Forty Niners Forever

Newly acquired local boy WR (born in SF, raised in Fairfield, and an alum of Chabot College) Stevie Johnson recently said that the Niners at this point have “four #1 recievers.” Including himself in the VD, Crabs, and Anquan Boldin mix. Funny thing is, he’s kinda right. They’ve all put up 1,000 yard seasons over the years (well, VD has reached 900+ a couple times), and all have had solid seasons.

The issue here is, stop me if you’ve heard this before, is whoever they designate as #3, will that guy get on the field more than 25% of the time? Because that is the fate of most 49er 3rd string WRs. Ted Ginn recently held that distinction, and was limited to basically a mop-up role. Last year, everybody was hurt, and or Kyle Williams, so the Niners got nothing out of the 3rd string guy.

Using 2012 as the last season where we had a fairly healthy WR corps, Randy Moss was the 3. 28 catches, 435 yards, 3 TDs. Not horrible by any stretch, but does anyone here feel he was used as much as he should have been? In 2011 our 3 (KW) caught 20 balls.  Last year? Well, we had 3s that were pretty much number twos. Turds. Guys who could not get open. Just flipping through Pro-football-reference.com shows that most 3s get something like 50, 600 yards. And I’m not hitting teams like Atl or NE where their 3s get around 60, 750.

Which brings us to the present. The sounds coming out of 4949 Centennial Blvd are that Harbaugh understands he needs to open the sardine can. Teams are keying on the 1-2 WR formations as our run set and successfully stopping our run game, and thus setting up 3rd and long.  Beyond the fact that this has been a recurring problem since the Nolan/Hostler days, let me say, meh. We’ve all heard this before. From Norv Turner saying “Alex really gets it this year” to Singletary saying “Alex is doing really well throwing deep balls” to now Harbaugh saying “We need to integrate more 3 WR sets on 1st and 2nd down.” After the praise, the talk of opening things up and the like, we get Gore, Gore Gore.

The run game works against teams like Tennessee, Jacksonville, and the Rams (not any more), but this plan stalled out against Seattle, Indy, and NO. Teams that stuff our run game. What happens is the 49ers then face a lot of 3rd and long plays. Plays where the defense can blitz and force turnovers, sacks, and fumbles. Which is why the Niners are always near the top of the list for 3-and-out drives.  

So, to me this merely sounds like the chatter they always spout when talking about the upcoming season, and how different things will be. Seeing as their first priority for an offensive player in the draft this year was a running back, I don’t think things will change any time soon.  I fear that Stevie Wonder will be relegated to 15-20 plays a game, and 3-4 catches per if he’s lucky. Welcome back, Stevie. Hope you get on the field more than I think you will.

Here are the six guys the 49ers signed as UDFAs after the draft.

• Morgan Breslin, OLB, USC
• Asante Cleveland, TE, Miami
• Kory Faulkner, QB, Southern Illinois
• Fou Fonoti, OT, Michigan State
• Taylor Gabriel, WR, Abilene Christian
• LJ McCray, S, Catawba
• Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford

Morgan Breslin, a highly touted pass rusher before getting injured, is in the news for hoping to cash in on his Lloyd’s of London insurance policy that states he would get a payout if an injury hindered his draft position. As a UDFA, I guess he can say his knee injury lowered his value.  Shayne Skov is another highy regarded player who was waylaid by injuries. Instead of going to the Raiders as a posible walk-on starter, he decided to come to the Niners to learn at the feet of the best guys in the business. Probably a good idea to get healthyed up and try to stick. Oft-injured Darius Fleming didn’t stick as he blew his knee out twice in a row.

LJ McCray is a small school guy who had some eye popping kick return numbers, and is a pretty solid safety to boot. He is also notable for being on NJ’s draft board as a possible late-round sleeper. Another small-school guy is QB Kory Faulkner, who Jim Harbaugh bumped into while scouting Jimmy Garapollo from Northern Illinois. The Souther Illinois QB was throwing alongside Jimmy, and Harbaugh liked him and asked for his tape. The rest is 3rd-string-QB history. I mean if you can’t beat out McLeod Bethel-Thompson . . .

Taylor Gabriel? Yikes, he’s tiny (5’8″ 165 lb) but he ran a blazing 4.28 40. He’s likely gunning for ST/KR/Gunner job, but he looks like he’d be fun to see out there at WR on occasion.

With the team loaded with talent, and the recently added 12 draftees, it’ll be tough for any of these guys to mnake the grade, but a couple should.

