Player Personnel: Planning For Next Season | Page 3

OL is where I'd look to spend some FA money. High #1? I'd tend to go with a WR, looking big play talent, also a guy who's gonna make the catch often. I really like Adolphus Washington, Ohio St as a DT/DE. He's 6-4 300 now. In HS, was an All America DE,6-4 250...had about 24 sacks as a senior and ALSO.. was All State in Basketball. May be there as a high rd 2.. Rd 2 or 3 is where I'd look for the QB...the clock is ticking on Kaep. He SEEMED on the way to " Star" now? Looks on the way to second string. OFTEN... the QB taken high.. is a dud,then some rd 3,4 guy turns out a star. I don't see a guy at QB I'd take high rd 1. I'd be looking to "best value" in the midrounds, the guy available that's got SOME aspect of upside. Late picks? There's gonna be guys who do not fit the prototype..but..just get results.

I'm with the poster who first noted coaching. Everything starts there b/c it will dictate the philosophy/scheme and personnel choices we will employ. We have tons of picks next year (more to come) and massive cap space.

I was NOT happy with GeepLo's game plan this week against the Hawks. Almost looked like a carbon copy of the previous game plans against them and the results were the same. So much for "option routes."

Now, all that said, Geep may be a keeper for this reason: WCO. He seems to have some really nice plays and is more QB-friendly. And up until the Hawks game, CK was really excelling under center and starting to find a rhythm. IF he can continue to evolve and grow this offense despite a psychologically broken QB and horrendous OL, he may be a keeper (context is important here). I also have to consider that if you had a more pure WCO QB like Gabbert, this offensive playbook may be more open (despite the OL issues). He certainly has his shortcomings though in the RZ, go-routes, conservative, etc. The ZBS will look much better with better talent (duh). Foerster could be retained.

Defense? I have publicly noted I do not like Mangini's scheme. He is basically the HaRoman version of defense...enormous playbook, hodge-podge playbook (300 different types of defenses in one playbook), no real defensive foundation, basically a new defense is installed every week instead of building off a foundation to get better and the players suffer greatly in it IMHO. In fact, if you look at our personnel, this defense is counter to all its strengths right now (a defense built for Fangio). If we retain him, Baalke is going to have to change his entire draft board(s) to acquire players better suited for his defense. In short, we have some talent on defense no doubt but they are succeeding in spite of him, not because of him, right now.

I know you guys are sick of me saying this since after the draft but we have some legit talent here and some of it could very much end up being supreme talent with some more time to grow and develop. Let's take a look:

