San Francisco 49ers Forever

. . . and Peyton Manning is the beginning, middle, and end. Things seem to be quieting down. The 49ers are looking at WRs (Schillens, Lloyd) and RGs (Schwartz, Davis), and are basically hunkering down for the conclusion of the Peyton Manning sign-a-palooza. Apparently, Miami is out, as Manning doesn’t like Stevie Ross, the Dolphins owner. So, Miami goes and low-balls Flynn because they were never really in the running for Manning? Wow. They look like the dumbest franchise out there. I don’t think either Smith or Flynn sign anything until Manning does.

There’s still a plenty of time for this to drag out, and Manning is now starting to throw passes. He’s at Duke U throwing for the Broncos now, and they are apparently offering 5 years, $60 million, with $30 mill guaranteed, for his services. A veritable bargain. Could even get the Niners interested, but it looks like it is down to Denver and Tennessee at this point. If I’m Manning, Denver has to look pretty inviting, with that weak-ass division to flourish in. A deal like that isn’t going to help Alex Smith’s bargaining position very much, but I’m still pretty solid with my prediction of 4/45/18 guaranteed.

UPDATE: Per Matt Barrows, Jim Harbaugh flew back east to watch Manning throw yesterday, and that the 2 met for a while. Seeing as Manning’s agent is Smith’s, you have to wonder how this plays out, but the reluctance to sign Smith certain’y takes on new meaning as the Niners throw their hat into the Manning ring.

. . . and there’s still no word on Alex Smith and his deal (or lack thereof). The latest news so far is Adam Snyder signed a 5 year deal with the Cards, Shawntae Spencer was cut, and Joshua Morgan is gone. So, unless these guys think Randy Moss and Chilly Rachal are more than adequate to be the starters now, they are in the market for a RG and a couple WRs. The Niners signed Perrish Cox and re-upped with Carlos Rogers to beef up their secondary. Reggie Smith has slipped down the depth chart once again. The D looks fairly well set going forward into the draft.

The offense? Well, there’s a ton of guys still out there to be signed. Chaz Schillens stopped by, as well as Brandon Lloyd. Schillens is a pretty solid guy who sems to have problems staying healthy.  Lloyd? Been there, done that, but the guy consistently puts up big numbers. It could work. Royal’s out there as well. He’d be a nice replacement for Ginn, as I don’t think Ginn or Kyle Williams will stick. This leads me to think these guys go heavy on the offense in the upcoming draft next month. As far as guards go, Evan Mathis is out there. Nicks was signed by the Buccos. The Saints signed Grubbs to replace him, and there are other out there still available like Geoff Schwartz, who is scheduled to come visit the Niners today. Leanord Davis stopped by, but he’s likely done at 33. I think they sign one more FA WR, a RG, and maybe a TE.

The draft will likely be tilted toward the offense as well. Unless some big NT fialls to them in the early to mid rounds . . .

. . . and the pieces are flying off faster than a 1972 Pinto. Trust me. A buddy of mine had a Pinto Wagon that was the slowest car in the world. Well, down there with those old mini-Blazers that Chevy used to put out. The Pinto would shift feverishly between 2nd, drive, and passing gear trying to get to Tahoe. mmmmm-Mmmmm-MMMMMMMMMM-mmm-MMMMMM-Mmmmmm, all in like 3 seconds. Volkswagen Microbuses would be passing us. Motorized wheelchairs as well.

But I digress. Harbaugh has started this free agency period putting back the pieces that made this defense a stout one. And, in response to the fact the Niners play Brady, Brees, E Manning, Rodgers, and possibly P Manning (maybe even 2x), among the usual Bradfords and Skeltons, he felt the need to bring back Rogers, and sign Perrish Cox, a CB with a bit of a history, but is also a good KR. So, the starting defense is intact, and they’ve beefed up the CB spot with Cox and the return of Holcomb.

