San Francisco 49ers Discussion

nagirrac · 20-01-2014 9:17pm

Kap's comments after the game illustrate why play calling has been our biggest problem in game winning situations for the past 2 years. Hopefully Roman will be history, as he is now 0-2 in key games that were lost due to poor play calling. Kap spoke of the one on one matchup of Crabtree on Sherman as one he would take every time. Utter madness that such a high risk play was even an option at that point of the game. Vernon Davis was open and even if he didn't make an inch of progress, we would be looking at second down at the 5 with 2 timeouts left. Kap threw the same fade route 3 times in a row at the end of the SB last year and it failed each time, and while Crabtree is a big receiver, Sherman is far too athletic to be beaten on a fade route. The interception was unlucky but the pass should simply never have been thrown.

redmond08 · 20-01-2014 10:03pm

adrian522 wrote: »

I love the way you completely ignore his 130 yards rushing and his excellent TD pass because it doesn't fit your script.

Kap played well against the best pass defense in the league. Sherman made a great play to end the game, nothing more to be said really.

I love how you completely ignore 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles because it doesn't fit your script.

adrian522 · 20-01-2014 11:07pm

What I will ignore are petty trolling posts on this thread.

Nowhere did I say he had a perfect game. To put the loss on him is unfair in my opinion, he came up short on the final drive but he is far from a one read QB or a wildcat QB or a Tebow clone.

He's still young and he will get better, he needs to work through his progressions better and make better decisions but he is still one of the best young QB's in the league and he won't be playing that elite secondary every week.

IrishSkyBoxer · 20-01-2014 11:23pm

Kap was shown up as a one trick pony. Just desserts for the 49ers after the treatment of Alex Smith last year.

Podge_irl · 20-01-2014 11:30pm

IrishSkyBoxer wrote: »

Kap was shown up as a one trick pony. Just desserts for the 49ers after the treatment of Alex Smith last year.

While I don't much care what you think I have never understood this train of thought. Kaep came in and did better and provided the 9ers with a more potent attack so he kept the job. Alex Smith was not treated badly and if he was an offensive lineman no one would give a ****.

Neil3030 · 21-01-2014 12:00am

If supposed one trick ponies are still doing their trick after a season and a half, they are clearly not one trick ponies.

poldebruin · 21-01-2014 12:08am

Hard luck 49er fans. It's some team you have there, The D was immense last night, and Kaepernick is still learning. Had a few plays gone your way, you could easily have made it to the Superbowl.

Horrible to see Bowman go down - and still never let go of the ball all the way to the ground. Up to the pick it was a great drive at the end of the game from Kaepernick. I still have absolutely no idea why he chose that moment to go to Sherman's side. Time was still not an issue at that point.

Easy to blame Kaepernick for the loss, but if SF had gotten any sort of running game out of your backs maybe the Seattle front 7 might have backed off - just enough. I thought they handled the crowd brilliantly (I had thought Seattle would win by a margin), and played their part in a very enjoyable Championship game. The Broncos have the NFC West on their schedule in 2014 so see you guys next year at Mile High.

frostie500 · 21-01-2014 2:58am

Podge_irl wrote: »

While I don't much care what you think I have never understood this train of thought. Kaep came in and did better and provided the 9ers with a more potent attack so he kept the job. Alex Smith was not treated badly and if he was an offensive lineman no one would give a ****.

Definitely once Smith was benched the Niners have gone to the Superbowl and now the Conference Championships so there's plenty to vindicate the decision to bring Kaepernick into the starting lineup

eagle eye · 21-01-2014 5:32pm

Neil3030 wrote: »

If supposed one trick ponies are still doing their trick after a season and a half, they are clearly not one trick ponies.

