Alex Boone competing at OG

Sorry to ruin the party, but.....Wouldn't it be smart if we actually found one person who is clearly competent to start, instead of giving try-outs to four players hoping that one emerges to start, and hoping that they play at the same level as Adam Snyder, who wasn't even very good last year.

I know that some have supreme confidence that Baalke has this all figured out, but in regards to right guards I have two words that may blow that bubble....Chilo Rachal. He was the answer at right guard going into last year, and we all know how that ended up.

The team should have ended this drama in free agency or in the draft, but we will probably go deep into the summer hoping and praying that someone emerges. That is not in the best interest of the team, especially for an offensive line that was pretty shaky for most of last year.

We haven't had security in the position since Justin Smiley left the team. Isn't it time the team got serious about the position?

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Sorry to ruin the party, but.....Wouldn't it be smart if we actually found one person who is clearly competent to start, instead of giving try-outs to four players hoping that one emerges to start, and hoping that they play at the same level as Adam Snyder, who wasn't even very good last year.

I know that some have supreme confidence that Baalke has this all figured out, but in regards to right guards I have two words that may blow that bubble....Chilo Rachal. He was the answer at right guard going into last year, and we all know how that ended up.

The team should have ended this drama in free agency or in the draft, but we will probably go deep into the summer hoping and praying that someone emerges. That is not in the best interest of the team, especially for an offensive line that was pretty shaky for most of last year.

We haven't had security in the position since Justin Smiley left the team. Isn't it time the team got serious about the position?

wow. its been almost an hour since the dog posted this and the mob has not come at him. that is a new record! by the way i agree. I "hope" one of the unknowns can take the job but its one thing to look good in practice, its another once the bullets start to fly. wonder if they will add a leonard davis in the mix. i really thought the answer was kyle kosier. i am against signing x niners and i know we have cap issues but i thought that was the solution

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
I dont like this idea at all. Having a reliable swing tackle is important. Even if he could be the "best" guard on the right side, how much better is he than Looney/Kilgore? Is it enough to justify not having a quality OT back up? Do we really want to shuffle two positions at the Oline if one of are starting OTs gets hurt during the season? Even worst, what if Boone gets hurt? Then who is the back up? Having the "best" five on the field might be an over simplification. The season is long and you have to think strategically.

Completely agree.

Let's say Boone wins the job at RG. Sounds great right? Because you want the best players on the field.
Here's the problem: He gets injured, (happens all the time to starters) and now we have no backup LT, no backup RT. Instead we have a bunch of wishes and hopes and stuff like, "Well the coaches seem to like Person."

That is not good enough for a team trying to compete for a ring. You need a reliable backup T who is ready to go if someone goes down.
We could afford to have Snyder as the swing man BECAUSE we had Boone ready to come into a game.

Risking all three of your proven tackles to injury makes no sense. If we are forced to resort to this, then we should have made a bigger commitment to sign a free agent or get a better draft pick. Boone should be focusing at T, an extremely important position, not guard. This isn't high school football. You need a committed backup T in the NFL.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Sorry to ruin the party, but.....Wouldn't it be smart if we actually found one person who is clearly competent to start, instead of giving try-outs to four players hoping that one emerges to start, and hoping that they play at the same level as Adam Snyder, who wasn't even very good last year.

I know that some have supreme confidence that Baalke has this all figured out, but in regards to right guards I have two words that may blow that bubble....Chilo Rachal. He was the answer at right guard going into last year, and we all know how that ended up.

The team should have ended this drama in free agency or in the draft, but we will probably go deep into the summer hoping and praying that someone emerges. That is not in the best interest of the team, especially for an offensive line that was pretty shaky for most of last year.

We haven't had security in the position since Justin Smiley left the team. Isn't it time the team got serious about the position?

It would all make sense if they thought the competition with Kilgore, Looney or Slowey was good enough to fill RG. But having our only backup T spend valuable practice time competing with these guys? I don't get it.

I'm glad that Boone is finally getting a legit chance to earn a starting spot. After his journey from highly rated draft prospect, to being an undrafted free agent, and after all the effort he has put into transforming himself from flabby to lean and mean. Great job kid, keep up the good work and let's get SB ring number 6!

Also I don't think that his height is that big of a deal. With good coaching, sound technique and plenty of practice, he should be fine. Kevin Gogan was 6'7" and he seems to have been fine at guard, Pro-Bowl in fact. LoL, I'll never forget how he got kicked out of the Pro-Bowl for fighting!

GO NINERS!!!

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Sorry to ruin the party, but.....Wouldn't it be smart if we actually found one person who is clearly competent to start, instead of giving try-outs to four players hoping that one emerges to start, and hoping that they play at the same level as Adam Snyder, who wasn't even very good last year.

I know that some have supreme confidence that Baalke has this all figured out, but in regards to right guards I have two words that may blow that bubble....Chilo Rachal. He was the answer at right guard going into last year, and we all know how that ended up.

The team should have ended this drama in free agency or in the draft, but we will probably go deep into the summer hoping and praying that someone emerges. That is not in the best interest of the team, especially for an offensive line that was pretty shaky for most of last year.

We haven't had security in the position since Justin Smiley left the team. Isn't it time the team got serious about the position?

Harbaugh likes competition, so I'm fine with a bit of flux in the OLine but the competition should be among solid potential starters, not late round rookies and second year players.Most linemen take a few years to learn how to play in the NFL and the 9ers have had to train young guys and put them in as rookies because they did not value the line under Nolan, who left the cupboard bare.

