Off Season Thoughts

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

An actual deep threat at WR, or two even.


A decision on what the hell they are going to do with LaMichael James. Either find a way to utilize him in the offense or trade him and bring in a speedy, change of pace back ala Ellington in Arizona that Roman would actually use.


Carlos Rogers, too expensive, too slow-footed, 49ers need to draft a cornerback or two, preferably one outside guy and one to play in the slot to combine with Culliver, Brown and Morris to fight it out in training camp.


Overhaul this offense and this goofy 1970's passing scheme. Send Kaepernick to QB School, instead of lifting weights he needs to be lifting playbooks and watching tape. Find ways to involve guys like McDonald, Patton and Hunter more in the offense.


Utilize the RB's a lot more in the passing game.


Fangio should continue blitzing, it has been very effective, not necessarily to go crazy with it but the way he's used it in the postseason has been very effective.

You said basically everything I was thinking. We need to add some speed to not only the offense, but defense as well. I'm not trying to point fingers, but Rogers was our weaklink and Wilson knew it. The worse part though is that he was getting beat but a guy(Kearse) who is probably inactive on Sundays if the Seahawks were healthy. Rogers is either cut it traded, if we could get a 4th or 5th for him, that's better than nothing. I agree that he is slow footed since he always seems to get exploited by those speed type recievers.

I agree that we need 1 or 2 recievers. A RZ physical freak and a speedy guy that create mismatches. But I feel that adding a recievers won't matter very much if Kap doesn't target them. I honestly feel that it's not really about the play that is called, but more about ball distribution. Kap forces some of his big plays. His jump pass TD to Boldin could have gone either way. I'm no coach or guru, but He needs to practice utilizing swings and going thru his progressions when his primary receiver is covered. Also as a receiver, they need to be aware of when a play is broken so they can come back to the ball and help the QB..guess I coulda just said they need to develop more chemistry.
Between James and Hunter, I'll never understand why he don't try to create plays to get them the ball in space.

I want the West Coast offense Harbaugh promised in his hiring press conference. Sure, throw in some wrinkles that play to certain strengths of your personnel, but scheme wise give me some slants, curls and post patterns and 3/5-step drops, please.

Bring on the era of Marcus Lattimore

WR,CB, Guard and Center are our biggest needs imo....SS and NT are honorable mentions for need

I like Moody/Wilhoite if Bowman isnt back yet

sign aldon/kaep long term

let iupati goodwin carlos walk

get our weapons involved more!! TEs especially

oh and play some press coverage instead of this cushion bs

Originally posted by PRIMETIME21:
i really don't get the roman hate, we lost cause kaep made bad decisions towards the end and even then we still had a chance to win, gore's best days are behind him, most of the season he wasn't really a beast like he use to be, hunter is not the answer lol we need a big physical back like lacy.

I don't think so as well. He's just a change of pace back at best.

Most changes will have to come via cuts and the draft due to the cap situation.

Most importantly would be to draft a starting caliber DB/corner. Even if he doesn't start right away and plays behind Culliver and Brock (assuming both Rogers and Brown are gone due to salary issues) it is what this team needs long term.

Draft our own "Kirk Cousins" (backup QB that might be able to be a legit starter in case of injury or Kap going to another team in FA).

Even if Boldin can be resigned draft a WR.

See if Kilgore can be a starting center if Goodwin cannot be resigned for cheap/short term.

Draft G/C depth/future.

Resign Whitner if it is reasonable but draft his replacement on day 2.

Try to find another Ray McDonald later in the draft the same way they got Ray in the 4th (a compensatory 3rd rounder but still after the first 96 picks so I consider it a 4th rounder).

The team has a lot of ways to do this with all their picks. More trading up to draft talent and getting picks in the next couple years via trade.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally

D). Nobody will know jack about Lattimore until he actually plays. Still, finding a Big bruiser that can actually run would be a plus.