I don't think one trick pony is a fair thing to say but questions have to be asked after what he did the other night. Is he the man you would want to lead your offense? I am not so sure. He is very exciting to watch but the way he throws the ball on the run would frighten me if it was my team. Those sort of throws can go so badly wrong. He threw one earlier in the game that looked awesome but I'm not so sure you can read coverage very well when you do that and its liable to being intercepted if its a bad pass or a bad read.

adrian522 · 21-01-2014 5:43pm

He certainly has a lot to learn about going through his progressions and reading defenses, but essentially he was being asked to put the team on his back and beat the best pass defense in the league with little or no help from the running game and receivers who were struggling to get separation.

I saw a stat today that said Colin Kaepernick produced 86.5% of the yards for the 49er offense. This is pretty unsustainable, he needs help from the rest of the offense.

As a comparison Russell Wilson accounted for 52.5% of the Seahawks yards.

I'm not trying to make excuses for him he has a lot of learning to do, but I think in terms of potential I think he can be a great QB.

To answer your question, yes I'm happy for him to be the one leading the offense, he's had a pretty good season, particularly on the run at the end of the season where we had 8 consecutive wins.

No use throwing under the bus for the championship game I don't think.

nagirrac · 21-01-2014 7:39pm

The only question is can he develop more awareness and ability to read defenses and as Adrian says move through the progression of options. I made the mistake of watching the final pass again and it is horrible. The damning part is Kap decided at the line of scrimmage he was going to Crabtree and stuck with the decision even though he was under no immediate pressure to thrown, and with a quick glance to the left would have seen Boldin and Davis in much more favorable positions to gain 10 or more yards. He went for it all, even though Sherman was tightly covering Crabtree, and there was no other Niner on that side to help out, should the play be broken up. The only thing the play accomplished was isolating Crabtree with Sherman, but that's a matchup that Sherman is going to win more often than not given his athleticism. The ball needed to be thrown perfectly where only Crabtree could catch it, and unfortunately Kap does not have that degree of touch passing yet.

I also say stick with him though, he has only been here for 2 seasons and brought is to a superbowl and within one play of another. I hold the coaches more responsible, including Harbaugh, the correct play was to fake a throw to Crabtree and then find Davis or Boldin inside the 10 yard line, and then run the fricking ball 3 times, as should have been done last February. The Seattle defense were beaten up and tired at that point just like the Ravens last year, I would bet the house on Kap to run it in given 3 plays.

radharc · 22-01-2014 5:20pm

Totally agree the problem lies with the play calling just as much as Kap, it almost felt like watching a replay of the last drive of the Superbowl.

The last play was far too rushed, there was still plenty of time left plus the timeouts.

adrian522 · 31-01-2014 2:43pm

I notice Kap had a few words for Sherman during the week.

I wish him and Crabtree would just let it go at this point, save it for on the field when it counts

"As my dad has always told me, if you have to tell people how good you are, then how good are you really?" Kaepernick added. "If you have to go on national TV and try to say you're the best cornerback in the league, then you've got your own insecurities."

"I don't care who's out there," Kaepernick said. "I had Crabtree one-on-one with half of the field to himself, and I'm going to take that every single time. He made a good play on that ball, but if I throw it a foot farther, it's a touchdown and now you're the goat, Richard Sherman."

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman · 31-01-2014 4:50pm

adrian522 wrote: »

I notice Kap had a few words for Sherman during the week.

I wish him and Crabtree would just let it go at this point, save it for on the field when it counts

"As my dad has always told me, if you have to tell people how good you are, then how good are you really?" Kaepernick added. "If you have to go on national TV and try to say you're the best cornerback in the league, then you've got your own insecurities."

"I don't care who's out there," Kaepernick said. "I had Crabtree one-on-one with half of the field to himself, and I'm going to take that every single time. He made a good play on that ball, but if I throw it a foot farther, it's a touchdown and now you're the goat, Richard Sherman."

Would agree with you there Adrian, just smacks of sour grapes.

