What talent has our coaching staff properly developed?

Patrick Willis seems like his production has more to do with raw talent, and Frank Gore has excelled in his personal training and physical fitness, yet has been notorious for his fumbling abilities. Joe Staley is coming a long well it seems.

The most glaring examples, in my mind, are K. Balmer, Manny Lawson, Alex Smith, Vernon Davis (maybe just under utilized), and various other "project players".

[ Edited by IDontGetNaked on Aug 30, 2009 at 20:11:49 ]

As for players, NONE so far (considering this is the first draft for this coaching staff)...

- 98

Originally posted by IDontGetNaked:
Patrick Willis seems like his production has more to do with raw talent, and Frank Gore has excelled in his personal training and physical fitness, yet has been notorious for his fumbling abilities. Joe Staley is coming a long well it seems.

The most glaring examples, in my mind, are K. Balmer, Manny Lawson, Alex Smith, Vernon Davis (maybe just under utilized), and various other "project players".

I say this is the last season we should keep Jerry Sullivan around. He still hasn't produce a single receiver worth a lick in the years that he's been here. Open the gates for Jerry Rice, if he's willing.

To be fair, I think Singletary has played a part in the development of Patrick Willis.

Since this is Sings first year.... I'd say the biggest developed player (as far as pre-seasons can go) has got to be Coffee.

Originally posted by kidash98:
As for players, NONE so far (considering this is the first draft for this coaching staff)...

- 98

What was the turnover from last year? Martz (who I'm sure didn't 'develop' much past JTO) and Nolan.

Manusky, McC, and Singletary have been on the staff for a fair amount of time.

This has been our weakness for a time. I think I will go for Snyder.

I will wait until after this year to see how they develop. I think alot of these guys either haven't been played or not used correctly.

wow to early to tell. new coaching staff here. otherwise i'd say none! yep. manny lawson hasn't done anytthing.

Originally posted by IDontGetNaked:
Patrick Willis seems like his production has more to do with raw talent, and Frank Gore has excelled in his personal training and physical fitness, yet has been notorious for his fumbling abilities. Joe Staley is coming a long well it seems.

The most glaring examples, in my mind, are K. Balmer, Manny Lawson, Alex Smith, Vernon Davis (maybe just under utilized), and various other "project players".[/quote]

all 1st round picks

[ Edited by 9er2k on Aug 31, 2009 at 08:32:08 ]

Shaun "The Second Coming of Joe Montana" Hill, according to some people on these boards.

Originally posted by Squirrel:
Shaun "The Second Coming of Joe Montana" Hill, according to some people on these boards.

Originally posted by IDontGetNaked:
Patrick Willis seems like his production has more to do with raw talent, and Frank Gore has excelled in his personal training and physical fitness, yet has been notorious for his fumbling abilities. Joe Staley is coming a long well it seems.

The most glaring examples, in my mind, are K. Balmer, Manny Lawson, Alex Smith, Vernon Davis (maybe just under utilized), and various other "project players".

You have to sort out the Nolan years. His staff did not do well. To be fair, for reasons beyond his control, he was not able to hire top position coaches and it showed in lack of development...but we have been through all of that.

As to the names you mentioned;
Balmer, an admitted project has shown good progress this PS. I give the staff a B-.
Lawson has not been used properly yet and then lost a year+ to injury.
Smith has been well discussed here. I am still not willing to write him off. Johnson seems to have fixed some of his problems.
Davis' "problem" is he was drafted too high resulting in unrealistic expectations. He will make an occasional Pro Bowl alternate spot but that is who he is.

The cupboard is not totally bare on this front. I believe that the position coaches are the developers, while the HC, OC, and DC are responsible more for use, not development. Here are some good development jobs:

DL Coach Jim Tomsula - Sopoaga lost a year to a bad back, and was just flailing around until Tomsula became the DL coach. Marked improvement in Sopoaga, so that he can play effectively at 2 positions (NT and DE). Now Tomsula has Balmer entering his 2nd year and showing marked improvement. Franklin improved after Nolan left and Tomsula convinced Manusky to use Franklin mostly as a 1-gapper, where his quickness could be exploited. Tomsula is a teacher.

TE Coach Pete Hoener - harnessing the unbridled and undisciplined Vernon Davis would have been a huge challenge for any position coach. And Hoener has needed a direct hand from Singletary to get it done, but Hoener has developed Davis, first as a blocker and now, it's clear that Davis' receiving skills have been markedly upgraded. The turnover in OC's and how they chose to use Davis, has masked this development. Also Hoener has successfully converted WR Walker into an effective TE, plus Hoener has developed low draft picks/UDFA's into effective blocking TE's (Bajema, Finley, Pascoe). Hoener is a teacher.

WR Coach Sullivan - I've not been a fan of Sullivan for much of his stay, but it's important to separate the talent level of the player from the development effort of the coach. Sullivan sets a high bar for acceptable play. Only Battle, Hill and Morgan seem to have been able to exceed that bar. Many have fallen short, which I attribute to talent limitations. Battle, Morgan and Hill are all very effective downfield blockers, a developed skill, and disciplined route runners, another developmental skill.

LC Coach Tarver - share the credit with Singletary, but the development of Haralson, a 5th-round pick has been steady and solid. Willis has also developed in terms of play recognition and pass protection. Lawson is a lightning rod for criticism in the eyes of some fans, but when he plays, his coverage skills, tackle-for-loss play and backside rundowns on plays to the weakside, are all strong developed skills. Too bad Jay Moore hasn't stayed healthy enough to join this trio. McKillop will be another good developmental example by 2011.

Failed developmental coaches:
Warhop - total dud in OL development. Foerster showed some skill in late 2008.
All the RB coaches. This is now fixed with Rathman onboard.
DB coaches - Still suspect. Most of the starters have been bought in FA, not developed. Goldson, Brown and Smith are the test tube babies for this season.

[ Edited by jimbagg on Aug 31, 2009 at 11:05:33 ]

Originally posted by 49ers1fan1982:

Originally posted by Squirrel:
Shaun "The Second Coming of Joe Montana" Hill, according to some people on these boards.

If this was track and field, yes. Shaun "shotputter" Hill can hand the ball off well.