Where's the speed?

I'm not a McCloughan basher. I think he and the dreaded Nolan have actually done a pretty good job collecting talent since '05. But one thing he has failed miserably at is getting some speed, especially on offense. We don't have one truly fast player on offense (except maybe Vernon) and we couldn't come up with someone fast to return kicks and punts.

A lot of people here want Spiller in the 1st but Matt Barrows is saying Scot only drafts big bodies in the early rounds. Says he learned that early in his career from Ron Wolf at GB. Barrows asked him if after drafting big bodies for five years might he make an exception and take a more fleet-footed player. Scot's response was that if you make an exception then you have a "team of exceptions" and you have to stick to your philosophy, which sounds ridiculous to me.

So here's the question. Do you agree with Scot? And where do we get some speed? We need to draft some in the first two rounds don't we?

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/49ers/archives/2010/02/spiller-bandwag.html

Originally posted by dbdublin:
Scot's response was that if you make an exception then you have a "team of exceptions" and you have to stick to your philosophy, which sounds ridiculous to me.

First time I read this statement, this was the look on my face:

Originally posted by PA9erFaithful:

Originally posted by dbdublin:
Scot's response was that if you make an exception then you have a "team of exceptions" and you have to stick to your philosophy, which sounds ridiculous to me.

First time I read this statement, this was the look on my face:

Patrick Willis is the exception!!!! Which other ILB runs 4.3
Scots response is a smoke screen. See last year when Scot said we would pick a 220+ lb RB and ended up with a 209 lb Glen Coffee

I hate that type of thinking....but I hope it's all a smoke screen.

Way too many good players in the league who don't fit the size stereotype.

Dexter McCluster, Brandon Graham and other guys who are undersized for their respective positions will prove people wrong in the NFL.

Originally posted by solidg2000:

Originally posted by PA9erFaithful:

Originally posted by dbdublin:
Scot's response was that if you make an exception then you have a "team of exceptions" and you have to stick to your philosophy, which sounds ridiculous to me.

First time I read this statement, this was the look on my face:

Patrick Willis is the exception!!!! Which other ILB runs 4.3
Scots response is a smoke screen. See last year when Scot said we would pick a 220+ lb RB and ended up with a 209 lb Glen Coffee

I hope it's a smokescreen, but I don't think so.

[ Edited by PA9erFaithful on Feb 28, 2010 at 08:24:26 ]

This is not really fare to say. Hill was the fastes WR the year they drafted him. Vernon was the fastes TE. they singed Jones a 4.4 Wr last year so they have some speed I think they don't have an Quick fast player. there is a difference in being quick and being fast. pluse look at the Raiders they have all kinds of speed.

I think you guys are reading to much into it. Yes Scotty likes big guys, but it's not like he likes them big and slow. Look at Davis and Willis, two of the fastest guys in the combine. We picked Hill and the guy from the Titans who are also suppose to be burners. For that matter look at Staley, he was a coverted TE and isn't even that big, but he is agile.

Like I said, much adoo (I have no idea how to spell that) about nothing.

Originally posted by dlance:
This is not really fare to say. Hill was the fastes WR the year they drafted him. Vernon was the fastes TE. they singed Jones a 4.4 Wr last year so they have some speed I think they don't have an Quick fast player. there is a difference in being quick and being fast. pluse look at the Raiders they have all kinds of speed.

get out of my brain.

Pop quiz: Does anyone on this board know the fastest Niner team ever?

It would be our 1985-1986 squad. Walsh went f*cking haywire picking up speed, and the first really physical team we played in the playoffs (the New York Giants) stomped the sh*t out of us.

Speed is an important thing...but it is not the most important thing.

Vernon is fast Willis is fast Gholdson is fast, Lawson is fast, Hill is fast, Jones is fast, . Our team doesn't really seem to lack speed except in the return game and secondary.

The 49ers have been pretty much average to below average overall under his watch.


Why not change things up

What the hell are you guys talking about? Staley, VD, Willis, Walker, Hill, Lawson. If you go back and look speed seems to be the most important factor on his draft board. Go back and find a pick he has made where the player was considered slow.

Originally posted by sfniner:
Vernon is fast Willis is fast Gholdson is fast, Lawson is fast, Hill is fast, Jones is fast, . Our team doesn't really seem to lack speed except in the return game and secondary.

The return game and the secondary are 2 places where you need it the most.

I think you have to have a balance. To much speed and you get crushed in a physical game...not enough speed and you're easy to defend as an offense, and you can't match up on the outside on defense.

Right now, we have very good speed at LB and starting TE, and that's about it. We need another speed guy/playmaker on offense, and 1-2 speedy/playmaking DBs.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
I think you have to have a balance. To much speed and you get crushed in a physical game...not enough speed and you're easy to defend as an offense, and you can't match up on the outside on defense.

Right now, we have very good speed at LB and starting TE, and that's about it. We need another speed guy/playmaker on offense, and 1-2 speedy/playmaking DBs.

Yep, the playmaker thing would be the big key...

Speed is kind of important, but making plays even moreso.