Bleacher Report: Are the 49ers Wrs overrated?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2209758-simms-49ers-wide-receivers-very-overrated-group-has-stalled-offense



Do they still lack a number 1 wide receiver?

Overrated in our scheme, maybe. If you took these guys and, say, put them in the GB, Denver, Philly, NE offenses, we would be talking about a top five group. I put ATL, AZ, Chicago, and Detroit above us in the receiver department but only because those offenses have a game changer WR on them. I think it's the scheme that hurts us.

I didn't read the article but I firmly believe that this team lacks a #1 wr. Crabtree never makes the big play. He never makes a play that leaves you saying wow. I've never once felt like any teams #1 db was going to struggle covering Crabtree and have yet to see him demand the type of attention that Vernon does. Crabtree is only over rated by 49ers fans though. Outside of SF, people know he's nothing special. Sorry guys just my opinion. After davis, Boldin is our biggest pass catching threat.

Originally posted by TheRatMan13:

Overrated in our scheme, maybe. If you took these guys and, say, put them in the GB, Denver, Philly, NE offenses, we would be talking about a top five group. I put ATL, AZ, Chicago, and Detroit above us in the receiver department but only because those offenses have a game changer WR on them. I think it's the scheme that hurts us.

The Homer runs strong in you my friend. It's convenient to blame it all on scheme but you can't deny the lack of speed at WR on this team. We have a stable of possession receivers and that is a fact.

The problem is they are all slow possession wr's. None of them can out jump guys or outrun them. So this offense still has the same issues b/c for some reason they don't want any speed on offense. The wr's can't stretch the field and you end up with every DB sitting on quick routes b/c they know dam well these dudes can't beat them over the top. They still don't have a true #1. Crabs is a good solid wr but he's probably not even top 20 in the league. They still lack a true #1 but these guys should still be able to get the job done in my opinion. And get Llyod outta there. He's just wasting reps Ellington should be getting.

NO we don't have a true #1 receiver.

IMO, SJ is under estimated. I think his potential could be off the charts depending what's around him.NO we don't have a true #1 receiver.

Originally posted by lamontb:
The problem is they are all slow possession wr's. None of them can out jump guys or outrun them. So this offense still has the same issues b/c for some reason they don't want any speed on offense. The wr's can't stretch the field and you end up with every DB sitting on quick routes b/c they know dam well these dudes can't beat them over the top. They still don't have a true #1. Crabs is a good solid wr but he's probably not even top 20 in the league. They still lack a true #1 but these guys should still be able to get the job done in my opinion. And get Llyod outta there. He's just wasting reps Ellington should be getting.

Conversely, every single one of them knows how to get open. I think that aspect is extremely underrated. You can have all the speed in the world but if they suck balls at route running and get open infrequently, then you've got a guy who can make big plays from time to time but not someone that you can depend on. I think the offensive system itself does more to hinder the receivers than anything else. Guys rarely get a chance to get a rhythm going, as soon as one of them starts to make plays, they go away from them other than a few limited cases such as GB last year.


I think if the 49ers switched WR receiving corps with Seattle, we'd be talking about how s**tty guys like Baldwin and Kearse are while Lockette wouldn't even be on the roster, meanwhile we'd be terrified of this defense facing Boldin, Crabtree and Johnson, any one of which can beat you on any given day.

As the season progresses I think the offense will really start clicking and then all of these over reactions will stop. We have legit WRs. We are still going to lose some games. If our WRs were on other teams, we would be envious of them. Winning cures everything

I think Chris Simms has some good points, but I don't think they are overrated.

Not over-rated, but none of them are legit #1s. We need a deep threat on the outside.

Originally posted by NinerG94:

Originally posted by TheRatMan13:
Overrated in our scheme, maybe. If you took these guys and, say, put them in the GB, Denver, Philly, NE offenses, we would be talking about a top five group. I put ATL, AZ, Chicago, and Detroit above us in the receiver department but only because those offenses have a game changer WR on them. I think it's the scheme that hurts us.

The Homer runs strong in you my friend. It's convenient to blame it all on scheme but you can't deny the lack of speed at WR on this team. We have a stable of possession receivers and that is a fact.

