But then (allegedly) leaving the scene — that’s worse — and then (allegedly) threatening the witness with harm??? Yeah, that’s going to cost him.
I was super stoked for Cully to come back this year but, like Aldon (up next), I’m not sure how much we’re going to see of him, either. The good news, though, is that we have learned that our secondary can withstand punishment so long as our front 7 are healthy and playing tough, which they should be — if the Football Gods allow it.
Aldon Smith
There’s a bit of speculation, right now, on whether or not Aldon is going to be a 49er this season. My thoughts: I will be very, very, VERY surprised if he’s not. Some people will harass me for being a homer and that I’m electing to ignore the mistakes that he has made (and, seemingly, continues to make) — which, for the record, I’m not; I think that when he makes mistakes, he makes really big ones and should be punished for them — but let’s be real for a moment:
1) I read that his contract for this season is guaranteed – so why would we release him if we have to pay him anyways? It doesn’t make sense, to me, and so I don’t think that we will release him because there is nothing for us to gain from it (except, perhaps, favorable public opinion for cutting him loose). And…
2) what possible trade value could he have right now? Pending felony weapon charges, following the guns from two summers back — for the record, they were bought legally in Arizona, it just so happens that California has different laws and so they are illegal in California – so I don’t believe that he did anything wrong actively, however, laws are laws and he did break them; also, pending legal action on the DUI from last September; and, now, the whole airport quasi-bomb threat…thing… in LA that, I believe, escalates to a Federal level because it was in an airport — and those are the matters that he’s facing from the outside world…. the League will surely punish him, too.
Ergo, who is going to trade for him? And what could we possibly get out of said trade? With this upcoming draft class being as deep as it is in talent, I’d be curious to see what team would give up any Draft pick for him — and the pending sanctions that are likely coming in the very near future — when they can get someone fresh from the Draft, instead. Besides, we have a lot of Draft picks – so I don’t think we would shop him for additional picks unless they were top picks….which, again, because of the talent in this year’s Draft, who is going to give up a top pick to, in essence, take a chance on him? It’s nonsense.
Does he have immense talent and potential? Yes. That’s why we’ve put up with the behaviors to this point; and every team in the League recognizes his talent and potential. However, with that much lingering on him right now, I don’t think he’s touchable. No team would (or should) trade for the guy who — for all that we know — may end up getting suspended for most of the season, as a repeat offender, or be facing jail time for his off-field incidents. He has no trade value, as I see it.
Side Note: I was reading a comment from some fan who was suggesting that we trade him to the Rams to get the #2 overall pick, which is, arguably, one of the most foolish things that I have read in awhile. Presuming that the Rams would give up the #2 overall pick for him (which they wouldn’t for the reasons above), why would we want to trade him to a division rival?? Let’s say that this is FINALLY the incident that wakes him up and he devotes himself fully to football, I don’t want him in the Division to terrorize our offense. Absolutely foolish.
So, like it or not, I see no reason why he wouldn’t be a 49er this season. And for the story that cites anonymous “sources” that report to the contrary, well, you know how I feel about that: whenever I read of a story with anonymous “sources”, I automatically conclude that it is likely fictional or immense liberties have been taken (i.e. he knows a guy, who knows a guy, who is dating the sister of a girl who is friends with… etc. etc. etc.). Until our GM or someone who isn’t afraid to talk on record with the media comes out and says this, I am inclined not to believe it. It could, very well, be just an attempt to get his value lowered for an extension at a cap-friendly level.
What happens next? I have no idea. Part of me hopes that he gets put on the No-Fly list, he’d then — in my mind — essentially be punished for 7 of our 8 road games this season (save for the Oakland game) to really drive the point home. He really needs to learn to control himself because the incidents that he is getting into — although, really, consists of just 3 BIG mistakes — are troubling because I really thought, after the DUI, that he had gotten it together. He finished the season as if he had it all together, so it’s disappointing to read about this latest one. I’m sure that he probably didn’t mean to cause a stir, but he has to realize that he’s a high-profile guy and airports are the LAST place you want to screw around at and try to be funny or stir things up. We’ll see what happens. I think he’ll be a 49er this season, I just don’t know how many games we’ll see him in.
