Forty Niners Forever

We’re getting closer to March, so that means the draft is coming. As you can see from the slider on the right, Ballke has had a pretty varied draft record. Last year netted a lot of guys that contributed immediately: Jimmie Ward, Carlos Hyde, Bruce Ellington, Chris Borland, Aaron Lynch, Dontae Johnson, and to a lesser extent, Marcus Martin, all played solid to spectacular. Borland and Lynch came in on fire, and D Johnson played well due to an injury-ravaged defensive backfield. 2013 was a little more hit-and-miss. Reid was as good a pick as could have been made. Carradine, VMcD, Lemonier, and Dial, have not lived up to their promise, but the jury is still out on the D line guys at least. Lemonier is gone, as is the shot-in-the-dark Lattimore.  2012 is the low-water mark for Baalke, with OL Joe Looney being the only one left from that draft. 2011 was as equally impressive as 2012 was bad. Aldon Smith, Colin, Cully, Kilgore, and Bruce Miller are all a big part of the team, and all are solid starters. His first draft as overseer, 201o saw the addition (with Sing’s help) of two O linemen Anthony Davis, and Mike Iupati. Also, of course, the all-world NaVorro Bowman.

That being said, this is an important draft, and Baalke once again has stockpiled picks to the tune of 9 guys to pick. Areas of need are, in order, D line, WR, O line, DB, LB, RB. The first two are up for debate, and Baalke will probably go BPA at decision time.

The combines are just about done (DBs today), and some guys have raised eyebrows, and some have merely stayed the same, while some have dropped.  Chris Conley, a WR from Georgia, made the biggest splash with a 4.35 40 time, and a vertical leap of 45″.  Almost enough to reach the top of the slat slapper.

As far as the 49ers go, our first 2 selections are, to me at least, and a few million others, cast in stone. Wide receiver and defensive tackle.  The top three WRs, in semi-particular order, are Amari Cooper, Kevin White, and DaVante Parker. Cooper didn’t disappoint in his combine performance. He’s smooth, fast (enough), and is the real deal. Kevin White, however, laid down his own blistering 4.35 40 time , and he’s a beast at attacking the ball in flight. The knock on him is that he only had one good year. Cooper had 2 1,000 yard seasons in his three years.

Problem is, Neither of these guys will be available at 15. DaVante Parker may not even be there, what with the Rams, Raiders, and Vikings all looking for WR help. This means we look to the D line for help. Problem there is, there are likely 9-10 defensive linemen taken in the top 20. After Leonard Williams, the picture gets muddy. Gone for sure is NT Danny Shelton, as new Bear DC Vic Fangio takes his plugger for his newly installed (gasp!) 3-4 defense. Brian Urlacher, Mike Singletary, and Dick Butkus must all be spinning in their graves. If they were dead. Too many guys out there to even give a remotely accurate guess. Malcom Brown, DT from Texas, is the name I hear a lot for us, for what that’s worth.

So, the falloff after the top 3 WRs is fairly precipitous. Funchess doesn’t look very smooth out there, and ran pretty stiff. Sort of common for bigger guys, but that bothers me. Green-Beckham is a beast, but had major off-field issues. Pot and domestic abuse apparently. He may fall to the 2nd. He talked a bit about it and said he’s not going to blow his shot, but talk is cheap, and the team that spouts winning with class may shy away. Breshad Perriman didn’t participate as he has a hammy issue, but he’s kind of an under-the-radar pick that Baalke might go with. He’s got size, speed, and separates well from defenders. Raw, though. Not a great route-runner who relies on athleticism. Still, a big red zone target that would help the imminent loss of Crabs.

So my best guess is Brown and Jalen Strong first two picks . . .

Through all the turmoil of this offseason, and who isn’t weighing in on it, the 49ers have a chance to at least get some more production out of their anemic offense.

The team doesn’t need to dramatically alter their plans. All they need yo to is pick up the pace on getting plays in, and run a faster tempo. This woul help with defenses getting settled in every play, and hopefully lead to a more dynamic offense.

Steve Logan, our new QB coach, is very well-versed in the West Coast offense, having taught it at ECU and other stops in his coaching career. Faster plays also jives with.  Colim Kaepernick’s  offense that he ran in college. Quick hitters with midrange a passes coming off that.

