are we underutilizing our players? the state of the franchise...

Who cannot see that LMJ is the most explosive player we have on our offense athletically? No one has his burst of speed. He may not be an every down back, but get the man some touches. They aren't even using him in the return game.

Originally posted by kazak13:

Originally posted by lamontb:
Moore isn't good
Hawkins isn't good
I agree with the screens but everytime they run them their timing is off
They have a lot talent hurt sitting on the bench, but not suited up on the bench

So you would rather have McDonald. Bruce Miller and even our OL Killgore ahead of Moore? Moore played real good during the pre-season on first team.. they gotta give them a chance.. I seen what Kyle Williams can do and thats about nothing.. Cant wait for Patton to step up. they dont even give them a chance.. how do you give a receiver a chance to go in rhythm when you got TE. FB and OL ahead of them on the depth chart.. and how many times do they open things up with 3 WR's..

Moore was given a chance. Out of that chance, he produced 1 catch. He's produced less than Kyle Williams, who everybody wants out. The preseason is the preseason. Hawkins is doing nothing for the Chargers right now.

Our best receiving threats AT THIS TIME are as follows:
1. Boldin
1A. Davis
2. Bruce Miller - yes...he has been a much more reliable receiver than all the other guys you mentioned.
3. Baldwin
3A. Williams

Everybody else, including McDonald, has been pretty much nonexistent but I think McDonald will eventually be worked into the mix as the season progresses. People want to believe so hard that there's a quick fix to our WR solutions. There isn't. Trading is not an option because you have to consider:

1. Just because a player is available for trade does not guarantee that the team wants to trade with us. We might not be willing to give them anybody they're interested in. They may not want a draft pick from a team expected to have a very low draft position like us.

2. Salary cap. We currently have about 950,000 worth of cap space. When you receive a traded player you receive their contract/salary. Not only this year but however many years are left on it. That's the reason A.J. Jenkens was traded for someone of similar contract value instead of released where he would've costed us considerable cap space. We have several KEY PLAYERS who will either be re-signed or allowed to leave next season because of cap space. You can't just simply pick a player on the trade block and expect it not to seriously impact our future cap situation.

3. Even if we do trade for a WR, what do we do with them once Crabtree and Manningham comes back? I expect the team to try to re-sign Crabtree next year. If not, the player we trade for not only has to fit within the team budget, but be a clear cut better choice than re-signing Crabtree.

Face it guys. There is no player available that we can just go out and get to fix our WR problems. This is not John Madden football or fantasy football. Rosters don't work that way in real life.

Originally posted by Liono:
Who cannot see that LMJ is the most explosive player we have on our offense athletically? No one has his burst of speed. He may not be an every down back, but get the man some touches. They aren't even using him in the return game.

My guess is that he hasn't given them a reason in practice to give him more touches. It's not like he watches practice from the sidelines. He gets on the field. Apparently he hasn't been explosive enough to warrant reducing Hunter's touches. He's definitely no good in pass protection, which the 49ers consider extremely important at the RB position.

I think the more James shows the coaches on the practice field, the more likely he'll be used in the situations you envision.

Originally posted by kazak13:

So you would rather have McDonald. Bruce Miller and even our OL Killgore ahead of Moore? Moore played real good during the pre-season on first team.. they gotta give them a chance.. I seen what Kyle Williams can do and thats about nothing.. Cant wait for Patton to step up. they dont even give them a chance.. how do you give a receiver a chance to go in rhythm when you got TE. FB and OL ahead of them on the depth chart.. and how many times do they open things up with 3 WR's..

Moore played okay against dudes that aren't even in the league anymore. Same with Hawkins. He was given a chance at the start of the season and contributed absolutely nothing which is why he is riding the bench. The coaching staff sees him every day; if they were confident in his ability don't you think he'd be out there, especially considering how thin our WR depth is? Playing time is earned, not given. You have to be pretty bad if Kyle Williams getting more looks than you lol.

Osgood is a really good special teamer!

At this point I think LaMichael James will be traded. Especially considering we will need to make room for Carradine, Dial, Manningham, and Crabtree.

LMJ as the primary KR/PR he is better than Kyle Williams

Throw a ball to Jon Baldwin every once in a while. See if he can actually play

with VD lighting it up, time to start throwing to Vance McDonald

Originally posted by pdizo916:
Lamike is under utilized
no screen plays are happening
we do not blitz enough

James is not under utilized. He's undersized!! We've all seen what James has to offer. Fumbles and getting blown up by defensive lineman. None of this is the real problem with James. Everyone keeps saying bring James in and run more screens. The problem is that when he comes in the offense becomes too predictable. He's so far the down the depth chart that when he's in there it limits us to mainly screens and outside runs. You know the 49ers aren't going to run his ass up the middle. He's too light. You know the 49ers aren't going to pass. Kid can't block! That's why they don't use James more because it instantly tips our hand to the defense when he's in there because he got no all around game.

We probably blew a pick on LMJ. Didn't need him when we had drafted Kendall a year earlier in the same type of role. The main difference between LMJ and Kendall...LMJ can't pick up blitzes in pass protection. That's why we love Gore, that's why we love Kendall and he saw steady action as a rookie.

I also think our coaches and management envisioned LMJ as our pistol/option RB since Gore and Hunter were more traditonal RBs. Now the cutesy BS is over and we're going back to traditional, pro style formations where Gore and Hunter thrive. And LMJ isn't exactly killing it as a PR/KR. So that's that.

I dont see LaMike as our most explosive player. He runs backwards, gets caught up for losses, and fumbles too much. I wanted him to be that sproles type player but he just doesnt have it at this level. I expect Lattimore to take his roster spot next season, unless Gore retires then we will draft another hb.

The Niners are 4-2 even with all the injuries they have sustained. If LMJ was the right fit, he would be utilized just like all the other talented guys on our roster. Because of the lack of depth at WR, the Niners are going back to their 2011 script of a power running game, play action passing, and tremendous defense. Sorry, but LMJ does not fit that scheme.

In regards to ST, he must not be doing well in practice for the Niners to still trust Kyle Williams more. Osgood is there for his kick coverage abilities and he is Pro Bowl caliber. In case you didn't notice, he and Spillman bottled up Patrick Peterson really well yesterday.

The Niners will be making a bunch of changes once they get completely healthy. I would give our coaching staff a break until they have all their weapons back on the field.

But im not sure what else people want... Krndall Hunter has that quickness and can run screens with the best of them. Our team traditionally hasnt done screens much over Harbaughs reign.

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by kazak13:

I mean look at the Saints how they go between Pierre Thomas and Sproles.. they even get Mark Ingram on the field..

Gore
Hunter
Dixon
Miller

It doesn't seem that Hunter is seeing the field as much this year. The reason is probably two-fold. 1) Dixon has stepped up and become a solid downhill runner. 2) Coaches may be easing Hunter back into the lineup

Originally posted by OtisDriftwood:

But im not sure what else people want... Krndall Hunter has that quickness and can run screens with the best of them. Our team traditionally hasnt done screens much over Harbaughs reign.

I don't think they've run screens consistently since Mooch was in town.

Practice is not as telling as some people think. LMJ probably doesn't even get reps in with the starters since he's not featured any hardly any of our plays.

stopped reading at "Osgood...huh?"

dude is an important cog in our dominant Special Teams