Well, the Saints fired the first shot in the upcoming salary cap wars by jettisoning safety Roman Harper, defensive end Will Smith, and cornerback Jabari Greer. They also decided not to re-sign linebacker Jonathan Vilma. They went from $18 million over the cap to $3 milll under.
Which brings us to the 49ers. As we stand we are about $6 mill under. But we have a lot of talent that is going to be on the market this year or next. The most immediate pile of money to recoup would be for Carlos Rogers. He’s scheduled to make over $8 million this year, and the Niners could recoup $5 mill ($2.9 mill in dead money) by cutting him. Rogers balked last year at any kind of restructuring becasue he felt he had earned the money. The Niners ended up agreeing to this when Chris Culliver suffered a season-ending knee injury early in training camp. This year however is a different story. He’s not the best corner on the team anymore, and he knows that if he wants to stay he has to restructure. I think the Niners play hardball with him in the negotiations and he walks.
Frank Gore on the other had is another big pile of money that could become available. His $6 mill would instantly be freed up as his contract is ending this yewar, and there’d be no dead money to choke on. Cut Gore? That is a tough row to hoe for me, seeing as Gore was the bell cow for so many years under offensive geniouses Dumb (Nolan) and Dumber (Singletary). Both of them couldn’t yell loud enough, STOP GORE! THAT’S ALL WE DO!!! to every popponent we faced from 2005 to 2010. He bravely toiled on dogshit teams, playing through various injuries and basically getting pounded to dust regularly facing 9 in the tackle box. The fact that he did get hisd yards is all the more extraordinary. Plus, he should be in the Hall of Fame for his blocking ability alone, let alone the 10,000 yard mark he’s about to surpass.
Still and all, I hope against hope that Frank restructures. He certainly can force the issue and make this a PR thing. He has become one of the most well-liked and respected players in 49er history, and the fans love him. Still, $6 mill for a guy who is definitely winding down is another tough row to hoe for the bean counters, when they have guys like Boldin and Whitner as immediate concerns. His base salary is ‘only’ $3 mill, so maybe they can restructure around the bonusses. I think he stays. Cutting him would be bad juju. They can phase him out, but they can’t cut him.
So, 2 prudent moves like that would give the Niners close to $10 million more in cap room. Throw in Adam Snyder ($1 mill to the cap), Jon (look out!) Baldwin ($1.4 mill in cap savings, $0.00 in dead money), and super-sub Craig Dahl ($1.4 mill in cap relief) totals out to almost another $4 million. Jettison some guys buried deep on the depth chart (Jason Shepler, Michael Purcell) adn retool woth rookies, and the total is close to $5 mill. With the room they have, they could come up with close to $21 mill in room to play with.
Here are the numbers:
Then they can focus on signing Anquan Boldin and Donte Whitner to deals. And Phil Dawson. Huzzah!
Forty Niners Forever 
If Tebow was any good, he’d be playing QB for someone. Not doing stupid 10 minute videos with Trent Dilfer.
I already answered that above. He’s better than a number of QBs right now. But keep starting the Mark Sanchezes of the league if it makes you feel better.
It ain’t my call, and I don’t fucking care. That Ryan starts Sanchez is his problem. Or Pryor in Oakland. Why isn’t Tebow in the league? He made a few plays as a pro. Great. The problem is, he’s very inconsistent, and has a horrible throwing motion. If he would work on his game and try to get back in, I’d think, OK he’s serious about becoming an NFL QB again. How does he do that? Well, look at Kurt Warner. He went back to the bush leagues and earned his way back into the league.
Tebow’s not doing any of that.
The reason Tebow is no longer in the NFL is that GMs see that Tebow is limited but if he starts, because of the Christian contingent, it’s almost impossible to unseat him. It took Peyton Manning in Denver to remove Tebow. Nobody wants that headache on their hands. Tebow has talent, and I agree with RT that he’s better than some starting qbs in the NFL. But he’s a stop gap qb with franchise qb politics surrounding him. Nobody wants that. If Tebow wasn’t religious, and his fans weren’t insane, he’d still be in the NFL.
Thats one way to look at it.
I don’t think Mike Sam would have made it through the draft gauntlet. Didn’t they ask Dez Bryant if his mom was a crack whore?
That’s right….. Jeff Garcia didn’t have to go through the combine. He came from Canada. Figures.