I dont really understand the last part either "if i throw it a foot farther" you didnt Colin , you threw it and it was intercepted and Sherman (who in fairness is the best corner in football) beat you accept it move on and come back next year for revenge. If you can.

Realt Dearg Sec · 31-01-2014 7:06pm

Sounds like Sherman really did get into his head. That last bit "and now you're the goat, Richard Sherman" might as well continue "in my imagination". Totally rattled. You need a bit more mental strength from your QB, especially a couple of weeks later. Sherman (who I don't like and I don't like the Seahawks) is probably thinking "what's that you said, Colin? I can't hear you over the Superbowl I'm in this weekend".

nagirrac · 31-01-2014 8:02pm

Pure stupid out of Kaap, and troubling that he is still on the same mantra of "I will take that every time". He could throw 100 of the same passes in the same situation and unless the pass is inch perfect Sherman is going to beat Crabtree the great majority of the time, simply because all Sherman, a superb athlete, has to do is get a hand to the ball while Crabtree has to catch it. A fade to the corner is a very difficult play against a good CB, and Kap simply does not have the touch passing ability to stack the odds in his favor. This is what he needs to work on if he wants to become a great quarterback.

Lothaar v2 · 01-02-2014 10:10am

nagirrac wrote: »

Pure stupid out of Kaap, and troubling that he is still on the same mantra of "I will take that every time". He could throw 100 of the same passes in the same situation and unless the pass is inch perfect Sherman is going to beat Crabtree the great majority of the time, simply because all Sherman, a superb athlete, has to do is get a hand to the ball while Crabtree has to catch it. A fade to the corner is a very difficult play against a good CB, and Kap simply does not have the touch passing ability to stack the odds in his favor. This is what he needs to work on if he wants to become a great quarterback.

I couldn't disagree more. Finding single coverage is one of the most important reads for a QB, especially in the NFL. He correctly identified single coverage on Crabtree, and he was right to take a shot. Many passing plays have a built-in 'Alert', which is a deep route or option route that the QB takes if he's got single coverage. Take the Giants go-ahead TD vs the Pats in 2007. Plaxico was single covered and Eli just lobbed it into the endzone. Easy TD. Granted Plax didn't have Sherman on him, but you gotta believe in your WRs, especially when you've got a golden opportunity to win it all.

Good decision. Bad throw.

radharc · 01-02-2014 4:36pm

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

I couldn't disagree more. Finding single coverage is one of the most important reads for a QB, especially in the NFL.

Good decision. Bad throw.

In theory that's true but there is a difference between finding single coverage from a random CB and coverage from Sherman. There is no way Kap makes the completion more than half the time there imo.

adrian522 · 01-02-2014 4:43pm

I think there were better options on the play, Davis was more open and Patton was wide open, neither would have scored a TD though.
I like going for the TD at that point given the red zone struggles, but Crabtree was never open on the play, he never got any separation from Sherman who was in perfect position to make the play.

I think Kap had decided where he was going with the ball pre-snap which is a bit of a weakness in his game at present.

adrian522 · 01-02-2014 4:55pm

Attached is the play just before the throw, Davis is running an "In route" and is open, Patton is completely on his own, Boldin is double covered and Crabtree is well covered by Sherman..

nagirrac · 01-02-2014 9:44pm

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

Good decision. Bad throw.

The thrown wasn't that bad, the point is it had to be inch perfect to (a) beat Sherman, and (b) ensure it could not be intercepted. (b) is more important than (a), as there was plenty time left with 2 timeouts to run up to 4 plays.

I would argue that if Kap had 100 opportunities to make that play, the chances of a touchdown are no more than 10%. He threw the same pass three times at the end of the game last February, and made none of them, including one that sailed out of bounds (a better outcome than the pass we are discussing).

Sadly, Kap is just not a good enough touch passer at present. For this reason and this reason alone, the play should never have been an option. I know that's harsh on Kap, and he did get us into the position to win, but you have to play to your strengths, and lobbing a pass between Crabtree and Sherman was a risk that didn't need to be taken.

