Kentwan Balmer: You Better Get Your S**t Together!

While I would love to believe that he will break out.

I don't really see it. I didn't see it at all his rookie year. I don't see it in college. I don't see it now.

I am not one of those 9er haters either. I still have hope for Davis, Lawson and Smith.

But KB....I just don't see it happening this year for sure.

OK Reasonable,

First, it's Olshansky...... NOT "olansky"

And if you think Balmer will play anywhere near his level this season, you are a bigger idiot than I thought. Balmer played how many snaps last season on D? Not very many, but yet, you claim he held up blockers and got good penetration! Ya, I guess he did.........on special teams. The guy on our team who DID play close to Igor's level was Soap, but nobody really noticed. I guess it's easy to look down on anybody who is replacing a NINER star (BY).

I don't understand why people are so high on this guy. He was a 1 year wonder in college that really never did much before his last season. The biggest knock on him was that he plays too high at the point of impact.
What little I saw of him last season I wasn't impressed. However, I didn' think the kid was garbage either. He needs alot of work, but he could turn out to be an avg to good player. I was pleased when I heard he has been working out with Justin Smith. He has good size for a 3-4 end and if he develops a good work ethic he will do well. With that said, Balmer isn't even close to Olshansky, Canty, Warren, or Keisel (underrated IMO).

You started off by calling everyone else on the board idiots. Way to make yourself a target.

I saw a lot of Balmer while watching other DL, so the limited number of snaps he did have, I feel I can comment on. I think on most snaps, Balmer held the POA well enough. I don't remember him ever getting good penetration. I watched him walk an OL back a couple of times, and was pleased. Overall, he didn't really impress or get blown up... just sort of held his own okay.

I think the excitement of him comes from this article: http://www.49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=5336§ion=PR%20News

On Kentwan Balmer’s progress:
“Kentwan is one of those guys that I am very, very excited about, as well as the other coaches. He has made such great strides in maturity, development. For him to come out here, just to give you an example, this speaks volumes. I don’t need to say anything else about him. For him to come out here, with the veterans, our first mini-camp and go through that whole camp, knowing that it was going to be painful and then to come right back out here with the rookies, when the rookies have to do it, and I told all the veterans, you don’t have to do it. He was the only veteran that I couldn’t run off. He wanted to do it and he was fine and that was a very tough thing, but said a lot for him.”

On if he thinks Balmer will be able to make an impact this season:
“Absolutely. All you have to do is talk to him a little bit, watch him work. He worked with Justin Smith the whole offseason and that’s just been great for him and he’s got a tremendous work ethic. I remember when we drafted him, I talked to his coach in college, John Blake at North Carolina. He said, ‘Mike, all of Kentwan’s ability and his ability to make plays is in front of him. He’s very raw.’ That was an understatement. He was raw coming in. You kind of look at him and you think, ‘Man, okay, I’m waiting.’ And toward the end of last season, I’m telling you, I can understand what Scot [McCloughan] saw in him because he has a heck of a package and a lot of ability. I’m very excited about him.”

Im exctied for Balmer I think he will be solid for us this year.

I wouldn't go so far to say that this is his year.

I'm not expecting a pro-bowl breakout type year. If he's a good solid part of the rotation, he would have done okay. If he's starting, then he's done great.

-9fA

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:
I wouldn't go so far to say that this is his year.

I'm not expecting a pro-bowl breakout type year. If he's a good solid part of the rotation, he would have done okay. If he's starting, then he's done great.

-9fA

Yeah if he wins the starting job,I will be impressed.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:
I wouldn't go so far to say that this is his year.

I'm not expecting a pro-bowl breakout type year. If he's a good solid part of the rotation, he would have done okay. If he's starting, then he's done great.

-9fA

Yeah if he wins the starting job,I will be impressed.

I have a feeling that by midseason we will see KB as the starting DE opposite Justin Smith. I'm still not completely sure what to expect from Ray McDonald after his injury? Balmer should see much more playing time this year.

Originally posted by AKfanster:
OK Reasonable,

First, it's Olshansky...... NOT "olansky"

And if you think Balmer will play anywhere near his level this season, you are a bigger idiot than I thought. Balmer played how many snaps last season on D? Not very many, but yet, you claim he held up blockers and got good penetration! Ya, I guess he did.........on special teams. The guy on our team who DID play close to Igor's level was Soap, but nobody really noticed. I guess it's easy to look down on anybody who is replacing a NINER star (BY).

I don't understand why people are so high on this guy. He was a 1 year wonder in college that really never did much before his last season. The biggest knock on him was that he plays too high at the point of impact.
What little I saw of him last season I wasn't impressed. However, I didn' think the kid was garbage either. He needs alot of work, but he could turn out to be an avg to good player. I was pleased when I heard he has been working out with Justin Smith. He has good size for a 3-4 end and if he develops a good work ethic he will do well. With that said, Balmer isn't even close to Olshansky, Canty, Warren, or Keisel (underrated IMO).

You started off by calling everyone else on the board idiots. Way to make yourself a target.

First off I can see you do not even bother to read. Let me breakdown everything wrong with your post.