SJ State is in Canada? He went through it when it wasn’t a overhyped ESPN media frenzy.
To the round table discussion of Kaep keeping his ‘go-to guy’ Crabtree.
It might not be a bad idea to negotiate extensions with both together.
Seeing whether each would be amenable to structuring Cap-friendly deals to remain together.
Never saw any chemistry between Alex and Crabtree.
Quite a different result when Kaep became the starter.
Sure, it’s business and all but, it would also guage each guys’ willingness to adjust expectations, to continue working together?
Guys like Dashon were ‘me-first’ guys.
One way to verify ‘team-first’ guys is, to see how important it is to fit together for Cap purposes, when it matters.
No doubt Marathe and Baalke have all these angles covered.
Can’t minimize the fact that money can only go so far.
I think it would go a long way to get a deal done with Kaepernick before anyone else. They can’t still be in wait and see mode.
No doubt Chuck.
The QB position eats up the majority of any teams’ Cap allocation dollars.
Assuming they believe Kaep is a keeper, which I’d believe they do, he needs to be slotted in order to gauge the overall budget.
I’d be curious to see whether each guy would be willing to negotiate his own expectations within the parameters of keeping a ‘team-first’ mentalitiy.
No doubt in my mind that Goodwin and Rogers are prohibitive because of age and Contract implications.
Keeping Boldin makes sense simply because I fully expect younger guys to be selected in May.
Having Boldin makes sense from a mentor standpoint for me.
A guy like Moncrief for example, could benefit from having Boldin around for a couple of years while he develops.
I still contend that Baalke will Drat a pair each at WR and DB.
We’ll see?
And, when thinking down the road regarding the F-Tag, A QB or WR is a heavy hitter.
Aldon is an OLB.
Much easier and, more cost effective to use it there, if necessary.
As for Iupati?
He’s a 1st Rd Pick that would have to be done on the cheap in order to retain him.
He can be planned for in May with a guy, to use an example, like Gabe Jackson.
Might find him in Rd 2.
Iupati as a Comp Pick value makes better business sense to me.
Hate to lose him but, he’s replaceable with cheaper options, assuming Looney is able to provide instant value there.
The Cap juggling act is never easy.
They know what pieces are more important at this point, as well as the value they feel is warranted, in terms of expenditures going forward.
Hey NJ49er, as the blog’s resident and most senior junior GM, you know it’s all about the guy’s street price when making an offer to keep or re-sign. Sometimes the player or the player’s agent has an unrealistic idea of his worth on “the street.” So sometimes the best way to get a guy who thinks he’s worth more is to let him go see what he can get. Let another team deflate his ego a bit first, then re-sign him. Matching may be less than what you were going to offer anyway.
In Kaepernick’s case if he goes another year on his contract, he can increase his street, lower his street, or get injured and stay a question mark on the street. In a year with so many others that need re-signing why not a little gamble? You may miss out on a bit of a bargain in a contract this year but if CK7 proves to be outstanding you’ll have to pay anyway before long to keep him. And signing him next year to a bigger contract won’t hurt that much if he’s ‘the guy.’ So you might have to pay an extra year or two higher salaries than if you’d have signed him early for less, but you won’t have risked paying top dollar for a guy that never quite made it or was injured. Makes sense to me.
True NoFear49er –
Always a crap shoot in these circumstances.
In an effort to avoid the Flacco scenario, I’m guessing Baalke and Marathe will attempt to do as they did with Staley and Davis.
Find a convenient ‘middle ground’ just to avoid such a dilema.
Having Boldin is both a blessing and, perhaps a curse, with respect to financial well being.
For me, Boldin makes sense simply for the mentor factor.
In a deep class of WRs, his presence could be worth the expenditure however.
Assuming as I do that Baalke would have his eye on getting healthy in the WR ranks.
Quite the balancing act for a GM certainly.
Especially with the number of guys you’d expect them to want to keep around for the foreseeable future.
And yes, I strive to hone my Jr GM skills as a way to keep myself busy this time of year 😀
Part of my reasoning with Kaep is to get him before he wins the SB if possible.
Slotting him in the 7/120 range, for me, puts him in the conversation with Flacco and Roethlisberger.
2 guys that have won the Rings.
Cutler and Romo have yet to do it.
