Forty Niners Forever

I’m back. Disneyland nightmare and traffic hell notwithstanding. I set the blog to stop taking comments too early, so that last one shut down prematurely. Sorry. I fixed that problem.

Anyhow, not much brewing yet in 49er-land other than speculation on when and how the team will replenish its depleted WR corps, and when the first shovel hits the ground on the new stadium (scheduled to be ready for the preseason games come 2014). I’m imagining the Niners hit the FA WR market hard, as there are a ton of guys available (minus Dwayne Bowe and Wes Welker apparently, as they’ll be franchised by their respective teams. The only real news is the fact the the Niners told Shawntae Spencer that he’s available for trade. Something he’s up for due to his injury-marred season, and his sinking on the depth chart. After an 8 year run as starter, he was relegated to 3rd string and very little playing time. The Niners feel the Tremaine Brock and Chris Culliver are the way to go. As do I.

KC tagging Bowe leaves the opportunity for the 49ers to go after Brandon Carr if they don’t want to retain Carlos Rogers. Rogers had a great year as the #1 CB on the team, but his age (30) and his pursuit of a big deal may preclude the Niners from going after him hard. Carr is 25, and is his equal, if not better. Whitner is locked in for a couple more years, and the young guys are all in as well. The same applies to Goldson and Ahmad Brooks. You have to wonder, with the plethora (how’s that for WOD?) of players that come available, if the Niners may let some go to greener pastures while scooping up some bargains. I don’t think the Niners will keep both Goldson and Brooks. They are both looking for big paydays. Throw Rogers into the mix, and they are on the hook for a ton of payout. Not even mentioning the 3/~$24 mill that Alex gets. Yeah, they can afford it, but there will be changes and signings. They won’t stay pat. Esp as the WR spot.

I think this is where they try to make the biggest splash free agent wise. I’ve gone over and over the ton of quality guys available. Irregardless, the FA period coming up is going to be very interesting. Pittsburgh is saying they are willing to let RFA Mike Wallace test the market. Pitt is in FA hell and stands to lose some big names off their team. He would cost the Niners a 1st round pick, and an offer high enough that Pittsburgh declines to match it,  but would be well worth it for what they’d get. A true #1 guy who is young and tough (started every game for his 3 year career) and has his best years in front of him.

ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……………………

Not much happening out there in football-land (pitchers and catchers report this weekend! Go Giants!) and I’m going out of town for the long weekend.

So, play nice or don’t play at all. I will be back on Tuesday . . .

Ha ha. No way. Word is (thanks, Dennis) is that Peyton Manning had an additional undisclosed surgery on his neck, and that there are apparently bone spurs in his previously fused portion of the neck vertebrae, which would neccessitate an additional (5th) surgery. Yikes. Despite all the national blather regarding Peyton being a great fit here, this was always a non-starter. I find it hard to believe that Jim Harbaugh, after coaxing what by all means was a spectacular season out of Alex Smith, would all of a sudden decide to abandon the progress made with him, and go with Manning. I don’t see Harbaugh doing anything regarding the QB position this season. No Matt Flynn, no Manning, no Drew Brees, or any other QB flavor of the day. Cappy is the back up. Tolzein is the 3rd string guy.

A couple other things to note. Trent Baalke was given a contract extention through the 2016 season as GM, and all the players who were on the IR (Joshua Morgan, Tukuafu, Holcolm, and a WR whose name eludes me) are all healthy. Morgan is a FA who will hopefully be taken care of. He was off to a good start last season.

The groundbreaking for the new stadium in Santa Clara is set at ‘springtime,’ although the first sign of the new stadium appears to be the removal Aluminum Mike Singletary’s Mt. Pain, the big hill he had built at the practice facility for the more intrepid guys to scale during practice. This anachronism (along with the nutcracker) has gone the way of the dodo, but it was also supposedly in the way of building an access road to get to the stadium site.

Sad. Very Sad. Freddie Solomon passed away at 59. He was battling liver cancer for the last nine months of his life. An outstanding quarterback out of the University of Tampa, he wasn’t highly recruited, but was a Mike Vick type way before the puppy killer showed up.  He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Dolphins in 1975 and put up decent numbers around his various injuries eary on. He came to the Niners in 1978 amid a team in a shambles. By the end of the 1978 season, he was forced into duty as the emergency QB as  Steve DeBerg, Scott Bull and Bruce Threadgill were all injured by the end of the year.