#1. I did NOT call EVERYONE idiots. The ones whom I did use that language toward are the ones who think players in the mold of a guy like Freeney are the answers to this teams need at defensive end. Which they have absolutely NO IDEA that a guy like Freeney would never play DE in a 3-4...but since they just would look at positions and not players they wouldnt know the difference.

#2. I didnt even spell or misspell Olshansky's name, I simply quoted another poster who happened to spell his name wrong. BIG FREAKIN DEAL if he spelled it wrong...I referred to him as Igor.

#3. I did not say he would match the player Olshansky is this season...I said that Olshansky was the player that came to mind when I thought about Balmer's potential. POTENTIAL!! Which would be a fair comparison considering they are similar in size, strength and that they BOTH played DT in college and were converted to DE in the NFL.

#4. I distinctly pointed out that Balmer did not get much playing time at the beginning of the season and that in his limited work toward the end of last season he did very well in learning the details of his responsibility at DE i.e. occupying blockers, stopping his running lanes and getting decent penetration...all of which he did a DECENT job at in his VERY LIMITED TIME. If you happened to read(which obviously you didnt) I also pointed out at how his learning curve was steeper not just because of his position change but the fact that he was a ROOKIE defensive lineman.

#5. Who in the hell would think Balmer would automatically replace BY?? Balmer and BY are 2 different types of defensive lineman. BY was the type who could play anywhere alone the line because of his rare combo of size and speed along with excellent technique. Balmer is more of a mauler who occupies blockers and stuffs the run while getting mild penetration to the QB.

#6. Like I said in the previous post...if you are going to quote me...KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.


Now for everyone else who was offended by my "idiot" referral. They seemed to understand whom I was referring to and accepted the apology I offered. YOU seem to be EXACTLY who I was referring to when I used that word.

You read nothing yet have an opinion on everything I have said.

GET IT RIGHT before you quote me...

Originally posted by PTulini:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:
I wouldn't go so far to say that this is his year.

I'm not expecting a pro-bowl breakout type year. If he's a good solid part of the rotation, he would have done okay. If he's starting, then he's done great.

-9fA

Yeah if he wins the starting job,I will be impressed.

I have a feeling that by midseason we will see KB as the starting DE opposite Justin Smith. I'm still not completely sure what to expect from Ray McDonald after his injury? Balmer should see much more playing time this year.

You know the perfect thing about that scenario...

If Balmer does develop into the starter that McCloughan hoped for. Do you realize the options that Manusky has on passing and 3rd downs with a 4 man line if he so chose to do that? He could rotate all of those guys inside and out because most of them are VERY interchangable. McDonald,RJF, Balmer or Soap can play the DT on 3rd downs and you can then let guys like Haralson and Lawson put their hands on the ground and pin their ears back. There are a lot of options with this line if some of these guys can come together.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:
I wouldn't go so far to say that this is his year.

I'm not expecting a pro-bowl breakout type year. If he's a good solid part of the rotation, he would have done okay. If he's starting, then he's done great.

-9fA

Yeah if he wins the starting job,I will be impressed.

Likewise

The best part about the whole thing is him spending the offseason working with Justin Smith. We have no idea how far he has progressed, but the coaches believe that he has progressed more than anybody. Fingers crossed..........

I'm hoping Balmer can be the anchor of our D-Line, he needs to contribute in a big way this season, no more learning curve and getting used to the system excuses, it's time for him to get it done

He will make the Pro Bowl this year

Originally posted by reasonable1:

Originally posted by PTulini:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:
I wouldn't go so far to say that this is his year.

I'm not expecting a pro-bowl breakout type year. If he's a good solid part of the rotation, he would have done okay. If he's starting, then he's done great.

-9fA

Yeah if he wins the starting job,I will be impressed.

I have a feeling that by midseason we will see KB as the starting DE opposite Justin Smith. I'm still not completely sure what to expect from Ray McDonald after his injury? Balmer should see much more playing time this year.

You know the perfect thing about that scenario...

If Balmer does develop into the starter that McCloughan hoped for. Do you realize the options that Manusky has on passing and 3rd downs with a 4 man line if he so chose to do that? He could rotate all of those guys inside and out because most of them are VERY interchangable. McDonald,RJF, Balmer or Soap can play the DT on 3rd downs and you can then let guys like Haralson and Lawson put their hands on the ground and pin their ears back. There are a lot of options with this line if some of these guys can come together.

I think the nickle will be great this year - the guys you mentioned collapsing the o-line and at least three "ball-hawks" in the secondary.

He is looking slimmer and stronger too...I saw him standing next to Justin Smith and they are very comparable in size! I hope he kicks some serious Ace this year!

While I think Balmer will have a better year than last year (then again that is not saying much) he is so raw it will be his 3rd year when we see his real potential coming through justifying a first round pick. If we just get another decent journeyman DL at the expense of a 1st round pick I will be disappointed. I am always hesitant to get excited about someone just because the GM that selected him is going on about how great one of his selections looks.

On the flip side I got to watch a lot of RJF at LSU and the kid has incredible upside IF he keeps his head screwed on straight and is willing to work his butt off like never before. He could be a steal when we look down the road in 3-4 years. Depending on the McDonald situation he could be on the 53 man roster or spend a year on the scout team. He is a project but could be a fantastic player.