Forty Niners Forever

Never miss an opportunity to go Gonzo. . .

Well, the Newly Minted Los Angeles Rams made a big splash in this newly minted football season by trading two first-round picks (15th overall this year and the one in 2017), two seconds (the 43rd and 45th overall this year) and two thirds (76th overall this year, and one in 2017) to Tennessee for their golden ticket of the overall 1st pick in the 2016 draft. I guess the thinking is, we traded our out of the 1st round pick (2nd overall) with Washington a few years ago, got a ton of picks, and basically shit them down the toilet, so, we might as well see how trading a shit-load of picks for a QB works out.

I mean, Washington is the perfect example. See how well RG III worked out? Oh, yeah.

Word is that the Rams are very high on Carson Wentz. The guy from a D-II school (ndakst) who oversaw a run-heavy offense. What could go wrong? As Washington proved, a lot. Tennessee looks to be an up-and-comer, but how does this trade affect the 49ers? Well, you can say goodbye to Jared Goff. Whoever the Rams don’t pick (Goff) will go to Cleveland. Unless they monumentally break down and pass on him. Yeah, I know they just got RG III (hey?), but that don’t mean shit.  He’s getting backup money, and they can stash Goff behind RG until his wheels fall off, and Bryan Hoyer no longer can lace ’em up. Not sure how long that will be, but it very well could be sooner rather than later.

I guess there’s the tiny hope that Cleveland doesn’t think Goff is the guy and they wait until next year’s crop of uninteresting QBs are ready to be taken at #1. Hey, I got through a thread without mentioning Colin Kaepernick. Oh, wait. Ahhh, fuck.

What a glorious time to be a Bay Area sports fan. The Giants just took 3 of 4 (and could have easily swept), the dreaded Dodgers, the defending champion Warriors triumphantly beat their demons in San Antonio by winning in a building they hadn’t won in since 1997 when Chris Mullin and David Price roamed the hardwood. A feat that stopped the Spurs bid to win out at home this season. Shit, even the Raiders look to be on the upswing as their young QB and the shoring up of their non-existent defense gives their fans hope. The A’s? Well, sorry. Your GM is a fool who never met a good player he wouldn’t trade for middling prospects.

And then there’s the 49ers. The fly in the ointment. The turd in the toilet. The monkey’s paw if you like. The 49ers, and Trent Baalke are still in the pissing match that is the Denver Broncos bid to wrestle away our once and future passed quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. The latest out of Denver is they want to pay Kaepernick like an ‘elite backup’. This is of course after floating out a trade for him that involved a pick they didn’t have, and the talk of asking him to take close to a $10 million pay cut based on his incentives here. So, instead of our own front office casting aspersions his way, which they did with gusto last year, we have the team trying to GET him casting doubt about his abilities and their diminishing comments.

I have no problem with Kaepernick telling both sides to take a hike. In the end, it’s his ass out there getting pounded into oblivion behind a shitty line and getting bad-mouthed by the front office that he did a favor for. Namely by signing a team-friendly deal that was supposed to keep the talent here. Instead we got the epic migration of talent that rivaled the dust bowl Oakies heading here during the early 30s, and the hiring of a coaching staff that will go down as one of the most inept in recent memory. Then, the changing of the guard yet again. So, if Kappy casts a jaundiced eye at the state of affairs in his current situation, more power to him. He’s the one holding all the high cards at this point.

The Niners aren’t going to let him go on the cheap. Kappy certainly won’t take a huge pay cut to play in the Mile-High city, and all he has to do here is show up. Everyone knows the stakes involved, and I think the biggest factor here is that if Denver doesn’t make this trade, they are starting the season with a soon-to-be 30 year old Mark Sanche as their starting quarterback. The fan base would be pretty pissed off should ol’ horse teeth starts the season with butt-fumble, and Trevor Siemien as their QB corps.

Word is now that the deal is off between Denver and San Francisco on dealing the enigmatic quandary that is Colin Kaepernick. Kappy won’t take a $5 million pay cut, and the team isn’t willing to eat that much salary either, so here we sit. With a QB that is getting paid $12 mill, and who may or may not even be our starter. Frankly I’m shocked that Kappy didn’t split. If he wants to stick it to the 49ers, his best bet would be to leave and take Denver on a nice playoff run as he worked to rehab his image in a new town.

