What is your biggest priority for improving the 2013 roster?

We should draft on the DL, resign Goldson, and go after Revis.

Originally posted by GNielsen:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Likewise. I know we have been talking about getting, FINALLY, getting that prototypical NT who can clog both gaps AND collapse the step-up lane. This is a huge must if you ever want Brooks/Aldon to consistently get sacks and it aids Cowboy and a possible rotation there (praying). I wouldn't mind someone pushing McDonald either.

Man, not only is your thought process similar to many but you obviously have done your research as well.

With the new stadium, exciting explosive offense, 14 draft picks, 17 or 22 starters signed, etc. we are not THAT team FA's are going to want to play for...and chance at a Superbowl. Period. We still have some work to be done but at least now, our work is cut out for us!

There are prospects for that in the draft. Jesse Williams should be there at the bottom of the first - 6'3", 320 lbs, non-stop motor; John Jenkins, 6'4", 359 lbs, should be there at the end of the first or into the mid second; Johnathan Hankins, 6'4", 320lbs around the same place as Jenkins; Brandon Williams, 6'2", 340 lbs should be there at the end of the second or early third; and there's a player named Kwame Geathers out of Georgia at 6'5", 355 lbs who should still be there in the fourth or fifth.

I'm just saying there are a lot of very large defensive tackles in this draft. And there are a bunch of tall DE's in the 285 to 300 lbs range in the first three rounds.

This makes me very happy!

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by GNielsen:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Likewise. I know we have been talking about getting, FINALLY, getting that prototypical NT who can clog both gaps AND collapse the step-up lane. This is a huge must if you ever want Brooks/Aldon to consistently get sacks and it aids Cowboy and a possible rotation there (praying). I wouldn't mind someone pushing McDonald either.

Man, not only is your thought process similar to many but you obviously have done your research as well.

With the new stadium, exciting explosive offense, 14 draft picks, 17 or 22 starters signed, etc. we are not THAT team FA's are going to want to play for...and chance at a Superbowl. Period. We still have some work to be done but at least now, our work is cut out for us!

There are prospects for that in the draft. Jesse Williams should be there at the bottom of the first - 6'3", 320 lbs, non-stop motor; John Jenkins, 6'4", 359 lbs, should be there at the end of the first or into the mid second; Johnathan Hankins, 6'4", 320lbs around the same place as Jenkins; Brandon Williams, 6'2", 340 lbs should be there at the end of the second or early third; and there's a player named Kwame Geathers out of Georgia at 6'5", 355 lbs who should still be there in the fourth or fifth.

I'm just saying there are a lot of very large defensive tackles in this draft. And there are a bunch of tall DE's in the 285 to 300 lbs range in the first three rounds.

This makes me very happy!

Makes me happy as well! I am puzzled by Sopoaga's game though...and believe it is more the nature of the defense than his ability level. He is basically a sacrificial lamb taking up space, getting double teamed, so that the LBs can play clean. Not sure these young guys will do a better job given the scheme. If one of them can really move the pocket back single-handedly...wow and get him!

Edit: Sopoaga is/has been one of the strongest guys on the team and is also very quick...the reason for my apprehension.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Makes me happy as well! I am puzzled by Sopoaga's game though...and believe it is more the nature of the defense than his ability level. He is basically a sacrificial lamb taking up space, getting double teamed, so that the LBs can play clean. Not sure these young guys will do a better job given the scheme. If one of them can really move the pocket back single-handedly...wow and get him!

Edit: Sopoaga is/has been one of the strongest guys on the team and is also very quick...the reason for my apprehension.

You just described the general nature of what a 3-4 NT is supposed to do, Soap just isn't very good at it. He gets locked down by a single blocker far too often and doesn't excel at stopping either the run or rushing the passer. Mediocre player that did remarkably well last year considering he was pushed into this role, but he's just not a starting caliber NT, nothing wrong with that, but in a 3-4, you can't afford to have your NT be the weak spot on your DL.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
You just described the general nature of what a 3-4 NT is supposed to do, Soap just isn't very good at it. He gets locked down by a single blocker far too often and doesn't excel at stopping either the run or rushing the passer. Mediocre player that did remarkably well last year considering he was pushed into this role, but he's just not a starting caliber NT.

