*Projected* Niners Depth Chart (Updated 9/5/09)

Originally posted by kpoe1175:
I think rossum will make the team too...

I have him under DBs, since he has been practicing with them and will be called upon in an emergency.

Looks pretty good....

Have to be honest, this outcome screams massive fail for me on 1 thing alone:
Aubrayo Franklin starting.

Other things I have slight issues with, but if Franklin starting again is the best we can do? We are gonna eat it up the middle on runs. Add to that, Franklin will help get zero pressure up the middle, so we would likely be looking at low sack/pressure totals from Manny and Parys in our base D as well. They can hit the outside edges, but the QB will simply step inside and let them run by. We have to do better than Franklin at NT. I'm praying that Sopoaga as a 1-gapper can give us that.

not too much to argue with;

I agree that Davis beats out Huard on potential alone.

I would have Boone or Sims in for Toledo. Curtis Taylor FS in for Hudson and I agree with the other poster that McDonald will probably start the year on PUP allowing another Dline man to be carried on the initial 53.

Battle - can't see him making the team either unless he can beat out Rossum for KR / PR (which is a possibility but a long shot).

I would be interested in seeing whether Sheets can beat out Rossum in training camp and pre-season because if he could the Niners could afford to take another DB or Clayton on the 53 man roster.

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Have to be honest, this outcome screams massive fail for me on 1 thing alone:
Aubrayo Franklin starting.

Other things I have slight issues with, but if Franklin starting again is the best we can do? We are gonna eat it up the middle on runs. Add to that, Franklin will help get zero pressure up the middle, so we would likely be looking at low sack/pressure totals from Manny and Parys in our base D as well. They can hit the outside edges, but the QB will simply step inside and let them run by. We have to do better than Franklin at NT. I'm praying that Sopoaga as a 1-gapper can give us that.

Well, I see your point over the duration of his tenure here, but I saw him improve tremendously at the end of last year. He isn't the long term answer, and Sopoaga probably isn't either, but when he is fully healthy he can hold his own. Pro-Bowler? No, but if he continues to improve on last year's effort he will be a servicable starter.

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by PatrickJira411:
Solid job. I do think that Damon Haurd will make the team and they will keep 4 QB's. I also don't see Joe Toledo making the team, I think that Barry Simms or this kid Jacob Bender that they seem to be high on, will make it over Toledo. Im also going to be watching Alex Boone closely but I am with you on him making the PS. I think Ray McDonald starts the year on the PUP list.

I think Huard is a guy that if he gets cut, he will still be there in the middle of the season like Jaime Martin last year. 4 QBs is just too much, especially when we have quality WRs that are going to be cut as it is. No position is deep enough to sacrifice a guy for the 4th QB.

Yeah, Bender has impressed the team, but Toledo was a highly regarded player before injuries. If he is 100% healthy he could be a great addition.

Also, Barry Sims was simply God awful last year. He has no right being on the field.

I think they gave Huard some upfront money and I think if we cut him, there would be a team or two wanting to sign him, so I don't know about him being available for us at mid season. He is much better and more valuable than Jamie Martin.

I agree Sims was awful and im hoping he does not make the team. I think Bender or even Boone will beat him out. Right now they have Toldeo playing guard. I don't know about that guy. Miami drafted him the 4th rd and they were high on him but that guy could never stay healthy.

Originally posted by British9er:
not too much to argue with;

I agree that Davis beats out Huard on potential alone.

I would have Boone or Sims in for Toledo. Curtis Taylor FS in for Hudson and I agree with the other poster that McDonald will probably start the year on PUP allowing another Dline man to be carried on the initial 53.

Battle - can't see him making the team either unless he can beat out Rossum for KR / PR (which is a possibility but a long shot).

I would be interested in seeing whether Sheets can beat out Rossum in training camp and pre-season because if he could the Niners could afford to take another DB or Clayton on the 53 man roster.

1.) Yeah, Huard is pretty much a useless addition to the team, unless Smith or Hill goes down for an extended period of time.

