Originally posted by Rascal:
Originally posted by SF69ers:
i see what you're saying. there's no penalty in going against the grain, considering the way our team is built, although i argue about needed the pieces on offense. our offense produced last season, especially in the playoffs. now, we'll have Kaep for a full season, and we still have Crab, Vernon, Gore, a seasoned LMJ, and the addition of Boldin. IMO, we're already better in the offensive side of the ball. What struggled, from the last quarter of the season through the playoffs, was our defense, more specifically, the pass rush. When Justin Smith was hurt, we got no pass rush, which is why our secondary was torched. a lot of people scream DB DB DB, but if you don't have a pass rush, you can have Revis and Champ as your starting DBs, but they'll still get torched if there wasn't a pass rush. what people don't realize is that Aldon was also playing hurt. adding Glenn Dorsey helps, but we need to be able to provide more depth behind Justin and Ray and the NT position. this way, if we can spell them, they'll be more fresh towards the end of the season.
in other threads, i mention that i'd prefer to go DL, S, DL, WR, DB with our first 4 picks. if it was my choice, i'd actually trade out of the 1st to get an additional 2nd or 3rd and a future pick.
I totally get what you are saying and I can't disagree on the importance of pass rush.
But, I am going to introduce another line of argument here. That is no matter how stout your D is (pass rush inclusive), a great team with a great offense is still going to score on you and perhaps even score on you big. That didn't just happen to us, it happened to the Seahawks too when they played the Falcons. The question is what do you do at that point when you are down by 17, down by 22 at the half ? Your D might be able to get the offense back on the field, but they are not going to win the game for you. What you need is an explosive offense that can put points on the board and ultimately outscore your opponent to win football games. In quite a number of games, we have had those slow starts, we were getting 3 and outs and couldn't finish drives, not to mention our lingering issue in the red zone. I would argue if we had more weapons, it would help to take us over the edge. We almost did it in the Super Bowl, we climbed all the way back with over 20 unanswered points or something along those lines ?
In any case, I am not saying don't draft for pass rush. But, do we have to use a top pick for a DL ? You are essentially only drafting for depth for DL. Whereas I am suggesting to draft players on the offensive side of the ball who can contribute and help us win ball games right from the word go. Furthermore, if you buy into the argument that the window for our current crop of star players from the 2005-2007 draft class such as Frank, Vernon and Pat is vastly narrowing, then the appropriate measures will need to be taken in the way we approach the draft. That to me is by going all out to boost our O. Besides, even if you can't get the defensive players you want this draft, you can always use the top picks next year on the D. My overwhelming concern is Frank is already 31, Vernon is 29 and Pat is 28, if we still can't get it done this season, it could be it for this current team as we know it with this star nucleus. Come next season or at most the season after the next, another team will have to take over in the "Quest for 6".
strong and valid points, Rascal.
i'd like to argue that i feel that our offense, currently, is explosive enough to be able to score over and over again. we're not built like the Patriots or Atlanta, because we can score passing and running. we are still a running team, so guys like Frank, Hunter, and LMJ are also HUGE pieces to our offense.
also to keep it short, drafting DL for depth is extremely valuable for us, possibly more than a WR/TE early in the draft (1st/high 2nd). the reason i say that is because of the complexity of our offensive playbook and the defensive value in the draft. AJ Jenkins had a difficult time getting on the field. A WR or a TE could possibly have the same issues. there's so many assignments a WR/TE needs to know on each play. on the defense, i can't stress the importance of depth. we can't afford to lose Justin Smith down the stretch again. also, Jim Tomsula gets the very best out of his prospects. as far as value in the draft, the value in the 2nd and 3rd round on DL is so high. guys like Brandon Williams, Margus Hunt, Kawann Short, John Jenkins, John Hankins could be had in the 2nd/3rd rounds. don't forget the value at safety with Matt Elam, Cyprien, Phillip Thomas, DJ Swearinger and Bacarri Rambo in the 2nd/3rd rounds. I just find so much more value in those players, all of which can produce right away.
Ertz can absolutely come in and produce as Walker's replacement. He's not a better run/pass blocker, but he's a smart receiver. if i had to go with a receiver, WR or TE, in the 2nd, i'd rather take Da'Rick Rogers with our late 2nd, then Ertz with our early 2nd.