Yes, that description was intentional. My point is that folks expect Sop to be in the backfield making sacks when his job is to hold the middle and let Willis and Bowman make tackles at the LOS. My disagreement with you is that I believe he has done his job as well as most on the team have done theirs. If there is a guy out there who will be better as a rookie, then fine draft him. But those guys are rare and to plan for that is unrealistic.

Sop was a NT before he moved to DLE. He did not like playing NT and wanted to use his physical attributes on the side, but was not dynamic enough from the end position. He agreed to move inside, gained weight and has done OK. Just how successful were teams running up the middle on the 9ers? Not very in my opinion. They were more successful running over their right tackles.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by mayo49:
Ok, we need a deep threat. A deep threat is usually a #1, a Calvin Johnson type. A bigger 6'4" type with speed and leaping ability.

Um.....Victor Cruz is a deep threat, Torrey Smith is a deep threat, Desean Jackson is a deep threat.....etc



I have no idea what you're trying to say here other than....."#1 WR's MUST be SUPER BIG and SUPER FAST" and reality just doesn't support that.

Desean Jackson, Hakeem Nicks, Greg Jennings, Steve Smith, Reggie Wayne.....none of those guys are huge and are still dominant WR's.


Now if you're talking about the 49ers drafting another Calvin Johnson or an AJ Green, good luck with that, guys who are that gifted physically almost never get out of the Top 5 picks of the draft.


Crabtree is a #1 WR in the NFL, not sure how anyone can doubt that anymore after this season. Now if you're arguing that the 49ers need a Victor Cruz type guy in the slot, that's fine, but dissing Crabtree because he's not Calvin Johnson, the most dominant wide receiver in the NFL, is asinine.

I just don't think Crabtree's natural position is that of a #1. And, yes I feel a #1 reciever is a taller, faster reciever. Let's just agree to disagree. Hope we just can find someone to play opposite Crabs because he can't do it all alone.

Sign Goldson, Walker, RJF, and get Talib in free agency, DL in draft, maybe one more receiver in the draft or free agency since Manningham wont be back for a while.

Lock Goldson Down!
Get a Wr Draft (not real deep) or FA: Jennings? Need a tough guy.
First Pick could be DL. Need to start thinking long term too to replace J. Smith.
Cornerback! Big Fast Physical. Revis makes sense. I wouldn't be worried about his knee.

DEPTH DEPTH DEPTH!

Bye bye: Alex, Akers, Randy

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Yes, that description was intentional. My point is that folks expect Sop to be in the backfield making sacks when his job is to hold the middle and let Willis and Bowman make tackles at the LOS. My disagreement with you is that I believe he has done his job as well as most on the team have done theirs. If there is a guy out there who will be better as a rookie, then fine draft him. But those guys are rare and to plan for that is unrealistic.

Sop was a NT before he moved to DLE. He did not like playing NT and wanted to use his physical attributes on the side, but was not dynamic enough from the end position. He agreed to move inside, gained weight and has done OK. Just how successful were teams running up the middle on the 9ers? Not very in my opinion. They were more successful running over their right tackle

The 49ers ability to stop the run has more to do with all the exceptional talent around Soap than any particular contributions by him. Like I said, he's a mediocre NT, he gets beat by a single blocker far too often, allowing RB's to get into the second level, he's not consistent and his performance has been subpar, one reason I suspect his percentage of snaps dropped this year from last while the rest of the DL played a relatively similar amount of snaps.

There's no coincidence that in games where he struggled a lot, the 49ers as a whole struggled on defense, even if other individual players around him performed fairly well and stuck to their assignments.

I would let go of Dashon (or trade him)

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Makes me happy as well! I am puzzled by Sopoaga's game though...and believe it is more the nature of the defense than his ability level. He is basically a sacrificial lamb taking up space, getting double teamed, so that the LBs can play clean. Not sure these young guys will do a better job given the scheme. If one of them can really move the pocket back single-handedly...wow and get him!

Edit: Sopoaga is/has been one of the strongest guys on the team and is also very quick...the reason for my apprehension.