Perhaps throwing Crabtree into the conversation with Kaeps’ Contract talks could sway a little latitude toward the need for keeping the pieces intact?
Hard sell I know, especially when each Agent wants that commission piece of the pie, from his client.
Every Agent uses the average by position.
Which is why ridiculous deals always sway the conversation, ala Mike Wallace.
I actually belive that the Rookie Cap has watered down the FA Mkt too.
When offering a guy a new extension, it helps that we’ve been contenders and damn near took the prize too.
Should be interesting to see how they go after this puzzle.
And, to your point about playing the street value game, Goldson took that route and returned on a 1 year deal.
What that does in essence is, sends a message that the team isn’t really all that interested in offering the long term option.
My feeling is that Baalke and Marathe set a value and stick to it.
Smart business decision IMO.
GMs that get desparate and overspend, usually get burned in the end.
Washington dealing multiple Picks for RG III is a prime example.
Losing Picks hurts more then strapping the Cap however.
Now, DC has tasted the injury bug with it’s prized possession, at the expense of other positions that are in need of upgrade.
You can lump Atlanta into that conversation too, with the Julio Jones Trade.
Many teams feel they’re a player away. Tony Gonzalez was aging too.
I’d rather see us miss on an extension than to mortgage the future for a quick shot at success.
To that end however, you can’t miss on the QB.
I think we’ve found our signal caller for the next 10 years.
If they feel that way too, it’s more important to focus on Kaep, first and foremost.
Don’t know about Junior GM NJ but as the official blog chief talent scout how do you have CB’s graded out pre-combine? The ones likely to fall past the top 15 or so and therefore in draft range.
I was pretty vocal in my disappointment that they didn’t draft a CB early last year and hope they do it this year as I see CB as a weakness on the team despite some stats that show it was OK. I am of the school of belief that the rush makes for solid CB stats and that when that wasn’t effective the CB on the team were not quite good enough.
Other than Reid the 2013 draft was kinda meh so far. McDonald and Patton contributed but nothing worthy of note really. I am hoping those injured and/or who didn’t get on the field much due to depth can make an impact in camp. They have some big name guys like Dial, Carradine and Lattimore who might make Baalke’s draft look like genius and the team needs something more from the last 2 drafts with the 2012 draft being something of a flop.
It is tough to make an impact on a loaded team but from 2 years of drafting only Reid can be considered an impact player so far.
NoFear,
No offense, but waiting to sign Kaep is a bad idea. Kaep’s value right now is the lowest it’s ever going to be. He just played an entire year without Crabtree so Kaep’s stats are down. He play with Frank Gore who was bad all year because he’s done. Greg Roman took shots for not doing anything with the offense, and most of all, Kaep’s humble because it appears to some that he single-handedly lost the NFC Championship game by turning the ball over three times in the second half. In addition, the salary cap is as low as it’s ever going to be as well. There is no better time to put a LONG TERM offer in his face. Kaep’s even open to taking less so his teammates can have more. How long is that going to last? Kaep’s stock, right now, is the lowest it will ever be. You buy low. And I like Kaep so I say buy a ton. I’d sign him to a ten year deal. But Kaep’s smarter than that. Either way, if you still have questions about Kaep, you still buy, but maybe not as much.
And personally, I don’t really buy that Kaep single handedly lost the NFC Championship game. Frank Gore did nothing so Kaep was forced to try and take the game over. When you run to set-up the pass, but your running back is done, you gotta go off script. Kaep almost made that happen. Give him a running back, or two, and Kaep will be lights out. And if you buy now, you look like a genius.
Except for the fact that he ended our last three possessions with a turnover. Even his most ardent fans must admit that. And the variety of dance steps and twist and turns to make it everyone else’s fault echoes what we’ve endured from the Alex-walks-on-water crowd for too many years.
Blaming Gore without seeing the blockers are not blocking holes is pushing an agenda and like blaming the QB for WR drops.
So you wouldn’t offer an extension to Andrew Luck? He turned the ball over like a crazy person in the playoffs this year. And he didn’t get as far as Kaep. Luck is better than Kaep only because he’s already a pocket passer. But turnovers alone aren’t a good way to evaluate because we both know you’d want to extend Luck.