Looking at that still picture from Adrian, Kap could have ran to the left as he had in a previous play, as the niners had lots of bodies on that side to block for him. In fact I would argue, just as last year, if Kap ran the ball potentially up to 4 times the chance of a touchdown would go to at least 80%. He is very hard to stop when he runs a diagonal route.

Lothaar v2 · 02-02-2014 7:16pm

Adrian - on many, many passing plays you'll find receivers who are 'more open' than the guy the QB went for. That doesn't mean the QB made the wrong decision. He needs to have a process of selecting a target that isn't dependent on checking all five eligible receivers to see who is 'most open'. One very common process involves looking for single coverage and attacking that regardless of the other routes in the pattern. Now, obviously you have to actually believe that your WR can win the battle against the CB covering him and that the QB can deliver a good pass. From Kaep's quote during the week, he clearly believed that. It's also very possible that the Niners practiced that exact play again and again in the run-up to the Conference Final, and the coaches emphasised that he should take the shot vs single coverage if they can get it. Maybe they were all wrong to back Crabtree vs Sherman but, considering they fancied his chances, Kaep made the correct decision on that play.

The pass was bad - way too far inside. But anything from one to three feet longer and it was probably a TD. Kaep couldn't know that he would throw such a bad pass when he made the decision... if he thought like that, why even play QB? He'll have thrown hundreds of thousands of fades in his life, generally correctly putting them outside the WR. When you're throwing a fade in that scenario, you should expect one of three outcomes: TD, incomplete or DPI. With single coverage and a good high-pointing WR in Crabtree, he had good reason to think an interception is pretty unlikely. In the end, Sherman got pretty lucky that the ball deflected so sweetly into his trailing teammate's hands.

Nagirrac - only a 10% chance of a TD? Nonsense. Less than a 10% chance of an interception, IMO.

It was a pretty horrible pass, though. Butchered a scoring chance.

nagirrac · 02-02-2014 7:53pm

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

Nagirrac - only a 10% chance of a TD? Nonsense. Less than a 10% chance of an interception, IMO.

Sorry, based on everything I have seen of Kap, and I have watched every game he has played for us, and the fact it was Crabtree versus Sherman, I would put the odds of a touchdown on that specific play at no better than 10%. Sherman is simply not going to be beaten unless the ball is inch perfect, and Kap simply does not throw perfect passes, especially under pressure. For all the strengths in his game, he is not an accurate passer and throws some horrible passes too frequently (the lucky break against Green Bay, and the interception earlier in the final quarter versus Seattle).

I agree completely the odds of an interception are much, much lower and in that respect the Niners were very unfortunate. However, what stacked the deck in favor of the Seahawks is they had another player there should the ball be tipped, and the Niners didn't. The Seahawks obviously felt Sherman could handle Crabtree, but Smith was also there and unopposed in making the interception.

The main point is it was the wrong play, plain and simple. There were plenty other less risky options, and time was not a factor. What it demonstrates is that Kap and the coaching staff learned nothing from last year's superbowl ending. Just like last February, we had excellent short yardage options in Gore, Davis, Boldin and Kap himself, no need for the glory play at that point. Play to your strengths.

Lothaar v2 · 02-02-2014 8:24pm

nagirrac wrote: »

Sorry, based on everything I have seen of Kap, and I have watched every game he has played for us, and the fact it was Crabtree versus Sherman, I would put the odds of a touchdown on that specific play at no better than 10%.

Kaep believed he had better odds than 10%, and was right to take the shot. It wasn't the decision that was the issue, it was the throw. As an NFL QB, he's not going to be like: 'I better not throw to my very good WR in single coverage because I'm not very accurate'. It doesn't take an 'inch-perfect' pass to get a TD there. There was a window of a few feet in which that pass could've been completed, as long as it was a bit deeper and further outside. If he throws that pass 100 times, it's either a TD, incomplete or DPI more than 90% of the time. And if it's DPI, that's a first down on the 1. Correct decision by Kaep, followed by a bad throw and compounded by the deflection.

