San Francisco 49ers Forever

Well well. The cows have come home to roost. Or something. Reuben Foster’s legal troubles are either being pled down (illegal magazine for assault rifle) or being dismissed, as the domestic violence charge just was today. The GF Elissa Ennis said it was an extortion trip that got out of hand. She wanted to sue privately.

The testimony of the people involved with the case said Ennis did not appear distraught or angry and was very calm and ‘not panicking’ when she asked to use someone’s cell phone to call the cops. She also stole some jewelry and $8,000 in cash after she pled her case.  And please, if Reuben Foster really punched her 8-10 times, she’d likely be dead or in a coma.

Anyhow, his gun charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, this is gone. Maybe the pot charge can be pled down to vaping in public.

Hell of a game by the Warriors last night as James Harden and Chris Paul resumed their cool on- and off-court relationship to crap their way to 32 points on 33 shots (ouch) and get stomped by 41. But, I digest . . .

Scotty McCloughan was asked recently whether he thought the 49ers took tackle Mick McGlinchey too high in the recent draft. Scotty graded out the 6-8 tackle from Notre Dame as a 1-1 grade — which equals a Top 10 pick in his book — after watching film of his junior year.

His response was:

“I liked him a lot. I liked the size, I liked the length. I liked the toughness. … Everyone’s going to say he’s a right tackle. I think he’s a left tackle through and through. I like his intelligence, his instincts for the position. I liked the angles he would take and the fact that he wanted to finish.”

Scotty now runs his own scouting service after his stints with the Niners, Seahawks and Redskins; building all into playoff, if not Super Bowl, teams. The Browns hired him on a short-term basis this past off-season to work on the Browns draft.

Sure, this and $5.50 gets you a half-caff-sugar-free-vanilla latte, but what the hey? We got a shitload of downtime here till the season starts.

Of all the needs the 49ers had this last offseason, the one they didn’t particularly address very much is pass rusher. They have a bunch of middling guys who have shown a bit here and there, Arik Armstead, Eli Harold, Elvis Dumervil, Brock Coyle, Malcolm Smith, a late sign (and late bloomer), Cassius Marsh, and ex-Charger Jeremiah Attaochu.

Armstead, a solid run defender, has not panned out as the pass rusher he was supposed to be. Then again, he has been forced to change his position to make room for Salomon Thomas, from DE to OLB, and lose a bunch of weight to do that. He has always been raw, and with untimely injuries to boot, he hasn’t reached his potential. He has freakish size and speed, but as of now he’s a man without a position. He seemed to be a much better player as a bigger DE rather than a lighter OLB, but we’ll see. We have a lot of guys at DE but at least Carradine is gone. So what the future holds for AA is a mystery, but  he’s still in their plans because they picked up his fifth year option. Maybe they try Salomon Thomas as an OLB on pass rushing downs? Shit, I don’t know. All I know is we need more pressure, and none of these guys have been a very big presence (and you can throw in DFB in the mix here) as the dominant edge rushing force.

Eli Harold, we all know about.  He’s been underwhelming, yet he sticks around. Dumervil is gone, and Brock Coyle is a decent LB who sucks in coverage. M Smith has yet to play a down for us, and that leads to Cassius Marsh.

Marsh had a couple sacks for us late last year after being pretty much a big fail in New England.  The Pats gave Seattle a 5th and 7th round pick for him, nothing too costly, but he lasted all of 9 games before being dumped by the Pats in late November. We signed him the next day. For whatever reason, he seemed to fit here much better, and he’s played well enough to garner a 2 year deal from the Niners as he’s provided some pass rush, and is a solid special teamer.

Which leads to Jeremiah Attaochu. He’s another guy with freakish athleticism who has had some injury issues. Beyond that, he was behind Joey Bosa on the Bolts’ depth chart, so he didn’t get a ton of opportunities once he got healthy,

So there you have it. We have a lot of pieces, a lot of potential, a few too many DEs, and a scheme that needs to be put together to get all these guys in place to wreak havoc. I’m completely fine with how these guys should defend the run, but pass rush has been my concern for a while now.

In what has to be some kind of record, your San Francisco 49ers have gone from 150-1 odds last year to go to the Super Bowl, to 11-1 odds to reach it this year. And 18-1 odds to win it. Sure, it’s early. But hey they released the numbers, so it’s noteworthy. Also a bit shocking that the wonks in Vegas are clued in to the possibilities of this team going forward.

Teams rarely sneak up on the Vegas oddsmakers, and the 49ers appear to be fully on their radar. Will that win us any games? Unfortunately no, but these guys aren’t in the gambling business to lose money, so they set the Niners line at 8.5 wins as their number to beat. Pretty heady numbers for a team that was at one point 1-10 last year.