Offensive Personnel:
QB: Colin Kaepernick; Blaine Gabbert - #1 issue right here, no doubt. CK is WAY too inconsistent and psychologically, b/c of the abuse he's taken behind this line for 3+ years now, I think he's done sadly. We may see Gabbert this year if for nothing else, Geep can open up the playbook. Something to watch: "Fast forward to March 2016. Kaepernick's 2016 salary guarantees on April 1, 2016. With bonuses, he will earn $14.3 million next year. If the 49ers cut him, they don't owe him anything and they would save $9.4 million against the salary cap." http://finance.yahoo.com/news/colin-kaepernick-still-struggling-going-151056786.html . We would not owe him a dime after that.
RB1: Carlos Hyde; Mike Davis - Top 3 RB already but Davis is untested and hasn't had many chances to develop or get consistent snaps. Evaluation time is needed and it needs to start now. Having him develop now could help our decisions come draft day.
RB2: Jarryd Hayne; Reggie Bush - Nice pass-catching RB that is never used in this fashion. Evaluation time is needed for Hayne IN the offense. He's growing, no doubt. But a nice Bush-like skill set could really help this WCO as the #2 or #3 RB.
H-Back: None - None currently on the roster d/t heavy TE-offense; may end up with Busta Anderson in this role next year but we don't seem to use this position anymore.
TE: Vance McDonald; Vernon Davis, Garrett Celek & Blake Bell (Busta Anderson) - If we convert completely to the WCO, we may want another WCO-type TE. Nice pieces here for run blocking (McDonald) and receiving (Celek) and size (Bell) but it would be ideal to have all-in-one dynamic TE. Evaluation time is needed.
FB: Bruce Miller - Best in the game (sparingly used though)
X WR: Torrey Smith; Quinton Patton (Jerome Simpson) - Best X WR and depth we've had here since when? Simpson is legit too. We could have some epic speed outside for a long time with these two and if nothing else, depth here. Patton could be a goner.
Y WR (SLOT): Bruce Ellington; DeAndrew White - Well crap, I heard when healthy, this Ellington guy is pretty darn good. But he's Glass Joe right now even after having a man-to-man. Evaluation time is needed.
Z WR: Anquan Boldin; (DeAndre Smelter & Dres Anderson) - Really like the upside of Smelter and Anderson but are either that dominant #1 so many teams desire? Evaluation time is needed. That said, if there is a Kelvin Benjamin-like WR, he would be ideal for this WCO. Then you'd have the speed in T.Smith, the body at the Z and the shifty WR like Ellington/White/Anderson in the slot. Perfect!
LOT: Joe Staley; (Alex Boone) - Time to start grooming another top T...in Boone? Not a bad idea depending on what direction we go. At some point, Boone could slide over to LT and Staley to RT as he gets older.
LG: Alex Boone; Ian Silberman - Boone is a solid but inconsistent G and I'm ready to see what he has at T (his natural position). We certainly need a very good veteran G here in FA.
C: Marcus Martin; (Daniel Kilgore) - Sucks and who knows if Kilgore will ever be healthy and if so, how much of an upgrade would he be? Evaluation time is needed as we took "the best center in the draft" and right now he's "the worst in the NFL."
RG: Andrew Tiller & Jordan Devey; Brandon Thomas - On paper, looks like we have some talent here...but we just don't use it (back to coaching). Evaluation time is needed.
ROT: Erik Pears; Trenton Brown - Brown looks promising but evaluation time is needed; no more 3rd tier T's please. This entire OL needs talent...veteran talent. The youth can continue to develop behind them (like Martin/Brown/Silberman).

Defensive Personnel:
RDE: Quinton Dial; Tank Carradine & Tony Jerod Eddie - Dial is having a pretty good year but more evaluation time is needed. Carradine? Lynch - AA - Carradine - Brooks can be a very disruptive pass rushing team. Again, this comes back to coaching and personnel usage. AA appears to be rounding into a complete 3-4 DE. If there is another all-around talent in the draft, we should consider him as well. Evaluation time is needed.
NT: Ian Williams; Mike Purcell - One of the best NT's in the game and Purcell seems like legit depth. Evaluation time is needed. A wide-bodied two-gapper in rotation like we faced against the Ravens could go a long ways in stuffing M. Lynch as well (more coaching).
LDE: Glenn Dorsey; Arik Armstead - I've said it all year; it's just a matter of time before AA takes over for Dorsey. Evaluation time is needed to see if he continues to round into a complete DE.
WILL: Ahmad Brooks; Eli Harold - Harold needs a full year to bulk up to be an effective SAM/WILL. Evaluation time is needed but continue to give him more and more snaps.
TED: Michael Wilhoite; Gerald Hodges & Shane Skov - We certainly need more talent here but it seems like we like the upside of Hodges. Evaluation time is needed for him. Wilhoite is a very solid backup but we need an ILB who can cover, diagnose running plays quickly and blow them up before they get started; also, blow up lead blockers for Bowman (defensive fullback).
MIKE: Navarro Bowman; Nick Bellore - Needs a full year to recover to get close to what he once was. Right now he's still solid against the run (not diagnosing and shooting the gaps like of old though; getting washed out d/t hesitation) and poor in coverage. More evaluation and healing time is needed but it can't hurt to upgrade a top tier talent here either in FA or the draft.
SAM: Aaron Lynch; Corey Lemonier - Becoming one of the best in the game and could use another dynamic, proven pass rusher.
RCB: Kenneth Acker; Dontae Johnson - Growing each week and sadly, Johnson is wasting away on the bench.
SLOT (S/CB): Jimmie Ward; Keith Reaser - Growing each week. Evaluation time is needed for Reaser but Ward is quietly getting 100% healthy and having a really nice year.
LCB: Tramaine Brock; (Dontae Johnson) - Fully 100% healthy now and hung with a 4.3 WR 60 yards and missed a knock down by an inch. He and Acker are #2 in INT's right now and outside of struggling with the scheme and assignments at times, both are playing good ball overall.
FS: Eric Reid; (Jimmie Ward) - Playing while thinking and plays conservative to avoid concussions.
SS: Jaquiski Tartt; (Antoine Bethea) - Sad for Bethea but it was obvious his speed has declined a lot too and we weren't using him in the box much. We're about to get a full look at Tartt now and with his speed, it could make a big difference back there esp. given how deep Mangini likes to line his S's up.
HYBRID(SS/ILB Robber on NICKEL/DIME): L.J. McCray - This kid steps into Tartt's old role and flashes whether he's in on ST or on the field in pre season. Evaluation time is needed but this could end up being a legit group with Reid/Tartt/Ward/McCray.

