Lets talk 49ers Secondary breakdown: My Breakdown;

PatrickJira411 · 2010-05-25T17:28:24-07:00

Let's talk about the 49ers secondary which looks like it could be the weakest and thinnest position on the team; Cornerbacks; Nate Clements: May be the most hated player on the team by his own fans or at least one of the most scrutinized. Ever since Nate Clements came to SF signing that big $80million dollar contract, people have been on his case. First off, he will never make anywhere near the $80mill some people tend to believe he will. Second, I think he has been a very good player for the 49ers. I thought he played at near pro bowl level in 2007 and 2008 and while his game did drop of slightly and he had an awful game vs Atlanta, I did not think he deserved to be benched and while he is getting up there in age for a cornerback (will be 31 in December) I still think he is a good CORNERBACK and I look for him to play very well this season with some added motivation with his benching last season; talk of him moving to safety and heck he is playing for a job next season because it does not look like he will be back with the 49ers next year when he is due around $7mill I believe. Shawntae Spencer: Came out of nowhere to not only win a starting spot with the team but was the team's best cornerback and just played very good, CONSISTENT, football all year long. A tall (6'1") lanky corner with long arms, Spencer has good closing speed and good overall speed along with the fluid hips you look for in a corner. Injuries and confidence have been Spencer's biggest enemy(s) since being drafted by the 49ers in 2004 so hopefully he can stay healthy and focused and put together another solid season here in 2010. Tarrell Brown: A talented young corner we keep waiting every year for Brown to become a starter and he has not done so thus far at least on a consistent, long term basis. He has been a very good nickel back but has had some struggles when he has been started and has had some minor injury issues. TB is almost at the crossroads of his career, now entering his fourth NFL season is he just a good nickel back or can be a good starting cornerback in this league? I hope we don't have to find out this year as hopefully Spencer and Clements do the job and stay healthy, allowing T-Brown to continue to be our nickel, #3 cornerback something he has done a very good job at. 4th Cornerback: I look for Karl Paymah, Will James and Keith Smith to battle it for the 4th cornerback spot and possibly the 5th cornerback spot if we carry 5 cornerbacks. Karl Paymah: Off-season FA pickup from the Vikings, Paymah signed with Minnesota last season after a lot of interest from several other teams including the 49ers. He was a disaster in Minnesota. He just wasn't a good fit for their scheme. In his previous four season with the Broncos, Paymah was an up and down player and saw a lot of starting time in 07 and 08. He looks like a player in his uniform but he has not proven he is a good, solid #3 corner in this league let alone a starter. We'll see, like I said he is talented, he has good size, runs well and is naturally athletic corner. Hopefully Johnny Lynn (one of the best DB coaches in the NFL) and Vance Joseph can coach him up and get the most out of him. Will James: Formerly known as Will Peterson, James had a very good start to his career with the Giants, starting in 2001 and 2002 and playing pretty well on some good Giant defensive teams. He was hurt in 03 but played well in 04 and in 05 he hurt his back and has never really been the same bouncing around on a few teams since the Giants let him go. In the last 4 years he has been with Philly, Jacksonville Buffalo and Detroit where he started 14 games last season. Yeah I know, big deal he was a starter on a bad team and he had some games where he was just picked on consistently. Maybe if he is healthy he can give us something, decent depth and it could help he is being coached by Johnny Lynn who was his position coach and later DC with the Giants. I was not crazy when I heard we signed James and I would have rather re-signed Dre Bly but obviously their were some other issues with Dre. Keith Smith: Tough, scrappy corner. He was unfairly put in a bad position a week after he signed last season against the Seahawks late in the game when he got beat by Deon Butler and im not sure Smith will make the 49ers roster but he is a decent corner, IMO and an excellent ST's player. SAFETIES: Dashon Goldson: People mostly talk about Vernon Davis or Frank Gore or even Michael Crabtree and Alex Smith when talking about the 49ers but Goldson is one of the most talented players on the team and many people (including myself) believe Goldson has superstar potential and he could reach that level as early as this season. in 2009, Goldson in his third season was finally able to stay healthy and become a starter on the team. He started of a little slowly and has some bad moments and games but the last 6 or 7 games of the season, Goldson was playing at a very high level and heading into this season you have to be excited about Dashon Goldson as our starting FS. A big, 6'2" 200-210pd safety, Goldson has very good speed with long arms and most importantly, great closing speed and very good and improving ball skills. While he is very good in pass coverage he is also a force vs the run and has shown he can really hit and while he is generally a good tackler, he does need to become a little more consistent in that area and not always go for the big hit(s) which he seemed to do a better job of as the season went on. Superstar potential and I think he is close. I would not be surprised if after this season, people start talking about Dashon Goldson as one of the best safeties in the NFL. Michael Lewis: Solid veteran who has been a good, solid, consistent football player for the 49ers when healthy and on the field. He is one concussion away from retirement and at 30yrs old, he has a lot of wear and tear on his body due to the fact he has been such a physical football player in his career and while he can be a liability in pass coverage. He is very good vs the run, a very