This is the part of the season that, while intriguing, I don’t really get too thrilled about. I’ll cursorilly (sure, that’s a word) look over draft boards (Walterfootball, fftoolbox, Barrows, Maiocco, etc) and opine about who we’ll take. It’s interesting to see who actually gets drafted, and I was shocked as anyone when the Niners picked Kentwan Balmer, as I predicted a few years ago. Won me a semi-worthless signed Alex Smith jersey that I’ve worn to a few games (but noth the Miami game). I even picked the Niners to draft Colin Kaepernick 2 years ago. Huzzah. Blind squirrels and nuts, and all that.
This time around, we have the intrigue of what happens to Young Sir Alex (yes, the blog gift that keeps on giving), the possibility of drafting 14 players (unlikely, as the team is fairly loaded and doesn’t need to fill that many holes), and the general uncertainty of what the game plan is for this draft in the eyes of Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh.
My $0.02 on the subject is that the Niners will find a trading partner in KC for Alex (a 2nd round pick in 2013 and a 3rd round pick in 2014), and fool everyone by drafting Zach Ertz with their 1st pick. They can then jettison Delanie Walker and keep Garrett Celek. There are plenty of defensive linemen and DBs out there with their remaining picks, and they’ll get needed depth as they let Goldson sign a big deal elsewhere and move Culliver to FS.
Forty Niners Forever 
How cute. Cullver stays, though.
How’s he doin’ in senstivity training? I hear he’s really gotten behind the idea. Replacing Goldson? Chuckie, Culliver hits about as hard as Nathan Lane. We need more hitters in the secondary, not pussies.
Actually, no. We need better coverage guys in the secondary. Culliver would be fine deeper playing FS. I’ve said all along that Goldson would be better suited as a SS. Whitner is slipping badly. So the scenario exists where we ditch Whitner, franchise Goldson, move him to SS, and move Culliver to FS, and draft a couple CBs.
I don’t think Cully is even in the conversation for being cut. insensitivity is hardly reason to cut him and he had a very strong year, at times being the best CB on the field. He sucked in the SB and I keep reading how he can’t locate the ball in the air. That is hogwash. He had trouble after his man got behind him and he has to look back last second in the SB but during the season he was very good at breaking up the pass as it got to the receivers hands. One bad game, albeit a huge one, doesn’t make him a bad player or at risk of being cut.
I don’t see him moving to safety either. Cully and Brown are solid and Carlos is on the downside of his career, Cully pushes for starting time this year.
Obviously you were passed out when our coverage guys were getting mauled in the Atlanta and Raven games, Chuckie.
Culliver should have been released. I realize that falls on deaf ears on a group that thinks our players should feel free to disparage a fan base who are as a die hard fan group as any fan segment. They cut Jacobs for criticizing management, and Culliver gets “sensitivy training”… The kid is borderline non-functional from the neck up, he’ll learn nothing..
Blah blah blah, Twin. Blather on as you will, but Culliver is a part of this team going forward. Your whining notwithstanding. Culliver, for a 2nd year guy has a pretty strong upside. All CBs get burned, and he picked a bad day to have a shitty game, but, thankfully, the coaching staff is a little more aware of his abilities than you are.
Chuckie, you always think progressive thinking is “whining”. Obviously, the “sensitivity training” is a PR move and they will keep him.My point was never that he should be released because was a bad player but that he should have been released as statement- instead his comments fostered the nonsense from Brooks and Soapwhatever.
Goldson is not going anywhere Chuck.Harbaugh and Baakle won’t let that happen.He is still a top notch Safety who makes plays and a sure bonafide tackler
If anything it will be Whitner & Rogers that they jettison ,IMO
The only way Goldson sticks around is with the franchise tag. I don’t think he gets the deal he wants here. Whitner is under contract, as is Rogers. But both of them, especially Whitner, slipped compared to 2011. Not sure what they will do, but they have a lot of picks to deal with the secondary issues. As Bill showed, you can do a lott to help your secondary with just one draft.
Well, Harballke need to do better than last year’s horrific draft. But, hey- they can keep Alex and let Goldie walk. That way they have a QB when Kap dies from flesh eating bacteria ( evil disgusting predatory grin)….
The bromance is over Twin, Smith is a gonna and he should be for his own sake.
Horrific? Really. AJ may be a slow starter, but he’s not considered a bust until he’s cut or does nothing again. Some guys take time to acclimate. Just ask Alex.
LMJ is a very good RB who will be here a long time. Looney is the center of the future. Fleming blew his knee out. The rest? Ehhh. Not a great draft, but it’s harder to break through to start now than it was in previous years.
Oh I know that,pal. I don’t think Kap is going to be eaten by flesh eating bacteria either.
If Smith stays, he’s the pussy.
BLEEP with pussies!
I don’t think he’ll stay- actually the Goldson/Smith thing was from another source.
