Reading into the numbers a little...

My question to you is, Do you think Jean-Francois can do what Franklin does?

Originally posted by Ibleedgoldnred:
My question to you is, Do you think Jean-Francois can do what Franklin does?

I actually felt like at the beginning of the year he was playing better than Franklin.

Originally posted by WillistheWall:

Originally posted by Ibleedgoldnred:
My question to you is, Do you think Jean-Francois can do what Franklin does?

I actually felt like at the beginning of the year he was playing better than Franklin.

So at least I'm not the only one

Originally posted by Ibleedgoldnred:
Starting Front 7
(Tackles(Solo+Assists)/Sacks/Forced Fumbles/Interceptions/Pass Defend)

P. Willis..........101(128)--6--2--0--5
T. Spikes........82(109)--0--0--3--9
J. Smith..........57(70)--8.5--1--0--1
M. Lawson.......48(59)--2.5--2--1--6
P. Haralson......29(42)--4--0--0--0
A. Franklin.......38(39)--0--0--0--1
I. Sopoaga......17(25)--1.5--0--0--1

OTHER DE......34(46)--1--1--1--3
OTHER LBs.....99(115)--10--1--1 (Brooks and LaBoy 5 sacks each)

Secondary
(Tackles(Solo+Assists)/Sacks/Forced Fumbles/Interceptions/Pass Defend)

D. Goldson.......59(80)--1--0--1--5
N. Clements.....72(82)--1--3--3--10
S. Spencer.......38(42)--.5--1--3--9
R. Smith..........38(42)--0--0--1--4
T. Mays...........31(38)--0--1--0--2

T. Brown.........36(39)--0--0--1--5
(Only other DB worth mentioning)

Initial thoughts:

1. We franchised Franklin for what?

This has been answered, but I'll break it down from the perspective for someone has worked as a scout in the past.

Franklin is a classic nose tackle... he is not going to get a ton of tackles. He certainly isn't going to get a ton of sacks. He's absolutely useless in the passing game and should be out of the game on passing downs (he's usually pancaked), but that's not Singletary's way. He's absolutely amazing against the run. The things you don't see him do on the broadcast... his pursuit through traffic is astounding. He can eat 3 blockers on his own, and does, regularly. Astounding strength combined with surprising athleticism.

He might not be the best pure 2-gap tackle in the NFL, but nobody else comes close to his ability to scrape down the line, taking offensive linemen with him, get to the point of attack and redirect the ball carrier. He actually moves the offensive line with him.

Quote:

Issac who?

Sopoaga is a really poor man's Franklin. He can't do what Franklin does, but he's the same type of player. Perfectly serviceable as a two-gap tackle, but useless in any other capacity. Again, he wont get tackles, he clogs up running lanes and redirects the ball carrier.

Quote:

Where did all the sacks go?

All Brooks does when he's on the field is make plays. Why he doesn't play, I'll never know. I'm hoping we see something a bit closer to Baltimore or Arizona's 3-4 next year, making better use of Brooks as a pseudo-Buck, allowing Smith to play the 3-tech. This might be tough considering our starting lineup... you'd have to put Spikes at WILL, then Willis... which means Lawson would have to play behind Smith on the inside. Not sure if that would work.

Quote:

LaBoy payed off, damn that injury

He was a bigger part of Arizona's Superbowl run than anybody realizes. He's another one-dimensional player; he could be a great backup Buck for Brooks in the scenario I outlined above.

Quote:

I don't think our secondary is THAT bad off

Spencer gives up plays, but he makes more than enough big plays to compensate. He's under appreciated if not underrated.

