LaMichael James was a Niner (CUT!)

thread should be changed to lamichael james is a whiner

LMJ is giving me Kyle Williams flashbacks every time he's back there returning punts. I know he's better than Kyle returning the punts, but you gotta catch the ball first in order to get a return, 2 muffed in 2 games is not good at all. Muffing a punt this week against Seattle might be the difference in a close game.

I hope Garrett Celek is good to go this week so we can release Carrier and sign back P.Cox to be our backup punt returner just in case LMJ struggles on Sunday.

Originally posted by PhillyNiner:
Not to mention he to hear Phoenix tell it he suddenly has amazing pass catching ability to rival guys like Woodhead that have made their entire career based on it and are producing just as well on other teams.

and he accuses me of posting opinions...

I'm saying we don't know because he hasn't been given those opportunities. As far as seeing someone line out wide, I'd much rather see James out there than Miller. Give him those opportunities, if he fails, he fails, but the guy more or less has been marginalized in every way. At this point, I'm not entirely sure why they drafted him since they appear to have no idea on how to use him. Put James in New England or Seattle and he'll be a productive player, not a star, but a solid contributor on offense.

Originally posted by Disp:
Phoenix, what are you talking about? Ginn was so unreliable on kicks and punts last year that he lost his job and the Niners made no effort to resign him. He had 4 punt return fumbles in like 30-35 attempts. He was great in 2010 and 2011 and was a liability last year.

Yes, but in 2010 and 2011 he was very reliable, this season for Carolina he has been very reliable. Look at the top returners in the NFL and they all tend to screw up, look at Trinidad Holliday recently, perhaps the most dangerous returner in football and he's gone potato, he went potato in Houston last season at times before they cut him then became beastly in Denver.

You take the good with the bad, just as an explosive returner can make some huge plays for you, they can also screw up at times. If James keeps having issues with receiving punts, then so be it, replace him, but to jump all over him after a short sample is kind of asinine IMO. If you don't let guys play and make mistakes, they're never going to fully develop.

Originally posted by jreff22:
Your talking about an avg over a small amount of games.

It's the best average the 49ers have had since 2011 and that is with a huge return having been called back. Its a promising start, if he can get his punt receiving issues under control, he could be a very effective, high quality returner. Keep in mind that the majority of the top returners didn't do so hot early on, many of them averaged less than 10 yards a return in their first season and the numbers slowly moved up throughout their career. James has just started, I'd like to see what he can do.

We should have used that draft pick on an every down player, not a 4th string rb.

Originally posted by rapid4:
We should have used that draft pick on an every down player, not a 4th string rb.

baalke texted you on draft day but you didnt get back to him

Originally posted by crabman82:
baalke texted you on draft day but you didnt get back to him

Originally posted by crabman82:

Originally posted by rapid4:
We should have used that draft pick on an every down player, not a 4th string rb.

baalke texted you on draft day but you didnt get back to him

Originally posted by crabman82:
baalke texted you on draft day but you didnt get back to him

I called but he was busy arranging A.J.'s press conference.

Originally posted by rapid4:

Originally posted by crabman82:
baalke texted you on draft day but you didnt get back to him

I called but he was busy arranging A.J.'s press conference.

lies, its all caught on the war room cam

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Disp:
Phoenix, what are you talking about? Ginn was so unreliable on kicks and punts last year that he lost his job and the Niners made no effort to resign him. He had 4 punt return fumbles in like 30-35 attempts. He was great in 2010 and 2011 and was a liability last year.

Yes, but in 2010 and 2011 he was very reliable, this season for Carolina he has been very reliable. Look at the top returners in the NFL and they all tend to screw up, look at Trinidad Holliday recently, perhaps the most dangerous returner in football and he's gone potato, he went potato in Houston last season at times before they cut him then became beastly in Denver.

You take the good with the bad, just as an explosive returner can make some huge plays for you, they can also screw up at times. If James keeps having issues with receiving punts, then so be it, replace him, but to jump all over him after a short sample is kind of asinine IMO. If you don't let guys play and make mistakes, they're never going to fully develop.

How do we know James is good though? Like you mentioned, it's a very small sample size and if you take away his one 40 yard return that blows his average up what do his numbers come up as? You're comparing it to players who have been top tier returners for years and have earned the right to make occasional mistakes. James hasn't earned the right to screw up and not be blasted for it.

I'm concerned that James will cost us a huge game down the road. Scary everytime he's about to field the ball...

Originally posted by Disp:
How do we know James is good though? Like you mentioned, it's a very small sample size and if you take away his one 40 yard return that blows his average up what do his numbers come up as? You're comparing it to players who have been top tier returners for years and have earned the right to make occasional mistakes. James hasn't earned the right to screw up and not be blasted for it.

You let him keep playing. Increase the sample size, if he continues to make good returns and shows better ball control, then he's a keeper, no? And if he goes potato and keeps having issues with holding on to punts for the rest of the season, then you know to look at someone else.

What I'm saying is that we simply don't know. However, it'd be one thing if he was averaging 3 yards a return and having these issues, but he's shown the ability to make some big plays such as the return against NE last season. To me, that makes it worthwhile to see what he can do and if he can continue to do a good job of returning the football with better ball security, then the issue with settle itself.


The one thing you can't do is yank the guy now as some are clamoring for, doing so would be just an overreaction and kind of pointless. My point has been that he's showed promise, but its still too early to tell eitherway. Judging by some of the comments, people here would have wanted to see guys like Devin Hester get s**t-canned early on in their careers too. Most returners seem to struggle early on and the numbers bare that out, there's very few guys like Patterson in Minnesota who step into the role almost seamlessly.

i'm prepared to live and die with him returning, only way to get better is to be out there when the live bulletts are flying. we also dont really have another option unless cox is re-signed.