In an offseason that just keeps getting more and more bewildering, Chris Borland shockingly announced his retirement today. Borland cited many earlier head injuries and concussions in high school and college.
Borland certainly is looking to his future, bit you rarely see this after just one year in the league. One where he was very very good in replacing Patrick Willis. I wonder if they had inklings of this as they haven’t let Wilhoite or Brooks go and they need bodies back there.
This appears to be the new NFL paradigm though. Players looking to get out with their brains intact. 3 others retired aged 30 or under this past week.
Well, as every week goes by, our draft needs seem to change. This is certainly the case now.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Stunning.
If it had to happen, I’m glad it happened ahead of the Draft at least.
Had he waited until another concussion occurred, not sure how Baalke could prepare for a replacement.
Wish Chris the best. I’m sure it wasn’t a hasty decision by the sounds of it.
Not a lot of talent depth at the ILB spot this year either.
Might change the pecking order for Baalke for sure come Draft Weekend.
Tough year to need a talented ILB. Wilhoit and Bowman are solid but behind them is thin and that’s if Bowman comes back good as new.
Hardy?
I hope thats the last weird bad news this offseason.
The one hope is both Biwman and Borland were 3rd round picks. Maybe some more LB magic out there.
My big fear is an injury-filled camp. After all this stuff nothing would surprise me.
Moody is about due to show something I’d hope.
Problem is, he saw time last year, and missed a ton of solo tackle ops in the process.
Eric Kendricks from UCLA is a tackling machine, as is Stephone Anthony and Ben Heeney.
Becomes a game of slotting them now, along with the other areas they hope to address in the process.
Wondering now if the Big Man Shelton has more value in the middle?
Hope Borland the best, he played great ball for us last year, he’s probably been using his body as a human missile for years. He will definitely be missed.
Retiring at 24? That’s unheard of…….am I right? Even Gayle Sayers lasted longer.
Probably a sign he’s not thinking too clearly Nipper?
Strange timing to say the least.
Just for the sake of accuracy, Borland says he’s only had 2 diagnosed concussions, one in high school playing football, the other in middle shool playing soccer. Doesn’t mean he hasn’t had other non-diagnosed injuries, but that’s what he said.
What do you say when a guy cites concerns over his health as the reason for retiring? It’s his head and brain injuries are generally permanent. CTE is one of the most devastating of all diseases. Good luck and fare thee well, Chris. But as a fan, what a disaster of an off-season.
I bet Baalke has a headache. Take two aspirins, Trent.
According to borlands father he was seriously considering these issues even before he was drafted
Lets be profound………BLEEP!
Robo-Backer!
Effn BLEEP ‘Dat!
The way this off-season’s been going, our Draft pick at #15 will probably announce his retirement right at the podium!
Seriously Alleykat 😀
“I’d like to thank the SF 49ers for affording me this opportunity but, I’m going to have to pass”
Whatever spirits were unearthed in Santa Clara, during stadium construction, might need some sort of sacrificial offering from us by the looks of it lately.
Sure hope we’ve paid our dues already?
While I understand the concerns Borland has with his health, why wait until you become a Pro to realize it?
Burned a perfectly good 3rd RD Draft Pick for 1 year of service.
Talk about a WI-FI Hotspot?
Looking more like a WTF?-Spot 😀
Hark! I just woke up with the Skeebs! What do I do? I don’t think my drug plan covers this…….
Amputate, it worked for me.
There’s 3 of you in the van now?
Niners should sign Tebow.
Nobody has snapped up Crabs yet. Shocker. Must be devastating to him.
A lot of passes to Crabtree were less than a step in front of him, some off of his fingertips. I thought he wasn’t running full speed thus creating the otherwise accurate throw. It seems other teams might be feeling the same after watching some film.
Lingering injury from ladt year? Probably.
Last
York doubles down. I guess we will see.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/18/jed-york-49ers-got-away-from-core-strengths-under-jim-harbaugh/
The prima donna has left low earth orbit and is crashing down to earth. Poor baby.
That’s how I feel about him too. He has a visit to the Dolphins scheduled.
I thought Philly signed Tebiw.
I know they tried him out. I read they would sign him if they can trade hot tub Barkley.
Mangini first interview:
http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/Offensive-Exposure-Helped-Eric-Mangini-as-Defensive-Coach/a19e23fa-607a-49e3-9346-df43087e79d0?campaign=social_20150319_42326816&adbid=10152641379356875&adbpl=fb&adbpr=112852666874
12th- NJ and I speculated that 49er management asked Harby to do something about his offense and he refused. That article you posted gives that theory a lot of credibility.
We ARE the Spectator Speculators Berger 😀
Where the H3LL have you been hiding BTW?
You and NoFear49er were about to go on my APB Missing 9er BloggersList.
Geez?
