Eric Heitmann is a Good Football Player | Page 29

MadDog49er · 2008-11-25T17:02:17-08:00

The Abominable Snowman Exists! Bigfoot is Alive and Well! Hilary Clinton Gave Birth to an Alien! The Moon has Turned to Blood! Eric Heitmann is not a Good Football Player! All of the above statements are myths, and yet, there are far too many people on this board (there are about 7 or 8 in one active thread right now) that seem to have blindly accepted the last "fact". So, I have taken on, as nearly a full-time profession, to dispell one the silliest myths in Webzone history, that Eric Heitmann is not a good football player and needs to be replaced. Here is the truth, no matter how much some may personally hate it: Eric Heitmann is having a very good football season. I believed this weekend would be an excellent opportunity to isolate and analyze his play, so I tracked his every down (I only took bathroom breaks when the Niners were on defense) against Dallas NT Jay Ratliff, who is considered one of the finest interior defenders in the NFL. Ratliff led all 3-4 NT's around the league with 6 sacks going into the Niners' game. He ranks 20th overall in the NFL in sacks, and is 3rd overall for all DT's in the NFL. Here were comments or thoughts by coaches, broadcasters and journalists about Ratliff going into the Niners' game against Heitmann: * Mike Martz stated last week that Ratliff was the best pass rusher from NT position he has ever seen. * John Madden put him on the horse trailer as his player of the game against the Redskins. *Many believe Ratliff is a Pro-Bowl candidate. So, I tracked all 53 snaps of the game, in the matchup between Ratliff and Heitmann. I listed the down, the yards to go, whether Heitmann doubled on Ratliff with another guard, or handled him by himself. I marked down the direction of the block. And, finally, I listed whether he won the battle against Ratliff by pushing him out of the way, stopping his rush, etc. Here is what I found: Heitmann excelled on 50 of 53 snaps. The three situations where I counted his play as a loss: 1) On the four yard line, at the 49 second mark left in the first quarter, on a 2nd and goal. Heitmann and Baas were to double Ratiliff, but did not get enough leverage to completely clean him out of the play. Ratliff gets an arm on Gore, but Thomas does most of the work coming through the middle. Play went for zero yards. 2) The next play, on third and goal, where Ratliff ran untouched into the backfield and Hill threw an incompletion. On the play, Heitmann went directly after the other DT Canty at the snap. Rachal blocked Spears, and Ratliff was unaccounted for. This may have been Heitmann's error, but it also may have been Rachal's. I'm guessing Rachal, but will count the miscommunication on Heitmann, just for the sake of argument. 3) The fumble with Hill. Now, Hill has already come out and said it was the QB's fault. Whether this is the truth, or if Hill is simply falling on the sword, we will never know. I will still count this against Heitmann. The other 50 snaps, Heitmann played extremely well. In fact, Ratliff is nowhere near Hill the rest of the game. He is not pressured once by Ratliff. Ratliff does not make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Ratliff does not break the line of scrimmage beyond the one pressure. Ratliff finishes with 2 solo tackles (one of his two solo tackles was made on a three yard run by Gore at the 9:05 mark in the second...and Heitmann drove Ratliff off the ball on the play) and 1 assisted (previously mentioned), and the sole pressure mentioned before. He would not have made the horse trailer, he would not be considered a Pro-Bowl candidate, he would be considered average at the end of this game. In fact, on most pass plays, Ratliff, matched one on one with Heitmann, is barely in the screen when Hill throws the ball. And after playing at a high level against one of the better NFC defensive linemen, he is garbage and needs to be replaced? I'm searching for some sign of intelligence in these statements. I am challenging any skeptic, who has the ability to be objective, to review the tape, and grade him yourself, instead of simply accepting this ridiculous board myth than Heitmann is a problem, and should be sat. There is no Bigfoot, there is no Abominable Snowman, and I am once and for slaying the silly myth than Heitmann is a problem. I call on the skeptics of the board to take the challenge. Watch the tape yourself, and then come back to the board and join me in crushing this silliness. I thought I would spare the board my entire description of the 53 offensive plays, but if someone wants to know about a particular play, or down, please let me know. Now, can we to another subject, like benching Patrick Willis. Or cutting Manny Lawson. Or taking away Joe Montana's Super Bowl rings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update: In order to prove how bad Heitmann has played this season, please check out the third page of this post, on the link that gives the stats for the Niners' running game. It may "shock and awe" you. Cheers. [ Edited by MadDog49er on Nov 25, 2008 at 20:35:19 ]

Jan 4, 2009 at 9:40 PM

#421

solidg2000
Veteran
Posts: 17,320

Originally posted by kodiak49er:
29 pages of this $h!t......wow

we let the horse die but maddog brought it back

Jan 4, 2009 at 9:52 PM

#422

WildTurkey
Info N/A

Jan 4, 2009 at 9:54 PM

#423

redwoodniner
Info N/A

Originally posted by WildTurkey:

Pretty much says it all...

Jan 4, 2009 at 9:56 PM

#424

49erFaithful
Veteran
Posts: 2,254

Originally posted by WildTurkey:

Jan 4, 2009 at 9:59 PM

#425

redwoodniner
Info N/A

Originally posted by 49erFaithful:
Originally posted by WildTurkey:

Deja you!