As it is here, well, he DOES have a chance to do the same here. As in rehab a tarnished image. Chip’s style of go-go offense would seem to be suited for Colin’s game. And Chip likes athletic QBs that can move. A match made in heaven, right? Yeah, right. It comes back to the QB competition between Gabby and Kappy this preseason. And if Kappy can’t beat out the likes of Blaine Gabbert, then he’s mailing it in for a seat on the bench. A la RG III last year. And we all saw how that worked out for RG III. Back up money on a desperate team.

I don’t get this at all. Alex Smith didn’t want to leave here as well, even though he had plenty of opportunity, albeit for much different reasons. Kappy? I have no idea. He came into the league as a humble man-child who was honored to be here., and in the NFL Now he’s guarded and arrogant, hiding behind a surly and off-putting attitude.  I blame Harbaugh.

Seriously though, I don’t get the thought process behind this. Kaepernick had the opportunity to go to the defending Super Bowl champs and pretty much be handed the starting job. Play well, and he likely gets a restructured deal for his make-good year in Denver. Instead, he comes back to a team that he (apparently) alienated due to his actions in the clubhouse. He has a tough row to hoe here, and the chance that he puts this team on his back and carries it to the playoffs (or even respectability) is a long shot. Here’s the story:

http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/report_colin_kaepernick_refuses_pay_cut_no_deal_with_broncos/s1_12680_20616034?mb_edition=5647&linksrc=mb_story_main_head_9_20616034

The latest from the rumor mill (in this case, Jason Cole), the Denver Broncos are asking Colin Kaepernick to take a $7 million pay cut in order to play for them. His 2016 salary is guaranteed after 1:00 PM today, so any movement isn’t likely. This strikes me as being odd however, because last week, the teams had apparently met in terms of salary, but were dithering over draft picks to finalize the deal. Now it’s about money? Even weirder is Denver’s statement that Kappy is only worth a 4th round pick, and they don’t have one to trade.

My thought is that Denver is trying to build the case for creating a low ceiling in terms of negotiating going forward. As I’ve said before, Trent may not be all that great at drafting, but he’s a shrewd negotiator. He still holds the high cards in this deal. Denver is in desperation mode in regards to their starting QB, and Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t even in the discussions. They want Kappy. Baalke knows this.

Weird thing is, you have t wonder how Kappy feels about leaving if he’s all of a sudden paid like a backup. Will h e lean toward staying here and fighting for his job? These questions, and more, will be answered as the stomach turns . . .

With another NFL season about to officially kick off in 3 days, the 49ers are once again in a state of flux. To be kind. Turmoil? Chaos? Clusterfuck nightmare? As those old commercials used to say, You make the call!”

Anyhow, thinking about the uncertainty that is our quarterback situation, let alone our new go-go offensive scheme, I’m starting to wonder about our defense.  I just don’t know diddly about our New DC Jim O’Neill. I know he had Joe Haden and Tramon Williams as his CBs, and we all are familiar with SS Donte Whitner. Throw in young FS Tashaun Gipson and this reflected well on Cleve’s pass defense. Other than that, Cleveland had a good defense with a lot of solid players. Sort of like what we have here. Although O’Neill’s last year in Cleveland proved to be a disaster as they sunk to the bottom of the NFL in points allowed and yards given up. Unbelievable to me is that the Niners ended up 18th in points allowed given the blowouts we suffered under. Cleveland was fucking 28th. Our D last year was maddeningly inconsistent, so the hope is more solid play across the board.

This year, as with many, depends on a pass rush that doesn’t disappear for weeks at a time. The defensive secondary was all over the place as well. And even Jimmie Ward came on and played very well as the slot corner. Depth is a problem, but with all these injuries over the past couple years, a lot of young guys have shown some ability. The D line looks to be a little iffy with Ian Williams having a setback in yet another injury recovery. We have bodies, but the hope is consistent pressure.

Still and all, getting these Cleveland retreads doesn’t seem prudent, but many a good coach has wandered through those revolving doors.