I’d bet on Skov and McCray.

1 (30). Jimmie Ward, defensive back, Northern Illinois
2 (57). Carlos Hyde, running back, Ohio State
3 (70). Marcus Martin, center, Southern California
3 (77). Chris Borland, inside linebacker, Wisconsin
3 (100). Brandon Thomas, offensive lineman, Clemson
4 (106). Bruce Ellington, wide receiver, South Carolina
4 (129). Dontae Johnson, cornerback, North Carolina State
5 (150). Aaron Lynch, defensive end/outside linebacker, South Florida
5 (170). Keith Reaser, cornerback, Florida Atlantic
6 (180). Kenneth Acker, cornerback, Southern Methodist
7 (243). Kaleb Ramsey, defensive end, Boston College
7 (245). Trey Millard, fullback, Oklahoma

Today’s festivities start at 3:30 pacific time.

To synopsize yesterday, no one is very happy thast Trent Baalke and the 49ers picked what is basically a 3rd down nickel DB in Jimmy Ward. It may not be terribly horrible if he’s on the field 75% of the time, as teams like the Rams will be throwing a lot, but I can’t see him taking down, say, Marshawn Lynch in the open field without being removed from the field with a spatula. Yes, there are a lot of teams that throw in the league, but there are also teams like Seattle who wear down teams by grinding games out. I don’t see Ward being a factor in the immediate, or even long-term future.

Let’s just say I agree to disagree at this point. But I ain’t too thrilled with Baalke right now.

And to summarize the draft today, the Niners hold the following picks:

2nd round – 24 – (56th overall – from KC)
2nd round – 29 – (61st overall)
3rd round – 13 – (77 overall – from the Tits)
3rd round – 30 – (94 overall – from the Tits)
3rd round – 36 – (100 overall – compensatory for Dashon Goldson) 

Round 2

Pick (overall)
1 (33). Houston Texans
2 (34). Washington Redskins
3 (35). Cleveland Browns
4 (36). Oakland Raiders
5 (37). Atlanta Falcons
6 (38). Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7 (39). Jacksonville Jaguars
8 (40). Minnesota Vikings
9 (41). Buffalo Bills
10 (42). Tennessee Titans
11 (43). New York Giants
12 (44). St. Louis Rams
13 (45). Detroit Lions
14 (46). Pittsburgh Steelers
15 (47). Dallas Cowboys
16 (48). Baltimore Ravens
17 (49). New York Jets
18 (50). Miami Dolphins
19 (51). Chicago Bears
20 (52). Arizona Cardinals
21 (53). Green Bay Packers
22 (54). Philadelphia Eagles
23 (55). Cincinnati Bengals
24 (56). San Francisco 49ers (from Kansas City Chiefs)
25 (57). San Diego Chargers
26 (58). New Orleans Saints
27 (59). Indianapolis Colts
28 (60). Carolina Panthers
29 (61). San Francisco 49ers
30 (62). New England Patriots
31 (63). Denver Broncos
32 (64). Seattle Seahawks

Round 3

Pick (overall)
1 (65). Houston Texans
2 (66). Washington Redskins
3 (67). Oakland Raiders
4 (68). Atlanta Falcons
5 (69). Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6 (70). Jacksonville Jaguars
7 (71). Cleveland Browns
8 (72). Minnesota Vikings
9 (73). Buffalo Bills
10 (74). New York Giants
11 (75). St. Louis Rams
12 (76). Detroit Lions
13 (77). San Francisco 49ers (from Tennessee Titans)
14 (78). Dallas Cowboys
15 (79). Baltimore Ravens
16 (80). New York Jets
17 (81). Miami Dolphins
18 (82). Chicago Bears
19 (83). Cleveland Browns (from Pittsburgh Steelers)
20 (84). Arizona Cardinals
21 (85). Green Bay Packers
22 (86). Philadelphia Eagles
23 (87). Kansas City Chiefs
24 (88). Cincinnati Bengals
25 (89). San Diego Chargers
26 (90). Indianapolis Colts
27 (91). New Orleans Saints
28 (92). Carolina Panthers
29 (93). New England Patriots
30 (94). San Francisco 49ers
31 (95). Denver Broncos
32 (96). Minnesota Vikings (from Seattle Seahawks)
33 (97). Pittsburgh Steelers (compensatory selection)
34 (98). Green Bay Packers (compensatory selection)
35 (99). Baltimore Ravens (compensatory selection)
36 (100). San Francisco 49ers (compensatory selection)

Well, here we are. The 2 week delay had come and (almost) gone. The 2014 NFL draft has arrived! The prognosticator and bloviators had 2 extra weeks to waffle endlessly about their picks and locks and sleepers and duds. Bullitt had 14 mini-heart attacks as he formally protested in front of NFL Headquarters regarding the world-wide pain and suffering caused by moving the draft back 2 weeks.