I’m probably the only guy that gets jacked up by Draft strategy this time of year but, it’s nice to hear some opinions from the rest of you, just the same.
I had the same speculation over here Berger.
Bush deal is just 1 year. (Thankfully)
My theory has been, that he’s insurance for Kendall anyway.
Found another potential ILB candidate today as well.
Zach Vigil – 6’2″/235 – Utah State
Sorta passed over him earlier due to speed but, his posted 40 of 4.85 got improved with his Pro Day results.
He turned in a more respectable 4.66.
Another tackling machine with decent size.
45 Games 389 TKLS 43.5 TFL 16.5 Sacks 6 PBUs 2 INTs
Possible late RD offering perhaps?
The way this offseason is going, Baalke is going to have to re-sign Bob St. Clair…
Seriously Snarkk.
I’m guessing Baalke wasn’t counting on losing 2 ILBs before the Draft got here, Skuta not withstanding.
Berger I think I’m done with my NT research – Seeing as we haven’t sought my coveted ‘Fat Man in the Middle’, I’m not gonna hold my breath this year –
Here it is – Final Answers….
NT –
Eddie Goldman – FSU – 6’4″/336
Danny Shelton – UW – 6’2″/339
Jordan Phillips – OK – 6’5″/330
No particular order involved, just guys I’d prefer to see added if practical.
I’m anxious to see how Chip attacks the Draft maneuvering too.
Cleveland has been reported to have had interest in Bradford.
If Chip had word of that info ahead of the deal for Bradford, I’m calling MAJOR BS.
Will be very interesting to see if Mariota falls past DC and NYJ.
That would set up some major drama IMO.
Would Cleveland select Mariota or, give Chip a deal?
Skipping up from 20 to 12 ain’t nearly as expensive and, Cleveland already holds 2 1st RD Picks, (12/19)
If Funchess is on the board for us in the 2nd round we can’t pass on him. For the first round I’m still on Brown but a MLB or CB would also make me happy. Or even a safety who can cover Graham.
Sounds like he’s a tweener and not a sure bet at WR or TE. Why risk it?
Because we can line him up at TE and no LB will be able to cover him. He has the potential to be one of the best pass catching TEs in football. That is a risk I would take.
He ran a 4.5 at his pro day, that is fast enough to be a WR and more than fast enough to be a TE. When I watched him play he caught passes in stride that our WRs dive for. He also expertly high pointed a catch in traffic. This guy is a playmaker.
NJ- For the fat man in the middle a good is available as a FA, Rubin from Cleveland. I hear he is visiting the Seahawks.
What’s next? Chuck forgetting how to return home?
I wonder if Bob would still eat raw beef in this day and age. It’s looking more like our illustrious owner is gonna turn into meddling fool, he just can’t keep his mouth shut. Baalke better pull a rabbit out of his hat or my guess is he’ll be assuming the position.
For sure Bob StClair would still eat his meat raw,and just say leave the tentacles on as well..
As far as Baakle, I’m visualizing a “Fatal Attraction ” moment with the rabbit..
There’s nothing like eating raw meat. Oh yeah! In those days you were a real man! Now men would rather eat raw fish.
Another LB bites the dust. Stanford’s Chase Thomas torn ACL, out for a loooong time.Their dropping like flys, it’s like a bad movie that never seems to end.
The curse of Candlestick strikes again!!
Like NJ said: Santa Clara’s sacred Indian burial grounds are uprising ,with only vengeness on their minds!
So who drops next? Retires?(well probably Justin) suspended(Bruce Miller maybe) the hits just keep on coming this offseason..
It ain’t like Thomas was in the galaxy that was Willis and Borland, but that’s another LB for the draft. Did Skuta go?
Yes,Skuta’s gone as well Chuck, signed with the Jags last week.
Maybe an omen now their hanging on to Brooks temporarily..
Funchess in the 2nd would be doable, but I dont think he falls that far. Dude is big and fast. His combine was great for his 40, but the rest was fair. He do his pro day yet, Bergs? If he does well, he’ll go higher. What you hope is he doesn’t and falls. Take him and he gets better. I loved Keenan Allen coming out a couple years ago, but he missed the combine due to a knee injury, and hobbled thru his pro day. He was dynamic at Cal and I would have loved it if we took him. Oh well.
Funchess ran a 4.7 at the combine and a 4.5 at the pro day. I watched him play this year, he is plenty fast enough for his skill set. he isn’t a quick out of the blocks guy, he is a heck of a strider. The thing that caught my eyes is his ability to catch balls in stride even if they are not well thrown. He’ll reach down below his knees and catch a ball ,while not breaking his stride. Not many receivers do that.
Kinda makes you wonder what’s gonna happen when we finally start contact drills.
