Combine (Feb 24-Mar 2): It's HERE!

Edit: Double-post.

[ Edited by OnTheClock on Feb 25, 2010 at 13:06:08 ]

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
This "arm length for OTs" stuff is absurd.

It's vastly overrated. Look at the chart and sack numbers for the smallest armed guy, Michael Roos -- .06 sacks per game. One all season, and he made the Pro Bowl. With 32 1/2 inch arms.

A lot of exceptional players on that list in the lower area. There is no relevant correlation in performance by arm length.. It's talent, fellas.

give it up homie folks just can't help themselves They gotta have something to talk about to day it's arm length.

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Everybody slammed the Texans for passing on Bush, now Bush is eating up 8M and Williams is a Pro-Bowler.

If we were drafting #2 overall then that analogy would make better sense...but considering were drafting in the teens and have 2 first round picks....we can afford a luxury (who also fills a need)

Using your logic your analogy doesn't make sense either. Johnson was taken #24 and was the 4th back off the board. A more similar situation would be us getting McCluster in the 2nd or trading our 13th and moving back then picking up Best or McCluster.

Jonathan Stewart was drafted #13 overall in that draft to the Panthers. The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. Williams was the Best back in the draft and the Panthers couldn't pass on a game-changer. (Even though they had Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams).

They passed on:
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins
Joe Flacco,
DeSean Jackson,
Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Matt Forte, Felix Jones, and of course Chris Johnson.

Notice how many other premier backs or "game-changers" are on the list they passed on. If there's nobody else there worth taking and we can't trade back then we should take him. We are going to draft him to be a change of pace/KR, we can get somebody to fit that role with the same effectiveness later on. We'd still need to pick up a PR too.

I like Spiller a lot I am just weary of taking backs that early, especially when there's so much other talent in this draft, especially with the success of backs like Rice and Johnson.

Just a cool coincidence, guess who the Panthers took with their other 1st round pick (#19) in that draft. Jeff Otah - RT. He stepped in and started from day 1; sured up their line and helped them to a playoff berth.

Ok your losing me...I dont care how many backs are off the board, the initial point was in the teens were not reaching at RB, who is graded VERY high.

Then you say The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. They ended up parting ways with Foster so obviously Foster wasn't in the long term plans and they were looking to get younger. Then you point to a list of guys they passed on....at that point nobody knew how any of those guys would of developed into great NFL players. Its easy to do now but at that time that argument couldn't of been made...all speculation!

My point being drafting a RB with your only pick in the first and that specific pick being #2 overall there is a lot more risk involved. When we have 2 first round picks we can afford to roll the dice on a risk. In this case it would be Spiller who adds "the change of pace" that the front office has been talking about wanting. Also it gives us a better insurance policy for when Gore has his usual injuries that keeps him out for a few weeks. Lastly it gives us an excellent weapon as a true return guy. Granted this is all speculation as well but most agree that Spiller is a BAMF and having him would be a major asset and his contributions could start day 1. This pretty much means we "could" land the most premiere O skill player 2 years in a row....not to bad!!! I love Dex but Spiller is in a much different class.

You can also look to and blame Johnson for Spiller going this (projected) high. Because he has "broken the mold" for smaller RB's in the league there is now a higher demand for that type of guy.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
This "arm length for OTs" stuff is absurd.

It's vastly overrated. Look at the chart and sack numbers for the smallest armed guy, Michael Roos -- .06 sacks per game. One all season, and he made the Pro Bowl. With 32 1/2 inch arms.

A lot of exceptional players on that list in the lower area. There is no relevant correlation in performance by arm length.. It's talent, fellas.

I don't have your experience in this, but based on that chart Roos seems to be the exception rather than the rule. 90% of the best LTs on that list had 34+ arms.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
This "arm length for OTs" stuff is absurd.

It's vastly overrated. Look at the chart and sack numbers for the smallest armed guy, Michael Roos -- .06 sacks per game. One all season, and he made the Pro Bowl. With 32 1/2 inch arms.

A lot of exceptional players on that list in the lower area. There is no relevant correlation in performance by arm length.. It's talent, fellas.

Coaching helps too, just ask Michael Roos who has one of the best OL coaches in the NFL.