Quote:


Funny facts:

1. Old man Spikes led(tie) the team in interceptions
2. London Flecther had more PassDef.(12) than any one person on our team and Brent Grimes had just 2 less than our starting secondary(28).
3. R.Smith and Mays combined have almost the same stat line as Goldson.
4. LaBoy and Brooks matched Dockett's sack total()
5. R. Jean-Francois and Sopoaga had more sacks than Franklin
6. Back-ups produced twice as many TD's on Defense

Opinions I take just from the numbers (and minor thinking):

1. They BADLY need a solid and consistent pass rusher(wow. really)
2. Need more people to get theirs hands up and on some balls
3. We have back-ups on the roster more capable to produce than starters.
4. I like the idea of Clements to Safety the more I think about it.
5. I guess I'm not as negative about Goldson as I have been in the past.
6. Franklin, Haralson and Sopoaga can be easily replaced. How bout letting Jean-Francois and LaBoy/Brooks/McDonald getting more involved?(maybe some starts this year)

No, Franklin cannot be easily replaced. It's almost impossible to find a nose with his skillset.

Sopoaga, sure, but he fits. Haralson is inconsistent, and I don't think he fits anywhere.

Quote:

Lawson is still under-performing, but is still somewhat effective

Brown and R. Smith(better option than Mays) should also get more starting time (I believe they receive playing time by default, unless we pick some stud up)

I maybe way off base to some, but i figured I would throw you some numbers. So... Do your bashing, I just needed to see some numbers while I'm bored.

Thanks to NFL.com for most the info i used.


Disclaimer: The views expressed here are in no way those of a professional scout, coach, analyst, or mathematician. The above facts, statements and opinions are those of a person under the influence of a schedule 1 drug, read at your own risk.

Interesting post, thanks for the numbers.

IT ALL FALLS ON THE COACHING.

Franklin is effective versus the run and he ties up blockers so the MLBs can have great stats...which they do. One area of criticism for the DLine is that the opposing team's QBs seemed to have an incredible amount of time to pass. The line needs to penetrate, eventually if not immediately. The other area, but with a 3 man line I don't know that this is fair, was the QB being able to scramble for first downs. Vick I get, but Hasselback? Good grief! They often made statues look like greyhounds.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Franklin is effective versus the run and he ties up blockers so the MLBs can have great stats...which they do. One area of criticism for the DLine is that the opposing team's QBs seemed to have an incredible amount of time to pass. The line needs to penetrate, eventually if not immediately. The other area, but with a 3 man line I don't know that this is fair, was the QB being able to scramble for first downs. Vick I get, but Hasselback? Good grief! They often made statues look like greyhounds.

The niners have what might be the best 3-4 dline pass rusher in Smith. The line is not the problem. The pressure should be coming from a pass rushing OLB that the team doesnt have. The Dline is also outstanding against the run.

Originally posted by Ibleedgoldnred:
My question to you is, Do you think Jean-Francois can do what Franklin does?

No. It's been made pretty clear that RJF got man handled on a many occasion last year.

Using numbers to evaluate Franklin's performance shows to me that you didn't watch him closely enough.

Originally posted by walker807:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Franklin is effective versus the run and he ties up blockers so the MLBs can have great stats...which they do. One area of criticism for the DLine is that the opposing team's QBs seemed to have an incredible amount of time to pass. The line needs to penetrate, eventually if not immediately. The other area, but with a 3 man line I don't know that this is fair, was the QB being able to scramble for first downs. Vick I get, but Hasselback? Good grief! They often made statues look like greyhounds.

The niners have what might be the best 3-4 dline pass rusher in Smith. The line is not the problem. The pressure should be coming from a pass rushing OLB that the team doesnt have. The Dline is also outstanding against the run.

Yes, I agree that a monster OLB is needed but was just addressing the line. Smith is one of the best players in the NFL, but the 9ers need more consistent pocket collapse from the other two guys as happens with most 3/4 lines. Not immediate but not slow either. Then the OLB would be the last piece of the puzzle. By the way, I do not dislike Soap and Franklyn, but would like to see more movement. Gues that's a lot to ask.

Nose tackles in a 3-4 don't need to produce good statistics to be very good.