So, what can I say that hasn’t already been said? Shit, I don’t know. I will give major props to NJ49er (and his son), our east-coast stalwart and relentless fan for his work in drawing up his draft board. His work is all-encompassing and detailed, and I always learn a ton from the guys he brings up. As do the rest of you. So , thanks for all your contributions, guys and gals (and lurkers). So, kumbaya, motherf**kers.

The schedule is:

• Thursday 5:00 PM – ESPN & NFL Network – Round 1
• Friday 3:30 pm – ESPN & NFL Network – Rounds 2-3
• Saturday 9:00 AM – ESPN & NFL Network – Rounds 4-7

(All times pacific)

One stinking round the first day. That’s pretty lame. But it plays into the fact that Jolly Roger wants to stretch this out even longer next year.

 Anyhow, for shits and giggles, how about we do a Top 10 picks in the draft?

After minutes of hard work and thought, heeeeeeeeere’s mine:

1. Houston – Jadaveon Clowney. Best pass rusher ever out of the draft? Meh.
2. St. Louie – Jake Matthews.  Terrible protection has to get better now for the Rams.
3. Jax – Khalil Mack. Possibly the best guy in the draft.
4. Cleveland – Sammy Watkins. They’ll get Bridgewater to throw to him later.
5. Cracktown – Mike Evans. As much as they should build from within and draft T Greg Robinson, they can’t pass up ion a big fast WR.
6. Atlanta – Taylor Lewan. Not sexy, but Atl has 10 picks and needs to shore up their line.
7.  Tampax Bag – Blake Bortles. Johnny Football hype aside, Bortles is the mosat complete QB and should be good from the start.
8. Minnehaha – Aaron Donald. They’ve been all over this guy for weeks now.
9. Buffalo – Odell Beckham. EJ looked pretty good last year. They need a playmaker for him. ODB fits the bill. Hate to see him go before we get a shot.
10. Deetroit – Who cares? Anyway, the underachievers don’t need CBs so they pick the next best idea and grab TE Eric Ebron.

I think the Niners are definitely going to trade up. I just wonder how high. Trading with Balt at 17 is a possiblilty for the reasons already discussed. Walterfootball has us trading up to 11 with Tennessee. And picking ODB. Yowza. Dennis would drop dead on the spot. If we DO trade up that high, I’d rather get  Justin Gilbert or Kyle Fuller. Thing is, though, even if they trade to 17 for a better price, they can still grab someone like Dennard, or even one of the 2 guys above.  

So, lemme know who you think your top 10 picks are.

And not a moment too soon. Some folks are losing their collective shit regarding the delay around the 2014 draft. Apparently there was a scheduling conflict with some bumb-ass show that somehow already shut down because of shitty ticket sales. That’s what you get for screwing around with the draft. Personally, I think Jolly Roger Goodell was staging this as a test-bed for moving the draft later in the year to build his grand design of a year-round football season. Start free agency (and thus the new season) in early March to keep the fires stoked for all things football.  As much as everyone including Spuds MacKenzie loves everything football, turns out a little down time isn’t so bad either. I don;t think Goodie Goodell will get his changes any time soon.

I don’t know or care if the delay is a big problem in the real world, but in Bloggoland, you’d think they were moving Christmas to July.

All the extra two weeks brought us was two more weeks of Mel Kiper’s unholy head of hair plastered across my big screen TV. Two more weeks of bizarre NFL Network programming of strange-but-true draft stories. Who knew the draft of 1964 (which netted the 49ers one of my favorite players to wear the red and gold, Dave Wilcox) would produce 10 NFL Hall of Fame players, and one Hall of Fame coach?

I didn’t. I think we all know what the 49ers needs are in the draft. CB, WR, CB, SS, DT, QB, G, C, RB, QB, DE. Something like that.

The Niners played the ‘family values’ card in their desire to hold on to wayward Niner, Aldon Smith. Casting all the extemporaneous bullshit aside, the Niners would have come out on the short end of the stick had they not held on to him for that 5th year. Perceptually, and from purely a business and team standpoint as well. I mean, barring the complete unravelling of Aldon.