Jan 4, 2009 at 10:03 PM

#426

Norwalks_Best
Member
Posts: 2,781

Originally posted by solidg2000:
Originally posted by Norwalks_Best:
Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Isolated for the last 3+ wks from TV, radio, sports news ....heck, just about anything i am interested in, return home and there on the first page is the amazing Dog's defense of heitmann. From what little i have read on the web covering the time i was gone, it appears heitmann comported himself well. Please don't be offended, Dog, but as i said a month ago, heitmann may be a good C, but is he good enough?

i actually got to see one Tv show while hospitalized, and it happened to be the Bears game(Cal) in the "whatever bowl". i saw a 3yr all american, Mack(i believe) who has started at C for Cal last 3 yrs. It literally looked like an anvil swatting gnats when he blocked. Then again, the guy's
mammoth, and outweighs everyone else so .... But the question i have for you , Dog , is , was heitmann that kind of dominating player in college , or was he just a good center? Of course, Mack was made to look better by that little guy Javid Best, who literally ran behind Mack all night. In short, Mack looked like the kind of guy i would love to see playing C for us. But no question, just his size gave him a huge advantage over everyone else. That said, Dog , you could have run for 150 yds behind Mack. What i would like to know is, is heitmann that kind of C, or is he just a passable C for the 9ers.

"you
build a team thru the lines"is a tired worn out cliche...which, incidentally is totally true. So we have proved that rachal is the pancake man and no sacks allowed type guy many of us saw while he was at USC. Staley looks promising and hopefully next yr will turn into an OT like rachal at OG. We have no RT. We have a great backup in snyder at multiple positions, some like baas(altho i am still not convinced he can routinely play great), and then there is heitmann. Wallace to my knowledge never suited up so there must be something he doesn't have that the coaches want. So the question: is heitmann the C we need to become an intimidating OL or is he just adequate , able to make most nfl squads?

Yesterday i learned that Big MIke was signed as HC(tho i don't know for how long), and that we won 4 of our last 5 under him. Also learned that Pioli is being courted by detroit and others, shanahan got axed, cowher may be available if he gets full control, and also learned that parcells and sparano literally turned miami 180 degrees around, ravens coach got his guys from nowhere to a playoff win, mike smith turned the atlanta team around, whisenhunt did a 180 with the woeful Cards, and bigMIke returned professionalism to the 49ers on field and off. Going down the rosters, the one thing that stands out is the stellar OLs all the above teams have come up with. So again, Dog , my question: is heitmann good enough to give us an OL anchored by a C who is capable of making this one of the best OLs in football, or is he just another good C, who can start?

Obviously we don't start at C, we start at RT...and again, it better be a guy with rachal's talents, not just a guy who can maybe start. Then we go down the list and get to C where the question is , "is heitmann great enough to anchor an OL that has to be terrific ...if we are thinking of returning to something other than mediocrity."

Finally, a thot about bigMike, who i like, but i am under - impressed with his non existent credentials as OC, DC, GM, HOFO, or HC. Yes i like him. Yes he brot a semblance of order and heart to a team that noln had gutted. But is he really the guy we should have signed? Somehow looking at guys like pioli, parcells, whisenhunt, mike smith, sparano...i kinda wished we had kept our powder dry before pulling the trigger. But, just an opinion , and what the heck do i know?

Man, it is great to be back in the world of being informed. Solitary sucks.

Good point I wouldn't doubt that Singletary will change our line around since were changing styles. No doubt I'm tired of being mediocre we need change. Sounds like a clever idea.

Mack is a beast I hope we can draft the dude

If Mack is still Available come our second pick
we should pick him
Hands down best Available player in the second round

I totally agree with you. I wouldn't doubt if we draft several OL or DL. I hope changes are going to come, I do really believe that.

2nd round that don't sound like a bad pick at all. They do say OL are the safest pick out of all the other positions.

Jan 4, 2009 at 10:40 PM

#427

BrianGO
Veteran
Posts: 10,300

Heitmann is like Shaun Hill, he is a good football player, but wouldn't it be nice if he was more physically gifted?

It would be nice, but lets not make it a high priority until we get RT, NT, FS, OLB and backup running back taken care of.

Just like Shaun Hill, it would be nice if we had "Mr. Perfect" at quarterback, but right now I think we should just settle for winning games, and in the meantime see what happens with Alex Smith and a late round QB project.

Jan 4, 2009 at 11:35 PM

#428

pasodoc9er
Veteran
Posts: 21,040

Brian, i am with you, and incidentally, am very pleased with shaun(according to what i have read, and saw before Dec 9th). He performed very well from where i stood, and even if there is a chance at a prized QB this yr, we have no business taking it. First we need 2 lines, OL and DL. After that, OLB, FS, RB(yes), and QB. But regardless of whatever else we do this yr, we better get our OL straightened out. We passed on Hutchinson. Same with Faneca. We barely missed D'Brick to the jets in the draft. Oh, and what were the jets doing? They were building their lines. Incidentally, we didn't even put a bid in for Dielman , OG in SD.