From Matt Maiocco. He’s a bit less harsh than I am on the secondary, but improvements need to be made depth-wise on the D line.
http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/matt-maiocco/why-49ers-pass-defense-faltered-playoffs
I agree with the company man, mostly.
Well, 12th, it hinges on what happens with Goldson. Lose him, and it becomes likely Culliver slides over to FS.
Or they may go ahead and draft one.
I figure they draft one either way Chuck. Ditto a CB as this draft is strong in those areas in later rounds too. Goldson is the key as you say.
I see 1 of each myself.
FS/SS/CB.
We could get away with 2 guys that can interchange as well.
Guys like Amerson and Rhodes are 2 way CBs. I’m sure there are others.
We definitely have to get taller at the SS position.
Someone with some pass defense ability.
There are several in this Class I wouldn’t mind having.
I think it depends how they see the back up guys already on the team already. McBath made a great play in the SB but was a role player at best. I figure with so many picks they can take a safety and a corner and let it play out in camp and pre season.
Certainly can’t argue your point 12th.
Depth in all directions at the positions we seem most needy at.
Parys will also be an interesting decision simply from a cost standpoint.
One guy that I like alot as a possible replacement for him is Khaseem Greene.
I’d like to see if Cam Johnson could fill the Harralson role. I remember one prognosticator saying Cam was the steal of the draft.
He’s a good one too.
I would agree. He was on my wish list last year too.
I compare him to Brooks, which isn’t a bad thing by any stretch.
They have to get depth across the front 7.Their is dire need to draft DE,NT ,CB,and FS/S.
Keeping a solid Rotation system,so guys like Justin and even Aldon are fresher.They were both hurt going into the playoffs and it showed with no pressure.
They should package some picks and move up in the draft and grab 2 beasts for the line,and still get a quality S/FS CB later in the rounds.They should use atleast the 1st 6 rounds on DEFENSE!!!!
Amid all the bashing of the secondary did anyone even notice the D-line was crap for getting any pressure after Justin Smith was inured? He along with Aldon were little more than bystanders on way too many plays after Justin’s injury. The Smith brothers were like the Smith sisters without Justin clearing a path and occupying two or three blockers.
The system of defense depends on eleven players doing their jobs, not ten or nine. I thought we would have come up with some schemes that weren’t so dependent on Justin’s superman play. I’m sure he wanted to play. Maybe he earned it. Maybe his backup was just that bad he couldn’t start ahead of a one-armed Justin.
Except for Culliver, coverage wasn’t so bad, the DBs just got manhandled by bigger, tougher guys.
Christ, NoFear, just about every comment deals with the lack of depth on the D line. And i think everyone noticed the fall off in Aldon’s production with the injury to Justin Smith. Aldon was also dealing with his own shoulder injury as well.
So, yeah, we noticed.
Is it better to notice and just not make the connection then?
Personal opinions are strictly verboten! PC-speech is not only preferred but mandated.
Culliver doesn’t need more sensitivity training he needs to re-do his “talking in cliches” class on saying nothing to the press. Other countries have termed these things re-education. We’re not far from it here.
Culliver actually threatened any gay players, pal. Can the PC-speech nonsense.
Uh, the “PC-speech nonsense” is coming from you. I’d like nothing better than canning it.
It seems everything you don’t like you call a threat. What was the threat precisely?
He said if there were any gays on the team they should get out That’s a threat, pal..
Without that statement he was just being “insensitive” and it’s absolutely no BFD.
“Get out” is now a threat?
Crazy.
Ok, back to yoiur regularly scheduled “Debbie does the FedEx Driver with her ‘Common Usage’ Bushmaster Car15 223 “…
http://www.guns.com/2013/02/16/watch-armed-robber-quickly-retreat-when-he-is-met-with-an-ar-15-video/
NICE
I’m skeptical Smith will garner a 2nd AND 3rd round pick. My guess is a 3rd and a throw away pick next year (6 or 7). That is assuming that KC/CLE believe enough that the demand is there from the other guy. Otherwise, they gamble for the release and try to sign him as a FA.
Things I want to happen:
Smith traded, for a couple of good picks
Goldson signed to a “reasonable” contract (5-6m/yr, guaranteed 3 yrs)
Walker walks, we draft or sign a TE
We draft an agressive fights-with-his-hands-for-the-ball-in-the-EZ WR
Whitner is cut, we find his run stopping/TE covering > 5’10” replacement in the draft
We find viable starters or subs through the draft at DT, OLB, CB/S
We sign 1, maybe 2 veteran FA’s that are not marquee, but fill one of the needs above that we can acquire in the draft
Akers is replaced by his son, or nephew, or some young late draft pick that can kick it 60 yards, and 45 of those are straight as an arrow.
Things I think will happen:
Smith traded, for a 3rd and 6th, in 2014
Goldson is signed to more than Chuck wants him paid
Walker is signed, for a bargain. We all patiently await more blistering blocks and untimely drops
We draft another WR in the 3rd round. He is bigger than Jenkins. He catches a pass next year.