E). The O-Line will be a question depending on philosophy. If Trent/JH want to continue to e a run first team then the maulers make sense. But it is apparent that teams like Seattle are built to shut it down.

I agree there are serious question marks about Lattimore. Still, he came back from a bad injury to have a really good season in 2012 (until he re-injured himself), so I'm hoping with a whole year off this year, he will come back at 100% for us next year. A big bruising back to go with him would be ideal though.

I think maybe we need to look at O-Linemen that are good in both pass pro and run blocking in this upcoming draft (and also athletic enough to allow screens to be a big part in our O again).

I agree with PHOENIX49ERS. If Kap says he botched the game for everyone and then he said the same thing last year then what do you plan to do about it Kappy ? Quit lifting weights , Quit making endorsements and dedicate yourself to being a better more knowledgeable QB . I have noticed one thing though , I have watched Alex Smith a lot this year and under Andy's guidance he is much better than when he played for us. This leads me to think perhaps Harbaugh can only go so far in teaching Kap. Harbaugh is a good coach but his own worst enemy. I have seen a lot of good coaches over the years that can get you up to the fence but they just can't seem to get you over on the other side. I am also not fond of Roman's play calling and yesterday they shut down Gore, they shut down Vernon Davis. These teams know our s**t just like Boldin stated when he played for the Ravens.....we knew your s**t. People with new thoughts need to be brought in because Coach Harbaugh likes to play powerball , be a tough guy kind of mentally which is part of the game but I knew a coach named Walsh that also f--ked with your head , made you doubt , made you change your game plan...that's all I am saying. I am very proud of this team and they are tough SOB'S but we need to get on the other side of the fence because that's where the Lombardi trophy is sitting.

We need secondary help bad along with the Oline.
Brown and Rogers are as good as gone. I like Brock and Cully a lot but we need to draft at least 2 DBs and replace Whitner with a guy with range and who just tackle and not go for the big it.

Most importantly fix the offensive system. It's garbage the AR s**t needs to go.

Carlos Rogers got to go

Originally posted by ace52:
I was devastated by this loss, so much so that I didn't/couldn't post anything yesterday after the game. I was just too stunned by another heart-wrenching loss.
However, with some time to reflect, I think we are going to be OK next year. Our team still has a lot of talent, and our players play with a passion and intensity that will win most of the games that they will be in.

Still, to take the next step up toward becoming a SB champion, the Niners will need to work on a few areas. I would like to see the team do these things in this coming off-season:

1) Kap must improve: I don't want to see him go to Atlanta to work on his strength/athleticism. His athleticism is off the charts (for a QB) already. I would like to see him stay right here in the Bay Area, and I would like to see JH work with him in a QB clinic, if you will. During the season, a head coach has to divide his time between so many other things, so he probably won't have the time to do significant 1:1 work with his QB. Time should not be an issue in the off-season. Also, I think that JH should invite another expert to come to this "clinic" to work with him and Colin, because another set of eyes may bring a more objective view that JH himself may lack. Heck, I would like to see Jim reach out to Steve Young, who still cares enough about the team that if the Niners ask nicely, and pay him well for his time, will probably agree to come and help out the young 9er QB. Jim and Steve can really work with Colin on developing his pocket presence, more touch on his passes (he still throws the ball too flat sometimes, with not the right amount of arc to beat tight coverage). They should work with him on reading defenses, throwing under pressure, and throwing in the red zone with pressure in his face.

2) Baalke is a frugal GM, and that is good in general. However, if there is a stand-out WR with deep threat speed, and/or CB in the free-agent market, I hope that he will not hesitate to go after them even if they may be expensive, as long as they don't break the bank, so to speak. SEA made some free-agent signings this year (Avril, Bennett) that ended up helping them out a lot. Draft picks are great, but sometimes even outstanding rookies will make mistakes that a good vet won't make (see Reid whiffing on Lynch yesterday, for example).

