Our Defensive Coordinator, Vic Fangio

Originally posted by BrianGO:

There is a player open in the middle. Obviously, Rodgers is a one-read quarterback.

Originally posted by thl408:

It's an unknown how Fangio will start off the year. My guess is he will aim high and try to get Ward/Bethea up to speed as quickly as possible. Once a couple games are played, we should be able to determine how comfortable Fangio is with the new guys. If Fangio is just playing straight up man or straight up zone, then we can deduce that he is not very confident in the new guy(s).

If we see the usual myriad of coverage calls to start the season, then it will speak to the high level of confidence he has in the newcomers. If Ward does not win the nickel CB job to start the season, I will assume that it's because he hasn't fully grasped the various concepts that the 49ers like to use in coverage. Either way, I think Reid has big shoes to fill (Whitner's) when it comes to being the 'QB of the secondary', unless Bethea assumes that role.

I believe Reid will be the QB of the secondary. Wasn't he an excellent student at LSU?

And didn't Ward say something after he was drafted about loving to study film? His ability to read an offense and anticipate plays is part of why he was drafted. Surely he's going to be able to grasp Fangio's schemes.

And didn't they say the same thing about Borland? He may not be a physical specimen, but he plays fast because he studies his opponents and is able to anticipate plays.

Hmm. Maybe it wasn't just arm length that Baalke was looking at this year.

Originally posted by Niners816:

Originally posted by BrianGO:
There is a player open in the middle. Obviously, Rodgers is a one-read quarterback.

HA

Originally posted by Giedi:

Yes, me too. This is going to be a big deal for me, because if these guys are busts, we're going down very fast this year, and we may not recover for a very long time.

Well if the entire draft and last year's injured draftees all simultaneously bust, we may have to do a little work. However without any of them we were generally accepted as the strongest and deepest roster in the NFL or the second strongest if you live in Seattle.

So, seriously, expressions like "going down very fast" and "may not recover for a very long time" are just ridiculous. I don't see how you can justify. A step backwards, yes. Highly, highly unlikely scenario, obviously.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Niners816:

Originally posted by BrianGO:
There is a player open in the middle. Obviously, Rodgers is a one-read quarterback.

HA

ROFLOL! He also had Lacy wide open for a few yards in the flat!!!!

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by thl408:
It's an unknown how Fangio will start off the year. My guess is he will aim high and try to get Ward/Bethea up to speed as quickly as possible. Once a couple games are played, we should be able to determine how comfortable Fangio is with the new guys. If Fangio is just playing straight up man or straight up zone, then we can deduce that he is not very confident in the new guy(s).

If we see the usual myriad of coverage calls to start the season, then it will speak to the high level of confidence he has in the newcomers. If Ward does not win the nickel CB job to start the season, I will assume that it's because he hasn't fully grasped the various concepts that the 49ers like to use in coverage. Either way, I think Reid has big shoes to fill (Whitner's) when it comes to being the 'QB of the secondary', unless Bethea assumes that role.

I believe Reid will be the QB of the secondary. Wasn't he an excellent student at LSU?

And didn't Ward say something after he was drafted about loving to study film? His ability to read an offense and anticipate plays is part of why he was drafted. Surely he's going to be able to grasp Fangio's schemes.

And didn't they say the same thing about Borland? He may not be a physical specimen, but he plays fast because he studies his opponents and is able to anticipate plays.

Hmm. Maybe it wasn't just arm length that Baalke was looking at this year.

I also think Reid will be the QB of the secondary over Bethea. I know Bethea is the long tenured vet, but he is new to the NFC so he may not be as familiar with the current offenses being ran. It's a good thing that the AFC South played the NFC West last season. That provides a bit of familiarity for Bethea with the divisional foes' current offenses. Still, I think Reid is cerebral enough to handle the duties in just his second season, over a long time vet in his first season within the 49er's scheme. If it does unfold this way, it will be odd to see the 2nd year player telling the 9th year vet where to line up and what to do.

That is good to hear about Ward/Borland, how they are students of the game. That always helps. I think being smart takes precedence over being athletic when talking about playing DB for the 49ers. This is why a gimpy CRogers was playing over Cox, even though Rogers is a slow poke.

Originally posted by English:

Well if the entire draft and last year's injured draftees all simultaneously bust, we may have to do a little work. However without any of them we were generally accepted as the strongest and deepest roster in the NFL or the second strongest if you live in Seattle.