Let’s approach it this way. Who would you rather have as your starting qb for the next ten years in the league? If you had to pick one, who would it be? I’d take two over Kaep: Luck and Aaron Rogers. That’s it. Brady, Manning and Brees won’t play another ten years. Rogers is marginal. Then you’re left with guys like Cam, Russell, Eli, Foles, Ryan and Flacco? No thank you. In my opinion we have the second best young prospect in the NFL behind Luck, in Kaep. You lock that up when the lockin’s good. And the lockin’s good.
Shit, man. You guys talk at 4:00 am? Hard to not appear like I’m piling on, but waiting on Kappy leads to mostly shitty scenarios.
A) Kappy wins the SB and his price skyrockets.
B) The Niners come up just short again, and Kappy has a strong year. His price goes way up.
C) The Niners franchise him next year, they are paying $24 mill anyway, and he isn’t very happy about the lack of faith in him, so he hits the open market.
D) The Niners let Kappy hit the open market, and the Raiders throw 5/$150 at him.
E) Kappy signs and extension and he sucks.
Granted, E could happen. But it really isn’t likely. What is a guarantee is, unless the wheels completely fall off, and like Spitty said, now is the best price we will see regarding Kappy. I’d much rather hedge my bet with Crabs. Despite our difficulty in finding viable WRs. it is a hell of a lot easier to find and develop WRs than it is to have to start over with a different QB.. Since Pea Shooter is the only one in the barn, well, there you go.
As I’ve said though, I think one of our 3rd round picks goes to a QB. Fales is a likely candidate.
There is no guarantee no matter what the scenario. Flacco won the SB and played out of his skin doing it and then demanded and got an extraordinary contract from a very well respected GM. The following year both the team and he generally sucked.
In my opinion waiting for Kap to prove himself further does 2 things, drives up the cost of his contract significantly and ensures there will be less money to retain the better players on the team.
Phillip Rivers had a down year 2 seasons ago and was widely considered done yet returned to better form last year. So many factors go into how a QB performs, coaching, scheme, quality of targets, mechanics, confidence and on and on.
Kap has shown that even with a limited scheme and limited targets he can produce the best QB statistical season since 2002 e.g. better than any Alex Smith ever produced with better targets and a younger and more effective Frank Gore and before you Smith guys jump on the keyboard Smith and Kap have had the same period of time as starters under Harbaugh.
As Spit pointed out, this will be the lowest cost to sign Kap to a long contract unless he face plants this year. Hands up all those that expect Kap to face plant in his 3rd year. Exactly, so the arguments that he needs to prove himself more can only drive up the cost and reduce the available money for other players.
Now the benefit to it is there is more cap cash this season to go around so an argument could be made to keep him on his rookie contract this final year and spend every cap dollar on keeping or improving the team for a Hail Mary at this years SB. That would be a sea change in philosophy for the FO who have an established MO of extending their best players early to save money and ensure stability in their core players.
Obviously none of us knows what will happen and we each have our juniou GM opinions.
Mine is the team will extend him this year before the season begins to continue their history of stability and to save money.
I also expect them to extend Harbaugh unless his demands are unreasonable i.e. highest paid coach in football or similar. He has shown he is a winning coach but has also shown some flaws and has stumbled from a coaching perspective in the biggest of moments. I also think how he has handled the O and his coordinator is something of a negative too. I really think the team would have benefited from Roman moving on despite the teams success.
Actually Chuck pea shooter is not in the barn, he is a free agent. The unpronounceable McLeod Bethel-Thompson, a man with 3 last names, and Kap are the only signed QB’s.
It is very difficult to guess what the Niners will do at back up QB. Last year they ran through a number of them. Maybe Baalke saw it one way and Harbaugh another causing the turnover at back up?
I would draft a guy to compete in camp but sign a vet to be the season back up unless they strike gold with the drafted guy.
The team definitely needs a competent back up in case Kap gets injured given the way he plays and I don’t think McCoy fitted the bill.
Spit mentions Cousins who did very well in relief of RG3 but I don’t see that coming to pass.
I’d negotiate with Kaep first, Harbaugh second and Crabtree third. Get Kaep locked up to a deal beneficial to the team and the 49ers’ coaching job becomes more valuable, giving the 49ers’ leverage over Harbaugh. Kaep’s first, and Kaep’s cheap right now. Then I’d pay Harbaugh whatever he wants for as long as he wants because Harbaugh’s smart and motivated. I’m worried Harbs might be too stubborn to change or be flexible, but if things got ugly, I do think he’d change. I’d give him whatever he wants for as long as he wants. His number doesn’t count against the cap. The new stadium will rake in dough.