Is it too much too soon? Naaah. The NFL is littered with teams coming from seemingly nowhere to win it all, or at least get close to the Big Show.

Really, how close to 1981 does this feel? A young QB leads a scrappy team out of the ashes of the funeral pyre of recent shittiness? A highly touted OC joins a new organization to wake up the team and get them playing fundamentally sound football?

Sure, I’m optimistic, but hey, why not? At least we appear to be in the mix for exciting football (as long as they keep Jimmy G upright). Which at this point is all I really want.

The draft is done, the UDFAs are being analyzed, and there’s basically nothing going on but the occasional veteran salary-cut casualty to look forward to. Other than that I got nothing. That last thread was too long to scroll through anyway.

So, for Friday, we get this . . .

Got to say, this time around, Lynch and Co didn’t take a chance on any Reuben Foster types. I understand the shot they took last year, and his issue was more around his shoulder injury than anything else but these guys are all squeaky clean as far as I can tell.

The UDFAs are Here! all 11 of them. Read if you dare. We got a QB from Dartmouth (a local kid from Atherton in Jack Henegan) and a once-highly-rated CB from Fla State, Tavarus Mcfaddon, a highly touted 2nd round type guy who had a bad 40 time and fell out of the draft. All the better for us as I think way too many people put way too much stock in 40 times. I mean really, Renaldo Nehemiah worked out so well.

WR Steven Dunbar
6-3, 202
Houston

Appeared in 51 games (38 starts) during his four-year career at Houston. Registered 180 recepts. for 2,430 yds. and 11 TDs while adding 3 KORs for 51 yds. As a senior in 2017, started all 12 games and registered 76 recepts. for a team-high 1,070 yds. and 3 TDs and earned All-American Athletic Conference Honorable Mention honors. In 2016, started all 13 games and recorded 53 recepts. for 692 yds. and 5 TDs. As a sophomore, appeared in all 13 games (12 starts) and totaled 31 recepts. for 382 yds. and 3 TDs along with 1 KOR for 37 yds. In 2014, appeared in 13 games (1 start) and recorded 20 recepts. for 286 yds. and 2 KORs for 14 yds. Attended Archbishop Rummel (Metairie, LA) HS, where he had 51 recepts. for 695 yds. and 5 TDs as a senior, 31 recepts. for 659 yds. and 5 TDs as a junior in 2012 and 6 recepts. for 134 yds. and 2 TDs his sophomore year. Born 12/19/95 in Metairie, LA.

6-5, 240
San Diego

Appeared in 47 games (44 starts) and totaled 197 recepts. for 2,305 yds. and 26 TDs during his five years at San Diego. As a senior, earned First-Team All-Pioneer Football League honors. Appeared in all 12 games (10 starts) and registered 50 recepts. for 663 yds. and 10 TDs. In 2016, started all 11 games and recorded a team-high 70 recepts. for 843 yds. and 10 TDs to earn Second-Team All-Pioneer Football League honors. In 2015, appeared in 12 games (11 starts) and earned Second-Team All-Pioneer Football League honors after totaling a team-high 54 recepts. for 580 yds. and 3 TDs. Made starts in 12 games in 2014 and notched 23 recepts. for 219 yds. Redshirted in 2013. Attended Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, CA) HS, where he registered 43 recepts. for 568 yds. and 5 TDs. Born 1/26/95 in Sonora, CA.

S Corey Griffin
6-2, 199
Georgia Tech

Appeared in 49 games (26 starts) and recorded 168 tackles, 8 PDs, 8.0 TFLs, 1 FR and 1 sack during his five years at Georgia Tech. As a redshirt senior in 2017, started all 11 games and registered 50 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, 3 PDs and 1 INT. In 2016, started all 13 games and totaled 82 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, 2 INTs, 3 PDs and 1 sack. As a sophomore, appeared in 11 games (1 start) and recorded 21 tackles. Saw action in all 14 games (1 start) as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and registered 15 tackles, 2 PDs and 1 INT. Redshirted in 2013. Attended Sandy Creek (Tyrone, GA) HS, where he was named first-team all-state honors as a safety and finished his senior season with 71 tackles, 8 PDs and 1 INT. Born 1/8/95 in Tyrone, GA.