2.) Boone is just too raw at this point and Sims is worthless. I would like to see Boone work for the year on the Practice Squad before we give him a spot. He has too much to prove on and off the field. Sims was just horrible when he played last year. We might as well bring up a guy like Toledo that has potential rather than Sims who we know is going to stink if he plays.

3.) Taylor and Hudson will have a battle. The winner will be able to play safety and CB, and I believe Hudson has the better shot. Hudson has quietly gotten much better for the last few years.

Looks good, but I get the feeling that Hudson is going to lose out to Curtis Taylor now that Reggie Smith is basically in the swing DB role that Hudson used to have.

Originally posted by PatrickJira411:

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by PatrickJira411:
Solid job. I do think that Damon Haurd will make the team and they will keep 4 QB's. I also don't see Joe Toledo making the team, I think that Barry Simms or this kid Jacob Bender that they seem to be high on, will make it over Toledo. Im also going to be watching Alex Boone closely but I am with you on him making the PS. I think Ray McDonald starts the year on the PUP list.

I think Huard is a guy that if he gets cut, he will still be there in the middle of the season like Jaime Martin last year. 4 QBs is just too much, especially when we have quality WRs that are going to be cut as it is. No position is deep enough to sacrifice a guy for the 4th QB.

Yeah, Bender has impressed the team, but Toledo was a highly regarded player before injuries. If he is 100% healthy he could be a great addition.

Also, Barry Sims was simply God awful last year. He has no right being on the field.

I think they gave Huard some upfront money and I think if we cut him, there would be a team or two wanting to sign him, so I don't know about him being available for us at mid season. He is much better and more valuable than Jamie Martin.

I agree Sims was awful and im hoping he does not make the team. I think Bender or even Boone will beat him out. Right now they have Toldeo playing guard. I don't know about that guy. Miami drafted him the 4th rd and they were high on him but that guy could never stay healthy.

You might be right about Huard being picked up by another team, but keeping a 4th QB is just a waste of space. What position gets weakened? Plus, Huard is a temporary insurance policy at best. Davis has potential that the coaches want to monitor so he definitely gets the nod. If they could stow Davis away on the PS, then maybe Huard stays, but 4 QBs is just an overkill.

Personally, I am starting to wish Alex was just gone and we keep Huard. Unless they are throwing SERIOUS smokescreens. he doesn;t seem to have the arm anymore (a la Tim Couch)...and his recent comments about teammates not being at OTA's rubbed me the wrong way. I wish we would have traded him back when it could still be said that Nolan was misusing him...we're running the of allowing him to play himself into a completely worthless player this pre-season. If he looks like he did last year, he's done.

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Have to be honest, this outcome screams massive fail for me on 1 thing alone:
Aubrayo Franklin starting.

Other things I have slight issues with, but if Franklin starting again is the best we can do? We are gonna eat it up the middle on runs. Add to that, Franklin will help get zero pressure up the middle, so we would likely be looking at low sack/pressure totals from Manny and Parys in our base D as well. They can hit the outside edges, but the QB will simply step inside and let them run by. We have to do better than Franklin at NT. I'm praying that Sopoaga as a 1-gapper can give us that.

Well, I see your point over the duration of his tenure here, but I saw him improve tremendously at the end of last year. He isn't the long term answer, and Sopoaga probably isn't either, but when he is fully healthy he can hold his own. Pro-Bowler? No, but if he continues to improve on last year's effort he will be a servicable starter.

Not looking to start a big argument on this. A couple of things though, and yes, it's just one guy's opinion. There was no 9er that I watched more closely than Franklin last season. I watched every snap of every game. While I can admit that Franklin's play slightly improved down the stretch, that improvement was basically from outright awful to below satisfactory. He never demands a double team... anchors poorly, and has no worthwhile leverage or quickness to get into the backfield.

