Roster Status - Are we really that depleted of talent?

I'm going to make a way too early guess at our starting roster and give a nugget of how I feel about the player/position:

QB - Kap / Gabbert - It seems the staff is more than all in with one of these two running the show. My money is on Kap and we all know what he is capable of.
RB - Hyde - If he stays healthy, he can be a menace in the backfield. Solid.
WR - Smith and Smelter / Rogers / Ellington / Patton - One of these guys will start with Smith. Kelly's O might really benefit Ellington and Patton
OT - Staley and Brown - Staley...enough said. Brown will get competition from the rookies but I expect him to be solid in second season.
OG - Beadles and Garnett - Feeling very good about our Guard situation compared to last year. Solid.
C - Kilgore / Martine - If Kilgore is healthy and ready, he is solid. I have doubts on Martin if it's more than a backup role.
TE - Celek / Bell / McDonald - Celek came on last year before the injury. I think these guys can adequately fill this role in a rotation.
**I think Miller gets traded or cut because he doesn't fit the O. That would make more 2 TE, 3 WR and 2 HB sets more prominent.

DL - Armstead, Buckner, Dial - I really think this line can be money. If Williams and Dorsey are healthy and in the mix, super solid D line.
OLB - Lynch and Brooks - Very comfortable with these two. Also, Harold and Tank (new position) should provide good depth. Solid.
ILB - Bowman and Hodges / Wilhoite - As much as this is called a need, how can it be that drastic a need with one of the top 3 ILBs in the league? Solid.
SS - Bethea - Solid. Also Tartt will be there in support.
FS - Reid - Solid. Also with Ward there in support.
CB - Brock and one of many. This will be a huge camp battle so is a question mark, but the amount of potential talent is undeniable.

So, after looking at the projected starters, the only areas where I feel we are lacking or unsure of what we have are: C and CB. Aside from that, our starters can at the very least be considered solid. I just can't agree that when you look at the players noted above, that media and "experts" can call this team in a dearth of talent. I admit we are no where near our 2012 level of talent, but what I see is a team that can compete. Especially with what I expect as a significant upgrade in the level of coaching.

Color me a homer. I just think this team is a lot closer to competitiveness than many give us credit for.

Originally posted by VANiner:
I'm going to make a way too early guess at our starting roster and give a nugget of how I feel about the player/position:

QB - Kap / Gabbert - It seems the staff is more than all in with one of these two running the show. My money is on Kap and we all know what he is capable of.
RB - Hyde - If he stays healthy, he can be a menace in the backfield. Solid.
WR - Smith and Smelter / Rogers / Ellington / Patton - One of these guys will start with Smith. Kelly's O might really benefit Ellington and Patton
OT - Staley and Brown - Staley...enough said. Brown will get competition from the rookies but I expect him to be solid in second season.
OG - Beadles and Garnett - Feeling very good about our Guard situation compared to last year. Solid.
C - Kilgore / Martine - If Kilgore is healthy and ready, he is solid. I have doubts on Martin if it's more than a backup role.
TE - Celek / Bell / McDonald - Celek came on last year before the injury. I think these guys can adequately fill this role in a rotation.
**I think Miller gets traded or cut because he doesn't fit the O. That would make more 2 TE, 3 WR and 2 HB sets more prominent.

DL - Armstead, Buckner, Dial - I really think this line can be money. If Williams and Dorsey are healthy and in the mix, super solid D line.
OLB - Lynch and Brooks - Very comfortable with these two. Also, Harold and Tank (new position) should provide good depth. Solid.
ILB - Bowman and Hodges / Wilhoite - As much as this is called a need, how can it be that drastic a need with one of the top 3 ILBs in the league? Solid.
SS - Bethea - Solid. Also Tartt will be there in support.
FS - Reid - Solid. Also with Ward there in support.
CB - Brock and one of many. This will be a huge camp battle so is a question mark, but the amount of potential talent is undeniable.

So, after looking at the projected starters, the only areas where I feel we are lacking or unsure of what we have are: C and CB. Aside from that, our starters can at the very least be considered solid. I just can't agree that when you look at the players noted above, that media and "experts" can call this team in a dearth of talent. I admit we are no where near our 2012 level of talent, but what I see is a team that can compete. Especially with what I expect as a significant upgrade in the level of coaching.

Color me a homer. I just think this team is a lot closer to competitiveness than many give us credit for.

I don't think we're more than a season away from being a force to reckon with in the division. That said, you don't really know what you have until the pads crack live.

No idea what we have at WR
QB is a giant ?
Can the RB's stay healthy
Is the OL "fixed"
Can we generate a pass rush
Do we have legit starters at CB

Will Chips system work against the West

They won five games last year after losing several good to very good players and having second rate coaching so I never thought that the team was radically depleted of talent relative to the rest of the league. I will be greatly surprised if the team doesn't play noticeably better this year than last, but due to being in the really tough NFCWest and the 9ers have a really brutal schedule this year, so it wouldn't surprise me if they don't win more games this year than last.