Once Kaep and Harbaugh were signed, I’d have them both recruit Crabtree hard. I’d have Harbaugh sit down with Crabtree and tell him the team was going to transition to a passing team for the next ten years, and that Crabtree, if he was reasonable, could play for the same team and the same head coach and the same quarterback for the majority of the rest of his career. I’d tell him Gore and Iupati were done – gone. I’d have Harbaugh tell Crabtree Roman was on the hot seat. I’d tell him he’d be the focal point on a team that will, if he’s reasonable with his monetary demands, win Super Bowls. I’d ask him if he thought Dashon Goldson was happy with his career choice? I’d ask him if Kyle Orton was happy with his career choice.
I’d be willing to sign Crabtree to an $8-10 million per year deal for 3-5 years. I don’t think Crabtree will have much longevity to his career. I don’t think he trains hard enough. I don’t think his body’s in good enough condition. 5 years and I’d be done with Crabtree.
Locking up Kaep, Harbaugh and Crabtree now does several things.
A.) It sends a message to the team and fans that this is now where our bread is buttered. And rightly so. It takes a long time to develop quarterbacks and wide receivers. It takes a long god damn time. How long does it take to develop a running back? The positions are night and day. The running back does need to read defenses too, and pass block. But you can find and replace the running back position much, much easier than you can a qb / wr duo, so you don’t put much money towards your running backs. Have a plan to always have your running backs be in their rookie contracts. Four years, you’re done, move on. Draft another. Kaep’ s got it now. He can teach the revolving door of running backs.
B.) Putting a sizable chunk of the salary cap dollars towards qb and wr forces Harbaugh and his staff to develop talent. I was excited to see how much talent Harbaugh’s coaching staff developed in Harbaugh’s rookie year as head coach. And they did that during the strike shortened season. The last two years Harbaugh leaned on his veterans, and to a certain degree, I think he leaned too much on his veterans this year and it cost him. Football is a young man’s game. Bill Walsh was absolutely right in dumping his iconic players before their time. Make Harbaugh always develop talent out of necessity because he needs his rookies to contribute. Back to the wall!
C.) Put it on Crabtree. If Crabtree, Harbaugh and Kaep signed, Kaep and Harbaugh could play and coach for another 15 years. Crabtree’s got five (in my estimation). That puts a lot of pressure on Crabtree to win now. Unfortunately Crabtree’s a Texas boy so he won’t be too worried about his Bay Area legacy. But I think winning in SF now means something to him. Crabtree was pissed with Sherman tipped and then taunted. And Crabtree loves his teammates. Crabtree and Kaep are good friends. What does Kaep always say (incorrectly I might add) – “If I’ve got Crabs in the corner one on one, that’s a match up I’ll take every time.” Let that be their mantra, and let Crabtree’s legacy be whether or not he can come down with the football in crunch time. He hasn’t yet. .
It’s not just about getting a guy for the lowest price possible. That’s too easy.
I have to laugh at the guys who were so sure Alex Smith would continue as QB and now a year later can’t wait to dump a big contract on his replacement. You lose three key players and lock up CK7 and no one knows how that’s going to work out in the W/L score. But everyone’s certain their notion is golden.
After every practice and game, the coaches study the cut-ups on every player and grade them on how well they performed their assignments and how they reacted to various situations they were put in. No one else knows the plays that were called or what a player was asked to do in it, even bloggers.
If these three players you’re willing to lose to FA so you can sign CK7 this year are all guys who graded high and were key in many of the winning game plans, you lock up CK7 but the defense isn’t as effective and a bunch of winning plays are no longer workable in the game plan, it could be a one step forward, two steps back kinda of scenario.
Anyway, who’s worth keeping and who’s sacrificed to do so are the decisions that make or break teams. Even the guys that spend lifetimes and make millions doing it for real and have all the resources available to mankind to help them make mistakes doing it. Not like bloggers.
Are you insinuating that bloggers are less informed and ill-equipped to make decisions than those actually employed by the team? How dare you be both impudent and correct at the same time.