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Everybody slammed the Texans for passing on Bush, now Bush is eating up 8M and Williams is a Pro-Bowler.

If we were drafting #2 overall then that analogy would make better sense...but considering were drafting in the teens and have 2 first round picks....we can afford a luxury (who also fills a need)

Using your logic your analogy doesn't make sense either. Johnson was taken #24 and was the 4th back off the board. A more similar situation would be us getting McCluster in the 2nd or trading our 13th and moving back then picking up Best or McCluster.

Jonathan Stewart was drafted #13 overall in that draft to the Panthers. The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. Williams was the Best back in the draft and the Panthers couldn't pass on a game-changer. (Even though they had Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams).

They passed on:
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins
Joe Flacco,
DeSean Jackson,
Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Matt Forte, Felix Jones, and of course Chris Johnson.

Notice how many other premier backs or "game-changers" are on the list they passed on. If there's nobody else there worth taking and we can't trade back then we should take him. We are going to draft him to be a change of pace/KR, we can get somebody to fit that role with the same effectiveness later on. We'd still need to pick up a PR too.

I like Spiller a lot I am just weary of taking backs that early, especially when there's so much other talent in this draft, especially with the success of backs like Rice and Johnson.

Just a cool coincidence, guess who the Panthers took with their other 1st round pick (#19) in that draft. Jeff Otah - RT. He stepped in and started from day 1; sured up their line and helped them to a playoff berth.

Ok your losing me...I dont care how many backs are off the board, the initial point was in the teens were not reaching at RB, who is graded VERY high.

Then you say The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. They ended up parting ways with Foster so obviously Foster wasn't in the long term plans and they were looking to get younger. Then you point to a list of guys they passed on....at that point nobody knew how any of those guys would of developed into great NFL players. Its easy to do now but at that time that argument couldn't of been made...all speculation!

My point being drafting a RB with your only pick in the first and that specific pick being #2 overall there is a lot more risk involved. When we have 2 first round picks we can afford to roll the dice on a risk. In this case it would be Spiller who adds "the change of pace" that the front office has been talking about wanting. Also it gives us a better insurance policy for when Gore has his usual injuries that keeps him out for a few weeks. Lastly it gives us an excellent weapon as a true return guy. Granted this is all speculation as well but most agree that Spiller is a BAMF and having him would be a major asset and his contributions could start day 1. This pretty much means we "could" land the most premiere O skill player 2 years in a row....not to bad!!! I love Dex but Spiller is in a much different class.

You can also look to and blame Johnson for Spiller going this (projected) high. Because he has "broken the mold" for smaller RB's in the league there is now a higher demand for that type of guy.

That's my point. It's all speculation so what makes you so positive that Spiller will be a better game-changer than McC or Best? My point is that people thought Jonathan Stewart was a "can't miss back" and that Carolina would be stupid to pass up on the second best play-maker in the draft. By the way the best playmaking back was McFadden, who hasn't exactly lit it up since becoming a Raider. Stewart is maybe the 3rd or 4th best back out of that draft, McFadden is even worse. If there's 3-4 good backs that will be available in the 2nd, why take a back when you can get a Corner/Linebacker/Pass-Rusher (positions where talent is much harder to come by)

How did that analogy lose you? They were 7-9, we are 8-8. They finished second in their division and had been hoping to win the division that year. Sound familiar? They had an explosive receiver in Steve Smith and a good back in DeAngelo Williams. We Have an explosive receiver in Vernon Davis, and a good back in Frank Gore. We also have a playmaker in Crabtree. They had the #13 and #19 picks, we have the #13 and #17 picks. They had a huge hole to fill at RT with questions of consistency at QB. They had a young defense that just needed an offense to score points for it. I think that's very similar to the situation the 49ers are in this year.

The Panthers took a "luxury" at #13 instead of Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins (both Pro-Bowl corners). Now they need a #1 corner and have two running backs, in a league that is shifting more and more into a passing league.

I don't want us to fall in love with a guy because he had great runs in college; especially if it means passing up on somebody who could be a Pro-Bowler in 2-3 years.
Don't get me wrong, if Spiller is far and away the BPA at #13 and nobody is really even close to having his potential then I have no problems with Scotty pulling the trigger.

