MadDog's Niners Draft Grade and Analysis for 2012 NFL Draft

MadDog, if you had DeCastro ranked in the top 10, then you would have to give an F grade to the first round selection of every team between Buffalo and Pittsburgh for "passing on a sure-fire all-pro guard."

You give Philly and New England mad props for going to get their guys, but no such credit to the 49ers. Their guy was Jenkins. They were confident he would he available at 30, so they didn't have to move up. They were confident he would be gone by 33, so they could not afford to move down. I would say they managed to "go get their guy" with perfection.

DeCastro wasn't their guy. Just like he wasn't Kansas City's guy or Seattle's guy or Arizona's guy or Philly's guy or New York's guy or Baltimore's guy or Cincinnati's guy.

I just don't understand why we drafted James when we already have Hunter. Physically the two are practically clones. I read that James has better hands for swing passes and such. Besides that what's the difference between the two? Can someone please explain because I don't watch college ball.

Here is my question: why do the Steelers deserve any credit for drafting DeCastro? All the draft analysis talks about how thrilled they were to have him on the board, and how "[t]his is why the Steelers are consistently one of the best teams in the league" (Scott Wright).

Yeah, but when they saw DeCastro sliding into the late teens, what did they do? They sat on their asses. DeCastro had been mocked to the Bengals in countless mock drafts for weeks, yet the Steelers didn't trade with Tennessee to get to #20. Cleveland and Detroit also needed OL help (Detroit, in fact, passed on your boy DeCastro for Reiff), and the Bengals's #21 pick was evidently for sale. But did the Steelers strike a deal to move up to #21 and get their guy? Nope!

Originally posted by Janitor:

Originally posted by RonMexico:

hes only at 25%

why would he be banned

Incorrect

Its all sunshine and lollipops in mod land:-) 1988 punk kid!! Prove I broke any part of rule one!!! Other then stating my opinion on a opinion!! As others flat out insult on here and get no warnings you keep dinging me for nothing!! Grow a pair and show me where I was a jerk or picked on a single person or anything other then state my distain for draft grades an know it alls!!:-).

Originally posted by BayAreaNinersFan:

Originally posted by dj43:
I enjoy all the analysis from MD, OTC, AB and the others. I had a very busy schedule this year so I didn't have as much time to follow it all as I would have liked.

I am not as down on the first two picks as MD. The way I saw this draft was Harbaugh saying loudly and clearly, "WE ARE NOT JUST GOING TO BE A POWER RUNNING TEAM AGAIN! WE ARE NOT. Someone else said that JH ran what he ran last season because that is all he had. I agree fully with that. That is why they signed Manningham and Moss to replace (?) Edwards and Morgan, a move I believe will result in a marginal improvement. However, that clearly was not enough to satisfy Harbaugh. He was embarrassed with the lack of production and weapons on the offense for a franchise that wrote the book on offense. The AJ Jenkins pick was about weapons to restore the historical orientation of this franchise. Nothing less.

Same overall analysis works for the LMJ pick. Gore, even when healthy and younger was never a breakaway back. Bill Walsh used to say that "the first sign of a player beginning to show his age was not the lack of productivity but the fact they could not stay away from injuries. Once that begins to occur the production drop off is right behind it." Last year we saw that begin to happen with Gore. He was productive early in the season and then the injuries started piling up and his production dropped. He has been a great warrior for this franchise but if we apply the Walshian analysis, his career is much closer to the end than we want to admit. Hence, his replacement needed to be on the roster NOW.

As to Gore's replacement, Hunter is the immediate future. Short, strong, quick and decisive. He is ready to be the every down back...until he is injured, something that happens to every down backs. When/if that happens, the next man up is Jacobs and he is NOT going to scare anyone. IMO, Jacobs was signed because Baalke/Harbaugh do not expect Dixon to make the roster again. Hence, the James pick not only provides a young quality back, but also one that provides more of that explosiveness that Harbaugh has demanded. By mid-season, I expect to see Hunter starting with Jacobs in spot duty and James playing the Sproles role much sooner than some expect. Afterall, as a former college coach used to developing players in a short period of time, Harbaugh will get James into the lineup much quicker than the typical pro coach.

The key point I take away from the 1st pick is that Harbaugh is convinced that Kilgore is going to provide at least Snyder quality RG play right away. If not, and if they thought DeCastro was as good as some think, they would have made the move up. Since they did not, I have to assume Looney is a project guard and Jenkins solved the most immediate need...and that says a lot because a lot of you have read how dissatisfied I was with the interior OL pass protection this past season.

Overall I give them a B for both the #1 and #2. Baalke is a former scout and a pretty good one and Harbaugh has seen some pretty good players develop on his watch. I believe they have a solid plan in place based on a lot of scouting and observation of last year's roster in practice time that was not open to the press.

We all want to be experts at this time of the year, so there is my "expert" opinion. Now take that and $2.25 and go get yourselves a Starbucks.

really?

gore's comin off a pro-bowl season. he ain't done. do you know why he played well in the playoffs? he was well rested. With James, there is now more opportunity to rest Gore.

It is my belief Harbaugh wants to take care of his bell cow, which Gore will continue to be, at least through this season.

gettin sick of ppl saying he's done

I would be very happy if Gore can run like he did on occasions last season. However, the facts are he WAS collecting more injuries last season than in the past, and that indicates what we all know; he is close to the end of his career, which is one of the reasons why Baalke drafted James.

