Originally posted by glorydayz:
I always wondered why Baalke got a free pass, and I think it's because we are winning.
He has had drafts that have been so bad he has had to back fill those drafts with proven free agents or re-drafting the same position (Stevie Johnson for A.J Jenkins or Hyde for LMJ) . Currently his 2nd rounders are being out played by 4th & 5th rounders and or undrafted FA's (Lynch for Tank - Carrier for McDonald).
No one holds his feet to the fire for these things.
Here are a few things that are not so bad but are still pretty obvious:
Not being able to draft a back up QB ($2 million on a back up in Gabbert that can't play is nuts!)
Drafting injured players that he hopes will turn out to be healthy (we have guys that cannot contribute right now at some key positions).
Not understanding the value of speed at certain positions (WR, DB)
Content with Scotty Mac's aging stars to get the job done! (VD, Gore, Crabtree, Willis, Bowman, JS, Ray Mac, etc).
With a better GM Harbaugh and Co. would be deadly!!!!
LOL, fans are funny. There's probably about 28-30 teams that would hire Baalke as their GM in a heartbeat. If the 49ers happened to fire him today, his phone wouldn't stop going off for the next week. The guy is tremendously respected and has outstanding credibility, the way he has managed the roster and steadily stocked it with talent to extend this team's window has been impressive but maybe its true, you don't really appreciate what you have until he's gone.
[ Edited by Phoenix49ers on Sep 30, 2014 at 9:52 AM ]