The question to me is was and will be the Geepster. He’s had a long and varied career in the background but now he’s at the forefront of an offense that has been stale, yet the perception is that he’s really in the hot seat. No shit, eh??

Out there in Talking-head-land the perception is one of ridicule and disdain for what the team just went through. Frankly, it’s a load of horseshit. This team needed a new offense in the least. I’m sorry to see Fangio go, but then again, I think the defense should be fine with our injured guys coming back, and a new crop of draft picks.

So all they need to do is gain more consistency and get better at sustaining drives.  Hopefully this idea of 4 different coaches calling plays based on down, distance, and field position is long gone. It’s a wonder they moved the ball at all. But it certainly explains the disjointed nature of the offense.

Hop on board the speculation train and let’s take a ride. Word is out that Adam Gase and Trent Baalke had reached a deal to name him head coach after meeting for 8 hours in Denver. He provisionally named his staff and all was approved by Baalke. That is until Trent came back to SC and Jed told Baalke that Gase would have to keep Tomsula as his DC.  This is when Gase bailed on the deal.

Huh? Sure, this follows the timeline, but there are many thing odd about this. Namely that this is being floated by one Tim Kawakami. The guy who badgered Harbaugh relentlessly over anything, and has a bug up his ass about the 49er in general, now he misses St Jim, and wants things the way they were?

The other thing is, isn’t Jed supposed to be under Baalke’s thumb? Blowing the deal up would be pretty headstrong for young Jed Tweetsalot, and at what cost? Keeping Tomsula? Why is he so important to the organization?

Ludicrous speculation has surfaced that this proves Tomsula is the infamous rat that got Singletary run out on a rail, and supposedly undermined Harbaugh to the point of his wanting to leave.

Far be it from me to prove or disprove this, but to think that Tomsula holds this much power over the team is a bit far-fetched.  To have the owner himself back you over every one of the other coaches is mind boggling to say the least.   Makes no sense on the surface of things. And, if Tomsula has this power over young Jed, why didn’t he play this card 4 years ago when he got Aluminum Mike out?

Does he know where the bodies are?

Every year we hear about the demise of Frank Gore, and every year he refutes the naysayers and takes care of business.

At the age of 31, when most backs are sLowing down or breaking down, Gore managed to eclipse the 10,000 yard mark in his 10 year, and rush for over 1,000 yards for the 8 time in 10 years. This despite playing behind a beat up line and a coaching staff that more often than not, abandoned the run early in games, to the detriment of the offensive flow and consistency.

Despite all that, Gore saved his best 2 games of the year for the finish, gaining over 300 yards in his last 2 games vs SD and AZ.

So what now? Well, if I’m Jim Tomsula, I tell the powers that be that they should sign Gore to a 2 year deal. If only to keep or gain the respect of the other players. Having Gore on his side would do a lot to legitimize this staff.

In lieu of anything really happening, let’s take a look at the free agent pool. The 49ers have 15 of them, including one Michael Crabtree.

Me. Leans has had a fairly bumpy ride here in SF and I don’t see very much of a chance he stays. First thing he did this offseason was remove anything ’49ers’ from his twitter account and any social media tool. Not the move of a guy digging his situation.

He’s a solid WR who runs good routes and has great hands, yet has always to me at least been the receiver of s perception problem. Starting with his holdout in 2009, his missed camps, his throwing of A Smith under the bus in 2010, to various whines to the press, he comes across as a diva.

Nothing near the level of TO or Ocho Cinco, but enough to say adios. Thing is, he wants out. And sure he’ll find more money than the Niners will offer. Then again, he didn’t do much to cement his status as a boba fide #1 WR in any if his years in the league. One big year out of 6 won’t get you a Megatron deal.

The niners best hope for keeping him would be a one-year incentive laden deal. This could very well happen should the market for him prove to be soft. I doubt it, but in today’s NFL anything can happen.

Not much going on, and I’m not feeling drafty yet, so let’s delve into our newly minted organization. As we all know, there’s a new sheriff on town. Well, he ain’t new, but he just pulled off the mean feat of turning the team into his rather than his mercurial former employee, Jim Harbaugh.