Offensively? Well, we signed Randy Moss from the reclamation pile/unemployment line. He had a fairly miserable 2010 and promptly retired. He didn’t work last year. Is he coming back hungry? Or merely greedy? Hard to say. The guy is pretty much an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a mystery. Some guys swear by him, others call him a self-serving malingerer. Since he’s on a one-year deal, there’s little risk to the signing. He’s this year’s version of Braylon Edwards. In other words, expendable. That being said, they ARE looking for more help at WR. Chaz Schillens, one of the decent Raiders, will be in today for a look-see. At 6’4″ and 220, he’s the big WR that Harbaugh seems to favor.

As for Alex? I really figured they’d get this done by now. 4 years/$45 mill is what I said a week ago, and it still sounds right. I suppose they’ll go after JJ if Smith signs elsewhere. If he DOES sign somewhere else, it’ll be a little hard to fathom. I don;t think Cappy is ready, and to start him now would be pretty much caloig the season a trial-and-error period, and the al;ternative at best would be JJ. At worst? Well, there are a shitload of crappy FA QBs, and Matt Flynn. Donovan McNabb? Kyle Orton? Jason Campbell? Kyle Boller? Gross Rexman?

Bleeeech. In other words, there isn’t a compelling reason not to sign Smith, unless he’s really pushing for elite QB money. If so? Oh well. I don’t think anyone else goes to the moon for him. But, hey. Seattle is the team that could pull the trigger on him. If Smith is hell-bent on testing the market, he may be disappointed. And come back.

The 49ers invited Randy Moss for a workout this morning, and promptly signed him this afternoon. No details on money yet, but I’m sure it’s incentive-laden, as he didn’t play a down last year, and had some troubles in his last stints with NE, Tennessee, and Minnesota in 2010. Randy has a very strange affliction known as don’t-care-itis. It can strike at any time, and usually leaves baffled and pissed off teammates and coaches in his wake. He still likely has decent speed, and his size is still impressive. Frankly, I think this has more to do with getting a deep target for Alex Smith. And the Niners showing Smith that, hey, we’re getting you a new shiny weapon. And I also see Smith signing before the 1:00 pm PDT deadline tomorrow.

What COULD happen is I still think Seattle may come in with a big offer to Smith should he hit the free agent market. Smith and the 49ers keep saying how they are in agreement with everything, but the deal ain’t done. And Smith could very well take less to go with the Hawks. Spite? Long-held animosity? Still pissed at Teflon Mike? Who knows? Until the deal is done, he’s still unsigned. It bothers me some, because the alternative is either a very raw Cappy, or someone like Josh Johnson. A fair-to-poor replacement. I would hate to see it come down to that, but no one knows what is on either side of the table at this point money (and guarantee) wise. We’ll see soon enough.

For all that Alex Smith did last year, and for all the love that was spread around the team and the newly installed coaching staff in the surprising and nearly championshiop effort put forth by the 49ers, the fact that Alex Smith hasn’t signed a contract yet is flying under the national radar.  ESPN did show the list of FA QBs out there yesterday, with Matt Flynn leading the list. Smith being the 2nd guy. Typical, but it belies the fact that, at least nationally, most people think he’s staying put. Sure, you have guys like Tony Dungy, Jerry (watch me dance!) Rice, and plenty of others thinking they should go after Manning, but this is a non-starter as I (and countless others) have repeated ad infinitum.

But (there’s always a big but), as of now, there’s a bit of an impasse. Alex apparently wants a 5 year deal. The Niners are offering 3. There’s guaranteed money I’m sure they are hashing out as well. I’ve been saying for a while that I figured Smith to be the last signing. I still believe that, and I also believe that they will not let Smith hit the open market. I think a team like Seattle would push pretty hard to get Alex. Alex? Well how much fun would he have playing the Niners 2x a year? The team that put him through the 7 levels of hell, but also paid him tons of money to get the right to screw him over repeatedly. So, I think he signs a 4 year, $45 mill deal with like $15 mill guaranteed right around March 11th or 12th. I mean, look what Kolb got to suck ass in AZ. 4/$63 mill/$20 mill guaranteed. Granted, the Niners can very well say, look we’ve already paid you $78 million, and we’ve just now started making progress. I think they work this out.