QB Jack Heneghan
6-4, 230
Dartmouth

In four years at Dartmouth (2014-17), played in 22 games (19 starts) and completed 437 of 717 atts. for 4,900 yds. and 28 TDs. Rushed 126 times for 389 yds. and 4 TDs. In 2017, made 10 starts and completed 185 of 293 atts., for 2,136 yds. and 17 TDs to go along with 51 rushes for 162 yds. and 1 TD. Appeared in 10 games (9 starts) as a junior in 2016, where he ranked second in school history in comps. (247) and atts. (414) and third in yds. (2,725) in a single season, to go along with 11 TDs. Ran for 249 yds. and 3 TDs on 73 rushing atts. In 2015, appeared in 2 games and completed 5 of 10 atts. for 39 passing yds. As a freshman in 2014, appeared in 3 games for the school’s junior varsity program where he finished with 64 comps. on 90 atts. for 847 yds. and 8 TDs. Attended Menlo (Atherton, CA) School, where he passed for 2,974 yds. and 37 TDs. Born 2/13/96 in Atherton, CA.

OL Alan Knott
6-4, 290
South Carolina

Spent five years at South Carolina and appeared in 49 games (42 starts). Made 13 starts at center as a fifth-year senior in 2017. In 2016, started 12 of 13 games played. As a redshirt sophomore in 2015, appeared in 10 games (9 starts) at center. In 2014, appeared in all 13 games (8 starts). Redshirted as a true freshman in 2013. Attended Sandy Creek (Tyrone, GA) HS, where he was named first-team Class AAAA all-state by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and by the Georgia Sportswriters Association. Born 12/16/94 in Tyrone, GA. 

OL Jamar McGloster
6-7, 309
Syracuse

Spent five years at Syracuse and appeared in 30 games (24 starts). Made 12 starts at right tackle as a fifth-year senior in 2017, where he aided a Syracuse offense that ranked third in the ACC in total offense (456.3 YPG) and second in passing (294.8 YPG). In 2016, started all 12 games at right tackle. As a redshirt sophomore in 2015, appeared in 3 games at right tackle. In 2014, appeared in 3 games in his first game action. Redshirted as a true freshman in 2013. Attended St. Anthony (Jersey City, NJ) HS, where he helped lead the Friars to an 8-3 record and the NJSIAA Group 1 Non-Public semifinals as a senior. Born 6/4/95 in Newark, NJ.

CB Tarvarus McFadden
6-2, 205
Florida State

Appeared in 33 games (26 starts) and recorded 54 tackles, 16 PDs, 8 INTs and 3.0 TFLs during his three seasons at Florida State. As a junior in 2017, started all 13 games and registered 30 tackles and 10 PDs and earned Second-Team All-ACC honors. In 2016, started all 13 games and totaled 20 tackles, 8 INTs, 6 PDs and 3.0 TFLs. Earned First-Team All-ACC honors while his 8 INTs were the most by an ACC player since 2014 (Gerod Holliman, Louisville). As a freshman, appeared in 7 games and recorded 4 tackles. Attended American Heritage (Plantation, FL) School, where he led the team to a second-consecutive 5A state championship after registering 41 tackles, 5 INTs (1 returned for a TD), 6 PDs and 2 FFs. Born 1/28/97 in    Fort Lauderdale, FL.

CB Emmanuel Moseley
5-11, 184
Tennessee

Appeared in 51 games (30 starts) and recorded 142 tackles, 31 PDs, 2 INTs and 9.5 TFLs during his four seasons at Tennessee. As a senior in 2017, appeared in 12 games (11 starts) and registered 38 tackles, 8 PDs and 1 INT. In 2016, appeared in 13 games (10 starts) and totaled 57 tackles, 6 PDs and 3.5 TFLs. As a sophomore in 2015, appeared in 13 games (7 starts) and finished with 28, 2.0 TFLs, 1 INT and a team-high 11 PDs. In 2014, appeared in 13 games (2 starts) and recorded 19 tackles, 2.0 TFLs and 6 PDs. Attended James B. Dudley (Greensboro, NC) HS, where he played both quarterback and cornerback and ran for 1,443 yds., threw for 1,370 yds. and accounted for 47 total TDs on offense while making 28 tackles and 4 INTs on defense. Born 3/25/96 in Greensboro, NC.

DL Niles Scott
6-3, 295
Frostburg State

Played in 43 games (38 starts) in four years at Frostburg State and registered 150 tackles, 43.0 TFLs, 25.5 sacks, 1 FF, 3 FRs and 2 PDs. In 2017, earned First-Team Associate Press Little All-America Division III honors and was named the D3football.com All-East Region Defensive Player of the Year. Started all 13 games and tallied 51 tackles, 16.5 TFLs, 10.0 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR and 2 PDs. As a junior, earned Second-Team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association and was named Second-Team All-NJAC. Started all 11 games in which he appeared at recorded 55 tackles, 17.5 TFLs, 9.0 sacks and 1 FR. In 2015, played in 10 games (8 starts) and notched 24 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks. As a freshman, played in 9 games (6 starts) and registered 20 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 4.0 sacks and 1 FR. Attended Elkton (MD) HS and earned second-team all-state honors as a senior. Also was an All-Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference honoree and Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Born 9/30/95 in Elkton, MD.