Not much to report these days. Kappy likely stays with the team after April Fool’s day, and something or nothing happens with him. Still think Denver makes a play for him. They really do not want to hit the season with a semi-effective QB in Mark Sanchez and a mid-round QB flier.

Other than that, the New York Times wrote a scathing series of articles on the ineffectual and slipshod manner in which the NFL purportedly studied the effects of concussions and CTE effects on current and former NFL players. I can’t see the NYT articles, but the gist of the back-and-forth between the NFL (tweet wars) and the NYT is chronicled in Huff post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nfl-ny-times-concussion-report-ads_us_56f5aa61e4b0a372181a02df

This come a couple days after Kevin Turner, a fullback and lead blocker for Rickey Watters and Duce Staley back in the day for the Philadelphia Eagles, died of ALS, or Lou Gherig’s disease. If the NFL is unsure of the connection between  football and concussions, they will sure certainly call this bullshit.ALS hits home with the 49ers, as three former players, Matt Hazeltine,  QB Bob Waters, and RB Gary Lewis all died of ALS. All were on the Niners in the early 60s, and they all played together in 1964. Waters and Hazeltine died within 2 weeks of each other in 1987, and  Lewis died in 1989. How a disease that hits about 1 in 100,000 people managed to hit 3 players in a group of 48 defies statistical  anomaly.

Kevin Turner, who was fighting the NFL on his case, seems to think his condition was worsened by his playing the game. That there is a link between ALS, CTE, concussions, and early death. Seeing how the NFL is letting ex-players die in the streets and barely paying lip service to the men who built the game to what it is today, it’s especially tragic.

Here’s the article regarding Kevin Turner.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15059587/kevin-turner-46-dies-long-battle-als

The comparison of NFL players to gladiators sent to the ring to fight or die is becoming mora and more appropriate.

Colin Kaepernick
Last QB at the altar
Denver is calling . . .

With Robert Griffin the III nearing a deal with Cleveland, the Broncos are down to the last guy standing. Colin Kaepernick. This certainly puts the 49ers in a better position than before RG III was snapped up. And it also commences the death of RG III’s career. Cleveland is the burial ground for many a decent QB, and many more mediocre ones. Hard to think things will get real peachy real soon, although I will say Hue Jackson is very good at getting blood from a turnip in the way of generating offense.

Funny thing is, with Kappy and Denver the last two wallflowers, the onus falls on Denver to sweeten their deal. They have no leverage in this fight. The 49ers have set the bar, and Denver has to come up to meet it. Plain and simple. There is no way in hell the 49ers are going to cut Colin loose at this stage of the game. Paying the $12 mill is no problem given the state of the cap. And, really, what can Kaepernick do? Sit out the season? That would be career suicide.  His options are sit tight and fight for his job under the new regime, and fight for his job under the new regime. If he loses to Glabbert, then he sits until Blaine gets hurt.

Trent Baalke may be a shitty talent evaluator, but he is very good at negotiating deals. If anyone out there thinks the Niners are simply going to cut Kaepernick, I have some beachfront property in Reno to sell you . . .

Here we are in the middle of the only story of the NFL offseason that has any staying power. Colin Kaepernick’s whereabouts come September. Funny to think there are people out there who think Trent Baalke will dump Kaepernick. Even though he’s under contract and (presumably) will be on the team after his salary kicks in on April 1st. Regardless of what anyone thinks of him, his salary and contract are team-friendly, no matter what team he is on.

And, believe it or not, the 49ers do have some leverage regarding their wayward QB. And the leverage lies with Denver. This makes the most sense for everyone involved. Cleveland wants to heavily restructure his contract to pay him nearly backup money. While Kappy would likely be fine with that kind of deal in Denver, Cleveland is another mater entirely,as they are shedding talent, their coaching staff is a revolving door of revolting, and are basically a different flavor of shit than we are right now. And therein lies the rub. Trent Baalke KNOWS that Denver, and Elway, do NOT want to start the season with Mark Sanchez as their starting QB. This is where we have our leverage.