1981 was his best year as a 49er with 59 catches for 969 yards. He was instrumental on The Drive, running for 13 yards on a reverse, and catching a 12 yard pass. The Catch was designed to go to Freddie, but he was triple-covered, and the play went to, well you know. He also won a ring after the 1984 season, winning a ring against his former team, the Phins.

Solomon ended up with 5846 yards receiving and 53 TDs  over an 11 year career. He was the solid vet presence there to help along guys like Dwight Clark and a young Jerry Rice. Truly a great Forty Niner. One who won’t get elected to the Hall of Fame, but a true pro who was a selfless player and genuine humanitarian.

Eddie DeBartolo had this to say about Freddie:

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend Freddie Solomon today. My heart goes out to Dee, his family, the 49ers football family, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office and football fans everywhere. Freddie and I have been friends for 35 years, and he was one of the most gentle and best men I have ever met in my life. Scores of generations will remember Freddie through their children and the youth he’s helped over all these decades. I have never met a man who cared so much about the human race, and there will never be another Freddie.”

My condolences to his family.

There are over 600 free agents on the market this year. Don’t know if that’s some kind of record, but it is a hell of a lot. I think 250 of the are WRs. From Dwayne Bowe to Marcus Colston to Vincet Jackson to latest Super Bowl goat Wes Welker to Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham to countless others (including DSJ), the Niners will have their pick of a lot of players who can make an immediate impact. The question is, at what cost? I’d love to see the Niners go after a guy like Dwayne Bowe and offer him a big deal, but he will be costly. At what point do you cry ‘Uncle’? 5 years/$40 mill? Hard to say. Which is why I think they can wait a little and get DSJ for a relative bargain. I mane, sure. Go after the Bowes and Colstons, but know that DSJ is a good enough fall-back position. I don’t think teams are going to jump on him like all these other available guys.  

The good news seems to be that Joshua Morgan is healed up from his broken leg. Yeah, he’s a free agent as well, but I think the Niners will take care of him, and he shouldn’t be too onerous a signing.  TE Nate Bynum and UDFA WR Dontavia Bogan (2nd team All Big-East) are on the mend as well. But still and all, the WR corps was the definite weakness offensively. So, expect a lot of changes. Crabs should be relegated to the #2 role while the Niners get a high-impact speed guy. Not sure what the team will do, as they seem to prefer bigger WRs, but the team needs a home run hitter. Say what you will about the dearth of deep passes, but Smith did hit VD on a number of occasions down the stretch and in the playoffs. Having a speed guy that can catch would be nice to have this season.

I’ve pretty much given up on ESPN as I don’t follow college b-ball (although St. Mary’s is currently 16th, playing the Zags, and I’m taking the fambly to meet my daughter for the game vs Santa Clara this Saturday) and I don’t want to see the ticker-tape parade, the interminable gushing over Eli (can’t spell illegitimate without e-l-i) Manning, or the fawning accolades for a game that was fairly pedestrian by any rights. Madonna? What a joke. The Stones, The Who, and Tom Petty weren’t all that, but lip-synching? Really Madonna? They should dig up Kurt Cobain next year, or give the job to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Someone with an actual pulse.

When you make NE’s defense look good, there’s something inherently wrong with your offense. Although Coughlin’s plan to run and keep Tom-not-so-Terrific on the sidelines worked as the game went on. The fade to Manningham was the play of the game. On the other side, the inexplicable drops on those last two drives killed any shot NE had of making a comeback. NE forced 3 fumbles, only to see the one they did recover called back because of a coaching gaffe. 12 men on the field. The inexplicable safety on NE’s first play was weird as well. Brady’s brain-fart. So, NY got 9 gift points to start the game. Lucky fucks.

Anyhow, enough about that. As it is, the big dates coming up are the combine from Feb 22 to 28, the Peyton Manning deadline of March 5th. Also the last day to designate ‘Franchise’ players, and the free agency period, which kicks off March 13th at 1:00 pm PST.