On an offseason last year that was fraught with distractions. Trent Baalke (with the help of Young Jed Tweetsalot) managed to get the bar set impossibly high for St Jim to reach. Throw in injuries, suspensions, shitty play calling and a suddenly indecisive QB and you get what we just had. A coaching redo.

Trent pulled most of these strings to get the ball rolling, but certainly St Jim wanted out once it became clear that the Michigan job was his for the taking. Interesting thing is, though, for all the talk of continuity, Baalke sent all the coaches on their merry way. Everyone but Tomsula, Mangina, the Geepater and s couple low-level guys.

Tomsula walks into a staff that has been built by Baalke. Sure, s couple have tied to him, and maybe that’s significant in some way, but this staff had been hand-picked by the GM. Not the head coach. You know, the usual process. With he draft coming up, How many of you think Tomsula gets box of crayons and a coloring book while Trent does the heavy lifting? I’m raising my hand.

The Super Nowl has come and gone, and sTill no word about whether or not the Geepster is really our OC or not. He was going to be named last week, but it has gotten very quiet around 4949 Centennial Blvd. since then.

Other than that, I need to start scoping out the draft. It’s obvious to me that we need DLine help as well as O line depth. A speed WR wouldn’t hurt, and a TE . . .

Possibly a CB or two.

Wow. The Seahawks, 40″ away from repeating as Super Bowl champs, mysteriously did not use the guy who had his way with the New Emgland defense through the game. 2nd and one with 26 seconds left, plus a timeout, you have to wonder why they went away from Marshaen Lynch.

Pete Carroll said it was because of the goal line personnel that NE was in dictated a pass. That’s all well and good, but Marshawn Lynch doesn’t get tackled for losses often.

Curiouser was the pass Seattle chose. A risky slant into traffic. To erstwhile 40er special teamer Ricardo Lockette. Not Kearse or newfound star Chris Hardball Matthews. Lockette, who bounced off Bulter like he hit a wall.

Carroll has to wear this one for the rest of his days. As the 49ers discovered, the Super Nowl window can slam shut at any time, and with Lynch and RW to sign, you have to wonder if this is Lynch’s ticket out of Seattle. He has already pissed off the front office with last preseason’s holdout.

And Ron The Hedgehog Jeremy. This is your offensive brain trust for the 2015 season. Trent the Terrible and Sit Jef Tweetsalot are rolling in to this upcoming season with a team that has some very good talent. A solid draft, something Baalke has been family good with, would even make the team stronger. The issues are a aeemingly misbegotten bunch of MFL rejects and on-house flu lies for coaches. The seeming joy the players felt after hearing that St Jim the Tyrant was replaced by the hedgehog was quickly dispelled when George Pattick Geepster was named OC. It looked as if it was simply a cot cutting move. Thing is, they were rebuffed by more than a few candidates. Kiffin, Chud, and Dhanny Jr to name a few. So, some of this was an issue of avoiding what appears to be a situation where a young owner is overshadowed by his GM. No head coach on his right mind comes in to s situation where the underlings have already been chosen. Same goes for OC. They did this backwards because they wanted to control the process. I’m not saying this won’t work, but at some point, Jed is going to have to stand up to Baalke and tell him to worry about personal and let a strong head coach coach. As it was under Harbaugh, Trent was threatened by Harbaugh’s success (I’d guess) and let it be known he was in charge. The infighting, instead of being quieted by the owner, was encouraged, or at least allowed to fester. They got what they want. What happens now will be very interesting. Everyone knows that Baalke is behind most of the shit that went on. This is his baby now. If this next season goes down the shitter, I wonder what Young Jed Tweetsalot will say.

Just like a Geepster in 4 wheel drive. Well, I got my wish for Roman to go. But Chryst almighty as the OC? I ain’t very happy about this. But here we are. Once again the Niners were turned down by the likes of the classy Lane Kiffin among many others. So we are toiling the local dirt with Tomsula and Chryst, our ex-TE coach as DC, and a few NFLE guys.

HuZzah! Can this group of befuddled misfits band together and form a winning team? Or is this just a holding pattern til the Mangenius is named our new HC in 2016?

We’ve gone from Teflon Mike to aluminum Mike to St Jim to now Trent the omnipotent terror and his sidekick young Jed Tweetsalot.

This is like putting lipstick on a pigs ass. Fun fun functional delusionary pipe dreams.