Could the 49ers have S Trent Robinson in mind for the slot cover guy?

It would be excellent if he could come in and contribute - especially as a 6th rounder.

Robinson would probably be best fit as a slot cover corner than anywhere on the field as a safety. He gets run over and outmuscled by most physical players and is not a special teams presence. If he doesn't show anything this pre-season, and I'm not expecting much, I believe he'll be cut.

I can't see why not. Give him a shot and see if he can do it

I think slot will fall to T. brown this year... if like i am hoping Nhamdi and culliver (contrary to opinion Culliver played well for most of last year just not so much in the Playoffs but if he keeps his head on straight he can be one of the better outside corners in the leauge and he showed that during the regular season last year) can play the outside well enough both of them are more suited to cover bigger bodied recievers and I would not put either of them inside against smaller more shifty player who usually play in the slot. If they can be the press corners outside that leaves Cox, rodgers, and T. Brown to battle for covering the slot and in my opinion T. Brown will be by far the best of the 3.

So I am calling it now T. Brown will spend alot of time covering the slot this year and I am happy about it!

I know for a fact I remember reading how much Donatell and Fangio liked Perrish Cox last year..they viewed last year as a year for him to learn, I think the 9ers brass expect him to step up big time this year...maybe even beat out rogers. time will tell but I think the reason they didn't feel they needed to sign a CB was because they are confident in perrish cox

Originally posted by iLL49er:
I know for a fact I remember reading how much Donatell and Fangio liked Perrish Cox last year..they viewed last year as a year for him to learn, I think the 9ers brass expect him to step up big time this year...maybe even beat out rogers. time will tell but I think the reason they didn't feel they needed to sign a CB was because they are confident in perrish cox

Ahhh, Perrish Cox. Still a great (and at the same time cringe worthy) name

Originally posted by KowboyKiller:

Originally posted by Squidp:
Cox can play the slot.

I'd put Cox in the slot.

I also would enjoy Cox in the slot.

Originally posted by Riot:

I also would enjoy Cox in the slot.

I agree Cox could be a great fit in the slot. If Cox can handle being in the slot, then put him in there. Didn't he get in trouble when he played in the slot in Denver? Ok I'm done;)

I'm hoping that it's Trenton Robinson, but none of us really knows, including the writers. It's all speculation. I was hoping that we drafted another safety in the draft and the fact that we passed on them and waited so late to draft a corner tells me that the staff is happy with who they have and believe that there is at least one guy on the roster that can cover the slot receiver. I honestly don't care who it is. But if it ends up being Trenton Robinson, it only helps the perception of the 2012 draft class. If he can actually be a starter on this team, even better.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Robinson would probably be best fit as a slot cover corner than anywhere on the field as a safety. He gets run over and outmuscled by most physical players and is not a special teams presence. If he doesn't show anything this pre-season, and I'm not expecting much, I believe he'll be cut.

I was thinking about Robinson as a slot guy because even though he is not a burner over 40-50 yards, he is quick in small spaces and supposedly a good tackler. It is that quickness that the other Niner CBs appear to lack. I agree with you though, OTC... He has got to prove to the coaches that he can do more than one thing if he is going to make the team this year.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
I'm hoping that it's Trenton Robinson, but none of us really knows, including the writers. It's all speculation. I was hoping that we drafted another safety in the draft and the fact that we passed on them and waited so late to draft a corner tells me that the staff is happy with who they have and believe that there is at least one guy on the roster that can cover the slot receiver. I honestly don't care who it is. But if it ends up being Trenton Robinson, it only helps the perception of the 2012 draft class. If he can actually be a starter on this team, even better.

I don't care who it is either... I only hope that at least one guy can put the clamps on guys like Harvin and Austin.

I don't think it's really possible to cover a shifty slot receiver man on man. It is just too much of an advantage for them to start one way and then stick their foot in the ground and go back to the opposite direction. Nearly impossible to cover unless you scheme some sort of bracket coverage on the cut-back route. Essentially, your other CB's have to play underneath zone in with eyes back to the QB - but in essence they are also watching to see if guys like Harvin are coming back into their zone. Then it is all about the right angle and good tackling to limit their big plays.

Ironically, guys like Harvin are especially dangerous when you don't regularly face that type of player. Then D players are used to their speed and acceleration. But if we have a few of them in our division, then the defense can get more skilled at stopping them. It might take a season, but with Harvin and Tavon in our division now, hopefully we will be much better against this threat soon. (I hope, LOL)

Originally posted by Riot:

Originally posted by KowboyKiller:

Originally posted by Squidp:
Cox can play the slot.

I'd put Cox in the slot.

I also would enjoy Cox in the slot.

I'm worried he hasn't played there in a while, he might be a little rusty and jump on the first move. He can practice by himself all he wants in the offseason, but he needs someone to match up against

Originally posted by HearstFan:
I don't think it's really possible to cover a shifty slot receiver man on man. It is just too much of an advantage for them to start one way and then stick their foot in the ground and go back to the opposite direction. Nearly impossible to cover unless you scheme some sort of bracket coverage on the cut-back route. Essentially, your other CB's have to play underneath zone in with eyes back to the QB - but in essence they are also watching to see if guys like Harvin are coming back into their zone. Then it is all about the right angle and good tackling to limit their big plays.

Ironically, guys like Harvin are especially dangerous when you don't regularly face that type of player. Then D players are used to their speed and acceleration. But if we have a few of them in our division, then the defense can get more skilled at stopping them. It might take a season, but with Harvin and Tavon in our division now, hopefully we will be much better against this threat soon. (I hope, LOL)

I agree with your first paragraph and the bolded bit is key. It is up to the whole defence to swarm the ball and ensure they only get 3/4 yards max. If you can severely limit plays from the slot (pressure on the QB, quick tackles forcing drops and wrap up tackling to stop YAC) and occasionally force a turnover (see Culliver vs Atlanta) it won't be "cost effective" to use slot players.

Also our run defence should be key, forcing teams into 2nd/3rd and long (7/8 yards)

Originally posted by RabidNiner:

Originally posted by Squidp:
Cox can play the slot.

^^^^ This guy's a big fan of Cox in the slot.