I’m very curious as to who gets franchised. I’m of a mind the Niners are going to let Goldson go at the cost of franchising Ahmad Brooks. Most everyone else thinks Goldson gets the tag, but I think the Niners would be fine if they slide Culliver to FS and let Goldson walk. Shit. Who knows? Maybe they’ll franchise Smith and sign Brooks before it goes too far. Or maybe they  let HIM go. Brooks could very well be replaced by a full-time Aldon Smith, but I’m not crazy about that idea. I’d rather have Aldon as our reated and ready weapon off the bench.

And all is right on the East Coast. Yes the season was a huge success for the San Francisco 49ers, but it was still a huge let-down for me, as I know the 49ers would have more than likely beaten the Patriots. It’s a big disappointment to come so close and get jilted at the front door, but the good news is the team is definitely pointed in the right direction. A year ago today was a time of major uncertainty around the team, and the NFL in general. The lockout was in full force, and the previous coaching staff’s stench was still lingering at 4949 Centennial Blvd.

As the situation stands now, the front office actually appears to be plodding along nicely. There haven’t been too many coaches gutted from the staff after this watershed season, Baalke has a very successful draft under his belt, and Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh has the players hungry and wanting more. However, the front office has a lot to do around the 19 FAs we currently need to deal with.

The free agency gate opens on Tuesday March 13th, and the NFL draft is Thursday April 26th and Friday April 27th. Prime time. God know why . . . So, with a normal offseason staring the team in the face, they can address their needs in the correct order. Last year, the Niners were hamstrung because the FA period was after the draft, so they decided to stick with Alex Smith. A wildly unpopular decision at the time, which happened to pay off in spades, when Smith nearly led the team to the Super Bowl. A full offseason, camp and preseason should get this team in better shape offensively, as long as they do something about the WRs. I expect the team to focus on O line depth, WRs, Safeties, and OLB depth in the draft and the FA signing period.  

And, someone actually bet on this, and won big . . .

http://tinyurl.com/84n8lgs

Well, the good news is the NFL has decided to kick down $200 million to Jed to get the new Santa Clara stadium byuilt. Word is, the ground-breaking will be ‘soon.’ Whether Santa Clara was hoodwinked by the 49ers or not, the 49ers have received an $850 million loan from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, and U.S. Bank to finance the construction. I don’t see Santa Clara getting screwed over by this deal a la Dirty Al and Oakland. The team being down there will generate tons of money for the city, and at some point in the not-too-distant future, Santa Clara will get a Super Bowl of its own. Granted, most of the hotels are in San Jose and San Francisco, but hey, residuals, taxes, and cash will still rain down on them.

While necessary to keep the team here in the Bay Area, this santa Clara stadium is pretty much a double-edged sword for me, as the new stadium will be wonderful, and spiffy, and costly. And further away for me. That being said, I think 65-70% of the fans come from the peninsula, so the driving difference isn’t that big a deal.  I’m sure with overruns, the final cost will be near $1.3 billion. Which means that Jed will pass the cost to the fans. I have no idea of the pricing structure coming, but seat licenses are skyrocketing, and the seats themselves are as well. For a spot in the new stadium, fans must pay a one-time fee for the rights to a seat, and club seats range from $20,000 to $80,000 each. Then they must buy the tickets, which can cost $325 to $375 per game. However, Jed said those prices apply to only 9,000 seats. “There’s definitely going to be affordable seats for everybody in this building.” 

Affordable for who? Mitt Romney? I guess well just have to wait and see what this brings. Word is, if they get humping on this soon, they could be ready for the 2014 season. That would be great, but it would also be sad to not have the team playing in San Francisco, the Niners’ home for the past 66 years. Carmen Policy, hired to try and keep the team in the City, said recently that San Francisco is still a solid Plan B for a stadium site. Good for you, Carmen. The only way this comes about is of something majorly stupid happens. Like Jed York caught on tape trying to buy liquor and gambling licenses with a briefcase full of cash from and undercover FBI agent.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, about the only thing I’ve seen about it was Madonna dogging Rob Gronkowski about his ankle. She told him, tape it up, take an anti-inflammatory, and get your butt out there. Apparently Madonna is also on the shelf with a hamstring strain. She says she’ll gut it out though. Don’t know how she’ll get through the usually interminable half time show.  Like I said, I’ll be skiing. NE bursts Coughlin’s bubble.