So, seriously, expressions like "going down very fast" and "may not recover for a very long time" are just ridiculous. I don't see how you can justify. A step backwards, yes. Highly, highly unlikely scenario, obviously.

We've drafted pretty much dead last for the last three years due to our winning record. We haven't drafted a top freakish athlete like a VD, Willis, or Aldon since 2011 and before. While we may get good athletes like a Reid that works well with Fangio's scheme. Guys like Aldon, like P Willis, or VD are freaks that go to the bottom feeding teams. There's not much of a margin for error in the draft nowadays. Houston Texans went from playoffs to the bottom of the barrel, and teams like KC, with some acquired talent go from bottom to playoffs. Don't think it can't happen here just because Harbaugh is our Coach and Trent is our GM. It can happen to any team if they make enough mistakes.

Originally posted by thl408:

I also think Reid will be the QB of the secondary over Bethea. I know Bethea is the long tenured vet, but he is new to the NFC so he may not be as familiar with the current offenses being ran. It's a good thing that the AFC South played the NFC West last season. That provides a bit of familiarity for Bethea with the divisional foes' current offenses. Still, I think Reid is cerebral enough to handle the duties in just his second season, over a long time vet in his first season within the 49er's scheme. If it does unfold this way, it will be odd to see the 2nd year player telling the 9th year vet where to line up and what to do.

That is good to hear about Ward/Borland, how they are students of the game. That always helps. I think being smart takes precedence over being athletic when talking about playing DB for the 49ers. This is why a gimpy CRogers was playing over Cox, even though Rogers is a slow poke.

Trent and Harbaugh together put a ton of draft capital into the pass coverage part of the Nickel defense. 4 DB's to be exact. Still, I think Fangio is going to rely a lot on pressure schemes to get it done, rather than coverage schemes. If there is one guy that needs to step up this year for the playoffs, it's Nick Moody. He's our Kam Chancellor and he has all the athletic tools to be like a hybrid DB/LB for us in the single high safety and press man. I hope it happens.

No surprise but Johnson is studying press coverage and getting coached up by Donatell on it (despite having to play off coverage during OTA's):

The San Francisco 49ers fourth-round draft pick was a double major at North Carolina State and is now getting versed in the techniques of several NFL cornerbacks these days. The group includes two of the taller standouts in the league: Champ Bailey and Richard Sherman.

"Those are the big two I've really been looking at for press techniques," San Francisco's 6-foot-2, 200-pound rookie said before the start of a three-day rookie minicamp.Johnson, however, won't be able to showcase what he's learned until later in the offseason. San Francisco's non-contact rookie camp will prohibit the young cornerback from using his long levers at the line of scrimmage.

"Given the rules, we're really not allowed to press, bump, or do anything like that," Johnson said. "We'll be playing a lot of off-technique, doing a lot of that in this camp. I look forward to it though."

Since joining the 49ers following the NFL Draft, Johnson has been reviewing the press-man techniques with secondary coach Ed Donatell.

The rookie has also familiarized himself with San Francisco's game tape from previous seasons, taking note of the efforts of his fellow 49ers defensive backs like Tramaine Brock and Chris Culliver.

http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/49ers-Rookie-Dontae-Johnson-Studies-Tall-CBs-Champ-Bailey-and-Richard-Sherman/96e4e11b-b91f-49f2-8174-a9b88831ddaa

Anyone else excited about this?

Originally posted by NCommand:

No surprise but Johnson is studying press coverage and getting coached up by Donatell on it (despite having to play off coverage during OTA's):

The San Francisco 49ers fourth-round draft pick was a double major at North Carolina State and is now getting versed in the techniques of several NFL cornerbacks these days. The group includes two of the taller standouts in the league: Champ Bailey and Richard Sherman.

"Those are the big two I've really been looking at for press techniques," San Francisco's 6-foot-2, 200-pound rookie said before the start of a three-day rookie minicamp.Johnson, however, won't be able to showcase what he's learned until later in the offseason. San Francisco's non-contact rookie camp will prohibit the young cornerback from using his long levers at the line of scrimmage.

"Given the rules, we're really not allowed to press, bump, or do anything like that," Johnson said. "We'll be playing a lot of off-technique, doing a lot of that in this camp. I look forward to it though."

Since joining the 49ers following the NFL Draft, Johnson has been reviewing the press-man techniques with secondary coach Ed Donatell.