As far as the others go (Rogers, Ginn, Morgan, etc), I thought they’d sign at least a few of these guys. I guess they are content to let them hit the market. Rogers, I’ve felt, caused the biggest turnaround for the DBs in that he usually took away the best WR on the other side of the ball. Without Rogers, Goldson does not have his big year. That being said, Rogers is 30 and there are guys like Brandon Carr and Cortland Finnegan who are younger and available. That being said, Rogers WILL get big money from someone like Jerry Jerk-off Jones. He’s not coming back.  Much is made of Rogers getting torched by Victor Cruz in the game, but in the 2nd half, Cruz had 2 catches for 17 yards. Rogers said he made an adjustment in how he covered him, and it apparently worked. I’d like to see him stay, but I think Jones gets him for big money. The rest? Ehhh. Ginn is easily replaceable. He won’t get the big money because he’s pretty much worthless as a WR. Morgan? Test the market, come back. Same with the others.

Say what you will about the guy but Manning is nothing if not a humble, decent guy. At least looking at him from the outside. His press conference (with owner Jim Irsay, a possibly awkward scenario) was short, sweet, and heartfelt. They both understood the realities of the situation, and the inability of the Colts to take the chance on signing him back. This really does harken back to the Joe Montana/Steve Young situation. Too bad Joe couldn’t quite handle it with the same amount of class. The curious thing is, no one is really sure if Peyton will even be able to play again, let alone be the offensive force he once was. There were questions about Montana’s health, but they weren’t nearly this inconclusive as this deal. Montana went on to have a couple strong years in KC, but they were interspersed with injuries and in the end, disappointment. The breathless media (well, ESPN) at this point is pencilling Peyton for 5 more HOF-type seasons. This of course is based on shakey video that was supposedly taken of him throwing with a helmet and pads on.

Beyond that, Peyton is going to be the most talked-about free agent until he signs with someone. The hype machine will be cranked up to 11 very shortly. Peyton’s available to begin the wooing process at 1:00 pm PST. According to the Talking Heads out there, about 28 of the 32 teams are in the hunt. I think it really comes down to 5 teams. Miami, the Jets, AZ, Seattle, and Washington. Seriously, the 49ers are a non-starter in all this. Miami appears to be the front-runner, for no other reason that it’s location being close to Louisiana, and the fact that Manning has a home near Miami already. Washington, and crazy Dan the telemarketing man, could very well throw something like $75 mill for a 5 year deal for Manning based on nothing but his overarching desire to fling money around like a drunken sailor. The Jets are making a lot of noise about signing him. Kind of interesting, because it certainly is a big kick to the oblongs for Mark Sanchez. The franchise would be relegated to the bench to wait for inevitable injury that Manning would suffer, and would then get right back in there as the starter. Teams like Seattle and AZ have little/nothing to worry about QB-wise to take a shot. Kevin Kolb’s huge deal, and subsequent suckage notwithstanding.  

That being said, I don’t feel that AZ or Seattle stand much of a chance. Manning has been an AFC guy his whole career, and to jump across the country AND switch conferences doesn’t feel right. I think the front runners as of now are Miami and the J-E-T-S.

Lastly, if this is any precursor to the other HOF QBs that have moved late in their careers (Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Brett Favre), it doesn’t bode well. Johnny U and Broadway Joe were shells of their former selves, and didn’t do shit. Montana and Favre did well enough for their last couple seasons, but in the end fell short for whatever reason.  So, where do you think Peyton lands?

According to Chris Mortensen, Peyton Manning will be waived tomorrow, thus saving the Indianapolis Colts untold millions of dollars, dollars which will be then used to sign the next Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck. Lucky for the Colts, they cratered at the best possible time to GET the most highly sought-after quarterback since, well Peyton Manning 14 years ago. OK, how about Dan Marino? 