Special Teams:
LS: Kyle Nelson - Keep until 90 years old?
PK: Phil Dawson; (Bradley Pinion) - Steady as a rock thanks to Pinion taking kick-offs. Needs to get challenged next off season again like this year.
P: Bradley Pinion - 2 bad games at Santa Clara in the heat...overall though, putting together a solid rookie season. Evaluation time is needed.
PR/KOR: Jarryd Hayne + Bruce Ellington (DeAndrew White) - 2 fumbles, 2 big plays. Welcome to the NFL Aussie. Evaluation time is needed.

Overall:
So talent-wise, we're in great shape I believe. The issues center more around coaching philosophy, scheme and personnel choices. This is issue #1 IMHO. Like any team, we do have some major question marks on talent;

QB. Outside coaching philosophy, scheme and personnel choices, this is the #1 talent issue that needs to be addressed
OL. A close second is the OL. This team needs to buck-up and buy some very good, proven interior OL and look to move Boone to LT and Staley to RT. The FA market and draft need to place a very high emphasis on talent here. If Tiller and Thomas can develop into a very good RG spot, that's one less position we need to worry about. The crucial find here is center though. The OL goes as the center goes and with Martin playing worse by the game and Kilgore's leg/strength in question, this has to be our #1 target in FA/draft.
OLB. It's safe to say we might need to drop some coin on this one but it's a must. It would not surprise me to see Brooks reworked and stay one more year and slowly help develop a rookie here or split time with a dominant force brought in for FA.
ILB. Time to bring in more dynamic ILB's here. We need speed badly (in diagnosing plays as well as closing speed and form tackling as well as coverage ability)
WR. Only if there is another Kelvin Benjamin-type WR who would be ideal in the WCO opposite of T.Smith/J.Simpson.
RB. No doubt with a heavy focus on the running game, we need another Hyde, just in case. Mike Davis 'may' be that guy but we need time to develop him.
TE. If there is a big-tall dynamic TE who can block, catch, excellent route-runner, hands, speed, etc. go for it. Otherwise we'll continue to use the other 3 'specialists."
DE. If there is another DE that possesses the full package like we project with AA, why not!?
NT. For the love of God, for the 20th year in a row, can we get a wide-bodied two-gap NT like the Ravens for games against huge RB's like say, M. Lynch?
PK. Time to challenge Dawson again.

[ Edited by NCommand on Oct 24, 2015 at 9:02 AM ]