******
Worry not, Niner Faithful, it wasn’t just bad news associated to us the past couple of weeks, there has also been some good news coming out of the red and gold. For example…..
Gold Rush Cheerleaders!!
After a week of auditions and interviews, the 2014 Gold Rush Cheerleaders have been selected! Congrats to those who made the team, as it seemed like there were a TON of women who tried out — or so the constant updates on my Facebook Feed suggested.
It’s not all sunshine here, though, as, inevitably, you’ll have the people of the Internet take to the comments and talk badly about the selections — which is both superficial and sad. There is more that goes into being a cheerleader than just being attractive: it’s a lot of work to do what they do. And, to make a squad of which there are only 31 (I believe) in the world… that’s pretty good, in my opinion. So, I respect the work that they put in, learning the choreography and the athleticism that the job requires, and I refuse to let people’s negative remarks bring me down.
Personally, having nothing but their picture and name to base my opinions on, I like (L to R) Brooke, Carmen, Francesca, and Gabriela as my favorites (in no particular order) of the 41-woman roster. But hey, everyone has their preference, and all of these women are beautiful to someone, I promise you that. Anyway, I look forward to seeing them (and the rest of the team) welcoming us back from commercial breaks in a few months (…as that is the only time I ever see our Gold Rush cheerleaders). Congratulations on the accomplishment!
In other good 49er news…
Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin’s Q-Fest
Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin had his annual Q-Fest recently and, from everything that I read about it online, it sounded like a big success with a lot of other NFL stars coming out and showing support to the kids. Coach Harbaugh was apparently concerned — rightfully so — of the basketball game portion of the festival because, in my opinion, Boldin is the man… the Grown Man… that makes our passing game dangerous.
Now, I’ve always been a fan of Boldin — back when he was on the Cardinals and, even, when beating us as a member of the Ravens; I think the guy does his job, works hard, and produces. Plus, he seems to be an upstanding guy in the community and just a decent guy all-around, and I think his Q-Fest exemplifies a lot of those qualities that I admire.
I’m glad that he was able to have a successful Q-Fest this year, and emerge from it without any injury, because we are going need “Grown Man” Boldin to make some grown man plays next season. Hopefully, Roman will utilize him more this season. I don’t want to dwell on the past too much but, I’m confident, if we throw to him to end that NFC Championship game last year instead of Crabtree, we would be on a Quest for Seven right now. That sort of scoring play was going to have to be a grown man play, and who better than Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin to go up and bring that ball down for the score? No one. Certainly not Crabtree, though. Anyway, good work, Anquan; I’m proud that you’re a 49er and I thank you for all that you do and for allowing me to end this post on a positive note.
Go Niners!
-Ryan.
NFL Season-Ending Post: Super Bowl Recap & The 49ers Off-Season
With the NFL season now over, I’m spending my Super Monday — feeling better, recovering from my head cold — looking forward to the off-season ahead. I’ll recap the Super Bowl real quickly because, one, I didn’t watch all of it, and two, there’s nothing that really needs to be said about it ad nauseam…
Super Bowl Recap
The Super Bowl played out a lot like I thought it was going to, with the exception of the turnovers. I didn’t think that Denver would have so many of them (especially the fumble by Thomas, I believe, who was cradling the ball surprisingly loosely while trying to stiff-arm the defender). The Broncos looked kind of sloppy, but I don’t think that they expected the game to go like that at all. It looked like they were caught off guard and didn’t know what was going on. However, I don’t think that it made too much of a difference. I think that they were over-matched in that game and the better team won.
I didn’t watch the entire game because I had been battling a head cold since Thursday afternoon and so I stayed up long enough to see the first half and a little bit into the 3rd quarter before deciding to call it a game and go back to bed. My health was more important to me than watching the Seahawks celebrate. I don’t know who ended up being the MVP, but I think it was their LB Smith, who got the pick-6, and I am okay with that. I agree with Joe Buck (or Aikman?) who said that Avril should have been the MVP, but it had to be someone on the defense and so I’m okay with Smith getting it.
