MadDog's 2013 NFL Draft Review

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by nvchamp9ers:
I am honestly confused as to why there is so much dislike of Reid on this board. Once we made that pick I was thoroughly elated. Reid, imo, was by far the best fit for our team's scheme in this draft. Dashon Goldson was by no means a "great" cover safety, but that is not what our defense requires. Much like what Goldson did, Reid will simply be asked to diagnose, run/pass, then either cover a deep half or take the responsibilty of a RB/flat. The skills that are needy for that are simple and Reid has them all. He is an extremely smart "field general". A simple job like this schemes safety, will allow Reid to come in "stop thinking" and simply use his athletecism to react. Reid has more range, more speed, and more smarts then Dashon Goldson did, and we made him an All-Pro. I would assume the 9ers are going to give Reid the same kind of assignments as a rookie that the Redskins gave Sean Williams, and while I dont think Reid is nearly the prospect Williams was, he could very well turn into that Rangy ballhawk taking away the back half of the field. Vaccarro is a better cover safety but I dont seem him as the physical/tough player we get in Reid.

Because so many fans get locked into either the sexy/flashy pick or their draft crush. They also get into a locked phase of thinking that their evaluation is as good or greater than a teams. Of course of the teams is at the bottom, hard to argue that the guy might not be. However, when a team is successful, their argument is less qualified. Like those that think the Cyp or Elam is the same quality player. Not taking into account if the player fits the system.

Of course nothing is full proof, However, most of the analyst didn't pan the move up pick either. Especially the pros who have experience like Gil Brandt and Polian, not saying they are not infalliable, but their weight has more pull to me.

Ertz, JH and company knew all about him, if he is that impactful or dynamic they would have gone after him, but people can't believe that JH would pass on a guy that he helped recruit.

Don't understand the angst either. I really liked a couple of other safeties but in my mock draft stuck Reid in because he seemed the best fit for FS. If they had wanted a SS I believe they could have picked on of the other guys and gone after another position when trading up (TE, DE, etc). But the anti Reid stuff will stop when he plays himself into a starting job and becomes a legitimate NFL guy.

The idea that JH picked Reid because he had a crush on him from recruiting, flies in the face of not picking one of his TEs from Stanford. I'm really looking forward to Reid being able to cover better than Goldson in a year or two...won't take that much.

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
MD,

Speaking of Patton and small school guys. We picked up an undrafted FA CB by the name of Darryl Morris who really intrigues me. He played at Texas St. and I noticed that they went up against Louisiana Tech this year. Do you know of any way to watch that game? Would love to see this kid (tiny but absurdly fast) match-up against a bigger (but slower) Patton.

I saw that game. Kenny Dixon went HAM on Texas State. I don't know where you can find a copy of it, I'll look around online, that was a damn good game too, like watching Arena League Football in the NCAA. :P Mostly a quiet game for Patton though, I don't think he scored any touchdowns in that game, had a couple big receptions but mostly it was Dixon and Holley running the ball down TSU's throats and Cameron moving the ball around to a variety of receivers. I don't remember Morris playing all that much on Patton. Ton of offense and scoring in that game, it was a total track meet.


I can't find any specific clips bro, but this Darryl Morris highlight video has a couple plays from that game against Louisiana Tech. 4:43 mark is one of them. You can see Patton at the very top of the screen while Morris is defending on the other side of the field.

Originally posted by GEEK:
Reid excelled in 2011 with strong talent around him in the secondary. Once those prospects left for the NFL and the Honey Badger did his thing, it exposed Reid quite a bit.

That being said, Dashon Goldson really started developing into an "elite" free safety once we had stability in the secondary and front 7.

I think the 49ers logical approach is that Reid can thrive in his 1st year at the NFL level on a team with stability at nearly every position from the previous year. Once he learns the nuances of the game, the expectation is to become better and better each of the next couple of seasons...similar to Dashon's development.

This is hugely important. Reid is going to a damn talented defense, he's not going to be isolated or have too much responsibility placed on his shoulders like he had with LSU last season. The roster is loaded with defensive talent, Reid has to play a supporting role, not a starring one. If he can be solid in coverage, lay the wood, make some big plays here and there, that's all anyone could ask of him.

. MadDog do you have scouting reports on players you watch film on? If so I would like to see Eric Reid scouting report, so I can understand why you seem to not be high on him.

Originally posted by GEEK:
Reid excelled in 2011 with strong talent around him in the secondary. Once those prospects left for the NFL and the Honey Badger did his thing, it exposed Reid quite a bit.

