What is your biggest priority for improving the 2013 roster?

We need some depth.

Who's behind Willis, Bowman, A. Smith and Brooks? Well, at least we'll get Haralsan back next year. Grant's decent as well.

Who's behind J. Smith, McDonald and Sopoaga? Jean Francois, that's about it.

We have practically no depth. I don't even want to get into our secondary. Cully had a horrible game, but I believe he'll be fine down the stretch. Whiter has become a liabilty. Goldson is great, but we're not even guaranteed to have him next year. Our secondary is in shambles. We need some help back there, with starters and reserves.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by crabman82:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by crabman82:

Originally posted by Joecool:
I wonder how much better or worse our defense would be if we blitzed more?

i saw a stat around after the 10 or 12 game mark that mike sando tweeted saying that the pressure we got on the qb when we blitzed 5 or more was pretty pathetic and rather low ranking amongst the other teams. we actually had more success in terms of sacks when we brought just 4.

I think that's due to a lack or creative blitzes. Every time we blitz it's a simple a gap blitz with Willis or Bowman. And when they do blitz they just run right into the pass blocker They don't have any moves or pass rush skills, and get stonewalled. They need to blitz them both or put Aldon and Brooks in teh middle for a play and let them blitz. Barely seen any safety blitzes this year either.

something that needs to be discussed is fangio. when we hired him it was pointed out how his D's get worse statistically every season he has been there. we didnt slip per say in year long rankings, but you could see the fall after the NE game. something to monitor going forward.

Agreed, scheme an coaching and not fully utilizing our 4 LB's in the best manner.

Exaclty it seems like all they use Willis and Bowman for is coverage and it's made them passive. I've never seen Aldon line up next to Brooks on the same side with Justin. Minus that int that Brooks had vs the Saints I rarely see any zone blitzes. Gotta create or at least try to create some confusion. Might make the qb hold the ball for 1 second longer. Once Smith got hurt it was time to start mixing up the scheme. Can't play straight up with your bulls injured.

Originally posted by qnnhan7:
I thought Soap did ok this year. The front line wasn't as stout against the run this year as last, but I don't remember a lot of runs up the middle either...

Ranked as one of the very worst DT's/NT's in football. Are you kidding me? This team got gashed up the middle, especially by bigger backs, there were times like against Seattle when it seemed like they couldn't stop the run at all. Soap had the best year of his career last year, and even then was merely an adequate NT.

Originally posted by 5timechamps:
we need a lockdown corner,and more quality depth on the dl.imo

Yes, and that's what they're going to be concentrating on. Not more receivers.

Chris Canty and Seymour on 2 year deals. That would give us a great D line rotation. On 3rd downs we can go Smith, Smith Seymour, and Brooks as the front 4.

Secondaries and D Line depth, IMO.

- 98

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
I abolutely agree, he's a great weapon, as is VD, they need to build the passing offense around those two guys, add pieces to complement what both of them do. In the draft I like Quinton Patton of Louisiana Tech considerably, he's got top WR potential, has been compared to Reggie Wayne, I think he has the tools to be even better than that, he's also a monster after the catch, has terrific quickness and extremely reliable hands, the ideal guy opposite Crabtree. In the slot I think you have to give AJ Jenkins a chance, let him compete with Kyle Williams and possibly a later round draft pick or undrafted free agent, someone with speed, their whole role is to stretch the defense and create matchup problems.

I'd also like to see an upgrade at TE to replace Delanie Walker, a bigger, more traditional type of TE that can expose holes in a defense, a big physical target that is a major threat in the redzone.

I also think that Crabtree can be a terrific threat in the endzone, but Kaepernick really struggles finding the touch in that area of the field, they need to work together a lot more often because Crabtree's been able to get quick separation in the endzone a lot but the passes just haven't gotten where they needed to be.

Nice plan! Scheme/coaching, again can go a long way. I loved how the Raven's used Rice. He started in backfield and at the snap sprinted to a short spot, Flacco hit him in stride and he was off and running for a first down. We never use Gore/Hunter/James like that!

Jenkins in the slot with Williams and even Manningham sounds great. A WCO prototypical WR and TE (modern day 6'6" type) in this passing offense could go a long long long ways.

Remember, we're facing big, taller, physical PED CB's and DB's these days. Crabtree can handle that fairly well and Manningham is lightning off the LOS but having a big, reliable WR in there esp. in those Boldin-on-Rogers moments are critical to moving the chains, getting in the EZ and freeing up the other guys in VD, 2nd TE, Ctabtree, Manningham/Jenkins/Williams and even CK/Gore/Hunter/James.

True, CK and Crabtree need to work on quicker passes in the RZ, timing, running routes IN the EZ, free-lancing, looking to the TE's more, swing passes (WCO staple) and even naked bootlegs. We need some work on 3rd downs and esp. in the RZ!

Get me Dwayne Bowe!

WR, dline, kicker

Like Phoenix said and I concur, get that Zero-gap NT like Wilfolk so The Cowboy doesn't have to do the brunt of the work while dispelling him more...kinda of like what happened to Gore this year with both Hunter and James going in for him. Kept his legs fresher for the playoffs and what a difference. There a number of good to great NTs in the draft especially in first to the second round. These three young men all have played the 5-tech as well, J. Williams, J. Hankins and J. Jenkins. Of the three, Jenkins was a beast at the Senior Bowl and he's right on the 1-2 cusp, too, right where we pick. He's my choice for NT and he could compete immediately seeing how we may lose one or two of our DTs. All three would be of more value to Baalke as they're all versatile. Jenkins, though, is the kind of beef we've needed for a long time....

oh, since Wilfolk...still pisses me off!