That said, with the season now concluded, I took some time this afternoon to put away my Niners gear for the off-season and will wrap up the season with this post about things that I look forward to over the course of the next few months.
49ers OFF-SEASON
I think that we are right up there with Seattle. That NFC title game came down to a handful of plays that they beat us on, and so I, obviously, like where our team is and it is merely a matter of shoring up some areas of weakness and getting/staying healthy. But, by and large, I think that we will be ready to go next season. Here is what I think that our team should have in store:
Free Agency
We have a lot of depth in key areas, and so I don’t think that our Free Agent “issue” is too much of an issue. Here are the Free Agents that we are looking at:
Offense: C Goodwin; QB McCoy; RB Dixon; WR Manningham; WR Boldin. I don’t think that Goodwin, Dixon, nor Manningham will be with us next season – unless major changes to deals get made. Goodwin, I think, can lose out to Kilgore for his spot (even though Kilgore got a DUI or something drinking-related I saw recently), and so I could see us promoting Kilgore and drafting a rookie Center in the Draft for our plans moving forward – I think that move would shave off a million or so. Dixon is expendable simply because, in my opinion, he doesn’t bring anything unique to our running game, he isn’t very good at pass protection, and we have a crowded backfield as it is. Gore is certainly on the decline, I think, but we still have Hunter and James, and Lattimore is expected to get some reps next season. I just don’t see Dixon being kept around.
*Note: While not a Free Agent, I was displeased with James’ recent taking to Twitter (again) and whining about not having enough playing time… despite being our primary return guy nowadays… and so I don’t think that he will be with us next season. So, Dixon may benefit from this. If we ship James somewhere else, we may need to keep Dixon as insurance (if nothing else), because Gore is getting up there in age and Lattimore, while I’m told has looked promising, hasn’t played a down of football in almost 2 years. So, Dixon may get kept simply because James reportedly wants out. *
We’ll probably keep McCoy but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a repeat of this past camp/pre-season where we audition a lot of different QBs for the back-up role – so McCoy may make it past the Draft but I don’t necessarily think that he will be on our roster next year. Personally, I think that if our offense is going to be now built around a more mobile QB, in Kaepernick, that we should probably have an athletic QB backing him just so that our offense can stay consistent, in the event that Kaepernick goes down. I think that Manningham is done; not really his fault – bad injuries – but he didn’t bring as much to our receiver corps as we had thought/hoped when we signed him last season, and so I think that we are going to part ways with him. It may not be a bad idea to try to redo the WR corps with younger guys as it is. Which I immediately contradict next…haha…
Which leaves, my man, Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin – I hope that we keep him. I would really like to see (at least) one more year with him on our team. I have read reports that, at 33yrs old, he’s going to be too expensive to keep on at his current salary, and that it would be better – financially – to use that money to extend upcoming contracts (like Crabtree’s)…and I don’t know if I agree with that. I’m 100% biased because I like Boldin; I like his style of play; I like what he brings to our offense; I like the mentorship that he offers to our young receivers; and I like how well he was able to step up and play for us when we didn’t have anyone else to step up and play. And, it may be unpopular to state but, I don’t know if we should invest in Crabtree long term.
Others may have forgotten – but I haven’t, haha – how he held out as a rookie. I hope that he’s grown up more between now and then, but if he wants a huge contract that costs us other talent, I’d be okay with trading him. Our offense isn’t what wins us games (right now), and while I think that he is a talented receiver, look at the receivers who just beat us – especially, Doug Baldwin. Undrafted, making, I believe, $700k a year, for the next few years. Unless our offense is going to shift to a pass-first offense (which the addition of Lattimore doesn’t make me think that is the long-term plan), then I don’t think that we need marquee names at the WR position. Patton showed promise in the latter part of the season; maybe Jon Baldwin will finally show up next season; maybe we can find prospects in the Draft. I just hope that we don’t handcuff ourselves to Crabtree at the risk of losing other critical pieces.