You just described the general nature of what a 3-4 NT is supposed to do, Soap just isn't very good at it. He gets locked down by a single blocker far too often and doesn't excel at stopping either the run or rushing the passer. Mediocre player that did remarkably well last year considering he was pushed into this role, but he's just not a starting caliber NT, nothing wrong with that, but in a 3-4, you can't afford to have your NT be the weak spot on your DL.

I've said this to other people and I'm glad people feel the same. The NT is probably the most important part of a 3-4 D. We had guys in there to keep us going but what I want out of this draft is a Haloti Ngata type guy. I don't know who compares to him in this years draft but if there is one, I say trade however many picks to get him. We have 14 picks and maybe more with an Alex trade. 14 guys will not make this Pro-bowl roster filled team. They will be waisted picks. We need to trade away for future draft picks or group picks together to trade up etc...

We have a lot of talent on D but a good NT will make teams one dimensional. They won't be able to run on us. That was the case 2 years ago but this year it was up and down.

Whether you agree or not, who is most like Ngata in this years draft?

Originally posted by jacklegniner:
I've said this to other people and I'm glad people feel the same. The NT is probably the most important part of a 3-4 D. We had guys in there to keep us going but what I want out of this draft is a Haloti Ngata type guy. I don't know who compares to him in this years draft but if there is one, I say trade however many picks to get him. We have 14 picks and maybe more with an Alex trade. 14 guys will not make this Pro-bowl roster filled team. They will be waisted picks. We need to trade away for future draft picks or group picks together to trade up etc...

We have a lot of talent on D but a good NT will make teams one dimensional. They won't be able to run on us. That was the case 2 years ago but this year it was up and down.

Whether you agree or not, who is most like Ngata in this years draft?

I don't think there are any Ngata caliber players in this draft, but the closest similar player to him is Star Lotulelei, who will go in the top 5 and Jonathan Hankins, who will go anywhere from 8-28. Both are in the 320 range.

I believe Seattle will be looking for D lineman also

Originally posted by jacklegniner:
I've said this to other people and I'm glad people feel the same. The NT is probably the most important part of a 3-4 D. We had guys in there to keep us going but what I want out of this draft is a Haloti Ngata type guy. I don't know who compares to him in this years draft but if there is one, I say trade however many picks to get him. We have 14 picks and maybe more with an Alex trade. 14 guys will not make this Pro-bowl roster filled team. They will be waisted picks. We need to trade away for future draft picks or group picks together to trade up etc...

We have a lot of talent on D but a good NT will make teams one dimensional. They won't be able to run on us. That was the case 2 years ago but this year it was up and down.

Whether you agree or not, who is most like Ngata in this years draft?

There's no guys like Ngata but Jesse Williams is similar in the regard that he's very versatile, you can move him around along the defensive line as he can play pretty much anywhere. He won't give you much in the way of pass rush but he's an absolute beast in terms of holding his ground, controlling his assignment, stuffing the run and engaging multiple blockers.

Dana Stubblefield

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
The 49ers ability to stop the run has more to do with all the exceptional talent around Soap than any particular contributions by him. Like I said, he's a mediocre NT, he gets beat by a single blocker far too often, allowing RB's to get into the second level, he's not consistent and his performance has been subpar, one reason I suspect his percentage of snaps dropped this year from last while the rest of the DL played a relatively similar amount of snaps.

There's no coincidence that in games where he struggled a lot, the 49ers as a whole struggled on defense, even if other individual players around him performed fairly well and stuck to their assignments.

Sop has never been one of my favoites but he has done a pretty good job at NT the passed two years. I've never liked a three man line until this team switched and now they are winning me over...sort of. It is so hard to find a dominant NT who can collapse the pocket that I always thought it easier to use four linemen. Of course, this team does that often when Aldon puts his hand down or they sub for Sop.

This year wavered more when J Smith was injured, then the line seemed less impactful. I really watched the middle and while Sop did not get the push we would all like, he was very seldom pushed out of position. Perhas we have a difference of opinion based on expectations? If one or two of these 6'5" 340lbers are truley great then fine, but I don't think they will automatically be as good or as consistent as Sop.