Who do we need to upgrade

Originally posted by AthensGaNiner:
Thought about this the other day, and was surprised how hard it was for me to decide what I'd want to see taken in the first round. Man, what a difference a year makes.

CB - Is Brown the weak link in the secondary? Maybe. I've been impressed with Culliver to this point. Maybe he takes that job. Either way, you can never have too many CBs in this league.

WR - Do we have a true #1 guy out there that defenses have to account for? Someone that you have to double-team? I don't think so, or, if we do, I haven't seen it yet.

QB - Smith has been playing well, perhaps the best "winning" football of his career. Will he ever be elite? If not, will Kaepernick? This draft will have three top prospects at the position(Luck, L Jones, Barkley), with a bunch of teams having addressed that need last year. We will not likely be in a position to draft any of those guys from where we draft *poster crosses fingers*, and with teams like Washington, Miami, Arizona, and maybe Indy looking for a QB, any move on those guys will require a good chunk of our draft picks(think Atlanta/Cleveland trade). Then again, maybe our roster is in a position where we can trade a bunch of picks to go get someone.

DE - Not an immediate need, but is now the time to start looking for another Justin Smith/BY? It would give us the option of rotating more guys in and out for now, keeping Smith and MacDonald fresh.

Nine more games to go, this could all change. Ask us again at the end of the season....somewhere around Jan/Feb.

I would like to see what Dobbs could do with another 10 pounds on him. He played a bit after McDonald was hurt and did well. He took a strong inside shoulder route on the play that Aldon got his second sack. It was a move he used well in PS games. He may be the guy.

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by AthensGaNiner:
Thought about this the other day, and was surprised how hard it was for me to decide what I'd want to see taken in the first round. Man, what a difference a year makes.

CB - Is Brown the weak link in the secondary? Maybe. I've been impressed with Culliver to this point. Maybe he takes that job. Either way, you can never have too many CBs in this league.

WR - Do we have a true #1 guy out there that defenses have to account for? Someone that you have to double-team? I don't think so, or, if we do, I haven't seen it yet.

QB - Smith has been playing well, perhaps the best "winning" football of his career. Will he ever be elite? If not, will Kaepernick? This draft will have three top prospects at the position(Luck, L Jones, Barkley), with a bunch of teams having addressed that need last year. We will not likely be in a position to draft any of those guys from where we draft *poster crosses fingers*, and with teams like Washington, Miami, Arizona, and maybe Indy looking for a QB, any move on those guys will require a good chunk of our draft picks(think Atlanta/Cleveland trade). Then again, maybe our roster is in a position where we can trade a bunch of picks to go get someone.

DE - Not an immediate need, but is now the time to start looking for another Justin Smith/BY? It would give us the option of rotating more guys in and out for now, keeping Smith and MacDonald fresh.

Nine more games to go, this could all change. Ask us again at the end of the season....somewhere around Jan/Feb.

I would like to see what Dobbs could do with another 10 pounds on him. He played a bit after McDonald was hurt and did well. He took a strong inside shoulder route on the play that Aldon got his second sack. It was a move he used well in PS games. He may be the guy.

Get more CB's maybe one of them could double on return duty and take ginns spot since ginn is on a 1 year deal now?

Honestly I think the niners draft best available player. Feels good to be in that category. No need to reach or pickup a developmental player. I think this strategy will work for the first 3 rounds.

Originally posted by unst4bl3:
Get more CB's maybe one of them could double on return duty and take ginns spot since ginn is on a 1 year deal now?

That could work if the right guy came along. However, I would not wanting my starting corner also returning punts and kicks. Too dangerous. I want an upgrade at corner who can handle the Vincent Jacksons and Calvin Johnsons of the league. That guy would be my most valuable CB. I want a starter, not a backup who would double as a returner.

I am fine with holding a roster spot for Ginn who has been instrumental in winning the field position battle all season long.

Just my thoughts...

Players to upgrade over:

Dashon Goldson - He's been solid, but we could always use a star back there.

RJF (at DE) - Ricky is best at the back-up NT spot, clearly. The drop-off in pressure is clear from McDonald to him. You could say we're upgrading over Tukuafu really.

Snyder - he, too has been solid, and I'll take him over Chilo anyday. Again, we could always use a star. I like Kilgore.

OLB - We technically only have three on the team right now. Brook, Haralson, and Aldon. We cut Applewhite. Grant can play both, but we can do better than Grant as a 3-4 OLB. He's better suited to play TED.

Kyle Williams - I know he's seen little time, but it's not hard to argue we could add a potential star over him. I have a hard time seeing both Edwards and Morgan coming back. I think it may be just one. I like the idea of having a Crabtree-Morgan combo with a blistering speedster like DeSean Jackson or Maclin in the slot. When Crabtree finally is able to get chemistry with Smith, I believe he'll be a 1000 yard receiver.

our team is already at the next level.

every team can always upgrade somewhere--you have to stay at a high level. For the 49ers I would say secondary, WR, you can always use another pass rusher and QB depending on how Smith and Kap continue to evolve.

This is an offseason thread, not a midseason. Who hops on WZ and thinks that starting a thread like this is a good idea when we are 6-1.

the fans

Originally posted by TalkinBoutWILLIS:
What starter do we absolutely need to upgrade to take this team to the next level? The obvious answer is Alex, he is playing pretty good right now based on what he is asked to do but Quarterback is the most important position and he can easily be upgraded. I am not bashing him but it's true. So seeing how that is the easy answer what starter do we absolutely need to upgrade to be better other than Alex?

The one thing that is lacking on this team is Passing Offense and Passing Defense. Brown Culliver and Rogers have played very well but I think we seriously need another starter aside Rogers. I think Culliver or Brown can be that guy in the future but while they are developing I think if we had another solid CB RIGHT NOW we would take this team to the next level.

More consistent play out of Rachal/Snyder would greatly upgrade us but I think Snyder has filled in nicely to this point.

Personally I am sick with Parys Haralson as well. We need better production out of our ROLB. The FF are nice but what else has he done. I think he is an easy upgrade. I do not consider Aldon Smith and him to play the same position since Smith is more of a DE in passing downs. If he can develop the ability to show that he can also cover in this league than we have found our upgrade but until then we need someone else.

Thoughts?

QB
CB
another OLB rusher
True DT we need sop for FB
WR if we don't get Braylon signed for a long Contract cuz i have no faith in Crap !

Center
WR
RB
Guard
CB
OLB
ILB

Originally posted by niners4lyfe:
the fans

QB, Elite WR (feel like we have a bunch of GREAT #2's)

QB- Maybe CK is the guy in developement. Harbaugh did say he was most ready to play of all the Rookies...
RB- Powerful RB that can block and muscle those 4th and 1's.
DE- For when McDonald doesn't bring his a game.
CB- T. Brown seems to be a liability at times

Originally posted by niners4lyfe:
the fans

Yup.