Hey, who knows? We’ve been to the dance recently, and even have another NFCCG in our bonnet. Does that mean we are ready for the next step? The Warriors pulled it off after suffering through a couple down and injured seasons. The Giants pulled off 3 in 5 with some solid pitching and a revolving cast of characters. The 49ers? We have talent in spades, one of the best pass rushers in Nick Bosa, AA, and a hopefully fucking injury-free Javon Kinlaw.
The D line should be dominant. The secondary? Well, we felt strongly enough about Hufuanga to let Tartt go. the rest of the defensive backfield is a question as we bank once again on Jason Verrett , newly acquired Charvarius Ward, and Emmanuel Moseley.
The linebacking corps is solid as ever with Warner, Greenlaw, and Al-Shaair leading the way.
Offensively we have Aiyuk, Kittle, (soon) and Deebo. A strong cast of RBs in Mitchell, Sermon (?), Hasty, Wilson, and the drafted Tyrion Davis-Price. Jennings has proven to be a stud as well catching passes. Speedster Danny Gray is a real possibility to take the lid off the defense. A real deep threat?
The O line is Trent Williams and a list of meh. Center is the big question at this point with the nominal starter at this point being undrafted rookie ASU Dohnovan West and his backup Jake Brendel. Brunskill is the 3rd stringer. What could go wrong there? West is a pretty highly rated guy so we may have gotten a steal, but this is gonna be an interesting camp as they work through the rotations on the offensive line.
And that of course leaves Trey Lance. Now that Lance has actually done some things like practice, the hot-take du jour of Lance being a bust has subsided. Only to be replaced by how shitty Steph Curry is. It’s wonderful to hear the east coast media blow smoke up the Celtics’ ass as they get their ass handed to them. But now we are hearing things like, hey, the 49ers may be among the top teams in the league.
Hey. Why not? Everyone else in the area is winning chips, it’s our turn.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
West is 300 lbs and too small . Nick Zakelj is Alex Mack size and ras athletic rank tops at center position..
ah those athletic numbers are pretty tight…issue is he was like 285lbs when he did all those drills. I saw he’s right around 300lbs right now, which is still a little light in the pants but is right around the same size as Richburg. Sounds like he’s still got those movement skills though.
This guy is west’s size. Another DT turnstile in pass pro. Lance will be breaking his fingers on DT and LB helmets in the A gap. Develop Nick fast.
David Lombardi
@LombardiHimself
Possible 49ers starting center Jake Brendel was a 90th-plus percentile athlete among O-linemen when he came out of UCLA in 2016. His explosiveness and agility scores stood out — and he’s now significantly stronger (299 pounds vs. 286 pounds coming out
No thanks!!!!
Looking forward to seeing our picks in action pretty soon. I love the Davis-Price pick and the Womack pick. But there are some real interesting picks in there as well. I agree that to have a successful season we have to solidify our Oline and cut down on our injuries. That said I honestly believe Lance is gonna prove he was worth ever pick we gave up for him. But that is how I feel at the start of every season.
Well, unless we pick up someone who gets cut before the season starts, we have West, Brendel, and Brunskill. Wouldn’t mind getting more depth anywhere along the O line.
Didn’t realize that they were thinking of moving Nick Zakelj to center. He’s got the size anyway.
Shit, Hugh McElhenny passed away at 93. Sorry to hear that. Great player. Long live The King.
Wow. He must be one of the last of that era. Lots of his teammates died in the 60s/70s.
The Niners were a strong team back then but could never get past Cleveland and Otto Graham.
He was one of my all time favorites. Sad day indeed. I never got over being pissed that he went to the Vikes.
The Niners teams of that era were exciting and fun to watch and pretty innovative as well. A ton of all-time greats played on those squads, and Kezar Stadium was just cool, quirky and very much befitting San Francisco. Never saw a game there, something I regret. I’m a little too young for that, but I’ve read a lot of history and watched a lot of videos.
Chuck, I seem to remember you saying once that you had seen them play there?
One more thing on The King, I’ve lived in the Puget Sound for about 35 years now so the Huskies and other local teams have always been on my radar. McElhenny is a UW legend, having played his college ball there. And if you haven’t seen a game at Husky Stadium, do yourselves a favor and do so if you get the chance. Great venue.