Tangent aside, I hope that we can work something out with Boldin to somehow keep him on our team.
Defense: CB Brown; CB Rogers; S Whitner; CB Wright; LB Wilhoite; DL/TE Dobbs. I think that we should definitely keep Whitner and Eazy-E (Wright). I don’t know what financial figures that they are going to demand, but if we can lock Wright up for another inexpensive contract, that would be HUGE for us. With Culliver coming back next season, if we can have a secondary with him, Wright, Reid, Whitner, and Brock… that’s not too bad. Definitely look to draft some DBs, too. But I think that we definitely cut ties with Rogers and Brown – I think that they both are too expensive, for us, at this point, especially with how well Brock stepped up this season and the anticipated return of Culliver.
Wilhoite and Dobbs are interesting because I liked both of them this season, and if the price is right, I think we should keep them. However, our LBs are solid (right now – I don’t know what will happen to Aldon in terms of legal issues), AND Lemonier showed talent when filling in for Aldon this season, as did Skuta. So, I think that Wilhoite may be a cap casualty. Likewise, our D Line is also a strong point for us, I think, when we get Ian Williams back from injury next year, then we will have him and Dorsey, Justin Smith, Tank Carradine, and, I’m hopeful, LAWRENCE OKOYE – yes, despite having no idea how to pronounce his name, I am a HUGE believer in this guy, with this coaching staff. A 22yo, 6’6″, 284lbs multi-sport athlete (in Britain) who ran a 4.84 in the 40yd dash, and possesses a 3ft vertical jump….. geez, if we can incorporate him into our D line unit, we could cause a lot of problems for opposing offensive lines. After sitting out this whole season, my hope is that we can get him involved next year. Can you imagine?? I can. And it is exciting. All of that said, I think that – unless the price is really right – we part ways with both Wilhoite and Dobbs… unless something happens with Aldon Smith or we aren’t confident in our replacements for Bowman (who, last I heard, was likely out until at least next November – at the very earliest).
Special Teams: ST Osgood; K Dawson. While Osgood had some big plays for us on special teams this season, I agree with some of the reports that I’ve read that he is, really, just a special teams specialist for us – and so we may draft someone to do the job cheaper. So, I don’t think that Osgood will be with us next season. I do, however, think that we bring Dawson back. He was reliable and clutch for us this year. And if our offense is going to be predicated around kicking as many FGs as we have in the past (haha), we should keep a reliable kicker.
So, that is where I believe that we are headed with our off-season Free Agents. I don’t know of any Free Agent targets around the League right now, I haven’t looked into other teams’ contract situations.
The Draft
I’ve read message boards* from Niner “fans” saying that we should start looking to draft a QB who can “make NFL throws”, and it boggles my mind. I don’t know what these people are watching, but Kaepernick makes some AMAZING throws, and diverse throws, at that. For example, he has had some beautiful throws on fade routes, and back shoulders; that jump throw to Boldin for a TD was incredible. How many QBs can run forward, have the presence to stop before crossing the line, then do a jump pass, and fire a laser 30yds to the back of the end zone? I think Aaron Rodgers has the arm to do it, but that’s about it, in my opinion. Kaepernick has the tools to be a good QB – at the very least – but he’s still young, and so he makes young QB mistakes – like that attempt to throw over Chancellor’s head that was picked. (Although, to be fair, while I don’t like it, he completes that pass attempt surprisingly more than you’d think – as he did on the next drive. And, had that been a bad throw, then that’s not just a pick, that’s a pick-6 – so I chalk that up to more of a bad decision/great defensive play as opposed to a bad throw.)
*Message boards are a scary place. You can see some of the darkest parts of people when writing from the comfort of their computer in relative anonymity. However, every so often, there is some gold material, too. It’s a gamble. But, by and large, it’s the dark stuff – authored by people who, apparently, do not know how to spell, or who prefer to utilize that incredibly annoying text-type-nonsense.