I'm not defending Kaepernick here. Just clarifying the issue. It wasn't a stupid or bad decision, it was a bad pass. He's capable of making that throw but he needs to develop more consistency.

nagirrac · 02-02-2014 11:29pm

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

Kaep believed he had better odds than 10%, and was right to take the shot.

I'm not defending Kaepernick here. Just clarifying the issue. It wasn't a stupid or bad decision, it was a bad pass. He's capable of making that throw but he needs to develop more consistency.

Of course he did, his confidence would have been sky high on that last drive, but nonetheless his decision to take the shot cost us the game. It was a bad decision because top quarterbacks take what's available to them and don't force a play unless they have to. Lobbing the ball anywhere near Sherman at that point was really high risk, and unnecessary. You won't see Manning go in his direction today, unless he absolutely has to in the final play of the game. The stark truth of course is that Manning is far more likely to complete that pass than Kap (at least Kap at present), but even he would not take that risk unless he absolutely had to.

Looking back on the season the Niner's one big weakness was failure to convert from inside the red zone. We got away with it against Green Bay and Carolina, but it cost us in the Seattle game. I'm not blaming Kap alone for this, as with the offensive weapons available to him (including himself) imo it mainly comes down to poor play calling.

Anyway. let's agree to disagree, it's spilt milk at this stage. Just frustrating about to watch a SB where your team should be there.

adrian522 · 03-02-2014 12:07am

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

Adrian - on many, many passing plays you'll find receivers who are 'more open' than the guy the QB went for. That doesn't mean the QB made the wrong decision. He needs to have a process of selecting a target that isn't dependent on checking all five eligible receivers to see who is 'most open'. One very common process involves looking for single coverage and attacking that regardless of the other routes in the pattern. Now, obviously you have to actually believe that your WR can win the battle against the CB covering him and that the QB can deliver a good pass. From Kaep's quote during the week, he clearly believed that. It's also very possible that the Niners practiced that exact play again and again in the run-up to the Conference Final, and the coaches emphasised that he should take the shot vs single coverage if they can get it. Maybe they were all wrong to back Crabtree vs Sherman but, considering they fancied his chances, Kaep made the correct decision on that play.

I don't disagree with you, however it didn't look to my untrained eye like Kap looked to his left at all in the play.

I've no issue with going after Crabtree against single coverage, however on that play, Crabtree can't get Sherman to bite on his stutter step and Sherman is at least level with Crabtree through the whole play, so while he had single coverage I'd prefer him to check it down if there is no separation.

We weren't yet in desperation mode so there was time.

I understand that a lot of the reasons for not going away from Alex is because he was unwilling to take shots like that and if you get too conservative you won't win a lot of those games, I just felt like that throw was never really open, but with Kap you must take the good with the bad and at some point he will be one of the elite QB's in the league, just that he's not there yet.

adrian522 · 12-03-2014 9:41am

Well Free Agency is here and the 49ers have been busy....

Niners Nation has a recap of day 1, essentially:

1. K Phil Dawson signing a 2-year deal
2. S Antoine Bethea signing 4-year deal
3. QB Blaine Gabbert acquired for 6th round pick
4. Carlos Rogers released, Demarcus Dobbs/Michael Wilhoite tendered
5. Eric Wright signs 1-year deal
6. Jonathan Martin acquired for conditional 2015 7th round pick

What are your thoughts on these?

My only slight issue is the money given to Bethea when we were only offering Whitner $4m per year(allegedly).

Other than that a good few low risk/smart moves.