If we were to play Funchess at TE it would not bother me if we drafted him in the first round. I think the strategy would be to trade back if we want him in Rd 1.
Go Chuck………fighting the dreaded Skeebs tooth and nail. I like it!
Right, Winder. I think they should all wear them Sumo outfits and just bounce around.
Here is a quote from Jed York:
“We’re trying to win a Super Bowl,” York said about replacing Harbaugh. “We haven’t been able to do that. And I think what we’re trying to do is build a team that focuses on our core strengths. I think we got away from that a little bit. I think we tried to do too much and be something that we weren’t. I think you’re gonna see us get back to the basics, get back to letting our players go out and make plays. … You look at our offense last year, it wasn’t I think where it should have been. I think we have better talent than what our results showed.”
I love it. I think he said it as well as possible. Harbaugh had the best roster talent in football while he was here and did not bring home the Lombardi. Our roster is not as good now as Harbaugh’s roster. It is obvious that if Harbaugh could not do it with the best talent in football he wasn’t going to do it with lesser talent. I have more confidence in the new coaching staff for one reason alone, it isn’t Harbaugh running the offense.
My biggest complaint about the RoBaugh offense is they did not get the ball in playmakers hands in space. The new coaching staff is already talking about doing exactly that. This is exciting!
Keep talking Jed! You’re doing god! I’m proud to have you as the owner of my 49ers!
Yes but the Skeebs disagrees.
Skeebers is still to busy crying to face reality. He doesn’t quite understand that when a coach is presented with the best talent in football for 3 years he should have the best record. Harbaugh did that. But when the GM gives you that talent for a three year window it should at least bring home one Lombardi trophy. Harbaugh failed with that task.
Right now we are going forward with a different coach and philosophy. In the meantime let’s hope Baalke can load the roster to the same talent level Harbaugh had. If he can I believe that this coaching will delver. The only thing we know for sure is Harbaugh couldn’t. It was time for a change because if Harbaugh couldn’t do it with the best talent what makes one think he could do it with less?
Oops, that should read, ‘Keep talking Jed! You’re doing good!’ Pretty funny!
I think he should just keep quiet, right or wrong he sounds like a meddler. Let the GM and the coach speak up.
I think Jed has a valid point. The O was disjointed last year and it just didn’t work. Injuries plays a part in it sure but scheme was the big issue to me. Square peg, round hole, end of story.
Lets see if the new staff learned from it.
I agree our offense sucked last year, it drove me to want a regime change. I just think Jed talks too much. He owns the team so he can do what he wants.
He’s not meddling, He’s just talking about his team. I love hearing from the owner. I guess for it’s good because he is saying what I want to hear.
I proof read every post and correct things, still, I often miss things. Oh well.
Did anyone catch the interview on NFL radio with Dan Skuta about the time he signed with Jax? I was told that when he was asked about the situation in SF and Harbaugh, he said it was time for a change. Basically saying it was time for Harbaugh to go. Reportedly, the interviewers just laughed. If somebody heard that let me know what you heard. I looked for it on the internet and could not find the interview.
Harbaugh wasn’t presented with the NFL’s best talent for two simple words: Alex Smith. Nor did he have the league’s most talented roster after Checkdown Charlie’s departure for one more simple word: Kap.
I don’t give a shit how loaded your roster might be at every other position. If you don’t have an elite QB, you don’t have the best talent. You don’t. We didn’t. And we still don’t. Couple that with the offensive philosophy of Bo Schembechler Jr.™ and it’s no wonder why this Mickey Mouse organization hasn’t won a Super Bowl in twenty years. And with the 50-1 odds that seem to plummet weekly to win this year’s Super Bowl. Twenty-one years looks like a slam dunk.
And Jed York needs to STFU. Then he needs to shave off that goddamn beard.
He looks like a Hungarian bellhop boy from “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Quack!
Joe Flacco, Jim McMahon, Brad Johnson, Trent Dildo and a few others I can’t think of right now were elite?
Niners had more than enough talent under Harbaugh to win a SB, if not more than one.
I’m a Kap fan and Del can kiss my ass! I’ll even get a temp tattoo of a duck so he will make it a wet kiss!
Be careful he doesn’t try to feed it…
Didn’t Rex Ryan make the Championship game his first two or three years with the Jets? I*n fact, he went to the AFC title game each year! According to the Harbaugh butt sniffers that makes Ryan on the same level as Harbaugh. Sniff this, according to the numbers, Rex and Harbaugh are irreplaceable. According to Harbaugh butt sniffer logic, the Jets haven’t had that type of success for forever. How could they fire him? I just love laughing at the Harbaugh lovers. Especially the ones who have ever made a joke about Rex!
Too funny. Was Rex considered a Saint too?
More like a foot fetishist. Would that make him a ped-ophile?
Guess wordpress didn;t like my joke.
New thread is up.