As I see it, in a 3-4 base, you have to have a good NT to really make it work. I think Franklin has topped out on improvement. He is a liability on most plays, and seems to only be remembered for the few good ones he makes per game. It's not enough, and we need to better protect our ILBs while also having two OL occupy our NT enough to make our OLBs rush easier.

There would be nothing more depressing to me than to see Franklin as our starter. Nothing personal against the guy... he tries hard, but he's too limited to be a starting 3-4 NT. I can't think of any other team that has a lesser one.

Originally posted by TommyFrazier:
Personally, I am starting to wish Alex was just gone and we keep Huard. Unless they are throwing SERIOUS smokescreens. he doesn;t seem to have the arm anymore (a la Tim Couch)...and his recent comments about teammates not being at OTA's rubbed me the wrong way. I wish we would have traded him back when it could still be said that Nolan was misusing him...we're running the of allowing him to play himself into a completely worthless player this pre-season. If he looks like he did last year, he's done.

Remember, the last time he was even remotely healthy was week 3 of 2007. I don't think we can say what his arm strength is at this point and his comments were his attempt to put the "nice guy" routine to rest. Let's see him play a game before we close the book on him.

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Have to be honest, this outcome screams massive fail for me on 1 thing alone:
Aubrayo Franklin starting.

Other things I have slight issues with, but if Franklin starting again is the best we can do? We are gonna eat it up the middle on runs. Add to that, Franklin will help get zero pressure up the middle, so we would likely be looking at low sack/pressure totals from Manny and Parys in our base D as well. They can hit the outside edges, but the QB will simply step inside and let them run by. We have to do better than Franklin at NT. I'm praying that Sopoaga as a 1-gapper can give us that.

Well, I see your point over the duration of his tenure here, but I saw him improve tremendously at the end of last year. He isn't the long term answer, and Sopoaga probably isn't either, but when he is fully healthy he can hold his own. Pro-Bowler? No, but if he continues to improve on last year's effort he will be a servicable starter.

Not looking to start a big argument on this. A couple of things though, and yes, it's just one guy's opinion. There was no 9er that I watched more closely than Franklin last season. I watched every snap of every game. While I can admit that Franklin's play slightly improved down the stretch, that improvement was basically from outright awful to below satisfactory. He never demands a double team... anchors poorly, and has no worthwhile leverage or quickness to get into the backfield.

As I see it, in a 3-4 base, you have to have a good NT to really make it work. I think Franklin has topped out on improvement. He is a liability on most plays, and seems to only be remembered for the few good ones he makes per game. It's not enough, and we need to better protect our ILBs while also having two OL occupy our NT enough to make our OLBs rush easier.

There would be nothing more depressing to me than to see Franklin as our starter. Nothing personal against the guy... he tries hard, but he's too limited to be a starting 3-4 NT. I can't think of any other team that has a lesser one.

No arguments here. He has never been the anchor that we needed and this defense will never be dominant until we have a monster NT. I hope it happens soon, but in the mean time I guess we are all just hoping that Franklin hasn't hit his ceiling yet!

Looks pretty solid to me. I do not quite understand the "need" for the monster NT. The only NTs I think are notable are Haynesworth and Jenkins from the Jets. The Jets didn't even make the playoffs, and the Titans lost the first game in the playoffs. Arizona, Pitt, Eagles, and Baltimore (the four conference championship teams) do not have "monster" defensive tackles, but they all seemed to do all right...

Originally posted by SJniner7:
Looks pretty solid to me. I do not quite understand the "need" for the monster NT. The only NTs I think are notable are Haynesworth and Jenkins from the Jets. The Jets didn't even make the playoffs, and the Titans lost the first game in the playoffs. Arizona, Pitt, Eagles, and Baltimore (the four conference championship teams) do not have "monster" defensive tackles, but they all seemed to do all right...

"Monster" relates to how hard they play rather than their size. Baltimore gets outstanding play from their NTs and Arizona has a pretty solid interior as well. Also, all you need to do is look at Casey hampton play in Pittsburg and you will understand the importance.