Personally, I think that we were the best team in the NFL at the end of the season – which will certainly irritate Seahawks fans (but that’s just an added bonus -wink-). We took it to them in Seattle and, on that final drive, I guarantee that everyone watching that game thought that this was a 50/50 game.
That said, in my non-GM opinion, here is our breakdown:
I think that we are good at the QB position; and I think that we are more than good at the RB position; we are probably good at the TE position – with McDonald playing much better at the end of the season than how he started (naturally); I think that we are good with our Kicker (if we re-sign Dawson) and Punter; I think that we are good with our LBs (maybe get an insurance policy for Aldon/Bowman); and, if resigning Whitner, as I expect, I think that we are good with our Safeties.
I would like us to look at DBs, WRs, and OL, as our top targets. First and foremost, I think, is our secondary. I think that we should draft some DBs, because it is our cover guys that are the weak-link on our defense. Sparing any unexpected setbacks, if we can get Cully, Brock, and Wright as our main guys next season, we could develop younger talent in the position. Next, is our O Line: Iupati – if we keep him – is injured and I anticipate that we will let Goody go, in favor of the younger/cheaper Kilgore, so I think that we should look to sign some OL prospects as well because, obviously, your offense is going to struggle if the O Line isn’t very good. Our WRs have been disappointing and will continue to be so if we lose Boldin (which I hope doesn’t happen). I don’t think that we should spend top picks on WRs, since our WRs aren’t winning us games, but if we can get some good players at a bargain, then I say let’s do it. Hopefully, bigger-bodied WRs. Seattle’s secondary is a physical one, and young, so we’re going to have to compete against them for the next few years, I imagine. So, we might as well look to invest in 6’3-6’4″ WRs that can match them physically. Even if it’s just a guy, I think that we need that one.
Those are my thoughts on our Draft needs.
Doubt Colin Kaepernick? I Don’t.
I think that people are being way too hard on Kaepernick. I am impressed with him, honestly. He played a solid game – granted, he made some mistakes, but what’s better is that he owned up to them; he shows great leadership qualities and growing maturity at the QB position. I think that people are quick to forget that: 1) he is only 26yrs old and just finished his first full season as a starter in the NFL – he is going to make mistakes; how many QBs come into this League and play without these mistakes? Not many (if any); and 2) that Seattle is a very good team. This wasn’t him making mistakes against a 7-9 Wild Card team – we were playing a 14-2 team with the #1 defense in the League, on the road. So, I have no qualms with the mistakes that he made, since he acknowledged them and, reportedly, spent that next day at the team facility trying to learn from them. I think that we forget how inexperienced he is because he has taken us through two post-seasons now, that we have the bar held a little too high, perhaps. I believe that he will improve.
We were always, in my opinion, excessively hard on Alex Smith, too. Anyone who has ever played football knows how complicated it can be to have to adjust to different coordinators each year, so that was our bad more than Alex’s. That said, I think that we are being too hard on Kaepernick by expecting him to play at a level that he isn’t at yet. That said, Kaepernick has a lot of upside for a guy who is still young and only entering his second full-season as a starter. *IF* we can retain Boldin and his off-season training with Patton continues, it could be interesting to see what a full season of Boldin, Crabtree, Patton, & Davis do for him and his continued growth.
That said, I don’t think it’s a personnel problem that we have, it might be something else.
Maybe It’s Greg Roman
When Harbaugh came to town and turned a 6-10 roster into a 13-3 contender, we fell short in the NFC title game. Why? Because Alex Smith didn’t have any good receivers to throw to – that’s why. So, what did we do? We went out and got Manningham, and an eager-to-prove-eager-to-win veteran in Randy Moss to compliment Crabtree, Davis, and Walker. And when our offense still didn’t impress, until Kaepernick debuted against that bad Bears defense, we determined that it was because Alex Smith wasn’t the right QB for our offense; he wasn’t explosive enough, and that is why our offense was still struggling…. until it continued to struggle clear on through those final terrible plays from the Baltimore 5yd line. Well, we then determined that we didn’t have Manningham for the post-season (which was why we recruited him, for those big moments in big games) and that Randy Moss was just too old to play – so we went out and got Boldin to replace him. You see the the trend that I’m getting at?