OL Najee Toran
6-2, 305
UCLA

Played in 31 games (24 starts) in four years at UCLA. In 2017, started all 13 games and earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors. As a junior, played in 11 games (10 starts). In 2015, played in 6 games and saw action as a reserve along defensive line, offensive line and on special teams. As a freshman, started in the season opener and it marked the third consecutive season that a true freshman started the season along the offensive line. Attended North Shore (Houston, TX) HS and helped his team to a 12-1 record as a senior. Born 11/15/95 in Houston, TX.

S Terrell Williams
6-4, 212
Houston

Played in 25 games (17 starts) in two seasons with Houston and registered 95 tackles, 4 INTs, 1 FR and 7 PDs. In 2017, started all 12 games and notched 66 tackles, 4 INTs, 1 FR and 7 PDS. As a junior, played in all 13 games (5 starts) and tallied 29 tackles. Attended Northeast Oklahoma A&M for two seasons (2014-15). In 2015, earned First-Team All-SWJCFC honors as he recorded 51 tackles, 2 INTs and 4 PDs. As a freshman, registered 24 tackles, 1 INT and 2 PDs. Attended Lawton (OK) HS and had 56 tackles and 5 INTs as a senior. Born 6/29/96 in Lawton, OK.

Here they are, your 2018 draft class.

Round 1,Pick 9: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
Round 2, Pick 12 (No. 44 overall): Dante Pettis, WR, Washington
Round 3, Pick 6 (No. 70 overall): Fred Warner, OLB, BYU
Round 3, Pick 31 (No. 95 overall): Tarvarius Moore, S, Southern Mississippi
Round 4, Pick 28 (No. 128 overall): Kentavius Street, DE, North Carolina State
Round 5, Pick 5 (No. 142 overall): D.J. Reed, DB, Kansas State
Round 6, Pick 10 (No. 184 overall): Marcell Harris, DB, Florida
Round 7, Pick 5 (No. 223 overall): Jullian Taylor, DT, Temple
Round 7, Pick 22 (No. 240 overall): Richie James, WR, Middle Tennessee State

Well, kind of a mixed bag of nuts in this the 2nd iteration of the Lynch/Shanahan draft. We started the draft with 9 picks, and we ended with 9 picks, but there were a few machinations around these picks.

I’m down with the first 4.  All these guys bring superior speed to their respective positions.

We traded Trent Brown after getting our future tackle in Mike McGlinchey, a much better match for our outside running game and zone blocking scheme (and new speed back Jerick Mckinnon).

We traded up to get Dante Pettis, son of Gary Pettis, outfielder for the California Angels among other teams. A versatile and fast WR that can play the slot, out wide, and is a great return guy to boot.

Fred Warner is a hard-hitting, fast edge linebacker who either complements Reuben Foster or replaces him for a little while.

Tarvarious Moors is a lanky safety who is very fast and who more than likely will be a slot CB in the mold of Jimmie Ward.

The most intriguing (and risky) pick is Kentavius Street. A high 2nd round projection pick until he tore his knee up in his pro day or some shit. He’s on the shelf this year, but for a DE that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His numbers are an eye-popping 4.87 40 yard time at 280 lb, he squatted 700 lb, He needs the seasoning of an NFL camp, adn he should be able to ad strength to his quickness. Yeah, it’s in the ilk of a Trent Baalke special, but hey, as a late 4th rounder, we’ll see.

The rest round out to be special teamers and backups, but as we saw last year, some of our later picks turned into gems. Reed is a scrappy undersized corner who went to my wife’s community college, Cerritos College.

Marcell Harris is a strong safety type who is also coming off an injury, an achilles tear. Another risk/reward scenario with Harris. He was cleared to practice prior to the combine, so he looks to be healed up from his injury.

Julian Taylor DT, is another quick big man who ran a sub-5 second 40 at 294 lb. He is also coming off injury but ran this time after healing up, so he adds depth and quickness to the D line.

Ritchie James is (yet another) injury guy who is (yet another) slot WR. He had close to 3,000 yards his first 2 college seasons till injuries slowed him down last year.  We seem to have a lot of slot guys now as he is of the 5’20, 183 lb size that Trent Taylor is.

A solid B (maybe B- with all the hope picks at the back end) when you look at this draft, but when you throw in the addition of Jimmy Garoppolo, center Weston Richberg, RB Jerick McKinnon, and CB Richard Sherman, the team looks a lot different (and better) than last year, I give them an A.

Bring it on!