Originally posted by MadDog49er:Agreed, draft was deep in WRs. You may even be right about DeCasto being one of the top three guards in the draft.
Originally posted by oldninerdude:
This post is full of unsupported speculation.
Further, the posted argument--that the Niners needed to draft DeCasto in order to solve their "OL problems"--also appears to be badly misguided. One could argue that the position stated in this post completely ignores or overlooks the state of the Niner's offense last season.
According to the post, the Niners needed yet another first round selection at OL in order to cure a somewhat anemic offense that struggled on third downs, on short yardage situations, in the red zone, and with pass protection. As if adding DeCastro would suddenly, magically cure all these ills.
But the trouble did not lie solely with the OL. Rather, it could be traced to a lack of a sufficient number of playmakers who are able to get separation and get open, especially on third down and in short yardage situations. Opposing teams last season were frequently able to overwhelm the OL with numbers in these situations because they knew our skill players did not have the speed necessary to get open quickly and allow the QB to get the ball out of his hands fast enough.
So the genius cure by Harbaugh and Baalke is to add two speedy playmakers to stretch the field, get separation (and get open), and take the pressure off the QB and the OL.
There's just no way the addition of DeCasto at RG would have cured the third down ills that plagued the team last year. But the addition of Jenkins, James and Looney will go a long way towards doing so. IMHO.
So the post above is really just speculating about something that's a non-issue as far as improving the offense is concerned. Would adding DeCastro have helped? Probably. Would it have solved the third down problems. Not likely. Good as he is, DeCastro is not quick, fast, or speedy enough to get separation and get open on critical downs, nor is it his job to do so, obviously.
It seems pretty clear that Baalke got the guy he was targeting all along--both in the first and in the second round. So the completely unsupported argument that he coulda or shoulda tried to trade to get DeCastro is not only purely speculative, its also compeletely frivolous.
The post shows a lack of understanding about what the Niners were trying to accomplish in the draft, for the offense, in the first place. IMHO.
Which would be better to cure the third down/short yardage ills, getting a great RG, or getting a really good RG, a terrific WR with great speed, AND a terrific third down RB with great speed (and adding a bunch of picks next year as well). Seems like a pretty easy call.
BTW, thanks to MadDog for framing this issue the way he did. It may not have been his intent to do so, but presenting the argument the way he does allows Niner fans to more closely examine just what Baalke and Harbaugh set out to do, and accomplished, in the draft this year.
This draft was deep in WR's, and the difference between a player like Jenkins and another WR like Randle, Quick, Jones, to me is negligible. The difference between DeCastro and every other guard not named Glenn or Brooks, is wide. It is the way you grade players and the value you place on how they project in the future.
Neither point answers the questions posed: do you have any actual evidence that Baalke refused to consider another team's offer to trade, that the Brown's, for example, called and offered the 22nd pick in exchange for #30 and #92, but Baalke turned them down?
Further, it may all be a moot point. It appears that the Niner's were more interested in solving their short yardage/OL problems by adding some speedy playmakers than by adding yet another first round OL selection? Did you even consider that?
Fundamentally, you and I appear to have a difference of opinion in how building a team should be approached. You appear to be of the "plug in a great player and expect great results" school. Lots of people prefer that way of thinking, but it doesn't always net the expected results. (See, Philly's "dream team" last season.) (Or Singletary's failed experiment of plugging two first round rookies into the starting OL and watching an 8-8 team go 0-5 to start and 6-10 overall.) (Or any of Washington's FA moves since Snyder bought the team.)
To me, there's not always alot of difference in the actual talent of two different NFL teams. They may have a nearly equal number of fast, big, strong, strong-armed, skilled, experienced, and motivated players. One may be great, the other a perennial loser. The difference--coaching and team management.
So whether Jenkins is a C+ pick, or an A+ ultimately doesn't matter, to me, cause its how he's coached, and how he fits into the team's overall plan that matters. He appears to add a badly missing dimension--speed--that Randall, Quick, Jones, Sanu, and others would not necessarily provide. Now lets see how Roman and Harbaugh use that speed, along with his other abilities--route running ability, excellent hands, etc.
I'm guessing that he's going to have a great rookie season, much like Aldon Smith had last year. Not because of his measurables, but because of how his abilities are utilized, or "fitted" to the vision Harbaugh has of the offense.
So your criticism of Baalke for not moving up to get DeCastro is a far too simplistic view of what occurred in the draft to be of much worth, to me. To the extent you lack any real evidence that it actually occurred, its also somewhat unfair to Baalke, but whatever. . . .I doubt he lost any sleep over it.
Neither did I, for that matter.
