Chilo At R.T?

No way. Guard is the easier position to play. If you aren't a very good guard, you can't play tackle.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
Chilo has his hands full at RG...let him see if he can master that position. The fix for RT is to draft one...Bulaga, Anthony Davis with the 13th pick. Then, in the 2nd rd, draft Pouncey...best C in the country, but a guy who can also play OG and RT. Those two picks will give new OL Coach Solari some fresh blood to work with, along w/Chilo, Staley & Co.

I like this fix, unless someone like crabtree falls to us at that spot.(As long as he isn't represented by Parker. The only problem that I see is that Scott seems to be weak at evaluatiing O.L. talent. I lie buluga, but if Scott picks him, I would have reservations.

Originally posted by Niners99:

Originally posted by wolfpack52:
Bad feet and no cojones= backup G.

yes, because we know EXACTLY what Chilo is capable of already.

top 40 pick overall, only 21 starts into his career, and you already know all he will amount to is a backup G?

No one has ever been able to overcome both of those deficiencies in the history of the game. Bad footwork is very hard to fix because guys like Chilo have always used brute strength and size to block and it doesnt work at the NFL level. Lack of cojones is another one because a guy can get in his head and he doesnt have the heart to gut his way through the rest of the game. Face it hes a good backup

No, not until or unless Solari makes this recommendation, which I don't expect.

A couple of more thoughts:

When Rachal was announced as the Niners 2nd round pick, Nolan was quoted as saying "Where do I play him?" Clearly, Rachal was a McCloughan "trigger man" pick (not a Nolan pick), and McCloughan was adamant that he took Rachal as an OG, in the Larry Allen mold.

Nolan looked at Rachal's body type (long legs, high-waisted) and tried him at RT in some OTA and early TC drills, but eventually heeded McCloughan's wish to play him at OG. Nolan knew that his own rope was short and he (Nolan) couldn't afford to wait until this rookie could develop, so Nolan buried Rachal at OG on the depth chart. Only when Singletary got the Interim HC job, did Rachal get elevated to the starting line-up at RG.

Rachal seemed to actually regress during much of the 2009 season. Given that his mom can now afford the necessary health care, his off-field concerns should have not been a distraction. Therefore, I attribute his regression to Rachal's poor practice habits and poor development by OL coach Foerster. I look forward to Solari's contributions on this front.

If Ceadderman's claim about Rachal's poor first step is true, then either that should be correctable with better position coaching, or perhaps Rachal has better balance putting his other hand on the ground and would be more comfortable at LG, instead of RG. However, LG is a more difficult position to play than RG (the "easiest" position on a right-handed offensive team). Again, I look to Solari to sort this out, as Tomsula did when he moved Sopoaga to DE, and coached-up Franklin to a Pro Bowl level of play.

Rachal still has plenty of time to develop. What is more troubling to me is that as poor as Rachal has played, he has still kept Cody Wallace on the undressed list. Wanna see a bust? Look at Wallace.

McCloughan's OL draft record is interesting when you break it down into OT's vs OG/C players. The ONLY OT drafted to be an NFL OT, is Staley, and he has worked out well. Otherwise, McCloughan has gone to the FA market for OT's (Jennings, M. Smith, Sims, Pashos, Patrick, Boone, Barton, etc). McCloughan drafted these players as being NFL OG/C: Baas, Snyder, Wallace, Rachal. His best OG acquisitions (Larry Allen and Wragge) were via FA. Not an overly impressive OG draft list. So, a legitimate question might be: Is McCloughan a better evaluator of OT talent than OG talent? If so, how does the club get around that shortcoming?

Bottom line: In Solari, we trust. What other choice do we fans have?

Here's an idea...let's give Rachal more than just 1 full season as a starter before we switch his position or write him off altogether.

Doesn't anyone understand the concept of player "development?" In other words, it takes TIME for some guys to fully get it, to make the college-to-NFL transition and to consistently play with the type of technique that is required at the professional level.

Just sayin...

Originally posted by dmatt:

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
Chilo has his hands full at RG...let him see if he can master that position. The fix for RT is to draft one...Bulaga, Anthony Davis with the 13th pick. Then, in the 2nd rd, draft Pouncey...best C in the country, but a guy who can also play OG and RT. Those two picks will give new OL Coach Solari some fresh blood to work with, along w/Chilo, Staley & Co.

I like this fix, unless someone like crabtree falls to us at that spot.(As long as he isn't represented by Parker. The only problem that I see is that Scott seems to be weak at evaluatiing O.L. talent. I lie buluga, but if Scott picks him, I would have reservations.

The problem with waiting until the 2nd round, #49 pick for a guard is that it won't be obvious he should start over Baas (R2, #33) or Rachal (R2, #39). This means delay in deciding the starting five. Two R1 OL picks will denote the starting linemen from April 22 on.

The biggest problem with this is it will make the niners avoid the OL on draft day. They like to draft skilled position players(probably to sell jerseys) and avoid the line unless a gift falls to them. I see Spiller and/or Mays in our future. Niners need to use 2 of those first 4 picks on the OL so they wont have to wait for a guy to develop....He will be forced to.