Leave him hanging, and you pretty much tell him he was a waste of a pick, and the team disregards his stellar play for the past few seasons. It would write his ticket out of San Francisco and thus on to somewhere else. Most likely Seattle, as they would sign him in a New York minute. It would also look pretty cold to imply that they don’t want him around anymore. To his teammates and the fans as well.

The reality is, for all his foibles, he’s a very rare commodity. A fast, strong, relentless pass rusher who would command a hell of lot more than the $9.75 mill they just put themselves on the hook for for 2015. As much as I’d love to see him turn his life around, and I’m sure he can, the shit he’s done isn’t terribly bad, but he’s definitely heading down a rocky path. He’s young, and he has to realize he’s his own best chance for success, and also the agent of his own doom.

So, the team can look good, they put his needs ahead of theirs, and can deal with his situations as they come up. They are also availed of his talent for the next 2 years, minus the 4 game suspension for weird behavior.  Good move all around.

Well, if we don’t take a wide out with the 3oth pick, the concensus is of course cornerback.  And there are a lot of good ones in this draft. From top to mid-range to the bottom. With that being said, I hear a hell of a lot of chatter re: the Niners trading up. Mike Evans and Juston Gilbert being the recipients of our largesse.

God, I hope we don’t trade up. We can address a lot of depth issues with our first 6 picks, and we shouldn’t be bundling our early picks together. After round 3, trade back to next year, use late picks to move up, whatever. But don’t lose the 6 picks you have in the first 100. Bird in the hand, and all that. There is enough talent through the first 3 rounds to pick up some major additions. As of now, we are weaker since the tragedy that was the NFC Championship with the loss of 3 defensive backs, Bowman’s injury, and the impending suspension of Aldon Smith, and maybe Chris (Grand Theft Auto) Culliver.

The way to instantly get better is through a good draft. Baakle has been hit or miss in the draft. The 2013 draft is still a work in progress. Reid was the best safety to come out of the draft. V McD was thrust into a role he wasn’t very comfortable with, but he’s still looking like he could shape up to be a solid contributor.  The red shirt guys (Lattimore, Dial, and Carradine) may or may not be all that. They get their chance this year.

2012 was a flat disaster. No 1 pick AJJ was unceremoniously traded for another 1srt round flot in Jon Baldwin. LMJ wants out amid his not being used much or right, depending on your point of view. Looney is nominally fighting for the vacant center spot, Daruis Fleming has yet to survive a training camp, and the rest are gone. Cam Johnson did garner a 4th round (?) conditional pick in a trade with Indy.

2011, police blotter notwithstanding, was a brilliant success. 6 of the 10 draftees are still playing for the Niners, and are big contributors. From Aldon to Kappy to 6th round pick Bruce Miller.

Shit. Got sidetracked. So, who do we draft at 30 if we go CB? Since our biggest hole to fill is Rogers’s, we need a press corner for the slot WR. Best guy for that is Darqueze Dennard. He’s excellent at press coverage. Big enough, strong enough, and fast enough to cover most top college guys, he should translate well. Not likely to be there at 30 though. That being said Justin Gilbert is the best overall guy. He can play press or off coverage, he’s big and fast. Again, he’ll be gone by 30.

So who do we get? The name I keep hearing is Jason Verrett. He’s not a press-cover guy, but is an excellent zone defender. The best zone defender if you believe the clippings. With Brock gone, he could step into his role from the get-go. He’s right on the edge of being there, so the Niners could wait, or watch a team like NO or NE pick him out from under them. Kyle Fuller and Bradly Roby are a couple of other guys who may or may not be there.

Beyond that, I still want the Niners to take a shot on Stanley Jean Baptiste. Very big and tough, and plenty of football speed. He’s my sleeper pick of all the CBs.

So, no one gives a shit about Scott McLoughan? Fine. I’m going to steal a cue from NJ’s positional pick leg-work for the what-should-have-started-tonight NFL 2014 draft. Instead there’s a cancelled show or some shit not going on at Radio City Music Hall this weekend. Reminiscient of when the Golden State Warriors were unceremoniously  booted out of their newly built digs next to the 880 freeway by the Ice Capades during the 1975 NBA Finals. Notable in the fact that I went to game 2 at the Cow Palace. 8th grade in 1975? Shit, I’m old.

Anyhow, I digress. All the talk over the past off season has been focussing on the need for a WR or three. Fortunately, there are an abundance of them in this draft class.