That's why I'm so stoked for the combine, it's really the only chance for me to form an opinion on all these players because I can't watch all the games.

[ Edited by foreign49er on Feb 25, 2010 at 14:02:43 ]

anyone know of a way to watch NFL Network over the net? Does TVU have it?

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
anyone know of a way to watch NFL Network over the net? Does TVU have it?

if ur wanting to watch the combine, NFL.com will have it live saturday-tuesday

http://www.nfl.com/combine/live/landing?icampaign=CombineLiveV9_TR

[ Edited by valrod33 on Feb 25, 2010 at 14:00:02 ]

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Everybody slammed the Texans for passing on Bush, now Bush is eating up 8M and Williams is a Pro-Bowler.

If we were drafting #2 overall then that analogy would make better sense...but considering were drafting in the teens and have 2 first round picks....we can afford a luxury (who also fills a need)

Using your logic your analogy doesn't make sense either. Johnson was taken #24 and was the 4th back off the board. A more similar situation would be us getting McCluster in the 2nd or trading our 13th and moving back then picking up Best or McCluster.

Jonathan Stewart was drafted #13 overall in that draft to the Panthers. The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. Williams was the Best back in the draft and the Panthers couldn't pass on a game-changer. (Even though they had Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams).

They passed on:
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins
Joe Flacco,
DeSean Jackson,
Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Matt Forte, Felix Jones, and of course Chris Johnson.

Notice how many other premier backs or "game-changers" are on the list they passed on. If there's nobody else there worth taking and we can't trade back then we should take him. We are going to draft him to be a change of pace/KR, we can get somebody to fit that role with the same effectiveness later on. We'd still need to pick up a PR too.

I like Spiller a lot I am just weary of taking backs that early, especially when there's so much other talent in this draft, especially with the success of backs like Rice and Johnson.

Just a cool coincidence, guess who the Panthers took with their other 1st round pick (#19) in that draft. Jeff Otah - RT. He stepped in and started from day 1; sured up their line and helped them to a playoff berth.

Ok your losing me...I dont care how many backs are off the board, the initial point was in the teens were not reaching at RB, who is graded VERY high.

Then you say The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. They ended up parting ways with Foster so obviously Foster wasn't in the long term plans and they were looking to get younger. Then you point to a list of guys they passed on....at that point nobody knew how any of those guys would of developed into great NFL players. Its easy to do now but at that time that argument couldn't of been made...all speculation!

My point being drafting a RB with your only pick in the first and that specific pick being #2 overall there is a lot more risk involved. When we have 2 first round picks we can afford to roll the dice on a risk. In this case it would be Spiller who adds "the change of pace" that the front office has been talking about wanting. Also it gives us a better insurance policy for when Gore has his usual injuries that keeps him out for a few weeks. Lastly it gives us an excellent weapon as a true return guy. Granted this is all speculation as well but most agree that Spiller is a BAMF and having him would be a major asset and his contributions could start day 1. This pretty much means we "could" land the most premiere O skill player 2 years in a row....not to bad!!! I love Dex but Spiller is in a much different class.

You can also look to and blame Johnson for Spiller going this (projected) high. Because he has "broken the mold" for smaller RB's in the league there is now a higher demand for that type of guy.

That's my point. It's all speculation so what makes you so positive that Spiller will be a better game-changer than McC or Best? My point is that people thought Jonathan Stewart was a "can't miss back" and that Carolina would be stupid to pass up on the second best play-maker in the draft. By the way the best playmaking back was McFadden, who hasn't exactly lit it up since becoming a Raider. Stewart is maybe the 3rd or 4th best back out of that draft, McFadden is even worse. If there's 3-4 good backs that will be available in the 2nd, why take a back when you can get a Corner/Linebacker/Pass-Rusher (positions where talent is much harder to come by)

How did that analogy lose you? They were 7-9, we are 8-8. They finished second in their division and had been hoping to win the division that year. Sound familiar? They had an explosive receiver in Steve Smith and a good back in DeAngelo Williams. We Have an explosive receiver in Vernon Davis, and a good back in Frank Gore. We also have a playmaker in Crabtree. They had the #13 and #19 picks, we have the #13 and #17 picks. They had a huge hole to fill at RT with questions of consistency at QB. They had a young defense that just needed an offense to score points for it. I think that's very similar to the situation the 49ers are in this year.

