Originally posted by BirdmanJr:
O'Donnel wasn't a HORRIBLE QB and neither was Bledsoe, they weren't Franchise QB's but enough to get you into the playoffs. Compare their roster to ours this year, they had more talent than we did..that's what I'm getting at. Yes they are great HC's but they aren't saviors..unless we start drafting good talent and find ourselves a franchise QB (or at least someone decent..hopefully Smith) we will always be mediocre doesn't matter who the HC is.
Let's compare the Rosters shall we?
QB
Neil O'Donnell--246/416, 2,970 yards, 17 TDs to 9 INTs
Alex Smith--225/372, 2,350 yards, 18 TDs, 12 INTs.
Comparable stats in my mind. Had Smith been a starter for a full 16 game season he would have much better stats than O'Donnel
RB
Eric Pegram--213 rushes, 813 yards, 5 TDs. 26 catches for 206 yards and 1 TD
John Williams--29 rushes, 110 yards, 0 TDs. 24 catches for 127 yards and 1 TD
Frank Gore--229 attempts, 1129 yards, 10 TDs. 52 receptions, 406 yards, 3 TDs
Glen Coffee--83 attempts, 206 yards, 1 TD. 11 receptions, 76 yards, 0 TDs
WR
Yancey Thigpen--85 catches, 1307 yards, 5 TDs.
Charles Johnson--38 catches, 432 yards, 0 TDs
Michael Crabtree--48 receptions, 625 yards, 2 TDs
Josh Morgan--52 receptios, 527 yards, 3 TDs. 5 rushing attempts, 61 yards.
Jason Hill--9 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TDs
TE
Mark Bruener--26 catches, 238 yards, 3 TDs
Vernon Davis--78 receptions, 965 yards, 13 TDs
Delanie Walker--
Offensive line
Center--Dermontti Dawson
Left Guard--Tom Newberry
Right Guard--Justin Strzelczyk, and Brenden Stai
Right Tackle--Leon Searcy
Left Tackle--John Jackson
Strzelczyk was the starter every game but one at right guard but Stai was worked in regularly for some experience (he was a rookie). All of their starters had been in the league for at least 7 years and except for the center they'd all played in Pittsburgh for at least five years. The center was a recent acquistiion for the Steelers but he was a Pro Bowler that year.
Center--Eric Heitmann
Left Guard--David Baas
Right Guard--Chilo Rachal
Right Tackle--Adam Snyder
Left Tackle--Joe Staley/Barry Sims
By contract our line is relatively young. The most experienced player is Barry Sims. This is Snyder's fifth year, Rachal's second, Heitmann's 8th, Baas' fifth, Staley's third. The good news is that all of them except for Sims have played in San Francisco for their entire careers.
Dawson and Thigpen were both Pro-Bowlers that year.
Defense
Left Defensive End
Brentson Buckner--3 sacks, 0 INTs, 1 FR
Kevin Henry--2 sacks
Isaac Sopoaga--1 sack
Nose Tackle
Joel Steed--1 sack
Aubrayo Franklin--2 sacks, 3 PD, 1 INT
Right Defensive End
Ray Seals--8.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FFR
Justin Smith--6 sacks, 1 PD, 2 FF
Ouside Linebackers
Kevin Greene--9 sacks, 1 INT
Greg Lloyd--6.5 sacks, 3 INTs
Manny Lawson--6.5 sacks, 2 PD, 3 FF
Parys Haralson--5 sacks, 2 PD
Ahmad Brooks--6 sacks, 2 PD, 5 FF
Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene were Pro-Bowlers that year
Inside Linebackers
Levon Kirkland--1 sack, 2 FR
Chad Brown--5.5 sacks
Takeo Spikes--4 sacks, 1 PD
Patrick Willis--4 sacks, 8 PD, 3 INTs (1 for TD), 3 FF
Cornerbacks
Willie Williams--7 INTs, 1 FR
Carnell Lake--1.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR
Alvoid Mays--2 INTs
Nate Clements--7 PD, 1 INT
Dre Bly--1 sack, 13 PD, 3 INT, 2 FF
Shawntae Spencer--10 PD, 2 INT
Tarell Brown--8 PD, 2 INT,
Safeties
Myron Bell-- 2 INTs, 1 FR
Darren Perry--4 INTs, 2 FR
The reason I didn't put tackles in there is because the records for those only go back to 2000. I'd say that this 49er team has as much talent, if not more, than that Steelers team. The biggest difference is the experience of the offensive line and the head coach. This tells me that we're very close to making a deep run into the playoffs.