That being said, Dashon Goldson really started developing into an "elite" free safety once we had stability in the secondary and front 7.

I think the 49ers logical approach is that Reid can thrive in his 1st year at the NFL level on a team with stability at nearly every position from the previous year. Once he learns the nuances of the game, the expectation is to become better and better each of the next couple of seasons...similar to Dashon's development.

Very good post. You are introducing a level of analytical complexity that is often ignored or just not recognized in our attempts to understand the draft.

Drafting a player requires a vision, hopefully preceptive, of how each draftee meshes and intertwines with the other members of a team.

In a sport that is often and correctly dubbed the ultimate team spot we tend to focus on the individuals drafted, and not how they add or subtract from the team.

Drafting is about building the team, and sometimes the talent of an individual player is just not the most important factor.

Individual talent is critical, but is not the only, or even the most important, factor in the construction of the team.

Look at three of the current disasters in the league, the NY Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys.
I will argue that that those disasters can be best understood by looking at self-serving attitudes of their talented players; Revis, Jackson, and Bryant.


Look, at our team. It is chock full of great players. And not one of them, places himself above the team.
A Justin Smith does not hold out; he plays hurt. Aldon Smith does not offer excuses; he plays hurt.

Willis does not throw anybody under any bus for any reason.

Willis and Bowman do feed fan frenzy by participating in a meaningless debate about who is better.

Our players seem to have a profound, and hard to find, understanding that football is a team game, and they are member of a team.

Originally posted by buck:


Our players seem to have a profound, and hard to find, understanding that football is a team game, and they are member of a team.

"The team, the team, the team!"

MD,
You make some good points. However, I disagree that the Reid pick was made out of desperation.....more like out of need. I believe Reid was alway their top rated S and with Vacarro off the board they made their move to get their guy. Now had they given up more to move up then I could see the desperation

Maddogs picks







real lyfe 9er picks


SHOTS FIRED

Originally posted by GEEK:
Reid excelled in 2011 with strong talent around him in the secondary. Once those prospects left for the NFL and the Honey Badger did his thing, it exposed Reid quite a bit.

That being said, Dashon Goldson really started developing into an "elite" free safety once we had stability in the secondary and front 7.

I think the 49ers logical approach is that Reid can thrive in his 1st year at the NFL level on a team with stability at nearly every position from the previous year. Once he learns the nuances of the game, the expectation is to become better and better each of the next couple of seasons...similar to Dashon's development.

Its real hard for one player to cover the whole field when you have two starting CBs that are freshman, and a SS that was a 1st year starting Soph. In the SEC.

Reid will be placed with nothing but playmakers around him in our D. He will take some learning curves. But will be fine IMO

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
MD,

Speaking of Patton and small school guys. We picked up an undrafted FA CB by the name of Darryl Morris who really intrigues me. He played at Texas St. and I noticed that they went up against Louisiana Tech this year. Do you know of any way to watch that game? Would love to see this kid (tiny but absurdly fast) match-up against a bigger (but slower) Patton.

I saw that game. Kenny Dixon went HAM on Texas State. I don't know where you can find a copy of it, I'll look around online, that was a damn good game too, like watching Arena League Football in the NCAA. :P Mostly a quiet game for Patton though, I don't think he scored any touchdowns in that game, had a couple big receptions but mostly it was Dixon and Holley running the ball down TSU's throats and Cameron moving the ball around to a variety of receivers. I don't remember Morris playing all that much on Patton. Ton of offense and scoring in that game, it was a total track meet.


I can't find any specific clips bro, but this Darryl Morris highlight video has a couple plays from that game against Louisiana Tech. 4:43 mark is one of them. You can see Patton at the very top of the screen while Morris is defending on the other side of the field.

I think that's the same video I put into the Darryl Morris thread I started Would love to know if you find the game though!

Originally posted by bigwads:
Maddog is spot on with the Reid pick for a number of reasons.

Although, I don't believe the trade and pick were made out of "desperation" I do think it was simply wrong. The analysis of the player by our FO is wrong, where they drafted him was way too high and to make it worse the player we took at 18 was wrong.

Like maddog when the trade happened I thought we were trading up for Eifert. He was the only guy worth trading up for IMO (maybe Floyd too), and if we had taken Eifert the entire league would have $hit their pants.

Despite the Autin hysteria, Eifert will go down as the best offensive player in this entire draft.

TE was one of three positions of huge need for us and IMO none of the safeties in this draft were worthy of first round selection.