The Panthers took a "luxury" at #13 instead of Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins (both Pro-Bowl corners). Now they need a #1 corner and have two running backs, in a league that is shifting more and more into a passing league.

I don't want us to fall in love with a guy because he had great runs in college; especially if it means passing up on somebody who could be a Pro-Bowler in 2-3 years.
Don't get me wrong, if Spiller is far and away the BPA at #13 and nobody is really even close to having his potential then I have no problems with Scotty pulling the trigger.

That's why I'm so stoked for the combine, it's really the only chance for the general public to form an opinion on all these players unless they're able to watch every single game somehow.

Probably would have helped a lot if the McFadden had a solid oline in front of him...oh wait

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Because the titans already had a top 5 top 10 o line we have a bottom 5 o line

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Because the titans already had a top 5 top 10 o line we have a bottom 5 o line

Originally posted by Butter:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Everybody slammed the Texans for passing on Bush, now Bush is eating up 8M and Williams is a Pro-Bowler.

If we were drafting #2 overall then that analogy would make better sense...but considering were drafting in the teens and have 2 first round picks....we can afford a luxury (who also fills a need)

Using your logic your analogy doesn't make sense either. Johnson was taken #24 and was the 4th back off the board. A more similar situation would be us getting McCluster in the 2nd or trading our 13th and moving back then picking up Best or McCluster.

Jonathan Stewart was drafted #13 overall in that draft to the Panthers. The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. Williams was the Best back in the draft and the Panthers couldn't pass on a game-changer. (Even though they had Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams).

They passed on:
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins
Joe Flacco,
DeSean Jackson,
Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Matt Forte, Felix Jones, and of course Chris Johnson.

Notice how many other premier backs or "game-changers" are on the list they passed on. If there's nobody else there worth taking and we can't trade back then we should take him. We are going to draft him to be a change of pace/KR, we can get somebody to fit that role with the same effectiveness later on. We'd still need to pick up a PR too.

I like Spiller a lot I am just weary of taking backs that early, especially when there's so much other talent in this draft, especially with the success of backs like Rice and Johnson.

Just a cool coincidence, guess who the Panthers took with their other 1st round pick (#19) in that draft. Jeff Otah - RT. He stepped in and started from day 1; sured up their line and helped them to a playoff berth.

Ok your losing me...I dont care how many backs are off the board, the initial point was in the teens were not reaching at RB, who is graded VERY high.

Then you say The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. They ended up parting ways with Foster so obviously Foster wasn't in the long term plans and they were looking to get younger. Then you point to a list of guys they passed on....at that point nobody knew how any of those guys would of developed into great NFL players. Its easy to do now but at that time that argument couldn't of been made...all speculation!

My point being drafting a RB with your only pick in the first and that specific pick being #2 overall there is a lot more risk involved. When we have 2 first round picks we can afford to roll the dice on a risk. In this case it would be Spiller who adds "the change of pace" that the front office has been talking about wanting. Also it gives us a better insurance policy for when Gore has his usual injuries that keeps him out for a few weeks. Lastly it gives us an excellent weapon as a true return guy. Granted this is all speculation as well but most agree that Spiller is a BAMF and having him would be a major asset and his contributions could start day 1. This pretty much means we "could" land the most premiere O skill player 2 years in a row....not to bad!!! I love Dex but Spiller is in a much different class.

You can also look to and blame Johnson for Spiller going this (projected) high. Because he has "broken the mold" for smaller RB's in the league there is now a higher demand for that type of guy.