Funny how the 9ers had Smiley, Heitmann and Kosier and didn't appreciate what they had. While I agree that I would have liked a FA to solidify the line, I am hoping that Harbaugh knows more about these young linemen than I do (which is undoubtable).

So, my reason for wanting to shift Boone to starting OT and Davis to RG is to get as much experience as possible with the current group of players. I like many of the young guys but whether they are ready to start is a huge question mark to me. Looking down the road I could see Slowey, Looney and Kilgore as a strong interior line, but Slowey and Kilgore were developmental picks at best, and Looney may be as well.

At least they have a hungry, aggressive group of young linemen fighting for jobs as opposed to Rachal and Snyder, liked the latter but he was not the answer.

Yeah, I really don't get the problem here. The best outcome should be to

- give Boone all the reps at RT, start Boone at RT
- give Davis most of the reps at RG, start Davis at RG
- give Kilgore as many snaps as possible to battle Goodwin and Slowey at C
- give Person lots of snaps at LT and LG to see how he has progressed
- give Looney some snaps at both G positions as he develops as a backup

* IF..... IF Staley falls to injury? Then Boone kicks back to the LT and Davis takes RT
* IF..... IF Boone falls to injury? Then Davis kicks out to the RT spot and in comes Looney or Kilgore

We can say, "well if this guy gets injured, we're in trouble!" ... but how many teams don't have to say that if injury befalls their starting OT ???

I'd rather see Boone stay as the backup tackle, or perhaps replace Davis and move Davis inside.

That being said, I'm very glad the 49ers didn't expend another early pick on an offensive lineman. I hope they don't for the next 5 years or so. Especially guards. Seriously, that's insane. They already have 3 1st round picks on the o-line, that must be some kind of NFL record.

Originally posted by BrianGO:
Completely agree.

Let's say Boone wins the job at RG. Sounds great right? Because you want the best players on the field.
Here's the problem: He gets injured, (happens all the time to starters) and now we have no backup LT, no backup RT. Instead we have a bunch of wishes and hopes and stuff like, "Well the coaches seem to like Person."

That is not good enough for a team trying to compete for a ring. You need a reliable backup T who is ready to go if someone goes down.
We could afford to have Snyder as the swing man BECAUSE we had Boone ready to come into a game.

Risking all three of your proven tackles to injury makes no sense. If we are forced to resort to this, then we should have made a bigger commitment to sign a free agent or get a better draft pick. Boone should be focusing at T, an extremely important position, not guard. This isn't high school football. You need a committed backup T in the NFL.

Not sure where this argument leads us.

Injuries occur at practice and in the weight room, as well as in the game.

If Boone wins the starting job at right guard and one of the tackles is injured, Boone moves to tackle and his back-up starts at guard.

Now, if two of our tackles are injured, we really do have a serious problem, but we would have that problem whether Boone plays guard or not.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2012/05/10/on-second-thought-boone-embracing-move-to-guard/

http://www.49ers.com/media-gallery/videos/Boone-Working-Out-at-Guard/6416555b-0602-4e1b-bf5e-6437c09bf4b3

Saw on 49ers.com that Alex Boone has been working at OG. I think this is a terrific idea. Best way to make sure you have the best five offensive lineman on the field at the same time. It will be interesting to see if he can win a job there. I think his competition with Kilgore, Looney, and Person (although Person is considered more the secondary backup swing guy) will ultimately show us what the best lineup along the OL will be.

Overall, at the very least I think this gives us tremendous depth across the whole line.

LT: Staley, Boone, Person
LG: Iupati, Kilgore, Looney, Slowey
C: Goodwin, Slowey, Kilgore, Person, Looney
RG: Kilgore, Boone, Looney, Person, Slowey
RT: Davis, Boone, Person

If the team firmly believes Boone has a shot to win that job, and he DOES win it, it will definitely make the unexpected passing on OL prospects Glenn, Konz, Silatolu, etc. look much more sensible.

Good points. It will be interesting to see what actually happens.

If Boone and staley get injured you can pretty much pack up the bags and call it a season.

Seems like most of the zone prefers to keep Boone at the tackle spot.

I just want the best 5 out there. I don't care where they play. And worrying about keeping Boone at swing tackle because of injury is just not right at all. The best 5 start its that simple. Boone has definitely earned the right to challenge for that spot considering he's been here longer than any of the other players trying to earn it! His height has nothing to do with that. The coaches will fine the best lineup. I have faith!

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Sorry to ruin the party, but.....Wouldn't it be smart if we actually found one person who is clearly competent to start, instead of giving try-outs to four players hoping that one emerges to start, and hoping that they play at the same level as Adam Snyder, who wasn't even very good last year.

I know that some have supreme confidence that Baalke has this all figured out, but in regards to right guards I have two words that may blow that bubble....Chilo Rachal. He was the answer at right guard going into last year, and we all know how that ended up.

The team should have ended this drama in free agency or in the draft, but we will probably go deep into the summer hoping and praying that someone emerges. That is not in the best interest of the team, especially for an offensive line that was pretty shaky for most of last year.

We haven't had security in the position since Justin Smiley left the team. Isn't it time the team got serious about the position?

Translation: If the team drafted how I would have we would have a roster full of All Pros and at least 10 more superbowl rings.

Originally posted by 5280High:
Translation: If the team drafted how I would have we would have a roster full of All Pros and at least 10 more superbowl rings.

At least we wouldn't have a guy playing RG with a gigantic question mark on his back instead of a number. So, the answer is "Yes". How many years do we have to play with someone not fit to start at right guard before we say...how about we find a legitimate starting right guard and solve this issue once and for all.

Right now, we are playing games at the position.

Finally, not 10 rings, 12. Get it straight.