Only the truly clueless of the clueless think the 49ers would even bother calling his agent or pursuing this in any way. the thought being, he could step in and be the missing piece for a Super Bowl run. Well, beyond the fact that Manning is still hurt, makes no guarantee he’ll ever pay again, does not know this offense, and would want to pretty much run his offense his way, not Harbaugh’s way, sure why not? Pay him 4 years for $60 mill on a hope and a prayer.  In other words, not gonna happen . . .

Where will he go? the big (crazy) money is on Washington or Miami. Daniel Snyder is certainly nutty enough to hand Peyton a blank check. Stevie Ross in Miami is all over Manning. There are billboards being erected in Miami to get him to come. He’s a southern boy, and would be close to his Louisiana roots. So, the Fins looks like the lucky team that will get him. It seems ludicrous to me to sign a guy who as of now isn’t reay to play. They would be taking a huge gamble to sign him to any kind of deal. Short term or otherwise. If I’m Miama, I’m thinking longer term than 2012. I’d go after the Rams pick at #2 in the draft and get RG-III. Either that, or take a shot at Matt Flynn. Neither one would be the big splashly over-revved hypebolic ESPN orgasmic media frenzy that the Manning signing would generate, but hey. There’s no lacking common sense in some NFL team boardrooms I suppose.

The only Niner connection I can glean from this (other than the moronic plea to sign Manning). Is the Anser to this trivia question.

Who was the last starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts before Peyton Manning? (No googling!)

Still just speculation on the Bounty-gate front. The Talking Heads out there are predicting things like a year’s suspension for Gregg (the 3rd ‘g’ stands for geneous) Williams, hell fire and a raft of lost draft picks raining down on Tom Benson and the Saints, and possible sanctions against some of the players involved on the Saints and Redskins defenses, places where Williams instituted his pay-for-injuries deal. For what it’s worth here, the issue is really about the perception that the Saints (and Skins before them) organization was on board with this activity. By no means are the Saints the only team out there doing this. Just like NE was the only team trying to sneak video of upcoming opponents. Hello Denver? These kinds of gamesmanship issues have been going on for a long time. Mainly though as something done amongst the players. The coaches would nod and wink, but they would NOT be the ones ponying up the cash. The fact of the matter is, the Saints are the ones who got caught. And suddenly all their games in the recent past get looked at in a different way. A coyuple games spring to mind. The playoff games vs Minnesota and AZ. Both those games, there was a ton of hits on Favre that were questionable. A couple got flagged, but the refs sure didn’t really try to slow down the shit going on out there. And in the AZ game, after a pick, someone (Vilma?) unloaded on Warner, knocking him out of the game.

Granted, this IS football, but adding the incentive for extra money (Vilma apparently put up $10,000 for anyone knocking Favre out of that Minnesota game) to intentionally injure a fellow player is pretty much crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. With the NFL the way it is now, and with all the player movement, the guy you are trying to maim could very well be your teammate the next season. Besides, a lot of these guys are friends off the field no matter what team they play for, and are all part of the greater NFL at large. Brothers in arms, so to speak. Putting these guys at odds with each other creates an even more dangerous situation for a game that is incredibly violent, no matter how they try to penalize and sanction hits, legal or otherwise.

So, this leads to Goodie Goodell, the Shield, and perception. He HAS to come down hard on Gregg Williams. To integrate the pay-for-injury ploy as part of the culture of a team, you are pretty much spitting in the face of all the work that Goodell is trying to do as part of the overarching policy of trying to protect the players from later health problems. Plus, to the myriad sponsors of the NFL, head hunting and maiming/crippling players doesn’t sell well. THIS is the biggest indiscretion in my book. The perception that the Saints are flaunting Goodell’s directives for the good of the players and the good of the league. Even worse, the Saints front office found out about it in 2009, yet did nothing to stop it going forward. Goodell didn’t talk to Williams, but his security council did. I’d think Goodell would want to talk to him at some point, but I haven’t heard either way. I think the repercussions are going to severe. Williams likely gets suspended for a year. The Saints will lose 3 draft picks, and get fined a shit-load of money.