That's my point. It's all speculation so what makes you so positive that Spiller will be a better game-changer than McC or Best? My point is that people thought Jonathan Stewart was a "can't miss back" and that Carolina would be stupid to pass up on the second best play-maker in the draft. By the way the best playmaking back was McFadden, who hasn't exactly lit it up since becoming a Raider. Stewart is maybe the 3rd or 4th best back out of that draft, McFadden is even worse. If there's 3-4 good backs that will be available in the 2nd, why take a back when you can get a Corner/Linebacker/Pass-Rusher (positions where talent is much harder to come by)

How did that analogy lose you? They were 7-9, we are 8-8. They finished second in their division and had been hoping to win the division that year. Sound familiar? They had an explosive receiver in Steve Smith and a good back in DeAngelo Williams. We Have an explosive receiver in Vernon Davis, and a good back in Frank Gore. We also have a playmaker in Crabtree. They had the #13 and #19 picks, we have the #13 and #17 picks. They had a huge hole to fill at RT with questions of consistency at QB. They had a young defense that just needed an offense to score points for it. I think that's very similar to the situation the 49ers are in this year.

The Panthers took a "luxury" at #13 instead of Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins (both Pro-Bowl corners). Now they need a #1 corner and have two running backs, in a league that is shifting more and more into a passing league.

I don't want us to fall in love with a guy because he had great runs in college; especially if it means passing up on somebody who could be a Pro-Bowler in 2-3 years.
Don't get me wrong, if Spiller is far and away the BPA at #13 and nobody is really even close to having his potential then I have no problems with Scotty pulling the trigger.

That's why I'm so stoked for the combine, it's really the only chance for the general public to form an opinion on all these players unless they're able to watch every single game somehow.

Probably would have helped a lot if the McFadden had a solid oline in front of him...oh wait

49ers had the worst O-line in the league last year, his O-line was better then whatever Gore was working with.

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
anyone know of a way to watch NFL Network over the net? Does TVU have it?

if ur wanting to watch the combine, NFL.com will have it live saturday-tuesday

http://www.nfl.com/combine/live/landing?icampaign=CombineLiveV9_TR

gratzi

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by Butter:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Everybody slammed the Texans for passing on Bush, now Bush is eating up 8M and Williams is a Pro-Bowler.

If we were drafting #2 overall then that analogy would make better sense...but considering were drafting in the teens and have 2 first round picks....we can afford a luxury (who also fills a need)

Using your logic your analogy doesn't make sense either. Johnson was taken #24 and was the 4th back off the board. A more similar situation would be us getting McCluster in the 2nd or trading our 13th and moving back then picking up Best or McCluster.

Jonathan Stewart was drafted #13 overall in that draft to the Panthers. The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. Williams was the Best back in the draft and the Panthers couldn't pass on a game-changer. (Even though they had Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams).

They passed on:
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins
Joe Flacco,
DeSean Jackson,
Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Matt Forte, Felix Jones, and of course Chris Johnson.

Notice how many other premier backs or "game-changers" are on the list they passed on. If there's nobody else there worth taking and we can't trade back then we should take him. We are going to draft him to be a change of pace/KR, we can get somebody to fit that role with the same effectiveness later on. We'd still need to pick up a PR too.

I like Spiller a lot I am just weary of taking backs that early, especially when there's so much other talent in this draft, especially with the success of backs like Rice and Johnson.

Just a cool coincidence, guess who the Panthers took with their other 1st round pick (#19) in that draft. Jeff Otah - RT. He stepped in and started from day 1; sured up their line and helped them to a playoff berth.

Ok your losing me...I dont care how many backs are off the board, the initial point was in the teens were not reaching at RB, who is graded VERY high.

Then you say The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. They ended up parting ways with Foster so obviously Foster wasn't in the long term plans and they were looking to get younger. Then you point to a list of guys they passed on....at that point nobody knew how any of those guys would of developed into great NFL players. Its easy to do now but at that time that argument couldn't of been made...all speculation!

My point being drafting a RB with your only pick in the first and that specific pick being #2 overall there is a lot more risk involved. When we have 2 first round picks we can afford to roll the dice on a risk. In this case it would be Spiller who adds "the change of pace" that the front office has been talking about wanting. Also it gives us a better insurance policy for when Gore has his usual injuries that keeps him out for a few weeks. Lastly it gives us an excellent weapon as a true return guy. Granted this is all speculation as well but most agree that Spiller is a BAMF and having him would be a major asset and his contributions could start day 1. This pretty much means we "could" land the most premiere O skill player 2 years in a row....not to bad!!! I love Dex but Spiller is in a much different class.