Trent has made all the statements that we are going to stick with Kappy should the trade not come to pass. Even Kappy has said he’d come to camp should it fall out this way (his best interest as well). Trent is also holding out for a 2nd round pick. Cleve’s 3rd round basically IS Denver’s 2nd round, so Trent understands that Denver’s 3rd is way down the line. To make things interesting, Denver floated out there that Kappy is only worth a 4th round pick. Funnily enough Denver doesn’t HAVE a 4th round pick to trade.  So, they are playing their own brand of gamesmanship.

We’ll see how this plays out, but for all of Baalke’s shitty drafts, he has ben very shrewd at GETTING draft picks. We went through a similar scenario with Young Sir Alex when many though he would be simply cast aside. I rightly said that there was enough interest to get a some picks. I didn’t think he’d get a 2 and a 3 for him (I think I said a 3 and 4). As it worked out, Baalke got the following for Alex:

Tank Carradine, DE (second round, 2013)
Corey Lemonier, LB (third round, 2013)
Carlos Hyde, RB (second round, 2014)
Chris Borland, LB (third round, 2014)
Stevie Johnson, WR (trade for 2015 fourth-round pick)

Not a bad haul  for a guy that many thought would be tossed away. I don’t think we get the same 2 picks, but I can see something like Denver’s 3rd round pick, and a mid-level pick next year.

Well, since this dude agrees with me, I might as well cite him. Bemjamin Allbright, a Denver-based writer, says that the Kaepernick-to-Denver deal will happen “given time.” Since I said this two days ago, this dude be a genius. Mainly because the second Kappy hit the bench, flags popped up in Denver that Kaepernick and Kubiak would be a great fit for each other. Here’s the article.

http://www.ninersnation.com/2016/3/18/11260366/colin-kaepernick-trade-rumor-deal-to-broncos-will-happen-given-time

Truth be told, the Broncos are the ones who are likely to blink in this impasse. They do not want to hit the season with Mark Sanchez as their starter and Trevor Siemian (splat) as their backup. Sources say, Kappy won’t push for a trade should a deal not be reached,  and Kappy and Chip have talked to each other about the weather. So, believe it or not, the Niners have a bit of a leg up on Denver. I guess the questions we should ask ourselves is, do we want Gabbert or Sanchez as our backup? Since Chipster did OK with him in Philly, he could figure into a trade scenario. Or shit, maybe we go wioth Butt Fumble as our starter while we develop Jared Goff.

Other than that? We picked up a fair-to-middling guard Zane Beadles. He’s a zone blocking guy so you’d think that is the direction Chip is heading. But this is our big free agent splash? Sure, it’s a position of desperate need, especially with the departure of Alex Boone to Minnesota, but I’d like to see a few more linemen come in and push Pears out of the lineup. Anyhow, Happy St. Patty’s hangovers.

Well, best laid plans and all, the Kappy situation remains in flux as Denver hasn’t moved on their offer, and Cleveland, being Cleveland, may have scared off Kappy already by shedding center Alex Mack,  RT Mitchell Schwartz, and WR Travis Benjamin. Last thing he wants is to come into a team that has is shedding talent and is looking to draft a QB anyway. He could (and very well may) stay here for that, despite his admiration for Hue Jackson.

No, this trade is about Denver. I’ve been thinking all along that this is what he wants. This is certainly what Denver wants, as Gary Kubiak has not been shy about his desire to get Kaepernick. The Niners want a 2 from Denver or a 3 from Cleve, mainly because the diff is 2 spots in the draft. In other words, a 2 from Denver IS basically a 3rd round pick from Cleve. A 3 from Denver is 30 spots lower. Denver just signed Mark (dirty) Sanchez, but no one sees that as anything but what it is. A backup signing.  Denver has made noise about getting Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Kubiak wants to run a more dynamic offense than what Fitzpatrick would offer. Elway has admired CK from afar, as has Kubiak and Wade Philips.

The Fitzpatrick to Denver talks seemingly would bring the Kappy/Jets scenario back into play, but there haven’t been any whispers around that. Yet. It could happen, but much as I hate to say it, I hope Kaepernick finds his way to Denver and does well there. The 49ers seems to be only adept at shooting themselves in the feet like old Sourdough Sam used to. The 49ers now are a collection of disorganized parts and pieces put together with no sense or rhyme. Chip Kelly is walking into a buzzsaw. And Trent Baalke is on his last legs.

This draft is fairly huge in the immediate future of this team.