There have been some really dumb GMs hired.
Nobody was sure Alex Smith was going to stay. Even if Smith didn’t get a concussion against the Rams, Kaep was still going to be Smith’s replacement. Most people saw that. Kaep was Harbaugh’s guy. Now Kaep’s taken the team to the Super Bowl and NFC Champship and you want another year to assess? Waiting is a really bad option. I’m certain the 49ers won’t wait. They’ll get a deal done in the next three months, probably sooner.
12th I’m not really too finely focused on the CBs at this point.
There are plenty that I like, none that I’d put a must have RD1 grade on however.
As you aptly cited, I’m a firm believer in the pass rush as well, it being the best deodorant for the Secondary.
IMO, there are guys worth grabbing but, I’d be inclined to shop in the RD2/3 area.
I’m guessing a SS would come ahead of a CB too.
At SS, I like Calvin Pryor but, I’d assume him to go in the 20s from everything that I’m seeing at this point.
A guy I think we could obtain, maybe RD2, is Deone Bucannon from Washington.
I’ll whittle down my list of possibilities and, I’ll post it here after the Combines, before the Draft, just to have it for comparison to what Baalke actually does in May.
A CB I like, probably a kid that could be had in the Mid RD area is, Ross Cockrell from Duke.
He, and many others, are worthy selections. I’ve got about a dozen possibilities lined up right now.
I just think they’re more focused on the eventual replacement to Whitner.
Getting taller at that position and, faster too, wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Not sure what will happen with Culliver or TBrown yet either.
My feeling going in is, Baalke will get 2 WRs and 2 DBs from this Draft Class.
I still want a Fat Man in the Middle.
That’s a play I’d make in RD1 if possible.
If they go WR and, I had to make a Pick right now at that position, I’m all in for Davante Adams from Fresno State.
If they miss him, Donte Moncrief from Ole MIss or Odell Beckham/Jarvis Landry from LSU in RD2 wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Would love to get our hands on NT Louis Nix from ND or DE/DT Aaron Donald from Pitt in RD1.
I still have the Combines to change my view of things but, our needs are few but clearly evident at this point.
Also 12th, Pryor is listed more as a FS but, he’s aggressive enough to condider at the SS position IMO.
Either way, the Class is deep so, I’d consider Pick in the Top 3 RDs there.
Early favorites, Bucannon, Ahmad Dixon from Baylor and a possible CB conversion to SS, Antone Exum from VA Tech.
Another CB who could slide due to an ACL injury in the Senior Bowl is Aaron Colvin.
He might be considered as a SS option who would have to sit it out ala Tank or Lattimore due to the knee injury.
Again, there’s a ton of options that could easily get into RD4.
For me, we need a burner at WR.
Someone to stretch the field other than Vernon.
Since there’s also a possibility that Crabtree’s asking price could be steep, Baalke would be smart to add another WR Draftee just in case.
I wouldn’t mind adding a pocket rocket like Dri Archer to replace LMJ either.
I’m disappointed that LMJ isn’t a bigger role player on this team too.
He’s a headscratcher Pick at this point.
We have to improve at the PR/KR position.
Dri Archer is an excellent all around weapon too.
Very small guy however but, he’s a RB by trade with excellent speed and above average hands.
I’d call him a ‘Joker-type’ guy.
Surprise package option with the abilities to handle the PR/KR duties out of the gate.
Spit –
I know you’re high on RBs going into this Draft.
Have you checked out James White from Wisconsin, Ka’Deem Carey from AZ or Charles Sims from WVU?
Those would be my 3 favorites at the RB position right now.
I honestly don’t see them Drafting a RB very high but, it’s conceivable that 1 could be added.
I’d be inclined to wait since we’ve got Lattimore and Hunter in the mix along with Jewel Hampton on the development side.
Try this on for size while you’re at it.
If MJD from JAX were to hit the street via FA and, came with an attractive price tag, would you entertain his services?
I’d part ways with Jewell Hampton and Anthony Dixon (unless Dixon could win the starting FB job, which is unlikely). I’d trade LaMicheal to the Redskins for Captain Kirk Cousins. I’d flat-out cut Frank Gore. Then I’d draft Devanta Freeman and Jeremy Hill, both running backs, both 2-4 round prospects. My backfield would be Hunter, Lattimore, Freeman, Hill and Bruce Miller; however, I’d bring in a late round FB to compete with Miller. I’ve looked at the CBS Draft page and watched the highlights of their top twenty backs. Freeman and Hill stood out to me. I probably watched Carey and Sims and didn’t see anything I liked. But if they weren’t on CBS top twenty, I didn’t watch ’em.
