Solomon Thomas, DT

I honestly hope when it comes down to it this talk of playing Thomas at BE in base is pre-draft bullcrap talk.

Let the kid concentrate 100% on being the best player he can be inside.

Has anyone else wondered, with Solomon playing inside, and between Dee and Buck, that he ends up with a career season...due to both guys likely to take doubles? I mean, if you have Ford on one side and Buck on the other, isn't it likely he may be positioned to have nothing but 1v 1? And we have seen already that he generally wins those, He has been doubled on the outside, with no real stud beside him, and he does ok in that situation. But singled, is it possible the guy is the man who actually gets to the passer? Given the choice of doubling Solly or Dee/Buck, pretty obvious who is getting maximum attn.

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Does this mean Ford plays SAM on base or comes out?

Depends on formation. If it's 4-3 under Bosa should play Sam. In 4-3 over that's where Ford would play it.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by NinerBuff:
Does this mean Ford plays SAM on base or comes out?

Depends on formation. If it's 4-3 under Bosa should play Sam. In 4-3 over that's where Ford would play it.

Both Ford and Bosa will have their hands in the dirt.

So much potential, will we see it this season?

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:

Has anyone else wondered, with Solomon playing inside, and between Dee and Buck, that he ends up with a career season...due to both guys likely to take doubles? I mean, if you have Ford on one side and Buck on the other, isn't it likely he may be positioned to have nothing but 1v 1? And we have seen already that he generally wins those, He has been doubled on the outside, with no real stud beside him, and he does ok in that situation. But singled, is it possible the guy is the man who actually gets to the passer? Given the choice of doubling Solly or Dee/Buck, pretty obvious who is getting maximum attn.

There was a reason he was pick as high as he was. He has had a slow start no doubt, but if the keep him inside he will shine. I'm certain of it.

Originally posted by 21SandersMoss84:

Both Ford and Bosa will have their hands in the dirt.

Then you are putting an inferior LB out there for plays.

I want Bosa and Ford out there as much as possible.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

I want Bosa and Ford out there as much as possible.

Amen to that!

This defensive line has a chance to be really great. There are so many possibilities on how to line these guys up that it should really keep teams off balance.You can start Bosa, Buckner,Thomas and Ford. Then you slide in AA, D. J. Jones or even Street to back up and you have a really solid group. We should definitely see more QB pressures, sacks and tackles for loss this year.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Ronnie49Lott:

The move inside seemed to help Thomas. We'll see how he plays inside with a full offseason to practice and hone his skills as an inside pass-rusher.

This is still a huge assumption. Remember, Saleh is our DC. It was his choice all along to keep ST at LEO for run defense and give him minimal snaps inside and only for obvious passing downs.

I mean, we hope he's exclusively inside every down now but...Saleh-happens...so we'll see.

If this all boils down to Saleh...it will be an awful shame. Whether it be Saleh's inattention to anything with DL or DBs, or flat out lack of knowledge, after a while, you have to start looking at the big boss...and his inattention to the saleh/ Solly issue.

It's time is to stop messing with putting a round peg in a square hole, and play the man where he has the best chance to succeed. IF that happens , the team benefits maximally. Saleh didn't pay attn to zgonnia, and Z didnt pay attn to kyle. End of the day kyle is responsible. If saleh can't keep from using solly where he doesn't excel, well...maybe it's time for an upgrade at DC. Saleh is a fine LB coach. To date he did do what kyle ordered: stop the runs up the gut.

But aside from that, if he has shown signs of improvement, they have been hard to see. And the Solly thing has to stop. Just play him where he is best. If that doesn't happen then ....well, adios.

Kyle and JL did bring in Kocurek and Woods to help Saleh. But if things don't improve, then we have upgrades in place.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Ronnie49Lott:

The move inside seemed to help Thomas. We'll see how he plays inside with a full offseason to practice and hone his skills as an inside pass-rusher.

This is still a huge assumption. Remember, Saleh is our DC. It was his choice all along to keep ST at LEO for run defense and give him minimal snaps inside and only for obvious passing downs.

I mean, we hope he's exclusively inside every down now but...Saleh-happens...so we'll see.

If this all boils down to Saleh...it will be an awful shame. Whether it be Saleh's inattention to anything with DL or DBs, or flat out lack of knowledge, after a while, you have to start looking at the big boss...and his inattention to the saleh/ Solly issue.

It's time is to stop messing with putting a round peg in a square hole, and play the man where he has the best chance to succeed. IF that happens , the team benefits maximally. Saleh didn't pay attn to zgonnia, and Z didnt pay attn to kyle. End of the day kyle is responsible. If saleh can't keep from using solly where he doesn't excel, well...maybe it's time for an upgrade at DC. Saleh is a fine LB coach. To date he did do what kyle ordered: stop the runs up the gut.

But aside from that, if he has shown signs of improvement, they have been hard to see. And the Solly thing has to stop. Just play him where he is best. If that doesn't happen then ....well, adios.

Kyle and JL did bring in Kocurek and Woods to help Saleh. But if things don't improve, then we have upgrades in place.

What if Sheldon Day is better? Would you take snaps from him to give to Thomas?

Thomas was a bad pick regardless.

Originally posted by TheWooLick:

What if Sheldon Day is better? Would you take snaps from him to give to Thomas?

Thomas was a bad pick regardless.

Best 11, always. But i don't agree that Day is better, altho I do like him. No flies on Day, either.

Originally posted by TheWooLick:
What if Sheldon Day is better? Would you take snaps from him to give to Thomas?

Thomas was a bad pick regardless.

If he's better then he's playing but Day has been playing one position his whole NFL career, Thomas has been jerked around and played at his natural position only a small fraction of his NFL snaps, also while dealing with his sister's suicide last season.

Let's see how the competition shakes out but I'm confident if the coaches allow Thomas to play inside the bulk of his snaps we'll see a very different player this year and moving forward with his career as a 49er.

Love his commentary, and I hope we can see it come to fruition.

I thought this would be a good time to bump Johnnydel's film breakdown of Solly when playing inside. A lot of this is very encouraging now that we have edge rushers. He was mauling some of the guards in the later part of the season.