Originally posted by Olejohnnyboy:
I just don't understand why we drafted James when we already have Hunter. Physically the two are practically clones. I read that James has better hands for swing passes and such. Besides that what's the difference between the two? Can someone please explain because I don't watch college ball.

Hunter is small and quick, but I'm pretty sure he isn't regarded to have anywhere near the homerun ability James has. The hands, which you touched on, is the other big thing, as it makes him much more multi-dimensional.

The sense I get is that Hunter is still the more likely of the two to be an "every down" type, even if he doesn't quite get there. It seems like we are building a stable for a 3RB attack much like the Saints. Pierre Thomas and Hunter are the solid, all-around guys. James and Sproles are the electric scat backs. Ingram is the power guy in New Orleans, and we still have a Pro Bowl back in Gore rounding out our rotation. And, at least for now, we have two pure power guys in Jacobs and Dixon, though I suppose we may only keep one of them.

This offense now has damn near every weapon you could imagine. We have a nice young fullback who can block and catch passes, a dying breed in the NFL. We have a well-rounded group of WRs, with Moss as a potential red zone specialist at this point in his career (he could lose a LOT of speed and still be better than Plaxico, who was a TD machine last year). We have the fastest and strongest TE in the league. And now we have a running back for every occasion.

I like it.

things got nasty in here! appreciate the post MD - of course I don't agree with it all.

Originally posted by dj43:
I would be very happy if Gore can run like he did on occasions last season. However, the facts are he WAS collecting more injuries last season than in the past, and that indicates what we all know; he is close to the end of his career, which is one of the reasons why Baalke drafted James.

I hope Gore gets rest this season, especially if we are like 9-1 or 8-2 by 10 games in, and then we look like we have the west won. I honestly see us being a 10-13 win team, I would say 12-4, so I don't get flamed for saying 13-3 with a tougher schedule, but i look and say the toughest game(s) are GB week 1 and Pats game in December, it will cold as can be. I think we beat NYG and NO, I think we have one of those durff moments, where we lose to a NFC West team that we're better than, probably Rams in STL, we almost blew a big 21 point lead last season in STL. I hate playing them in STL and Arizona in Arizona, but I hope on MNF we whoop them.

But anyway, I'm excited as I was after Free Agency, looking forward to Mini Camps, Training Camp, PreSeason and then Regular Season, and hopefuly Super Bowl.

Damn you, AB. Now the seasons can't possibly come soon enough.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by nw9erfan:
Absolutely....and just for the record, both JJ Watt and Aldon Smith turned out to be studs so Maddog sure as hell wasn't wrong... He simply preferred one stud over another.

Man...some of you people who post don't do your homework...

I got your back, MD...

Thanks, I was beginning to think that Watt was a scrub after his 12 tackle, 2.5 sack performance against the Ravens in their playoff game.

Exactly..... To me, Watt is basically a 24 year old version of Justin Smith...except he may be a slightly better pass rusher.
He is the main reason the Texans' defense didn't miss a beat after they lost Mario Williams to injury for the season.

Originally posted by AB83Rules:

Originally posted by dj43:
I would be very happy if Gore can run like he did on occasions last season. However, the facts are he WAS collecting more injuries last season than in the past, and that indicates what we all know; he is close to the end of his career, which is one of the reasons why Baalke drafted James.

I hope Gore gets rest this season, especially if we are like 9-1 or 8-2 by 10 games in, and then we look like we have the west won. I honestly see us being a 10-13 win team, I would say 12-4, so I don't get flamed for saying 13-3 with a tougher schedule, but i look and say the toughest game(s) are GB week 1 and Pats game in December, it will cold as can be. I think we beat NYG and NO, I think we have one of those durff moments, where we lose to a NFC West team that we're better than, probably Rams in STL, we almost blew a big 21 point lead last season in STL. I hate playing them in STL and Arizona in Arizona, but I hope on MNF we whoop them.

But anyway, I'm excited as I was after Free Agency, looking forward to Mini Camps, Training Camp, PreSeason and then Regular Season, and hopefuly Super Bowl.

I join you in the 12-4 outcome. Too many tough games.

If Gore has a productive season this year, a good bit of it will be the result of James/Jacobs/Hunter being productive and giving him rest. I hope that is the way it works out.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by boomer49er:
Grading draft the day after they happen is supid. Making a whole post to give your draft grades is stupid and narcissistic.

Following this logic, any person who has provided a draft grade for any publication is stupid and narcissistic. That would be a lot of writers. Just one person's opinion. You are correct in your philosophy that a true measure of the impact will not be fair for years.

I don't think I could come up with a better description for most sports writers.

Originally posted by LieutKaffee:
Damn you, AB. Now the seasons can't possibly come soon enough.

I couldn't help myself, so pumped right now.

Originally posted by dj43:
I join you in the 12-4 outcome. Too many tough games.

If Gore has a productive season this year, a good bit of it will be the result of James/Jacobs/Hunter being productive and giving him rest. I hope that is the way it works out.

Me 2, hope Gore gets the rest, he needs it, he isnt the same player he was in 2005 and 2006 when he began, but he is still a top 10 back IMO, just slowing down.