Cousins would likely cost us a 2 or 3 Pick.
Not sure I’d go that route but, anything is possible.
I haven’t looked too closely at the FA QB class just yet either.
I’d suspect Boobie is gone too.
He dances too much for me.
Big guy with timid feet IMO.
Bruce gets after it, ala Rathman in his prime.
The CBS top rated FB is Jay Prosch from Auburn and he’s listed inthe 4/5 range.
Not exactly a barn burner with that sort of rating.
But, the cost is attractive at that grade if they’re interested.
If Boobie is making his contributions as a ST player, you can get those guys on the cheap from the Draft in the later RDs.
You got me poking around the FB market Spit –
The kid that has the best stats is Trey Millard from Oklahoma.
6’2″ 253
5.5 YPC Avg
Also caught 70/677 with 7TDs.
Good numbers for a FB.
Another FB from Coastal Carolina, Lorenzo Taliaferro has huge rushing numbers too.
Only played 2 years there but managed almost 2100 yds. in 27 games.
Took a ton of carries, 356 to be precise.
Not too shabby, though it’s Coastal Carolina, which isn’t known to be a powerhouse football machine.
Those numbers alone probably make him more productive than Boobie.
Talk about the Energizer Bunny – Aaron Donald.
DT/DE Pitt – Kid comes like he’s shot from a gun.
This guy’s projected as a first round draft choice. Don’t know if I’d use a first round pick on a DT. Maybe. But I’d have to be convinced he was a world beater. I’m not with this kid. I like Seattle’s plan of finding big guys later in the draft. Kid reminds me of JJ Watt. Long arms, quick off the ball, easily beats indecision from an O line. And knocks stuff down at the line.
He’s a little undersized but extremely active.
Almost as disruptive as Justin Smith IMO.
Someone to think about in terms of flushing the pocket.
I also think he’s an upgrade over DDobbs –
See what happens….
One thing I’ve noticed with Aaron Donald Spit, he’s rarely on the ground.
Always moving, always battling.
Relentless would probably be the best way to describe him.
Perhaps being shorter, he’s hard to put a glove on.
Here’s another interior guy that could be hanging around late –
Zach Kerr – DT Delaware –
Another Big Man that moves and, he never quits on a play.
12th here’s a kid worth putting on the radar – I like his size.
Tall rangy kid that plays like a FS, which we interchange in our scheme anyway.
Good hands, good size – 6’3″ 220 (Cam Chancellor/Brandon Browner-like)
Not a lot of game experience (36) however. Might find him as a bargain,maybe RD3?
I’d be concerned with his tackling ability if anything.
Could be an option for Mr Baalke, we’ll see?
I looked him over before. The knock is poor tackling, the upside is size, Sherman-like.
He is projected a 3rd. Have to see something more from him at the combine but he is on my shortlist.
Right, Spit. LMJ ffor Cousins. Let’s get AP for Boobie as well.
Cousins wants to start, not be a backup somewhere else. He’s got a better shot at waiting for RG III-XIII to get hurt again.
Yeah. I’d love Baptiste in the 3rd round. Dude is long and lanky, and fast to boot. Ex-WR much like Dick Sherman. If he runs a fast 40, he’ll go in the 2nd round.Eric Wright wasn’t much of a tackler. Neither was Deion. Tackling skill isn’t high on my lsit of what a CB needs to do well
Some truth to that Chuck, from what I read he is not shying away from contact like Deion, he just has poor wrap up technique, as you say it’s not the primary function. Not sure he would fit in Fangio’s scheme though without reliable tackling. One to watch.
Well, we need a press-cover guy. He’d fit the bill. His combine will determine how high he goes.
My thought is he only improves his standing. Wait and see, though.
But, of all the things to teach a CB, tackling is easier to teach than turning the hips, getting the proper angles, and understanding when to jump routes.
Lots of guys out there though.
Small school D linemen always worry me as they may or may not face adequate competition.
Anyhow, new thread is up.