Heading the class at WR are:

• Sammy Watkins
• Mike Evans
• Marqise Lee
• Odell Beckham
• Kelvin Benjamin
• Davante Adams

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or just not reading this) I’d love to see the Niners get Ol’ Dirty Bastard (aka Odell Backham). He’s not huge, but he’s fast, has great hands, and is a spot-on route runner. He also is a kick returner and would be able to take over for soon-to-be-missing LMJ. Watkins and Evans are too high up to even contemplate, and ODB could even go in the mid 20s, but the intriguing guy is Marqise Lee. He’s the forgotten guy who strugggled through a bit of a down season after putting up eye-popping numbers in 2012 (118 catches, 1721 yds, 14 TDs).

Kelvin Benjamin worries me. Despite his size and strength (he’d be a red-zone dream), he is far from a finished product like ODB and Lee. Pass. Davante Adams is a guy who looks to be better than his draft position indicates. Not quite the speed-burner I’d prefer, but if we are looking to let Crabs walk, they could plug this guy right into his spot. Great hands, may need to bulky up a little to beat press coverage at the line. But likely a solid 2nd round pick that will pay off big for someone.

After these guys are plenty of other viable candidates in later rounds. including:

• Allen Robinson
• Jordan Matthews
• ODB’s teammate Jarvis Landry
• Brandon Cooks
• Martavius Bryant

All these guys bring something to the table. Robinson has the body, but not quite the speed. Matthews is big and fast but has trouble disengaging from the line (big deal inthe NFC West). Landry had a horrible combine, which could drop him, but he plays big and has great hands. Cooks is a guy who I didn’t notice til I saw his 40 time (4.33). Yowza. He’s small but extremely quick. His combine numbers may very well rocket him up the draft board. Bryant is another guy who played upder the radar but very well could be outstanding. Tall (6’3), with some size (211 lb), he put up a solid 40 time (4.42) in the combine. Great hands as well. 

Late round outliers are many and varied. Ones to keep an eye on are:

• Jared Abbrederis
• Paul Richardson
• Donte Moncrief
• NJ’s guy Dri Archer
• Kevin Norwood
• Jeremy Gallon

Richardson, Norwood, Abbrederis, and Moncrief are all big and fast. Archer and Gallon are of the diminutive speed burner slot guys.  Since WR is such a glaring need, and since Harbaugh is hopefully going to give more than lip service to the 3-4 WR sets he is talking about, the opportunity to get two very capable guys is here for the taking. Given the uincertainty around Michael Crabtree and his status after this year looms as well.

My WR picks would be ODB in the first and Abbrederis in the 3rd (with out last 3rd round pick).

Scott McLoughan erstwhile GM of the San Francisco 49ers, and more recently the Seahawks GM, has once again abruptly left his team right before the draft. Whether his work was completed before his departure is a bit of speculation, but I’m sure the leg work is done and his wished are at least duly noted. This happened to San Francisco back in 2010, before the team had even tasted success. The guys he brought in, starting with blog favorite Alex Smith, include the following:

Frank Gore
Vernon Davis
Patrick Willis
Joe Staley
Justin Smith
Ray McDonald 
Michael Crabtree 
Ahmad Brooks 
Dashon Goldson

There was much made about McCloughan’s departureand since most of it is conjecture, it was for ‘personal reasons’ and not job performance. When he left, McCloughan was apparently going through some hard times. He said at the time “I understand now that the job can’t consume your life. I’m still young, and I still love football. But it was consuming my life, and it’s just not as important as your health or taking care of your family.”

McCloughan had become overwhelmed, so he said. “I got almost numb. And I had no one to blame but myself. I was losing my family, and I sat back and had to think about that. As we know in this business, jobs come and go. Family doesn’t. Those three kids, you’ve got a chance to impact their lives, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

The rumors were he had a drinking and marriage problems, but nothing more was said, and with all that swirling around him,  he immediately took the Seattle GM job, and picked up right where he left off to build a winner in Seattle.

Among the guys he drafted for Seattle were Russdell Wilson. KJ Wright, Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner, and your friend and mine, Richard Sherman.

Yesterday, he pulled the same stunt. He hasn’t cited burnout or all-consuming or anything, but he did say has was leaving for personal and family reasons. 

His next move is to apparently start his own independent scouting service. He’s going to sell his picks to the highest bidder? Strange, but the guys track record pretty much speaks for itself. And hey, if it weakens the Seahaeks just a little, why not?

I expect the Arizona Cardinals will be making a big push to sign him next month.