San Francisco 49ers Forever

. . . in so many ways. Yes, back by popular demand, the most blogged-about quarterback west of Tim Tebow, we present for one more time, the continuing drama of Alex Smith. For all of his fans, he takes his kudos east as he tries to wrest another franchise from the depths of mediocrity with the help of a head coach who is known for his acumen in dealing with quarterbacks in Andy Reid. Reid, for his part, is also battling his own demons, professional and otherwise, as his rollercoaster ride in Philly finally came to a merciful close. Throw in a personal life rife with tragedy and you have the makings for all that feel-good crap the national media thrives on. If Alex and Andy can revive a once-dominant and now feeble franchise and fanbase to get KC back into the sunshine, the huzzahs will rain like, un rain upon the denizens of Arrowhead stadium.

For all of Alexa’s detractors, I guess their hope is he flames out in a system that isn’t spoon-fed him by an overly nurturing coach in Jim Harbaugh. He is laughed to the bench of a lousy team as he rots in ambiguity as a backup quarterback for the rest of his misbegotten career.

But wait! There’s reason to root for Alex Smith! As we all know, the Niners were given a conditional draft pick for the Smith trade. A 2nd or 3rd depending on how well the Chiefs and Alex do. Well, the bar was set. 8-8 = good = 2nd round pick for the Niners. 7-9 or below = bad = 3rd round pick. Although if Smith does well and the team sucks, I guess that hasn’t been factored in yet. I suppose it’s strictly by record.

Still and all, a great situation for the Niners to be in as they traded with back with Tennessee for their 3rd round pick next year, are likey to get a 3rd round compensatory pick for Goldson, and this 2 or 3 from KC. A possible 6 picks in the first 3 rounds for a draft that looks very strong. Trent Baalke is doing a wonderful job of keeping the team loaded with picks. It looks like he understands that the FA market, while useful, isn’t as important as stocking the team through the draft. I expect to see a trade of Scott Tolzein for Patrick Peterson.

Per Grump, here’s what the Niners have done so far this young 2013 NFL season:

Free Agents Signed:

3/13 – DT Glenn Dorsey, Kansas City
3/14- LB Dan Skuta, Cincinnati
3/16 – S Craig Dahl, St. Louis Rams
3/19 – K Phil Dawson, Cleveland
3/19 – WR Marlon Moore, Miami
4/2 – CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Philadelphia
4/18 – TE Cameron Morrah, Seattle

Free Agents Lost:

3/12 – NT Isaac Sopoaga, Philadelphia
3/12 – TE Delanie Walker, Tennessee
3/13 – S Dashon Goldson, Tampa Bay
3/14 – DT Ricky-Jean Francois, Indianapolis
3/22 – WR-KR Ted Ginn Jr, Carolina

Trades:

3/11 – 49ers’ 2013 No. 6 (199) draft choice to Baltimore Ravens for WR Anquan Boldin.
3/12 – QB Alex Smith to Kansas City for 2013 No. 2 (34) draft choice and conditional 2014 pick.
4/1 – 49ers’ No. 5 (164) and Bengals’ No. 7 (227) draft choices to Cleveland for QB Colt McCoy and Eagles’ No. 6 (173) choice.
4/25 – 49ers’ 2013 No. 1 (31) and Panthers’ No. 3 (74) draft choices to Dallas for Cowboys’ 2013 No. 1 choice (18, S Eric Reid).
4/26 – Chiefs’ 2013 No. 2 draft choice (34, obtained for Alex Smith) traded to Tennessee for Titans’ No. 2 (40, DE Tank Carradine), No. 7 (216, see below) and 2014 No. 3 choice.
4/26 – 49ers’ 2013 No. 2 (63) and Eagles’ 6 (173) draft choices to Green Bay for Packers’ No. 2 (55, TE Vance McDonald).
4/26 – 49ers’ 2013 No. 3 (93) and Titans’ No. 7 (216) choices to Green Bay for Packers’ No. 3 choice (88, DE Corey Lemonier).

Draft:

1 – 18 – (18) – Eric Reid – LSU – S *Choice from Dallas
2 – 8 – (40) – Cornelius “Tank” Carradine – Florida State – DE *Choice from Tennessee
2 – 23 – (55) – Vance McDonald – Rice – TE *Choice from Green Bay
3 – 26 – (88) – Corey Lemonier – Auburn – DE-OLB *Choice from Green Bay
4 – 31 – (128) – Quinton Patton – Louisiana Tech – WR
4 – 34 – (131) – Marcus Lattimore – South Carolina – RB #Compensatory Selection
5 – 24 – (157) – Quinton Dial – Alabama – DE *Choice from Indianapolis
6 – 12 – (180) – Nick Moody – OLB – Florida *Choice from Miami
7 – 31 – (237) – B. J. Daniels – South Florida – QB
7 – 40 – (246) – Carter Bykowski – Iowa State – OT #Compensatory Selection
7 – 46 – (252) – Marcus Cooper – Rutgers – CB #Compensatory Selection

