Originally posted by modninerfan:Originally posted by JiksJuicy:
People are pretty optimistic here. Not being a downer but he still has a lot to learn, and may take a while to start. He'll defiantly get some playing time but I would be happy with 4 as a rookie.
Merriman had 10
Ware had 8
Harrison (his first year as a starter) had 8.5
Porter (his first year as a starter) had 10.5
I dont think 6-7 is too much to ask for
For now, all we have to compare him to is another Niner 1st rounder who was picked to be a pass rusher and that is Manny Lawson. Despite starting 12 games his rookie year and playing in all 16 and primarily playing at the WILL spot, he recorded 2.5 sacks (ironically, that's how many he had last year too - five years later).
With Merriman, Ware, Harrison and Porter, you have the perfect storm with supreme pass rushing talent and coaches who know how to game-plan to their strengths.
So realistically, and especially b/c of the huge weaknesses we have in the secondary, the emphasis will be on pass rushing even more. But I believe this will be for ALL of the front 7, not just the WILL, SAM and RDE position. But in order to do this, I think Aldon will be rotated heavily on with someone like Haralson or LaBoy to keep our front 7 fresh and active. I "believe" Fangio will game plan more and more with him to stunt inside, at both the SAM & WILL positions, up at RDE next to Smith, moving him around behind the LOS, pre-snap looking to shoot gaps (ala Merriman), etc.
So, despite not being on the field as much as the aforementioned in his rookie year, the "quality" of the chances he will get may be better. My guess is that he'll have between 6-8.
The guy on the other side though, I think is going to blow up (A. Brooks) and should have over 10 followed by Willis, Aldon and LaBoy/Haralson.
Championship!
[ Edited by NCommand on May 4, 2011 at 16:20:32 ]
im sure he meant absolute value
