Dobbs and Williams

do they make the roster?? or will Baalke and Harbaugh bring in some veteran competition for a roster spot the Defensive Line ...RJF is quality depth and can start in a pinch

I like Dobbs, he should come back strong this season with game experience under his belt , but do you guys think we will make a move to upgrade the depth on the DL if a veteran 3-4 DE or NT is suddenly available in free agency ?

I think they keep both of them. Dobbs has the physical attributes Baalke likes in defensive linemen. The team must like those two since no d-linemen were selected in the draft.

Dan
49ers Fan in NC

Well we didn't draft any defensive linemen, so the answer is yes.

Originally posted by dankmeistr:
I think they keep both of them. Dobbs has the physical attributes Baalke likes in defensive linemen. The team must like those two since no d-linemen were selected in the draft.

Dan
49ers Fan in NC

I thought for sure we would have drafted one D-Lineman , and yes, Dobbs has the potential to provide a pass rush as a 3-4 Lineman, which only makes our defense much tougher to deal with

I really like Dobbs and Tukuafu for the DE's, I think both can develop into starting 3-4 DE's. They seem to play the run well and can get pressure on the QB. They may not get many sacks, but were collapsing the pocket really well last preseason. Tukuafu did well when he got called up to The Show too. I think the team is really high on them both. Their moves on draft day may have proved that point.

Im not that high on Ian though since I think he's a little undersized for the 3-4 NT. I wouldnt mind seeing them bring in a big bodied NT to clog up the running lanes. You know who's a FA without a job right now? Someone on the downside of their career who knows a little something about playing NT for a 3-4 by the Bay? Aubrayo Franklin. I think he may be out of our price range though since Im sure he'd be looking for a mulit-year from someone. Even if he only gets one year, the Saints signed him to a 1 year $4 deal last year.

Here's a list of the rest of the FA DT's available =

Vonnie Holliday – ARI
DeMario Pressley – CAR
Anthony Adams – CHI
Nick Hayden – CIN (R)
Marcus Thomas – DEN
Ryan McBean – DEN
Howard Green – GB
Nate Collins – JAC
Kelly Gregg – KC
Eric Foster – IND
Phillip Merling – MIA
Remi Ayodele – MIN
Mike Wright – NE
Aubrayo Franklin – NO
Jimmy Kennedy – NYG
Rocky Bernard – NYG
Tommie Harris – SD
Gary Gibson – STL
Fred Robbins – STL
Albert Haynesworth – TB
Tony Brown – TEN

Nobody on that list stands out to me that will sign for the vet minimum.

We did pick up some other UDFA's to compete for the NT spot ( details from Bleacher Report ) =

Matt Masifilo = The former Stanford defensive end is well known to Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. At 6'3" and 300 lbs., Masifilo has the size to be an effective defensive lineman
Tony Jerod-Eddie = Tony Jerod-Eddie is a defensive tackle from Texas A&M. He is a big man at 6'4" and 305 lbs. and may be an ideal fit to back up Isaac Sopoaga at the nose tackle position.

Not sure why we didnt give Hebron Fangupo a call right after the draft. He seemed like an IDEAL 3-4 NT at 330, plus played in the 3-4 at BYU. I think the Texans ended up scooping him up.

Oh well, after the last two years, Ill never doubt the scouting that our FO does.

Tomsula has these boys whipped into shape and ready for anything (see RJF for McDonald last year). I wanted Alameda as well but of course, the Steelers nabbed him (and DeCastro - perfect fits/needs for their systems as well as ours). I would imagine NEXT year is the year we obtain a 2-gap NT and a RDE to groom and replace Justin Smith down the road.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Tomsula has these boys whipped into shape and ready for anything (see RJF for McDonald last year). I wanted Alameda as well but of course, the Steelers nabbed him (and DeCastro - perfect fits/needs for their systems as well as ours). I would imagine NEXT year is the year we obtain a 2-gap NT and a RDE to groom and replace Justin Smith down the road.

The Steelers did not 'nab' Alameda -- we passed on him multiple times.

Can we sign Aubrayo Franklin as a backup?

Well they were both kept on the roster because the team didn't want to risk losing them if they tried to put them on the practice squad.

Williams I thought was rated well in the draft but for some reason didn't get picked.

Dobbs came out of nowhere, but looked great. He and Aldon Smith were a great team in the preseason.

Don't forget about Will Tukafu....he made the team and was in the rotation when he got hurt. He showed a lot of promise too.

RJF is also underrated. He was a really nice pick up in the 7th round.

There is a drop off from our starters obviously, but we have depth here. The Rookies last year will be a lot stronger this year.

But you have to think the 49ers will draft DLine and Corner next year, but let's see what we got this year.

The fact we didn't draft DL or really go after anyone in FA means the team must be high on Dobbs and Williams as depth so I would imagine both will be on the team and will likely see more time in the rotation.

That Dobbs/A. Smith duo in pre-season was pretty damn good. I like Dobbs. Hopefully he makes the team. I dont really remember much about Williams.

Will Tukafu is a sleeper.

I have a feeling Dobbs is going to look very good this year.

Heres the facts:

2011 - Manipulated our roster in order to keep Dobbs, Tukuafu and Williams from getting exposed to other teams

2012 Draft - Completely ignored/did not see value in any players for the DE position, guys were there for the taking like Alemeda & Winn but the club felt comfortable with this position as to not place an inflated grade on DE's during the draft.

That should tell us everything we need to know. The club likes its prospects and will use the offseason for further evaluation. IMO they will keep 2 out of 3 and it will largely be decided by how much they improved from last year, the player that has the most stagnant development will be cut... most likely to keep an extra RB, WR or OLB on the final 53.

Who's Williams...