Still looking for a CB in the first round of the draft or maybe a WR if one of the fancied guys drops to the middle of the first round.

randomCluster · 12-03-2014 11:34pm

Happy enough. Nothing like the Broncos who've gone all in, but pragmatic and decisive.
It's good to see Dawson "get paid" as that, and the Martin signing indicate JH has a big say. .
The Gabbert signing is a strange one. Generally he's viewed as a poor player ("Blame Gabbert"). I assume it's costing a decent bit of change for a back-up. Maybe he'll keep Aldon Smith on the straight-and-narrow.
Bethea is by all accounts solid, durable, a good fit and should bring a few of the younger players along. A steady pro.
Some questions about his pass coverage, but he was playing for the colts.

adrian522 · 13-03-2014 12:02am

Glad we are not doing what the broncos are doing. They are storing up cap trouble.

Interestingly gabbert is scheduled to earn twice what kaepernick will get next season.

madalig12 · 13-03-2014 12:18am

Sign Revis on a one year deal! Then we will see what Harvins made of.

adrian522 · 13-03-2014 12:34am

madalig12 wrote: »

Sign Revis on a one year deal! Then we will see what Harvins made of.

No no no. No throwing money at has been nobody's. That's more of a raiders thing.

13-03-2014 12:03pm

adrian522 wrote: »

No no no. No throwing money at has been nobody's. That's more of a raiders thing.

Bit early to be calling revis a has been

adrian522 · 13-03-2014 1:10pm

Selene Dirty Belly wrote: »

Bit early to be calling revis a has been

Well I think his best days are in the rear view mirror and he's not worth the money he got from tampa or new England.

Pretty happy Sf kept their cap space for use elsewhere.

I remember asmougha getting a big money deal from philly late in his career too and didn't work out too well.

Utopia Parkway · 13-03-2014 2:47pm

adrian522 wrote: »

Well I think his best days are in the rear view mirror and he's not worth the money he got from tampa or new England.

12M is very reasonable for someone who is very possibly still the best corner back in the NFL. A guy who is an elite level talent in his position and someone with the ability to change an entire defence because of his ability to take away one side of the field.

13-03-2014 6:12pm

adrian522 wrote: »

Well I think his best days are in the rear view mirror and he's not worth the money he got from tampa or new England.

Pretty happy Sf kept their cap space for use elsewhere.

I remember asmougha getting a big money deal from philly late in his career too and didn't work out too well.

you could say the same for any position namdi was a disaster i know because i had to watch every game of that season but hes one example what about darren sharper to the saints at 33 he was key to them winning a superbowl.

revis is only 28 and had a good year last year and now hes a year off of his injury he should be better again. additionally he does not have to play to the level he did before if he plays at talib level and does not get injured his worth a big one year pay off.

adrian522 · 13-03-2014 6:28pm

I think revis has seen his best days and the 49ers are better conserving cap space for the guys that need extensions.

It would have been a luxury signing and I'm glad he's not sf bound.

adrian522 · 14-04-2014 9:08am

Well this has really been the off season from hell. Really all you want between Free agency and the draft is no news whatsoever.

The 49ers have had stories about Jed York trying to "trade" away Jim Harbaugh.

Chris Culliver involved in a hit and run, followed up by threatening another driver with brass knuckles.

Colin Kaepernick and Patton involved in whatever happened in Ricardo Lockette's apartment

Aldon Smith arrested, possibly while drunk for a "false bomb report" or whatever. This after going into rehab last season and already facing charges of DUI and gun possession.

randomCluster · 14-04-2014 6:04pm

adrian522 wrote: »

Well this has really been the off season from hell. Really all you want between Free agency and the draft is no news whatsoever.

The 49ers have had stories about Jed York trying to "trade" away Jim Harbaugh.

Chris Culliver involved in a hit and run, followed up by threatening another driver with brass knuckles.

Colin Kaepernick and Patton involved in whatever happened in Ricardo Lockette's apartment

Aldon Smith arrested, possibly while drunk for a "false bomb report" or whatever. This after going into rehab last season and already facing charges of DUI and gun possession.