As far as depth and skillset, what other teams would you put up there? I can find several teams with a bigger playmaker than what we have at receiver, but behind the one playmaker, there usually is not much else behind them.
I do not think you need to have speed to be a good receiver group if you know how to get the most out of each player.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
NO we don't have a true #1 receiver.

IMO, SJ is under estimated. I think his potential could be off the charts depending what's around him.NO we don't have a true #1 receiver.

Couldn't have said it better. We have a bunch of #2/#3 WRs. I would even go so far as to put SJ and Boldin above Crabtree.

Originally posted by SJniner7:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

NO we don't have a true #1 receiver.

IMO, SJ is under estimated. I think his potential could be off the charts depending what's around him.NO we don't have a true #1 receiver.

Couldn't have said it better. We have a bunch of #2/#3 WRs. I would even go so far as to put SJ and Boldin above Crabtree.

Each one of those guys, IMO, has a slightly different skill set. And all are complimentary and give defense problems.

As of right now, I feel I feel SJ has the most upside and the most untapped talent.

Still, it's way early and there's a lot of football to be played before the final analysis is in.

oh my god, they are not explosive, they don't gain extra yards after catch. They are possession receivers. You don't have to be able to gain extra yardage in order to be a true #1 Receiver.
First of all, you have to get open and you have to be a reliable catcher. Crabtree and especially Boldin conform to these attributes. I mean, how often have we seen Boldin catching balls in the middle of field with all the traffic around him.

If you want to have an explosive playmaker, you have to be very lucky or you have to pick within the top10.

Crabtree a solid #2, I lol'ed at this statement. Yes, he is certainly not a true No. 1 so far but he is a very good #2. Boldin is a very solid #1. He made a lot of plays last year when he was the only Wideout with some quality, thus defenses respected only him and Davis in the passing game.
SJ was very good in Buffalo although he had avg QBs around him.

Saying, this group is overrated is laughable. The only thing he is right about is the missing explosiveness. But being explosive doesn't equal being elite. If this were true, James Jones or Victor Cruz would be future HOFers by now.
His definition of an elite WR is completely off the reality.

Never thought Crabs was a Number 1. He is lacking just a little bit in a few areas that he cant really change. Speed and Size. He is a good possession type, but instead of pissing away AJJ and LMJ this team should've grabbed Alshon Jeffery or someone like him. Speed isn't even the most critical to me in a number 1 now a days, but he has got to have decent speed and be bigger than our guys, taller, more leap, wingspan. Those are the guys getting it done in the NFL today, guys over 6'2", I'm not saying they can be slow, but they don't have to have the burners necessarily.That is the difference, you have teams like ATL, CHI, and AZ with two legit number 1's, i would trade that any day over 3 #2's.

People here say you wish for that and then they can't run routes or catch and what do you have, yeah i agree getting open is huge, but to me i see those guys on lots of high octane teams and they are number 2 or 3 targets, Demaryius Thomas compared to Wes Welker. You have to be able to develop WR's too which i haven't seen us do, although i haven't seen us really bring in a blue chip. In the SB Anquan had deep speed Torrey Smith opposite him and Jacoby Jones. It is something we have sorely lacked for a loooong time. I know many would agree. Not to say I'm not grateful, but bringing in guys like Manningham, a washed up Randy Moss haven't cut it. Need a big strong guy in there somewhere to round it out. Stevie and Q i am real grateful for, those two will produce(and already have in Q case) much better than Mario or Moss IMO. The team/ offense overall may not be as good as 2012 though that story is yet to be written i hope.

Maybe Vernon is just that guy, but he is called to block often and is not a great catcher like a developed WR would be with his size and speed combo. We missed him last week when AZ started squatting on all our short routes.

In the film thread though Lloyd was open on the deep comeback had Kap put it on the money would've been first down after a big sack put us in that spot. So I'm not ready to give up on Lloyd yet, i liked the 5 wide sets, and think he may still have some abilities to be used, possibly more than Patton although its bitter sweet cause i want to see Patton get teams weak corners and make grabs like week 17 last year @ AZ.