We're on the right track with rebuilding the trenches. That's key, especially since our QB situation is iffy. The defensive line looks great on paper. Offensive line looks improved, but we'll see how these guys gel and who the starting 5 is.

Make the defense stout once again and run the ball successfully with an efficient passing game. We can be competitive once we do that.

2 issues that plagued the team last year.

A) Poor offensive line play...the best players were forced to ride the pine most of the season and it showed. No running lanes, Hyde gets hurt, RBs start going down like flies, QBs take a pounding. Domino effect.

B) And, in my opinion, most important was the change in defensive approach. The general scheme stayed the same but the responsibilities were galaxies apart. Defensive lineman were not allowed to attack the gaps, OLBs were covering outside receivers at times, CBs were woefully misused and it created a sense of weekly confusion. O'Neil seems to be much closer to Fangio than Mangini and if that is the case, considering how Baalke likes to draft, then it can be nothing but an improvement.

The team is not as talent deprived as it may be portrayed. They do have issues at QB but one of them isn't talent and that solves 50-60% of the battle. Kelly should be able to figure out which is best for the team and use his strengths as best he can.

A solid off-season of work and a true commitment to the new way of doing things could see the 49ers back in the playoffs with this talent.

It looks a LOT better and I have a feeling we're going to surprise some teams but there's a bit too much "player x is expected to have a breakout season in his 2nd or 3rd year" for my liking and at least half of the new blood are going to bust.

Originally posted by jreff22:
No idea what we have at WR
QB is a giant ?
Can the RB's stay healthy
Is the OL "fixed"
Can we generate a pass rush
Do we have legit starters at CB

Will Chips system work against the West

I bolded areas where I agree with your apprehension. My answers:

WR - We have what we have. I think the talent is there and the Kelly O might really help the production
RB - Can't answer that one. All I can say is that Hyde needs to cut it back a notch. No since injuring yourself for a yard or two.
Pass rush - I think an improved D line will help the outside guys. I think we will be much stronger in this area this year.
CB - Biggest question. Someone has to step up here opposite Brock. At first I was confused with drafting 3 more CBs this weekend, but I think they are looking for numbers to really find that guy. Several good players are going to get cut in the CB search.

I think our roster is about average right now.

Lost so many big name players
No ones really taken their place

Originally posted by Jasta:
It looks a LOT better and I have a feeling we're going to surprise some teams but there's a bit too much "player x is expected to have a breakout season in his 2nd or 3rd year" for my liking and at least half of the new blood are going to bust.

Good point. The odds say most of the players expected to breakout out will not, for one reason or another.

We have some proven players on the team where you know what you're going to get, but a ton of question marks. Biggest ones at QB, WR, OL, and pass rush. That makes it hard to predict what this team will do.

I'm pretty confident in saying that Buckner and Garnett will be instant positive contributors. The rest of the draft class, who knows.

Chip Kelly will make the team much better. The Kap situation may surprise the league. He basically wasn't coached last year and his OL couldn't get the job done. Drafting more defensive backs could be a change in philosophy, more pressing. Buckner will be a huge addition. I'm confident, but as a diehard Niner fan I always am.

Last year we had one of the worst coaches in 49er history!
This year we have someone a little more respectable to coach an under achieving team.
Keep the faith!

It depends on two things: Player Development and Player Acquisitions

1. Development - The improvement for second year guys will be huge. On defense: Harold, Acker, Tartt, and Armstead are some key names. On offense: Smelter, White, Dres Anderson. Practice squad guys like Marcus Rush also factor in here. Maybe Marcus Martin finally improves? At RB, Hayne and Davis have to know they need to shine if they want to make the team.

2. Acquisitions - Beadles replaces Boone. Garnett competes with Tiller. Brown competes with Fahn Cooper and John Theus. Veteran leader and Pro Bowler Bethea returns healthy. Rookies Robinson, Redmond, and Iworah join the CB competition. We found some diamonds in the rough at RB late last year with Harris and Draughn, and then drafting the NFL bloodline talent Kelvin Taylor has bolstered the depth at the position. We've hyperloaded WR with young competition, so someone has to emerge from that as the best, right?


We know the coaching can't be worse than last year, so the strides these kids make and the talent we've added will be interesting to watch. QB will probably the single most impactful position when it comes to whether we succeed or fail this upcoming season. At this point, no one knows if CK's unbelievable collapse was just another step in a downward trend, or just a fluke or something related to injuries. We'll see...

Yes. Until our players develop...hopefully! I think experience will help elevate our current talent. But we do need more game breakers and future all pros.

I keep seeing all the B.Miller gettin traded/cut type stuff... with that being said, could he actually be a legit tail back & not a full back? Obviously he doesn't have the speed, but the dude can ball. Just a thought...