Surprise Starters

I think Martin beats out Kilgore for staring C spot
Borland beats out Wilholte/Moody for ILB spot next to Willis before Bowman comes back
Ellington takes the PR/KR spot

And although I don't think it will happen, I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if Tank beat out Ray Mac for a starting spot.

I think Parish Cox might be a surprise starter at nickle corner at the beginning of the year. Ward is way more athletic than Cox and I'm sure he (Ward) will be the nickleback most of the year, but I think at the beginning Cox's experience may very well give him the advantage over Ward.

Originally posted by RishikeshA:

If Aldon gets suspended Lemonier will step in and provide the pass rush. Last year Lemonier showed the speed to get to the QB but was lacking strength. I'm sure the team worked on improving his strength and he'll be a monster in year two. When he and Aldon are on the field during pass situations we'll have our version of the Nascar package.

I'm just curious why you think Lemonier lacks strength?

I can see Marcus Martin beating out Kilgore to start at C.

I can see Jimmie Ward beating out the competition for nickel CB.

I can see Hyde as the no. 2 RB behind Gore. A lot depends on Frank's health. Lattimore's an unknown yet, but fully healthy, he should show that he and Hyde are the new guard at RB.

I can see Borland giving Wilhoite a tough battle to start at ILB opposite Willis. I'd say this'll be perhaps the best competition.

I can see Stevie Johnson beating out Boldin...another tough battle.

Not saying any of these will definitely happen...it's way too early in the competition for that. But, they seem like possibilities.


Ninerz4life...welcome to the forum. It helps to space out your comments...makes for a much easier read.

Originally posted by fropwns:
Double post--fcking zone be trippin'!














He's going to be one of us. Hell, he already is. Good s**t as always NC!

LMAO! I had a triple post earlier today! Glad it's not just me...

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
I can see Stevie Johnson beating out Boldin...another tough battle.

I'm excited for Johnson too, but this seems about as likely as a rookie beating out Staley for LT. After the season Boldin had with Kaep I think there is a 0% chance of Johnson passing either him or Crabtree on the depth chart unless one of them gets injured.

I'm hoping Martin is good enough to win the starting center job, and I really hope Carradine shows enough to go in on passing downs for McDonald. McDonald is pretty decent against the run, but his pass rush has declined pretty dramatically.

Originally posted by Niners816:

Originally posted by BrianGO:
Not really surprises, but...

Martin at C.
Borland at MLB.
Carradine at DE.
Williams at NT.
Ward at nickle.

These new players will make the biggest impact. They might not "start" but they will get significant playing time.

Our third down pass rush is going to be crazy.

--------------Carradine Williams J Smith Aldon
Lemonier--------Borland--------------Willis

^^^^I like this...the more you look at our roster the more you have to give kudos to baalke for compiling a roster that is almost juggernaut-like by today's nfl standards. Tank carradine is the newest potential starter I'm the highest on.

I'll also go with Tank over RayMac as the surprise starter. Based on gut feeling because I know nothing about Tank's abilities except that he was a beast in college.

Originally posted by btthepunk:

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
Damn, my man Ray McDonald still isnt getting any love after all the push he brings

Yeah he's the most under-appreciated player on the team.

I agree. My prediction of Tank over RayMac speaks more to what I am hoping Tank brings, as opposed to any dip in RayMac's abilities.

^^^ Agreed about Tank. I read an article that talked about how he will be competing with McDonald to start. And how awesome would that be for Brooks to have a distruptive Justin Smith-like presence inside who adds even more pass rush ability? And McDonald can finally get some snaps off and stay strong and injury-free all year long for the first time ever. Win-win.

Tank over Ray Ray....

That would be a waste if Tank has pass rushing skillz like everyone is saying. Ray Mac and Brooks combo are asked more to set the edge against the runs. They are not asked to pass rush like the other side with Aldon and Justin Smith.

Originally posted by qnnhan7:
Tank over Ray Ray....

That would be a waste if Tank has pass rushing skillz like everyone is saying. Ray Mac and Brooks combo are asked more to set the edge against the runs. They are not asked to pass rush like the other side with Aldon and Justin Smith.

While this is VERY true having a younger buck in there who CAN bring more pass rush while also sealing the edges and stuffing the run can be a valuable weapon as well. We haven't seen that much from McDonald over the past couple years...collapse that pocket and pick up a few QB pressures and sacks along the way.

Originally posted by NCommand:

^^^ Agreed about Tank. I read an article that talked about how he will be competing with McDonald to start. And how awesome would that be for Brooks to have a distruptive Justin Smith-like presence inside who adds even more pass rush ability? And McDonald can finally get some snaps off and stay strong and injury-free all year long for the first time ever. Win-win.

Link?

Originally posted by NCommand:

^^^ Agreed about Tank. I read an article that talked about how he will be competing with McDonald to start. And how awesome would that be for Brooks to have a distruptive Justin Smith-like presence inside who adds even more pass rush ability? And McDonald can finally get some snaps off and stay strong and injury-free all year long for the first time ever. Win-win.

I'm very excited to see what tank can do. A lot of people here are excited to see lattimore but I don't know how effective he can be after blowing out both knees. I know people use frank gore as a comparison but I don't think it is very likely that lattimore will rebound and have the same productive career that frank had. I'm hoping for the best but preparing for the worst and so is baalke. Which is why hyde was drafted.

I really hope tank starts. Brooks/Tank/Smith/Smith will be a nightmare for opposing offenses. Not to mention the rest of the rotation.

I really hope Stevie Johnson sees a lot of action too. He is one of the most underrated receivers in the league and runs some of the best routes in the league. He was the vocal point in buffalo, they didn't have very many options outside of spiller.

Originally posted by VPofCarnage:

I'm just curious why you think Lemonier lacks strength?

I don't think he lacks strength, it's just getting up to the physicality of the NFL and fine tuning technique.

Originally posted by natrone06:

Link?

Originally posted by RishikeshA:

I don't think he lacks strength, it's just getting up to the physicality of the NFL and fine tuning technique.

So you mean run-stopping technique?