Given the fact that the 49ers aren’t serious about the Peyton Manning hope-fest, or the Matt Flynn sweepstakes, and their more-than-likely scenario of sticking with Alex Smith, what are the biggest needs for this team going forward? We (well, most of us) get the fact that the 49ers need some help at the WR spot. The little production they were getting was hindered by Cap’t. Morgan going down in the TB game, the on-again off-again nature of Michael Crabtree’s contributions, and the lack of fire (and healing powers) of Braylon Edwards. The rest were barely noticeable on the field. In fact, Smith did a pretty good job of moving the ball through the air with VD being pretty much his only consistent target.

Be that as it may, the Niners have to look at the possibility of losing some of their myriad free agents. The most important being Ahmad Brooks, Dashon Goldson, Ted Ginn, Adam Snyder, and Carlos Rogers. To a lesser extent, there are guys like Larry Grant (who filled in very well when Willis went down), Joshua Morgan, and special teams stand outs Blake Costanzo and CJ Spillman.

As I’ve said before, I think Dashon Goldson may get priced off of the team by a bigger offer from someone else (Dallas is likely). I don’t think they’ll franchise him either. The Niners would be well-advised to franchise Ahmad Brooks. He played his best year by far in the pros, but he has been dogged by inconsistency, so it warrants giving him a fat one-year payday to see if he can follow it up with another good year. The rest shouldn’t be too hard to sign. Alex Smith being the guy that gets the most money. 3/$20 mill? Sure, why not? Sign Morgan as well. There looks to be a whole new crop of WRs, so having Morgan and Crabs around would help some, for consistency’s sake. Morgan was on his way to a good year when he went down.

So, losing Goldson would leave a hole. The easy solution would be to do what they planned on all a long, and move Chris Culliver to FS. Culliver has shown he can cover very well as a CB, and would be well-suited to playing off the ball as a FS. Goldson was pretty much a SS in the FS spot anyway, and with Whitner signed, there’s no room for Hawk. There are also some strong FS free agents out there as well. Michael Griffin from the Titans would be worth a look, as would Dwight Lowry from the Jags. Both are young and solid. Brooks is the big question. Yeah, the 49ers revived his career, and he worked hard to crack the line up and stay there. I just wonder if he’ll balk at being franchised.

Which brings us to Ted Ginn. I sure didn’t think his injury would be the one that broke the team’s epic run, but there you go. The NFL is a harsh mistress. His WR adventures aside, Ginn proved that he was one of the best in the league at returning punts and kickoffs. He got off to a brilliant start by scoring the double-whammy on opening day Seattle game with a PR and KR for TDs. Beyond that, he unfailingly made the right decisions in when to go after balls, and when to back away. The 49ers ALWAYS had better field position due to his returns. So, just based on that, yeah, I’d get him back.

Carlos Rogers really was the key to this year’s sudden success. He set the tone early by picking off a lot of balls, and making a ton of plays. The overall defensive philosophy of giving up yards, but not points was greatly helped out by the punishing and ball-hawking nature of these defensive backs. Led by Rogers. I have no idea what he wants, but he won’t be cheap. But, sign him. Adam Snyder? He has proven to be very versatile, and solid, if not spectacular, when they move him around the line. Like Ginn, he shouldn’t be too hard to sign.

Excuse me for not caring, but this upcoming Super Bowl just doesn’t do it for me. What was almost the greatest turnaround in the Niners storied history (yes, even greater than the Walsh turnaround of 1979-1981) was dashed at the knee of Kyle Wiliams. One fateful bounce of the football. To hear the Giants call themselves a team of destiny is a crock of shit. They flat lucked out. Much like the 1990 season, when they were on their way to losing the NFC Championship game to SF, and Craig fumbling with 1:50 left. And then surviving the vastly better Bills team losing on the final play of the game. But whatever. I’m over it. Well, I’ll never be over it, but I’ve moved on. It’s very hard to even GET to the point the Niners got to this season. Just ask Philly, Dallas, NO, and GB. All teams who had much more to lose this year by not getting far in the playoffs. I’m sure their fans are pretty pissed off at this point in time.

My hope is that the Patriots beat the living shit of of the Giants. But I’m sure the game will come down to some sort of freak play (blocked FG for a score?) that tips the scales to the NY Giants. The coach that 80% of Giants fans wanted to run out of town in week 13 will be seen as the greatest thing since Bill Parcells. Blechhhh. I just threw up in my mouth a little. Fuck it. I ain’t gonna watch that shit. I’m going skiing . . .