You can also look to and blame Johnson for Spiller going this (projected) high. Because he has "broken the mold" for smaller RB's in the league there is now a higher demand for that type of guy.

That's my point. It's all speculation so what makes you so positive that Spiller will be a better game-changer than McC or Best? My point is that people thought Jonathan Stewart was a "can't miss back" and that Carolina would be stupid to pass up on the second best play-maker in the draft. By the way the best playmaking back was McFadden, who hasn't exactly lit it up since becoming a Raider. Stewart is maybe the 3rd or 4th best back out of that draft, McFadden is even worse. If there's 3-4 good backs that will be available in the 2nd, why take a back when you can get a Corner/Linebacker/Pass-Rusher (positions where talent is much harder to come by)

How did that analogy lose you? They were 7-9, we are 8-8. They finished second in their division and had been hoping to win the division that year. Sound familiar? They had an explosive receiver in Steve Smith and a good back in DeAngelo Williams. We Have an explosive receiver in Vernon Davis, and a good back in Frank Gore. We also have a playmaker in Crabtree. They had the #13 and #19 picks, we have the #13 and #17 picks. They had a huge hole to fill at RT with questions of consistency at QB. They had a young defense that just needed an offense to score points for it. I think that's very similar to the situation the 49ers are in this year.

The Panthers took a "luxury" at #13 instead of Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins (both Pro-Bowl corners). Now they need a #1 corner and have two running backs, in a league that is shifting more and more into a passing league.

I don't want us to fall in love with a guy because he had great runs in college; especially if it means passing up on somebody who could be a Pro-Bowler in 2-3 years.
Don't get me wrong, if Spiller is far and away the BPA at #13 and nobody is really even close to having his potential then I have no problems with Scotty pulling the trigger.

That's why I'm so stoked for the combine, it's really the only chance for the general public to form an opinion on all these players unless they're able to watch every single game somehow.

Probably would have helped a lot if the McFadden had a solid oline in front of him...oh wait

49ers had the worst O-line in the league last year, his O-line was better then whatever Gore was working with.

Exactly, that's why the 9ers need to draft oline instead of a RB.

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by foreign49er:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
McCloughan Q&A From Rob Rang:

49er's thinking RB early?

In the 2008 draft, everyone, and I mean everyone, slammed the Titans for drafting Chris Johnson when they already had Lendale White AND Chris Henry like we have Gore and Coffee.

...so why not Spiller?

Everybody slammed the Texans for passing on Bush, now Bush is eating up 8M and Williams is a Pro-Bowler.

If we were drafting #2 overall then that analogy would make better sense...but considering were drafting in the teens and have 2 first round picks....we can afford a luxury (who also fills a need)

Using your logic your analogy doesn't make sense either. Johnson was taken #24 and was the 4th back off the board. A more similar situation would be us getting McCluster in the 2nd or trading our 13th and moving back then picking up Best or McCluster.

Jonathan Stewart was drafted #13 overall in that draft to the Panthers. The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. Williams was the Best back in the draft and the Panthers couldn't pass on a game-changer. (Even though they had Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams).

They passed on:
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins
Joe Flacco,
DeSean Jackson,
Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Matt Forte, Felix Jones, and of course Chris Johnson.

Notice how many other premier backs or "game-changers" are on the list they passed on. If there's nobody else there worth taking and we can't trade back then we should take him. We are going to draft him to be a change of pace/KR, we can get somebody to fit that role with the same effectiveness later on. We'd still need to pick up a PR too.

I like Spiller a lot I am just weary of taking backs that early, especially when there's so much other talent in this draft, especially with the success of backs like Rice and Johnson.

Just a cool coincidence, guess who the Panthers took with their other 1st round pick (#19) in that draft. Jeff Otah - RT. He stepped in and started from day 1; sured up their line and helped them to a playoff berth.

Ok your losing me...I dont care how many backs are off the board, the initial point was in the teens were not reaching at RB, who is graded VERY high.

Then you say The Panthers were 7-9 and already had DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. They ended up parting ways with Foster so obviously Foster wasn't in the long term plans and they were looking to get younger. Then you point to a list of guys they passed on....at that point nobody knew how any of those guys would of developed into great NFL players. Its easy to do now but at that time that argument couldn't of been made...all speculation!