Undrafted Free Agents Signed:

4/27 – Lawrence Okoye – (Great Britain) – DE
4/27 – Luke Marquardt – Azusa Pacific – OT
4/27 – MarQueis Gray – Minnesota – QB
4/27 – Alex Debniak – Stanford – FB
4/27 – Chuck Jacobs, Utah State – WR
4/27 – Patrick Omameh – Michigan – G
4/27 – Sherman Carter – Tennessee State – C
4/27 – Darryl Morris – Texas State – CB
4/27 – Kevin McDermott – UCLA – LS
4/27 – Mike Purcell – Wyoming – DT
4/27 – D.J. Harper – Boise State – RB

David Akers is MIA on the list but I’ll forgive Grump that oversight. I kid, I kid.

In general, they accomplished what they set out for. Get a safety, a TE, and D line depth in the draft. They picked up a couple of FAs to round out the line and TE as well. They also replaced their kicker. Huzzah!

Hard to start thinking about the cut-down list, but we got us a shitload of players right now and a shitload of time to go over this. So, what the hell?

Figure 3 FAs signed don’t make the grade. 4 draft choices don’t make the grade. And 2 UDFAs stick around. Either by making the grade or repopulating the practice squad. I stil think Parys CB? Culliver’s stupid mouth notwithstanding, he’s safe. Cox could be out. The rest? Who knows? A couple LBs and DLs need to hit the road with these additions.

Paint it black, stupid girl. I’m high and dry. You are under my thumb, so doncha bother me. Well, the flurry of craziness around the draft is over, and the wait for the meaning of football life once again goes into hibernation mode. So, the only thing to do is debate the selections. Here’s the list of players the Niners took.

1 (1st round) Reid, Eric FS
2 (2nd) Carradine, Tank DE
3 (2nd) McDonald, Vance TE
4 (3rd) Lemonier, Corey DE
5 (4th) Patton, General WR
6 (4th) Lattimore, Marcus RB
7 (5th) Dial, Quinton DE
8 (6th) Moody, Nick OLB
9 (7th) Daniels, BJ QB
10 (7th) Bykowski, Carter OT
11 (7th) Cooper, Marcus CB

UDFAs include last place finisher in the Olympic discus toss, Lawrence Okoye; and Luke Marquart, a converted TE-to-lineman who is raw. Both these guys got aome amount of coverage as being anywhere from 3 to 7th rounders in the draft, and both are seen as projects with strong upsides.

So, the practice squad at the least looks to be replaced entirely. I really didn’t think they’d draft 13 guys, But I didn’t think they’d draft 11 either. As NJ pointed out (I think) though, the Niners already have 10 selections slated for next year. They can’t very well pack next year’s draft too heavily without missing out on some players this year. Plus, the last three guys are fringe at best anyway. And Marcus Lattimore will not see the field this season, and the jury is out on Tank Carradine as well. The team has told him to ease off on his intense rehab. In essence saying he has time to recover, don’t push it too hard. So that means there’s a little flexibility in teh decisions these guys make regarding who goes and stays.

All in all, I think they did about as good as they could have. Quibble about the players as you will, they addressed their needs with players they feel fit their system (Reid, Tank, Patton), can be coached up (Vance, Lenomier), or were added for depth (Lattimore, Dial, Okoye, Marquart). The casualties in all this appear to be Cam Johnson, Darius Fleming, Dan Skula, Michael Whlhoite, among a few others. Scott Tolzein will be in a fight with BJ Daniels for the 3-spot in the QB depth chart. BJ is more in line with the new direction of the 49ers QB situation, so the more Smithlike Tolzein may be eased out/traded. The thought being that these guys don’t pass up Colt McCoy as the 2 guy.

The Niners, and Trant Baalke, are pretty much kicking ass in this draft so far. Reid isn’t Vaccaro, but he’s what the Niners wanted at 18, a strong hitter in the defensive backfield. Plus Jerry Jerkoff got schooled. The Niners then drafted down in the 2nd to get the guy they wanted anyway in Tank Carradine, which netted a 3rd round pick next year. Carradine is a strong DE which gives the Niners another fast edge rusher to bookend Aldon Smith.

The Niners then traded their 61st and and 173rd pick to GB to get a TE in Vance McDonald of Rice. He’s 6’4″, 265 so he’s a load, and other than that I got nothing on the guy. Reports are he’s big, strong and raw. Excellent blocker. Trouble with the drops. Would have liked to seen Ertz, but they were looking for size and blocking I guess.

The 3rd round brought another trade with GB to trade up and get yet another fast edge rushing defensive player in OLB Corey Lemonier from Auburn. The 49ers sent GB their 93 and 217th pick to get to 88 and snag him.