The rookie has also familiarized himself with San Francisco's game tape from previous seasons, taking note of the efforts of his fellow 49ers defensive backs like Tramaine Brock and Chris Culliver.

http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/49ers-Rookie-Dontae-Johnson-Studies-Tall-CBs-Champ-Bailey-and-Richard-Sherman/96e4e11b-b91f-49f2-8174-a9b88831ddaa

Anyone else excited about this?

For whatever reason (nc?) you have attached yourself to this 4th round pick. Hopefully he doesn't suck lol

Originally posted by Giedi:
We've drafted pretty much dead last for the last three years due to our winning record. We haven't drafted a top freakish athlete like a VD, Willis, or Aldon since 2011 and before. While we may get good athletes like a Reid that works well with Fangio's scheme. Guys like Aldon, like P Willis, or VD are freaks that go to the bottom feeding teams. There's not much of a margin for error in the draft nowadays. Houston Texans went from playoffs to the bottom of the barrel, and teams like KC, with some acquired talent go from bottom to playoffs. Don't think it can't happen here just because Harbaugh is our Coach and Trent is our GM. It can happen to any team if they make enough mistakes.

What about Bowman in the 3rd? If he isn't a freak, I don't know who is. Kaep in the 2nd round is damn freaky too.

Originally posted by Bluesbro:
What about Bowman in the 3rd? If he isn't a freak, I don't know who is. Kaep in the 2nd round is damn freaky too.

They where 2011 and 2010, Watch a few of them 2013 draftee's gonna wreck it this year!!!

I don't want any team we face to score more than 9 points (PERIOD)

Originally posted by Bluesbro:
What about Bowman in the 3rd? If he isn't a freak, I don't know who is. Kaep in the 2nd round is damn freaky too.

Yes, very much so. I think Harbaugh got lucky (but I think he's such a good QB evaluator that I'd rather think he's that good) to get a gem like Colin. As for Bowman, he's also a freak, but we got him in the supplemental draft, because of our position was lower due to our record being bad the previous year. Again, the point is that the pick of Colin and Bowman were there because of our previously bad record. If we had to trade up in the second from 32nd or 29th to get Colin, I doubt we would have gotten Colin *and* Aldon.

Again, the odds of you getting a blue chip player is higher in the first couple of rounds than the last couple of rounds, statistically speaking. And I am speaking statisticaly, we've drafted in the last 4 - three straight years. It *will* catch up to you eventually. Even in the Dynasty years, we'd occasionally - every couple of years drop to 10-6 and we'd be able to pick up some decent players because of our draft position. So, I'm desperately hoping we will get to our 4rth straight NFC CG, but *statisically speaking* that has a good probability of *not* happeneing.

Originally posted by natrone06:

Originally posted by NCommand:
No surprise but Johnson is studying press coverage and getting coached up by Donatell on it (despite having to play off coverage during OTA's):

The San Francisco 49ers fourth-round draft pick was a double major at North Carolina State and is now getting versed in the techniques of several NFL cornerbacks these days. The group includes two of the taller standouts in the league: Champ Bailey and Richard Sherman.

"Those are the big two I've really been looking at for press techniques," San Francisco's 6-foot-2, 200-pound rookie said before the start of a three-day rookie minicamp.Johnson, however, won't be able to showcase what he's learned until later in the offseason. San Francisco's non-contact rookie camp will prohibit the young cornerback from using his long levers at the line of scrimmage.

"Given the rules, we're really not allowed to press, bump, or do anything like that," Johnson said. "We'll be playing a lot of off-technique, doing a lot of that in this camp. I look forward to it though."

Since joining the 49ers following the NFL Draft, Johnson has been reviewing the press-man techniques with secondary coach Ed Donatell.

The rookie has also familiarized himself with San Francisco's game tape from previous seasons, taking note of the efforts of his fellow 49ers defensive backs like Tramaine Brock and Chris Culliver.

http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/49ers-Rookie-Dontae-Johnson-Studies-Tall-CBs-Champ-Bailey-and-Richard-Sherman/96e4e11b-b91f-49f2-8174-a9b88831ddaa

Anyone else excited about this?

For whatever reason (nc?) you have attached yourself to this 4th round pick. Hopefully he doesn't suck lol

Bwhahaha! I just saw this...agreed!

MM did an article on him: http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/49ers-attracted-johnsons-combination-size-speed

I think I'm more intrigued by the idea that we may be looking at 50/50 press and off coverage schemes...which, BTW, that is what Johnson has done in his career as well. So just keep an eye out for him and see if he pushes Culliver for a starting spot. This draft was deep and they may have found a CB with great size and speed and just needs refinement.