At some point, when the moving around of personnel pieces doesn’t seem to solve the problem, it’s time to look at other components. Kaepernick runs the plays that are called – that’s his job. Granted, he has things he needs to work on (i.e. not locking eyes on his intended receiver, allowing everyone in the stadium – let alone on the defense – know where he is throwing), but why call 3 straight passes from the 5yd line when you have a big, dominant offensive line, and a STABLE of running backs??? Even Kaepernick on a keeper is good for 3yds, so long as he falls forward! I don’t get it.
The reason that we ultimately lost the title game against Seattle this season, I believe, is because of the play-calling. Some say that it was just botched on all-levels of our offense, from on the field to clock management, but I had no problem with the clock management: we had 2 time outs, 30 seconds on the clock, and were inside their 20 – I was more than fine with that predicament. Especially, considering Baldwin already had one HUGE return, I did not want to give them the ball back with time to do anything with it. So I was perfectly content on hitting something over the middle, picking up the first, using a time out and then taking strikes at the end zone until we got it in or time expired.
Going for the home-run, especially against their best defender, with Crabtree (who is not the right match-up for that play), at that point in the game, I believe, was a HUGE mistake. I like Crabtree. I think that he is a good receiver, a good play-maker when he gets the ball, but he’s not a physical, jump ball, go-up-and-get-it receiver. He’s just not. We saw that last year in the Super Bowl and again in the NFC title game this year. If going to do a fade route/jump ball with the game on the line, I’d much rather see that pass go to Boldin – a man that’s a big-bodied receiver, with strong hands, who likes to be physical, and who has proven he can go up and bring the ball down. Hit Crabtree on a quick slant and let him move vertically; or drop it to him down the side line and let him make a play with his feet – those are his areas of expertise. Not a one-on-one showdown with a big, physical corner, who happens to be the best DB in the League. Crabtree, I think, loses that match-up every…single…time. It’s not his game. I think we all know it – Baltimore sure seemed to know it; that’s why they hit and jammed him on all THREE of those pass attempts, because he’s not the type of receiver who can make those plays.
I didn’t have a problem with the pass-call because, clearly, Seattle’s defense had utterly dominated Frankie that day, so a run play wasn’t going to be the answer. I think he had one “big” run of 9yds, but it was incredibly tough sledding for him that day. And, from what I’ve seen in the replays, is that they were shading their LBs to give the underneath but keeping an eye on Kaepernick. However, I would have liked a quick slant or dropping it off to Hunter in the flat, or looking to make a rub with Davis to free Boldin, or Boldin to free Davis on the other side. We had the personnel and time to come up with a scoring play on that drive, so it is a bummer that we went all-in on the first place and lost.
My point: there were a lot of plays that I think we could have ran more successfully in that situation than the one we picked, and so I think that falls on partially/mostly on Roman. Also, I didn’t like how we abandoned designed Kaepernick runs in that game when it seemed like their defense had no answer for how to defend him. Even when spying him with an LB, Kaepernick didn’t seem to have much trouble picking up 12yds a run, and almost broke that long one for a TD. We have the tendency to give up on things that are working and I’m not entirely sure why.
Oh well.
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Those are my thoughts for things we need to look at during the off-season. I think that we will be okay next season and, hopefully, we don’t have any health setbacks this off-season like we did last off-season because missing guys in the early part of the season ended up being huge for us when all was said and done — if we beat either the Colts or the Panthers, we would have been the #2 or #1 seed. That’s how it goes sometimes, though. It was a good year to be a 49er, though, and I look forward to what the 2014 season has in store.
While I don’t anticipate more football posts this season, I’m not ruling it out either. I thoroughly enjoy this game and so if topics come up, I’ll probably have thoughts of my own on them. In the meantime, I transition to other sports (hockey and baseball, primarily) that I will comment on AND also commercials, silly ranking lists, and movie commentaries are a lot of what can be expected in the months ahead. Thanks for reading. Go Niners!
-Ryan.
The Peanut Gallery 