It’s fairly obvious that the Niners are leaning toward getting faster on defense. Because of one guy. Russell Wilson. Harbaugh and Baalke have determined that the biggest threat to the Niners supremacy lies within their division in the Seahawks. They haven’t bulked up their interior line, they have drafted for edge speed.

Going forward tomorrow? I’m sure they draft a WR, an interior lineman, and maybe an ST/DB type. And maybe two or three more trades.

Eric Reid, come on down! The 49ers traded up to get a safety. It wasn’t the one I expected, but there you have it. They obviously have seen more and know more than the average fan, but still people will bitch.

The Niners still have 3 picks today. I’m still of a mind hey go DL with their 2nd round CB with their next 2nd rounder, and maybe TE?WR with the 3rd round. Meetings all morning. See ya later.

Finally. And I’m a $&#%ing year older. Yippee . . . Anyhow, the speculation gabfest is still in frenzy mode as everybody knows the Niners are not going to draft 13 players. I’d say somewhere in the 6-8 range is likely. 7 being the number I’d go with. I think we will trade up in the 1st, and trade back to next year. And I still think the Niners are targeting a safety. Either Brenda Vaccaro or Su-Su Cyprien. There are plenty of big bodies in the mid to later rounds that should be able to fill our needs. Magnus von Magnusson could very well be available with the 31st pick (63rd overall) in the 2nd round. People are likely scared off by his age. So, concievably the Niners could get their safety and their big body guy without too much damage.

How far they’ll need to trade up to get Vaccaro remains to be seen. It’s looking like they’ll need to get to Miami. They want him. We could trade Rogers to Miami and give them our 34 and our 3rd round (93rd overall) pick. Vaccaro had a shitty 40 time, but his shuttle times were among the best. He was able to keep guys like Ryan Swope and Tavon Austin in check. He also was able to track down and tackle Austin from behind in a game last year. Football speed is different than track speed, and he proves it.

All the talk about DL is important, but we do have players on the line at this time. Yes, we are thin and need depth, but the more pressing need is FS. Goldson is gone. Justin Smith isn’t. Ergo, Vaccaro. And yeah, I know Soap and RJF are gone. But we did get Tommy Dorsey and Ian Williams was bumped up the depth chart. Ergo Vaccaro or Cyprien.

Jason Cole must be reading my stuff. He’s reporting that the Niners may look to trade up to the middle of the first round. I’d think the one and only reason to trade up would be to get Kenny Vaccaro, the outstanding safety from Texas. I had the Niners tradibng with Miami or some shit for a good spot in Round 1, but with the Jets suddenly trading their shit for Darrelle Revis, they may look to trade down for more selections as well.

At least we’re getting closer to draft day . . .

Among all the other free agent 49ers out there, there sure doesn’t seem to be a rush to sign them. Tavares Gooden, special teams LB, Leonard Davis, the solid O lineman who served as the back up and FB at times, and Larry Grant are all still unsigned. Tramaine Brock just signed his RFA tender.

Grant is the most curious as he had an outstanding few games filling in for Patrick Willis in 2011, but had very little playing time last year. he provides depth, if anything, and he shouldn’t be too expensive, and no one is jumping anyway, so sign him. You have to wonder about Davis as well. He performed well when asked to, and a few false starts notwithstanding, provided needed depth.

Somethings wrong with the timestamps, and Spitty has vowed to leave. THere was much rejoicing. TT has been banned for obvious reasons, and meanwhile, the stomach turns. Didn’t think this place would be reminiscent of Fernwood. I suppose this is what happens when there’s nothing happening in Ninerland.

Sooooooo, what’s new? Got to start something different, if only to keep my sanity in check. How bout them Giants? Another come-from-behind win.

Aaaaaaaand Faith Hill left Sunday Night Football. Not a big country fan, but here’s who she is:

As in 13 draft picks. We are down to 2 weeks til I turn 52, and the NFL draft commences. Seeing as we’ve all weighed in on things numerous times, let’s weigh in again. Shit, I don’t know. I have my picks carefully loaded on that last thread, so they are safe.

How about you guys give me your best shot a predicting this stuff? I went through the first 5 rounds, or their top 8 picks. After that, it’s a wash. I can’t even begin to fathom how many of these get traded, but I’m sure we’ll end up with somewhere around 8 picks in the draft after all is said and done.

What say youse?

31 – S (Cyprien) – Big guy, hybrid like Baalke digs
34 – DL (Magnus Von Magnus) – Big, fast, physical, 26 tho
63 – CB (Blidi Wreh-Wilson) – Tall tough corner. Fast.
74 – WR (Da’Rick Rogers) – Big, strong, hard to tackle
93 – DE (Cornelius Washington) – Long lanky under-the-radar guy. Sound familiar?
128 – C (Brian Schwenke) – Schwing! Cal guy. Center.
131 – S (Honey Badger) – If he’s here, he’s worth the risk.
157 – RB (Lattimore) – Why not? Much like Frank Gore, a health risk that paid off greatly