Frankly, there will be no difference in impact on a team between McDonald taken by the Rams in the 3rd and Reid.

But, everyone bemoaning the pick, including myself, hopes to be wrong...but I doubt it (see, A.J. Jenkins pick last year.

I seriously doubt this holds true. But if it does happen it says more about this thin offensive draft than it does about Eifert.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by nvchamp9ers:
I am honestly confused as to why there is so much dislike of Reid on this board. Once we made that pick I was thoroughly elated. Reid, imo, was by far the best fit for our team's scheme in this draft. Dashon Goldson was by no means a "great" cover safety, but that is not what our defense requires. Much like what Goldson did, Reid will simply be asked to diagnose, run/pass, then either cover a deep half or take the responsibilty of a RB/flat. The skills that are needy for that are simple and Reid has them all. He is an extremely smart "field general". A simple job like this schemes safety, will allow Reid to come in "stop thinking" and simply use his athletecism to react. Reid has more range, more speed, and more smarts then Dashon Goldson did, and we made him an All-Pro. I would assume the 9ers are going to give Reid the same kind of assignments as a rookie that the Redskins gave Sean Williams, and while I dont think Reid is nearly the prospect Williams was, he could very well turn into that Rangy ballhawk taking away the back half of the field. Vaccarro is a better cover safety but I dont seem him as the physical/tough player we get in Reid.

Because so many fans get locked into either the sexy/flashy pick or their draft crush. They also get into a locked phase of thinking that their evaluation is as good or greater than a teams. Of course of the teams is at the bottom, hard to argue that the guy might not be. However, when a team is successful, their argument is less qualified. Like those that think the Cyp or Elam is the same quality player. Not taking into account if the player fits the system.

Of course nothing is full proof, However, most of the analyst didn't pan the move up pick either. Especially the pros who have experience like Gil Brandt and Polian, not saying they are not infalliable, but their weight has more pull to me.

Ertz, JH and company knew all about him, if he is that impactful or dynamic they would have gone after him, but people can't believe that JH would pass on a guy that he helped recruit.

Don't understand the angst either. I really liked a couple of other safeties but in my mock draft stuck Reid in because he seemed the best fit for FS. If they had wanted a SS I believe they could have picked on of the other guys and gone after another position when trading up (TE, DE, etc). But the anti Reid stuff will stop when he plays himself into a starting job and becomes a legitimate NFL guy.

The idea that JH picked Reid because he had a crush on him from recruiting, flies in the face of not picking one of his TEs from Stanford. I'm really looking forward to Reid being able to cover better than Goldson in a year or two...won't take that much.

I trust Jim if he has a draft crush anyway. Last year he pushed hard for Lamichael James, who ended up being the only guy to contribute anything. I think you're seeing Jim's influence on a lot of picks. Maybe he knows that Fleener and Ertz are average talents, who put up big numbers in an offense that routinely throws to the tight ends more then other offenses. Fleener, a guy who played with Luck in college, didn't even produce as much as Allen, a tight end on the colts who was drafted a few rounds later.

Originally posted by BillWalsh:
I trust Jim if he has a draft crush anyway. Last year he pushed hard for Lamichael James, who ended up being the only guy to contribute anything.

How exactly do you know that Harbaugh pushed hard for Lamichael James?

Is this true? Do you have a source?

Or is the just your assumption?

Bucky Brooks said,

"General manager Trent Baalke has done a terrific job of stacking draft classes full of substance and sizzle in recent years.
This year's group definitely fits the bill, with several premium players joining a roster that's already chock-full of talent at every position.

Eric Reid is the prototypical safety with the size, speed and athleticism to roam freely in the deep middle. He should step into the role vacated by Dashon Goldson and provide the 49ers with timely playmaking between the hashes, making this trade-up decision a wise one.

Carradine and RB Marcus Lattimore are big-time players coming off significant injuries, but their immense talent and potential make them worthwhile risks, despite a possibility neither could see the field any time soon.

Quinton Patton is a standout receiver with a well-rounded game. If he makes the most of his opportunities as a rookie, he could give the 49ers a viable No. 2 option in the receiving corps.

GRADE: A

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/0ap1000000166724/article/nfc-west-draft-grades-another-san-francisco-49ers-gold-rush

I don't have a link. But I read an article after last years draft that Harbaugh really wanted him, after seeing his Stanford defenses get ripped up by James a few times. Other then Andrew Luck, James was probably the most dominating player in the Pac 12.