who is LJ McCray?

Originally posted by buck:
McCray said he was inspired by listening to team captain Patrick Willis deliver an impassioned speech on the field before the game. Willis, like most of the starters, did not play in the game, but he made an impact with his words.

"The speech Patrick Willis gave before the game kind of registered with me," McCray said.

Willis told his teammates that some players would be playing their final game with the 49ers and others might be playing their final game, period.

"So I took that as opportunity to go out and give everything I had," McCray said.

http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/49ers-turn-young-players-special-teams

Smart kid. He pays attention to what Patrick Willis says.

This is a pretty tough pill to swallow. Granted athletes make a lot of lot of money, but I couldn't imagine dealing with that reality (final game of my career). Hopefully McCray lives up to the big shoes he has to fill on special teams and makes an impact as a key backup.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:

Originally posted by buck:

McCray said he was inspired by listening to team captain Patrick Willis deliver an impassioned speech on the field before the game. Willis, like most of the starters, did not play in the game, but he made an impact with his words.

"The speech Patrick Willis gave before the game kind of registered with me," McCray said.

Willis told his teammates that some players would be playing their final game with the 49ers and others might be playing their final game, period.

"So I took that as opportunity to go out and give everything I had," McCray said.

http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/49ers-turn-young-players-special-teams

Smart kid. He pays attention to what Patrick Willis says.

This is a pretty tough pill to swallow. Granted athletes make a lot of lot of money, but I couldn't imagine dealing with that reality (final game of my career). Hopefully McCray lives up to the big shoes he has to fill on special teams and makes an impact as a key backup.

Thanks for the link

from the beginning, you could tell mccray was a tough mofo. he'll be great on ST.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
This is a pretty tough pill to swallow. Granted athletes make a lot of lot of money, but I couldn't imagine dealing with that reality (final game of my career). Hopefully McCray lives up to the big shoes he has to fill on special teams and makes an impact as a key backup.

I can't imagine the stress/anxiety those fringe guys endure. Imagine knowing the fate of the rest of your life rests in the hands of a few months of training camp and preseason. If you make the team, you'll probably enjoy at least a short career and bank a couple million dollars. If you don't, it's back to the "real world" with a 9-5 job and shattered dreams. It must be so, so excruciatingly painful for some of those guys that fall just short. It's also gotta be tough for the coaches / front office to be the ones to deliver news like that.

Originally posted by theduke85:
I can't imagine the stress/anxiety those fringe guys endure. Imagine knowing the fate of the rest of your life rests in the hands of a few months of training camp and preseason. If you make the team, you'll probably enjoy at least a short career and bank a couple million dollars. If you don't, it's back to the "real world" with a 9-5 job and shattered dreams. It must be so, so excruciatingly painful for some of those guys that fall just short. It's also gotta be tough for the coaches / front office to be the ones to deliver news like that.

the "just short" part is rough. you end feeling like luck has abandoned you. it must be especially rough for these guys as rookies because this is the first time in their lives that they've been rejected, told they weren't good enough.

From division 2 to the NFL.......and went to Tomsula's school....glad he made the team

Good job, scouting department. Very glad he made the team and supplant Spillman. Better price and potential to be more than just a ST player.

Originally posted by thl408:
Good job, scouting department. Very glad he made the team and supplant Spillman. Better price and potential to be more than just a ST player.

Would anyone have guessed that 12 rookies would make this squad plus two UDFA's? On this team...at this time in history?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
Good job, scouting department. Very glad he made the team and supplant Spillman. Better price and potential to be more than just a ST player.

Would anyone have guessed that 12 rookies would make this squad plus two UDFA's? On this team...at this time in history?

With this team, which usually favors the vets more than the young guys. But these are talented mofos

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:

Good job, scouting department. Very glad he made the team and supplant Spillman. Better price and potential to be more than just a ST player.

Would anyone have guessed that 12 rookies would make this squad plus two UDFA's? On this team...at this time in history?

If I remember correctly, many, if not most, people thought we had too many draft picks.

Originally posted by buck:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:

Good job, scouting department. Very glad he made the team and supplant Spillman. Better price and potential to be more than just a ST player.

Would anyone have guessed that 12 rookies would make this squad plus two UDFA's? On this team...at this time in history?

If I remember correctly, many, if not most, people thought we had too many draft picks.

Yup. And this is precisely why you can never have too many. I will take 10 talented players over 9. And 12 players over 11. Baalke has said before, you can never have too many draft picks. The more competition, the more chance you have to find a potential upgrade to what is already on your roster.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
This is a pretty tough pill to swallow. Granted athletes make a lot of lot of money, but I couldn't imagine dealing with that reality (final game of my career). Hopefully McCray lives up to the big shoes he has to fill on special teams and makes an impact as a key backup.

He'll make an impact as a gunner. I can't wait until he knocks some PR into next week.

Originally posted by SoCal9er:

He'll make an impact as a gunner. I can't wait until he knocks some PR into next week.

We should not forget that McCray showed some serious kick return skills in college.

Good as a gunner, has impressed Fangio with his coverage skills, and his kick return skill have not, as far as we know, been taped yet.

Also, it seems safe to assume that his acclimatization to the NFL has only just begun. I anticipate that with more hard work, study, conditioning, and experience, McCray will increase his value.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Would anyone have guessed that 12 rookies would make this squad plus two UDFA's? On this team...at this time in history?

Not me. I thought we would only draft 7 at most! And to think we didn't even see the entire class! Trey, Thomas, Reaser, and Marcus WILL BE our starting center shortly after he comes back
Baalke

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
Good job, scouting department. Very glad he made the team and supplant Spillman. Better price and potential to be more than just a ST player.

Would anyone have guessed that 12 rookies would make this squad plus two UDFA's? On this team...at this time in history?