LaMichael James was a Niner (CUT!)

Why don't we work on letting him run the ball and catch the ball out of the backfield. Set some screens up for him. I think Ellington has earned the #1 PR/KR job I'd say James would be battling Cox for #2 on that job. As for trading James we would probably get a 6th or 7th and it's not worth it. I'd rather keep him for the next 2 years than give him away.

What a difference a year makes. In his rookie season, James was a decent contributor after Kendall Hunter went down (4.9 YPC on 27 attempts in the regular season, 5.9 YPC on 11 attempts in the playoffs). In 2013, he basically pouted all year, got himself in the dog house, and now the majority of fans want him cut/traded. This is a pivotal year in James' career.

Originally posted by theduke85:
What a difference a year makes. In his rookie season, James was a decent contributor after Kendall Hunter went down (4.9 YPC on 27 attempts in the regular season, 5.9 YPC on 11 attempts in the playoffs). In 2013, he basically pouted all year, got himself in the dog house, and now the majority of fans want him cut/traded. This is a pivotal year in James' career.

I agree, I think he did very well filling in for Hunter in 2012, and also believe he hasn't been given a chance to fully exploit his skillset to really know what this guy can do. But also very disappointed in how he whined last season. Hopefully he's got his head screwed on straight now and gets healthy. Look at the first few pages of this thread when he was first drafted and the way many people envisioned him being used...not holding my breath but holding out hope that HaRo are now thinking of using him in that way.

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by 49er_Rider:

Jim Harbaugh expects @LaMichaelJames to play this Sunday and do more than return kicks.

...answer tweets

....test the sod

Originally posted by Dr_Bill_Walsh:

....test the sod

James as looked awful on kick returns this preseason. For all of the talk about getting him screen passes, James has done nothing to suggest to me that he's capable of making something happen in the open field. He just doesn't seem to play up to his measurables. He's simply just not as explosive as I thought he'd be coming out of college. I think he's going to get cut.

Originally posted by theduke85:

James as looked awful on kick returns this preseason. For all of the talk about getting him screen passes, James has done nothing to suggest to me that he's capable of making something happen in the open field. He just doesn't seem to play up to his measurables. He's simply just not as explosive as I thought he'd be coming out of college. I think he's going to get cut.

If Bruce got KP and KR he really should because he hasn't put out good film this preseason. I miss Kendall now for sure. Thankfully we got Hyde

James looks so terrified of getting hit, he starts falling down when the defender even gets near him... I don't trust his ball security, I don't trust him to make significant plays on offense.

I hope we trade him before sat.

Winston beat James out tonight I think. I still will miss James a little bit, but Winston seems like a better investment

Guy's a bum

Originally posted by LZRD_WZRD:
Winston beat James out tonight I think. I still will miss James a little bit, but Winston seems like a better investment

Still feel like Winston will get cut and the 49ers will end up keeping Smith. Winston has impressed but as conservative as this team is, I think they might be willing to chance Winston as a FA and hope they can bring him over to the PS.

Now there is no need to bash LMJ but I don't see why we keep him at the expense of someone else when Bruce is better fielding kicks and Winston is better running the ball

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Still feel like Winston will get cut and the 49ers will end up keeping Smith. Winston has impressed but as conservative as this team is, I think they might be willing to chance Winston as a FA and hope they can bring him over to the PS.

So we keep ARI trash and release our find. Nice!

Originally posted by Pillbusta:
So we keep ARI trash and release our find. Nice!

Sounds like a 49ers move. The reason I think Smith has a chance of sticking is because he's actually a pretty good special teams contributor and well developed as a blocker. If you can get that out of your #3 or #4 RB, then you might need one less "special teams only" guy elsewhere on the roster.