I'm not too worried, it's the Nfl and a player without some sort of rap sheet is not uncommon. The boys are just earning their stripes.

I'm not buying the Aldon Smith arrest. The tsa have a notorious reputation for being head wreckers. Poor ould Aldon just lost the rag and got landed with some trumped up charge for being disrespectful. I don't blame him, airports are horrible places. I'm worried about the booze slant on the story but I reckon that's the police trying to smear him.

The Kap situation sounds like a jilted ex who decided to get her own back because Kap didn't sleep with her.

Culliver is just plain dumb.

Jim Harbaugh would fight with his own shadow.

randomCluster · 14-04-2014 6:05pm

adrian522 wrote: »

Well this has really been the off season from hell. Really all you want between Free agency and the draft is no news whatsoever.

The 49ers have had stories about Jed York trying to "trade" away Jim Harbaugh.

Chris Culliver involved in a hit and run, followed up by threatening another driver with brass knuckles.

Colin Kaepernick and Patton involved in whatever happened in Ricardo Lockette's apartment

Aldon Smith arrested, possibly while drunk for a "false bomb report" or whatever. This after going into rehab last season and already facing charges of DUI and gun possession.

I'm not too worried, it's the Nfl and a player without some sort of rap sheet is not uncommon. The boys are just earning their stripes.

I'm not buying the Aldon Smith arrest. The tsa have a notorious reputation for being head wreckers. Poor ould Aldon just lost the rag and got landed with some trumped up charge for being disrespectful. I don't blame him, airports are horrible places. I'm worried about the booze slant on the story but I reckon that's the police trying to smear him.

The Kap situation sounds like a jilted ex who decided to get her own back because Kap didn't sleep with her.

Culliver is just plain dumb.

Jim Harbaugh would fight with his own shadow.

randomCluster · 06-05-2014 9:46pm

Draft time is almost upon us.
What player would you most like to see us go for?
Do we go with a CB or WR in the first round?
Trade up, down or stay put?
Predictions?

adrian522 · 06-05-2014 9:50pm

I think trade up but only a few spots, similar to last year, perhaps for someone like Kyle Fuller.

A lot of talk about OBJ but I think he would be gone by then. If he falls past 15 or so then maybe make a move but CB is the greater need I think.

Also I think a QB will be selected in the later rounds, would love to see someone like Boyd or Thomas coming to SF.

After that I think some depth on the D-line and at ILB. or possibly a pass rushing OLB to light a fire under Aldon Smith.

Possibly some depth for the interior O-line in the later rounds. That ought to do it.

There will be a lot of trading anyway, that is for sure.

randomCluster · 06-05-2014 10:14pm

Yeah, a moa move into the high teens. The Jets are after a wr and perhaps the Lions. The 9ers and OBJ is drumming up a lot of noise. A deep threat wouldn't go astray - even when we had Randy Moss we moved the ball better. I know we're desperately short at CB but a play maker in the first round is hard to resist. Good read here: http://grantland.com/features/nfl-draft-2014-best-picks-every-team/

adrian522 · 07-05-2014 8:26am

I don't know, I think there are plenty of receivers in the second round for us, particularly if we were to trade up a little.

I could also see us offloading LMJ in a trade up though can't see us getting much for him to be honest.

adrian522 · 09-05-2014 10:42am

Well that was underwhelming. Surely Ward would have been there at 56. Or at the very least we could have traded back into the top of the second round.

randomCluster · 09-05-2014 8:50pm

adrian522 wrote: »

Well that was underwhelming. Surely Ward would have been there at 56. Or at the very least we could have traded back into the top of the second round.

Agreed, unspectacular for a first round pick. I think Seattle beat them to trading back. Maybe 9ers thought OBJ wouldn't go so early. Also they might have felt there was a drop off in talent at safety after Ward. Whereas CB and WR are deep. At least he's a good fit. Would have preferred a move up to get Dennard at 24.