Whitner is not cut, continues to excel at stopping the run, and gets burned again in the RZ
Our first 5 picks are DT, S, WR. OLB, CB, TE
We sign a couple of FA’s on the slag pile and everyone groans. They play well.
We draft a kicker. I’ve never heard of him.
We draft a QB in the late rounds. Never heard of him either.
Wow….. Barley reverted back to Singletary sarcasm after a Super Bowl loss. Lol. Love the “Blistering blocks and untimely drops!” Maybe call Kaep about franchising that term?
With all the rules benefiting the pass game (warning: Golf analogy ahead), it’s still easier to pass than run (with a good qb – which we now have) even if all things were equal – which dey ain’t. When you’re on the fringe of the green, sometimes you need to decide to fly it to the cup or putt it and let your fate be determined by spike marks, ball marks and greens keeper error. I always fly it (with varying results) because all I can think about is Carl’s state of mind when my precious skin’s on the line. I’m not leaving my fate to “Cannonball comin’.” It’s the same with passing and running. With a great quarterback, it’s easier to throw the football. It’s harder for the defense to defend, and easier on the offense over time. And that’s the biggest concern – it’s easier on the offense and team overall during an entire season, and it prolongs a potential dynasty without putting too much pressure on Baalke to reload. I look for Harbaugh to start seeing this and start making a move towards less ground and pound and more easy touchdowns through the air that force the opposition’s offense to throw. Delanie Walker will indicate to us all if Harbaugh wants to make a switch to an air game. If Walker re-signs, Harbaugh’s not growing with the team and taking advantage of his personnel or the rules.
If Bill Walsh had what Harbaugh had, Bill would be looking for a Jerry Rice. When you have Joe Montana, you trade up and find a receiver who’s a difference maker. In this draft, it doesn’t look to be an offensive draft. But at some point, Harbaalke will need to find another great receiver to compliment Crabtree and Kaep. In a dominant offensive passing attack, Crabtree is more like John Taylor. Too bad a guy like Rice comes along once in a lifetime. Not generation…… lifetime.
Getting Haralson back next year should help with Aldon. I’d like to see him back to not being an every down guy. He can go 65-70% of the time. Even if it’s only to take him out on 1st down . . .
Justin needs someone better than RJF to spell him. Ian Williams has shown a little. As has Tukafu, but I ain’t sold that they are the answer either.
Dobbs?
Coulda sworn I mentioned him.
I know it was only pre season but Dobbs got to the QB in a hurry a number of times.
Well, I didn’t think we had to spell it out for you, NoFear . . . I, and most all of us, see the connection between when Justin Smith going down and the opposing passers suddenly getting better in a hurry.
Thing is though, the pass rush was more than adequate in the GB game. The sack numbers weren’t off the charts, but the Niners did pressure Rodgers all game. They also got to Ryan enough to the point of rattling him late. Although it was almost too late.
Certainly the pass rush can do better, but there’s also the flatness to which the D as a whole played to start the NFCCG and the SB. The schemes were also taken advantage of by the opposition in the last 2 games.
The defense put the Niners in a combined 32 point deficit. Scheme has a lot to do with it. Fangio needs to figure shit out quicker. Whether it’s rushing 5 or dropping deeper into coverage or whatever, he needs to make faster game-time adjustments. It’s easy to point at Goldson vs Atl, or Culliver vs Balt as making huge mistakes, but it’s partly on the coaching staff as well that the team came out so flat in both those games.
Yeah, yeah, the combined deficit was 39 points. 7 of those came on the runback. Not on the defense . . .
Just to buck the trend I hope they keep Walker. His pass catching play was improving dramatically with Kap throwing to him and his blocking was already top notch. Good on special teams and has played KR in a pinch too.
I agree provided he commits to working on ( read improving) his pass catching skills.
NF, when he first went to the Niners his pass catching was good and blocking poor. He was a WR in college and converted to TE. Seems like he put major emphasis on blocking and neglected pass catching and his instincts were off. He picked up his game more when Kap started throwing to him. My guess is his concentration had to go up because of the velocity of the ball but that’s just my theory.
I was a fan of Konrad Reuland, the garbage man at TE. His other nickname was Novacek. He was a final roster cut and plays for the Jets now but that guy caught just about anything coming his way.
Or Fangio may not have the green light to deviate from the game plan. RJF subbed in for Justin and he and Aldon managed to trip each other and get in each other’s way. We tried the bench for a few plays and they didn’t look too bad to me but they didn’t play enough to see much.
No proof of this but I get the sense that Fangio has a pretty free hand with how he chooses to play his guys and scheme wise. I think he has been compensating for the backfield a bit by keeping his best 4 up front all the time. Once they got nicked up it seems like there was no better plan B.
Ditto. Harbaugh is all over the offense. I’m pretty sure Fangio has free reign with the D.
Somebody tell Joe Biden they need to ban shotguns too:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/justice/california-orange-county-shootings/index.html?hpt=hp_t1