I think the Video-Gate scandal is the baseline from which they determine the fines. Frigging NE barely got a slap on thwe wrist. I think this one is much more brutal.

Today is the last day of the franchise-tagging window. Meaning some more FA WRs come off the books. Guys like Dwayne Bowe and Wes Welker look to get tagged, and Stevie (look at me, I’m a moron) Johnson just signed a contract extension with the Bills. DS Jackson was franchised, but I think Philly is looking to trade him now. Braylon Edwards didn’t pan out, Morgan and Ginn got hurt (at different times), Kyle Williams was unimpressive, and Crabs seemed to be coming along nicely til he vanished in the playoffs, so the WR corps(e) look to be improved upon in the draft as well as free agency. And, there’s no guarantee that Ginn or Morgan come back, leaving the Niners with Crabs as their lone WR.

At this point I don’t think they go after any of these big-ticket WRs. Baalke’s strategy of getting bang for the buck rather than breaking the bank served him fantastically well last year, and he likely looks to do the same this year. So, as much as I’d like to see him go after Mike Wallace, VJJ, or even Pierre Garcon, what they will probably do is re-sign Joshua Morgan, sign someone like Eddie Royal out of Denver, a good slot guy and kick returner and/or Donnie Avery, a fast guy who’s been hurt for a bit. Even still, there are guys like Robert Meacham, Laurent Robinson, and Mario Manningham available. They might be too pricey, or they might not. I’m sure the powers that be are looking at all these guys. Shit Brandon Lloyd is out there. And most of the guys he pissed off in his last stint here are gone. Not likely though.

So, they do have options still, but the once very deep free agent WR list is quickly getting shorter, and will be more so by the end of the day.

<b>UPDATE:</b> The 49ers officially put the franchise tag on Dashon Goldson. They also said they are going to work on a multi-year deal going forward.

Not much happening around 4949 Centennial Blvd. The deadline is coming up for teams to franchise tag their players. There’s talk that Dashon Goldson get tagged today. If I type this any slower, he’ll be tagged before I post this. Frankly this makes sense as he’s only going to cost $6.2 mill to tag. Rogers would cost $10.6 mill. I’m sure Hawk’s not very happy about it, but he and his new agent (CAA) can negotiate for a long term deal through July. Goldson famously turned down a 5 year/$25 million deal last year, expecting other teams to pony up the scratch. Drew the Screw apparently miscalculated, and Goldson came back here for a one-year $1,200,000 deal with his tail between his legs after numerous tweets posting his goodbyes.

Well, the situation turned a bit when Goldson had his breakout season. 6 picks, 9 passes defensed, 64 tackles and a forced fumble. He also had a key pick in the New Orleans game. I’m a bit ambivalent where it comes to Goldson. He had a great year, but I think that had a lot to do with the addition of Carlos Rogers and Donte Whitner in the backfield with him. His wild hits in the NCF Championship game still bug me, as they were reckless and not very situationally aware. At least the one where he hit Rogers was. That play was right in front of him. He needs to pick up Rogers about to make the play. Inconsistent and reckless. I’m of a mind to slide Chris Cuilliver to FS, and let Goldson take his act on the road next year.

I think the Niners plan is to let this franchise tag ride, give Culliver one more year of experience, and let Goldson go after this season. I’m still of a mind that they try to get Rogers to sign a 3 (NOT 5) year deal, get Brock more playing time, and say goodbye to Reggie Smith. Curtis Holcomb, the CB who was hurt all last year, attended every meeting, learned all he could from the coaches, and got himself heathyed up. The staff is very high on him to step in and secure a spot in the line up.