3) I love Bowman, but I'm not sure if/when he can be back at 100% after that horrific injury. We need to keep Wilhoite (a very good LB, IMO), and go after a stud LB in the draft as an insurance policy in case Bowman can't return as the Bowman that we all know and love.

4) Let Lattimore gradually work himself into the starting RB role. I love Frank, but I think he is in the twilight of his career. Let him tutor Lattimore this coming season while splitting the carries with him, and later on, hopefully Frank will become a RB coach with the Niners.

5) The OL needs some upgrades. They have never been that good in pass protection, and for a line that is supposedly great at "mauling people" in the run game, they have not been able to consistently open holes for our RBs when going up against good defensive fronts. I would definitely keep Staley and Boone. The Niners should consider upgrading the other positions along the line, or at least have an open competition for them.

6) Try to keep Boldin. Enough said.

I agree with the above. One comment - it is way to early to get too worked up about the career implications of Bowman's injury. We just don't know enough at this point. For all we know, he could be back 100% game one of the 2014 regular season.

Originally posted by goldlame2013:

Originally posted by bzborow1:
Jeremy Maclin is going to be available.

With all this frustration over the game, people need to recognize this is a team that came within a couple of inches of winning that game, too, and that counts for something. If I was to say anything that may have slowed us down a bit I'm going to argue that our draft this year wasn't real productive for us. We netted essentially 1 useful player this season and the rest were under-whelming. I sincerely hope that Dial and Carradine can do something next year because this team sure could use some new blood on the field.

I'll also echo the prevailing sentiment on the board and say the 49ers should consider some turnover at CB following the season. The guys we have are good but the salary to production ratio is high for me and I think a couple of the guys back there are getting more money because of what the production of our front 7 does for them. As a personal preference, I'd like to see more physicality at the CB position than is currently on the roster.

Except for Brock and Reid, the whole secondary needs to be revamped, and what shape will Culliver be in next year, and is he the answer?

One thing is clear with the Harbaugh-era... we're not gonna pay big for corners.

We win with pressure from the front-7. We pay those guys. We don't pay CB's.

Very similar to the Steelers under Cowher/Tomlin. It is what it is.

The CB's mostly did their jobs last night. Kaep didn't close it out, and he had 3 chances to do so.

I feel we need upgrade WR position love boldin and hope to bring him back but need deep threat not sure if Patton is the guy or not.

Secondary new SS and get rid of Carlos would bring back brown as 3rd db if price is right

I feel RB is good for now until we see what lattimore can do, gore has one more year sharing the load with hunter and lattimore

New punt and kick returner can't stand L James scares me every time we fields a punt he will fumble it

Is moody ready to fill in for bowman until he returns ? Seems to be the same body type as bowman and Willis but have not seen him play much is he too small ?

New center or Kilgore if he is ready

Off season

Kap has to keep getting better reading defenses and being able to spread the ball by finding his 2nd and 3rd reads

Anthony Davis needs to get back to were he was last year thought he took a step back

Hope we can draft players who will play for us this year maybe put all the eggs in one basket and go get Sammy Watkins ala falcons with Julio jones ????

It has been a exciting 3 years can't ask for much more except a Super Bowl win

I wouldn't be surprised to see the 49ers draft a QB. Kap plays well enough to win games and he is still developing but a more traditionally developed qb has an opening in SF.

As far as changes, a RB, depth at TE, another starting caliber guard for when iupati gets hurt again, maybe a CB depending on what happens to our current CBs. A DE who can disrupt the run game and passing game is at the top of the list. Of course a WR. Corey L, Ahmad Brooks, Dan Skuta and of course Aldon are as good as OLB's we can ask for. Skuta is seriously undervalued in our system.

We need to attain a WR that can STRETCH THE FIELD.

Boldin is an aging and averaged speed WR and Crabtree is younger but has great hands (Boldin too). Both are pretty much "possession receivers" that lacks much of a deep threat. If we can get Kaepernick a guy that can pose as a deep threat, the man will be dangerous even more.