Just read about trade for Stevie Johnson. Gotta be pleased with that. He's posted 3 1k yrds seasons, disrupted with injury last year. Not sure how it affects the wage cap though.

adrian522 · 09-05-2014 9:00pm

Delighted with Stevie J, that's a great move, costs us a 3rd rounder (possibly a 4th but more likely a 3rd).

I feel a little better about our pick now since reading a bit more about Ward.

He should be able to play Nikel as he is very good in coverage and will eventually take over from Bethea, most of what I've read on him has been good anyway.

Looking forward to tonight.

madalig12 · 09-05-2014 9:17pm

Got to be a cert we go CB next.

adrian522 · 11-05-2014 2:30pm

Well, the 2014 draft is done and dusted, most of the analysts seem to be giving an A grade or an A-

Either way the talk is of us having had a good draft.

The picks made were as follows:

1(30). Jimmie Ward, defensive back, Northern Illinois
2(57). Carlos Hyde, running back, Ohio State
3(70). Marcus Martin, center, Southern California
3(77). Chris Borland, inside linebacker, Wisconsin
3(100). Brandon Thomas, offensive lineman, Clemson
4(106). Bruce Ellington, wide receiver, South Carolina
4(129). Dontae Johnson, cornerback, North Carolina State
5(150). Aaron Lynch, defensive end/outside linebacker, South Florida
5(170). Keith Reaser, cornerback, Florida Atlantic
6(180). Kenneth Acker, cornerback, Southern Methodist
7(243). Kaleb Ramsey, defensive end, Boston College
7(245). Trey Millard, fullback, Oklahoma

We also made some trades:

1. Traded No. 56 and No. 242 to Denver Broncos for No. 63, No. 171, 2015 4th round pick
2. Traded No. 63 No. 171 to Miami Dolphins for No. 57
3. Traded No 61 to Jacksonville Jaguars for No. 70, No. 150
4. Traded No. 94 to Cleveland Browns for No. 106, No. 180

My own thoughts are as follows:

The players we picked on Thursday on friday make a lot of sense, Ward will contribute and most people view this as a solid pick.

Hyde was a bit puzzling at the time, especially given Gore will still be on the team next season and Lattimore is coming off his injury, but Gore is likely gone after this season and Lattimore may never be the same player so I understand the pick.

Marcus Martin is a bit of a steal there, Borland fills some depth and then Thomas is an injury redshirt.

Day 3 I like the Ellington pick but don't know much about the other.

if I was to be a little critical I would say we waited too long before grabbing a CB or WR.

For example we traded away the number 61 pick and the number 94 picks and we didn't really benefit from those trades. We could have had Allen Robinson and Bashaud Breeland with those 2 picks. I'd rather have addtional 2nd or 3rd round players than extra picks on day 3, we only added 1 pick for next season and probably picked too man players as it was. We should have packaged picks to move up more I think.

Overall happy enough but not ecstatic.

JaMarcusHustle · 11-05-2014 4:22pm

You guys have made a gem of an UFA pick up in Morgan Breslin. My favourite USC player the past couple of years despite the injury. Really confident he'll do well for you and I'll be rooting for the 49ers because of him.

adrian522 · 11-05-2014 7:32pm

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

You guys have made a gem of an UFA pick up in Morgan Breslin. My favourite USC player the past couple of years despite the injury. Really confident he'll do well for you and I'll be rooting for the 49ers because of him.

Interesting, I presume he will play OLB in the NFL?

If so i'd say he will have a battle to get onto the roster.

Currently at OLB we have:

Aldon Smilth
Ahmad Brooks
Corey Lemonier
Aaron Lynch
Dan Skuta
Morgan Breslin

I'm not sure we would carry 6 on the 53 man roster but if Smith gets a long suspension then who knows?

I'll keep an eye on him for sure.

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