Frankly, i don't care if we get a faneca, or hutchinson, via FA, but if so, they better be like those two and not like JJ Glass. My preference would be to build lines via draft, but there are only so many "perfect linemen" , that it seems a reach to believe we get not just an all world OT , but also another world-beater OL. i am not unaware we need a pair of starting DLs, unless balmer pans out, because right now we are two terrific DLs short. If a wilfork happened on the scene, then i would settle for just one DL and he would be it. Yes we have holes elsewhere, and yes, they need to be filled, but if we don't fix the lines first, we will be no better than the lines will be. Lines first, lines first.

My question is, who exactly is going to be responsible for this draft? noln won't be so there is a terrific upgrade. Is scot the one, the final word, and is he the unofficial HOFO for us? Will bigMike, with no OC, DC, RB, DB, HC, or GM experience be instrumental in the draft? If so, then we have made a mistake before the rebuild has begun. INput, yes. Choices(high ones, no). And do we currently have a red hot scouting crew in place that is scouting the major Div 1s, plus Eastern Ill, central MIch, Miss Valley state, Louisiana Tech....well, you get the idea. If we don't then our draft will basically be blind. i am hoping scot has seen to covering ALL areas mentioned above, and doesn't rely on the combine for all info. As for getting parag out of the challenge booth, i have been gone so long, i trust that was taken care of. The really red hot teams? They have the best in the business looking at challenges in the booth, and they are worth every penny.

i guess what i am saying is that we have a new HC(i think), but do we have a true, de facto HOFO? i'm hoping the answer is yes we do , and if it's scot fine. Then we ride that pony unless it goes belly up. Honestly, i wish we would have gone the parcells, pioli, whisenhunt way, but we done did what we done, so i will be a good fan and hope for the best. Frankly i am hoping bigMIke's GOAT experience is a good substitute for HC, DC, OC, RB, DB coach, as well as GM. That wouldn't be a good odds bet tho.

Jan 5, 2009 at 4:18 AM

#429

09etihW
Member
Posts: 1,520

"Center Eric Heitmann had a very good season. He clearly established himself as the team's top lineman. Heitmann kept getting better as the season wore on, too, which showed in the way he played against some of the league's top nose tackles (Dallas' Jay Ratliff and the Jets' Kris Jenkins) late in the year. At 6-foot-3, 312 pounds, Heitmann is one of the biggest and most-powerful centers in the league. That strength is the reason the 49ers excelled running behind him."

http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/01/niners-most-effective-when-running-up-the-gut.html

Jan 5, 2009 at 8:27 AM

#430

socalniner
Veteran
Posts: 19,420

let's just go ahead and make this an "official" Eric Heitmann appreciation thread

Jan 5, 2009 at 8:58 AM

#431

Joecool
Veteran
Posts: 70,984

Originally posted by 09etihW:
"Center Eric Heitmann had a very good season. He clearly established himself as the team's top lineman. Heitmann kept getting better as the season wore on, too, which showed in the way he played against some of the league's top nose tackles (Dallas' Jay Ratliff and the Jets' Kris Jenkins) late in the year. At 6-foot-3, 312 pounds, Heitmann is one of the biggest and most-powerful centers in the league. That strength is the reason the 49ers excelled running behind him."

http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/01/niners-most-effective-when-running-up-the-gut.html

He is a very good Center but still lacks the push in short yardage, which is why we still, late in the year, had to go off tackle or off guard with Foster in short yardage. I guess it's sort of like Vernon Davis, he does EVERYTHING else so well that I can be patient with or accept his lack of pass catching skills.

Anyways, that article was interesting and having known that Martz said something weird about Gore, that article ended by mentioning that Gore missed a lot of holes and maybe his strong production in runs up the middle had something to do with the fact that he doesn't need to run off of multiple reads on the straight ahead runs.

As we all know, Gore missed some holes while running this year and I think that points directly to his need of a FB.

[ Edited by Joecool on Jan 5, 2009 at 08:59:34 ]

Jan 5, 2009 at 9:53 AM

#432

KezarLivin
Veteran
Posts: 3,902

Originally posted by socalniner:
let's just go ahead and make this an "official" Eric Heitmann appreciation thread

Agreed, give the guy some love.

Jan 31, 2009 at 12:19 AM

#433

09etihW
Member
Posts: 1,520

"The center I like a lot." - Jimmy Raye II

http://www.contracostatimes.com/49ers/ci_11594771

Jan 31, 2009 at 1:28 AM

#434

Niners99
Veteran
Posts: 44,262

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
Originally posted by socalniner:
let's just go ahead and make this an "official" Eric Heitmann appreciation thread

Agreed, give the guy some love.

Heitmann is a stud. top 10 easily imo. maybe someday soon he'll finally get his chance at a pro bowl like Newberry.

Jan 31, 2009 at 4:25 AM

#435

GoatRider
Info N/A

What I like most about Heitmann is that since they drafted him the niners have tried to replace him and yet every year he improved and outplayed the guys acquired to upgrade his position. He reminds me a lot of Derrick Deese.