My point being drafting a RB with your only pick in the first and that specific pick being #2 overall there is a lot more risk involved. When we have 2 first round picks we can afford to roll the dice on a risk. In this case it would be Spiller who adds "the change of pace" that the front office has been talking about wanting. Also it gives us a better insurance policy for when Gore has his usual injuries that keeps him out for a few weeks. Lastly it gives us an excellent weapon as a true return guy. Granted this is all speculation as well but most agree that Spiller is a BAMF and having him would be a major asset and his contributions could start day 1. This pretty much means we "could" land the most premiere O skill player 2 years in a row....not to bad!!! I love Dex but Spiller is in a much different class.

You can also look to and blame Johnson for Spiller going this (projected) high. Because he has "broken the mold" for smaller RB's in the league there is now a higher demand for that type of guy.

That's my point. It's all speculation so what makes you so positive that Spiller will be a better game-changer than McC or Best? My point is that people thought Jonathan Stewart was a "can't miss back" and that Carolina would be stupid to pass up on the second best play-maker in the draft. By the way the best playmaking back was McFadden, who hasn't exactly lit it up since becoming a Raider. Stewart is maybe the 3rd or 4th best back out of that draft, McFadden is even worse. If there's 3-4 good backs that will be available in the 2nd, why take a back when you can get a Corner/Linebacker/Pass-Rusher (positions where talent is much harder to come by)

How did that analogy lose you? They were 7-9, we are 8-8. They finished second in their division and had been hoping to win the division that year. Sound familiar? They had an explosive receiver in Steve Smith and a good back in DeAngelo Williams. We Have an explosive receiver in Vernon Davis, and a good back in Frank Gore. We also have a playmaker in Crabtree. They had the #13 and #19 picks, we have the #13 and #17 picks. They had a huge hole to fill at RT with questions of consistency at QB. They had a young defense that just needed an offense to score points for it. I think that's very similar to the situation the 49ers are in this year.

The Panthers took a "luxury" at #13 instead of Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins (both Pro-Bowl corners). Now they need a #1 corner and have two running backs, in a league that is shifting more and more into a passing league.

I don't want us to fall in love with a guy because he had great runs in college; especially if it means passing up on somebody who could be a Pro-Bowler in 2-3 years.
Don't get me wrong, if Spiller is far and away the BPA at #13 and nobody is really even close to having his potential then I have no problems with Scotty pulling the trigger.

That's why I'm so stoked for the combine, it's really the only chance for the general public to form an opinion on all these players unless they're able to watch every single game somehow.

Overall I feel Spiller has more upside then Best or Dex. I don't see Dex as a real RB (who could handle the load if Gore went down) and Best although very good doesn't have the return abilities of Spiller. Regarding Corner/Linebacker/Pass-Rusher....I'm assuming Haden, McClain, and Graham. I think all will be gone by 13. I see McClain in Denver, Graham in Miami, and Haden somewhere in the top 10. Going back to Best I don't see him making in out of the top 10 in round 2 (Browns). Dex will be there in the 2nd but his value isn't that high and he could seriously be gone by the time we pick in the 3rd. If Spiller is there at 13 we have landed the best RB and are obviously assured we could draft him.

How did that analogy lose you? They were 7-9, we are 8-8.
The situations are still different. You listed guys who were available and were "needs" The Panthers took a "luxury" at #13 instead of Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins (both Pro-Bowl corners). Now they need a #1 corner and have two running backs, in a league that is shifting more and more into a passing league. Those types of guys aren't available in this years draft. The first round CB and FS class is weak once it gets to be our turn. I doubt we go after a DT or DE and I expect the best OLB to be gone. Spiller at that spot should be BPA who is also a need. If you look at best players at their positions that we could go after...

DT) Suh and McCoy-will be gone
ILB) McClain-will be gone
CB) Haden- will be gone
FS) Berry-will be gone
WR) Bryant-will be gone
SS)nothing in the first
OLB) Graham-I think will be gone, not sold on Kindle
DE) Dunlap-could be gone, Oderick I love but doubt we go after

Aside from those guy's who would we be passing on that would be in the same argument? Yes I know OT but I think we wait till 17 for that.