The Best News I've Heard Today RE: Norris and Byham

Originally posted by Thorhawk:
Thank god. If I see Norris touch the ball one more time this year I'm gonna puke.

LOL. I guess Raye is trying to keep the defenses honest, but geez maybe it is better to let the defenses cheat!

Originally posted by Kilgore_Trout:
Byham would have caught the TD against Seattle, and we'd be 1-1, maybe even 2-0. I say 2-0 because I'm sure the Seattle loss weighed on the 49ers heading into the MNF game.

Stop blaming Norris for that one. It was 100% overthrown by Alex, if you think it wasn't, you're in denial.

Originally posted by Kilgore_Trout:
Byham would have caught the TD against Seattle, and we'd be 1-1, maybe even 2-0. I say 2-0 because I'm sure the Seattle loss weighed on the 49ers heading into the MNF game.

no seatle loss got us going against the saints it was a KICK UP THE ASS WE NEEDED

We seemed to move the ball well when Byham was in there as a Fullback or H-Back. He is a terrific blocker and also a legitimate receiver.

Originally posted by FL9er:
I thought I noticed him lining up at FB last night. That picture is funny.

He definitely played a lot more yesterday than he did in the home opener. Our H-back went into motion quite a bit and every single time I saw it was Byham, I was so happy.

Originally posted by verb1der:
But...but...Norris is Gore's best friend!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is his best friend and he trusts him. When one of your top 3 players speaks, you listen. If Willis said to get a player, I am sure they would listen. Gore knows much more than us about a blocking FB, we should respect that.

Originally posted by 9r4lf:

Originally posted by verb1der:
But...but...Norris is Gore's best friend!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is his best friend and he trusts him. When one of your top 3 players speaks, you listen. If Willis said to get a player, I am sure they would listen. Gore knows much more than us about a blocking FB, we should respect that.

Gore is one loyal guy and he will go through thick and thin for Norris, but that also means he is bias when you ask him who he wants as his lead blocker. The rigors of football and especially age has caught up with Norris and he isn't the same blocker as he once was. And the NFL is now an offensive league and you need versatile players and our fullback or H-back needs to be able to block AND catch. Norris is a below average pass catcher and runner. I am hoping Culicrick uses his PS time wisely and next year can unseat Norris. Culcrick is a more natural runner and can be an asset in short yard situations.

Fullbacks number 1 job is to block. We have WR to catch passes.
Norris is by far the best blocker on the team. Its not even close. Therefore he should be playing. He should never carry the ball or have a pass thrown to him on 4th down(coaching). But as a blocker he springs many of Franks runs, watch the TD that dixon had. Walk in touchdown because of the block of Moran Norris.

[ Edited by Bayerrya on Sep 22, 2010 at 04:41:34 ]

I'm excited about his versatility. He can line up wide and motion back in for run or pass blocking. He can line up in the I and split out wide. He can motion across and stay in the middle and punch it up the gut. You can line him up in a double (or even triple) TE formation and have him swing out into the flat in short yardage situations.

However, I'm not prepared to give up on Walker yet. Walker is a play-maker and just needs to improve ball-handling skills. Byham's hands have been great thus far but he hasn't really been tested.

That's the problem with threads like these, especially for rookies, is that you're comparing longer-term players with rookies who haven't played long enough to get a good feel. As soon as Byham makes a mistake (and it WILL happen), how many people posting in this thread will still feel the same way as they do now?

Originally posted by 49ersRednGold:

Originally posted by lamontb:
Yea I noticed that. You can always find a good use for a TE from BYU. Do that dirty work and he will see a few more passes his way during the season.

He's from Pittsburg, but yes, the more he proves to be a warrior on the field and the more he learns, the more opportunities he is going to get. I was quite surprised by his pass-catching ability. When we first drafted him, I thought he was Billy Bajema part II, but Baalke has done a great job to find gems and value in the 2010 draft class.

I thought he was from BYU all this time.

Originally posted by AXEGRINDER:
I was happy to get Norris back from the Lions, now I'll be just as happy to see him leave.

good, now we can run some wheel routes with the fb

This will be a great move. The offense always seems to bog down when Norris is on the field. The defense knows that when Norris is on the field, there is a 90% chance of a running play going right up the middle.

Byham gives the offense a way more flexability and keeps the defense guessing.

Good move

Matt M article on player analysis:

Gore averaged 3.8 behind Norris.

Gore got 50 yards on 10 carries (I think) when we were in double tight with Byham.