The other glaring need is at CB! I really hope we make a play for Revis as he would instantly upgrade that secondary. The other CB I like is Smith from Miami. I hope we can land a good player with our second rounder, even move up to get our next young man either at CB, OLB or 5-Tech DE. I like the Hunt kid to develop and rotate in to dispel J. Smith or Ray Mac. In the FA pool, both Seymour and Starks stand out for our needs. We also need another pass rusher to rotate in for both Brooks and Smith. A three guy rotation at OLB would give these guys better legs at the end of the season, the same with the good ol' Cowboy.

So in my dream world:

---------------------------------------------Cowboy--------------------J. Jenkins--------------------------RayMac-------------------------------------------

Culliver----------------------A. Smith------------------P. Willis--------------------N. Bowman-------------------A. Brooks--------------------Revis

----------------------------------------------D. Goldson---------------------------------------------------D. Whitner--------------------------------------------


IMO, a Zero-Tech NT is the biggest need.

"Where the fatties at?"

Originally posted by ninertico:
Like Phoenix said and I concur, get that Zero-gap NT like Wilfolk so The Cowboy doesn't have to do the brunt of the work while dispelling him more...kinda of like what happened to Gore this year with both Hunter and James going in for him. Kept his legs fresher for the playoffs and what a difference. There a number of good to great NTs in the draft especially in first to the second round. These three young men all have played the 5-tech as well, J. Williams, J. Hankins and J. Jenkins. Of the three, Jenkins was a beast at the Senior Bowl and he's right on the 1-2 cusp, too, right where we pick. He's my choice for NT and he could compete immediately seeing how we may lose one or two of our DTs. All three would be of more value to Baalke as they're all versatile. Jenkins, though, is the kind of beef we've needed for a long time....

oh, since Wilfolk...still pisses me off!

The other glaring need is at CB! I really hope we make a play for Revis as he would instantly upgrade that secondary. The other CB I like is Smith from Miami. I hope we can land a good player with our second rounder, even move up to get our next young man either at CB, OLB or 5-Tech DE. I like the Hunt kid to develop and rotate in to dispel J. Smith or Ray Mac. In the FA pool, both Seymour and Starks stand out for our needs. We also need another pass rusher to rotate in for both Brooks and Smith. A three guy rotation at OLB would give these guys better legs at the end of the season, the same with the good ol' Cowboy.

So in my dream world:

---------------------------------------------Cowboy--------------------J. Jenkins--------------------------RayMac-------------------------------------------

Culliver----------------------A. Smith------------------P. Willis--------------------N. Bowman-------------------A. Brooks--------------------Revis

----------------------------------------------D. Goldson---------------------------------------------------D. Whitner--------------------------------------------


IMO, a Zero-Tech NT is the biggest need.

"Where the fatties at?"

I like Datone Jones in the first as a rotational DE and potential replacement for Justin down the road and Brandon Williams in the 2nd as an NT to develop. A possibility is to bring back Aubrayo Franklin on the cheap as he's a more natural fit at the NT spot and have him and Williams rotate regularly.

We need to worry a lot more about keeping the players we have then throwing money at someone on another team. We have WR's; they just got hurt, it happens. In fact, we are lucky we had no injuries on the O-line, we are one of a handful of teams to get away with it.
We just need to solidify our depth and concentrate on the players we HAVE. The longer a team stays together, the better they get. The video game mentality is what ruined the Eagles, and it continues to ruin teams like the Redskins, Bears etc. TEAMS win championships. We need to get more experience with the players we have.
Hell, how long have Ed Reed and Ray Lewis been playing together? At least twice as long as Willis and Smith. How long has Flacco been their quarterback? For years. The Ravens were knocking on the door for years. We do not need dramatic changes, we just need to keep our core group together.

Originally posted by BrianGO:
We need to worry a lot more about keeping the players we have then throwing money at someone on another team. We have WR's; they just got hurt, it happens. In fact, we are lucky we had no injuries on the O-line, we are one of a handful of teams to get away with it.
We just need to solidify our depth and concentrate on the players we HAVE. The longer a team stays together, the better they get. The video game mentality is what ruined the Eagles, and it continues to ruin teams like the Redskins, Bears etc. TEAMS win championships. We need to get more experience with the players we have.
Hell, how long have Ed Reed and Ray Lewis been playing together? At least twice as long as Willis and Smith. How long has Flacco been their quarterback? For years. The Ravens were knocking on the door for years. We do not need dramatic changes, we just need to keep our core group together.

This. Keep building through the draft, add mid-tier free agents here and there, but focus primarily on the draft. I don't want to see any big money free agents and the 49ers really can't afford any either. In 2015 or before, the 49ers will have to re-sign Kaepernick, Crabtree, Aldon, Iupati and others. That will take A LOT of cap space, that is why I endorse the spendthrift approach and not blowing big money on outside free agents.

What do you guys think about moving Culliver to FS? We would then need to find a nickel CB. Wonder which position would be easier to find, SS or nickel CB?

Originally posted by Joecool:
What do you guys think about moving Culliver to FS? We would then need to find a nickel CB. Wonder which position would be easier to find, SS or nickel CB?

My problem with Culliver is that he continually seems unable to find a ball in the air and contend for it. I'm not sure that problem would be fixed if he were a FS. How many times did we see Culliver allow a receiver to go up for a long pass this year when he had the guy covered and somehow didn't see the ball? Seemed like it happened at least once a game to me.

Originally posted by Joecool:
What do you guys think about moving Culliver to FS? We would then need to find a nickel CB. Wonder which position would be easier to find, SS or nickel CB?

It's the nickel corner since Goldson could slide over to SS.