good, sound, consistent tackler and he rarely blows assignments and is a good guy to have on the field and on the team. I do think it is a safe bet this is Lewis's last year with the 49ers, as a starter at least. Taylor Mays: One of the most talked about players in college football the last few years especially on this message board. It was a surprise to see Mays fall out of the 1st rd and to get him at 49, that was a big surprise. A lot of mixed opinions on Taylor Mays. Is he just a workout warrior? Does he have the ball skills to play in the NFL? Should be interesting to watch him develop and I feel good about his development with former NFL safety and our current DB's coach, Johnny Lynn, working with him. The biggest question mark with Mays is does have the ball skills and natural hip movement to play the ball in the NFL. He did not show he could do that at USC and while some people will argue it is because Pete Carroll did not have him do that so it is not Mays's fault but Pete Carroll is a very smart coach and as a former NFL Defensive coordinator and DB's coach, there was obviously a reason why he did not feature Mays in pass coverage. Also in the Senior Bowl practices, Mays struggled in one on one pass coverage drills and he struggled in the ball drills at the combine. The question is can he develop better ball skills or is it just something he does not have? He certainly has all the tools. He is a big 6'3" 235pd safety who runs like a deer and has shown he can just flat blow people up and he sent a lot of guys to the injury room. Now he won't be able to blow guys up as much as he did in college in the NFL but I still do see him a physical, intimidating safety in the NFL. With his speed he can also be used in a lot of different ways including blitzing of the edge and seal the edges with his speed. I mean look at some of the sideline to sideline plays he made in college including an amazing stop against Jahvid Best. With Mays and Patrick Willis running around, it would be tough for teams to run outside on the 49ers, the question is will Mays pass coverage deficiencies keep him off the field in the NFL or will he just be a 1st and 2nd down player? We'll see, really interested and excited to watch this kid (hopefully) develop with the 49ers. Reggie Smith: A talented former 3rd rd pick in 2008, Smith has struggled with injuries since being drafted by the 49ers and it did not help that Mike Nolan tried him at cornerback as a rookie instead of his most natural position which is safety which cost Smith a year of development. Last pre-season Reggie Smith looked pretty good and stood out on some plays but had nagging injuries once again last season. This year the 49ers are somewhat counting on Smith to at least replace Mark Roman as the teams top backup safety and also become the 6th DB on dime packages. If Smith can stay healthy and focused, I look for him to be a big upgrade over Roman as Smith is not only younger but faster, more athletic and has good size and ball skills. Again, the key with Smith is staying healthy. I do think the team will keep the four safeties above on the final roster. I do like Curtis Taylor who is a big, young talented safety who seems to be getting better and if the team did not draft Mays, I do think he would make the roster this season but it will be tough for him to make the cut though certainly he would be a great fit on the PS. Defensive Back Coach(es) Johnny Lynn: One of the best and most respected defensive back coaches in the NFL. Lynn has been a DB's coach for 15 years in the NFL and has worked under Defensive Coordinators such as John Fox, Rex Ryan, Pete Carroll and Mike Nolan. Lynn also had a 2 year stint as defensive coordinator with the Giants replacing John Fox in 02-3. A very solid coach who could be our DC if god forbid Greg Manusky gets a HC job next year. Vance Joseph: A young up and coming coach, Joseph was a former quarterback at Colorado and then made a tough position change to cornerback in the NFL and was able to play a few seasons in the NFL. A bright, young players coach, Joseph should have a long coaching run in the NFL, though he could be a star in the college ranks as DC and maybe even a head coach down the road. So overall the secondary is obviously an area of concern. I was surprised we did not spend a high draft pick on a cornerback and we are playing with fire at the CB position if Clements and/or Spencer get hurt. Hopefully they do not and TBrown steps his game up and we can get something out of Paymuh and Will James. At safety, Goldson is a player and Lewis is solid. I look for Reggie Smith to provide quality depth and hopefully Mays can develop down the road.

May 25, 2010 at 5:34 PM

BigDaddy
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Posts: 1,266

You've seemed to have forgotten someone.......

The other guy who stood out was cornerback Phillip Adams. The seventh-round selection is very active and if he gains a half-step after learning the defense better, he could knock down a lot of passes. While that's not a lot of news, at least it's not about a bunch of guys with ties. Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 25 2010 at 01:17 PM

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ninerinsider/detail?blogid=45&entry_id=64338#ixzz0otuMUjvR

Your Breakdown was incomplete noob

May 25, 2010 at 5:46 PM

PatrickJira411
Member
Posts: 4,117

Originally posted by BigDaddy:
You've seemed to have forgotten someone.......

The other guy who stood out was cornerback Phillip Adams. The seventh-round selection is very active and if he gains a half-step after learning the defense better, he could knock down a lot of passes. While that's not a lot of news, at least it's not about a bunch of guys with ties. Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 25 2010 at 01:17 PM

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ninerinsider/detail?blogid=45&entry_id=64338#ixzz0otuMUjvR

Your Breakdown was incomplete noob

Honestly, I do not know much about him. Never saw him play in college or was able to get film of him as he played at a really small school. I do think he has a good chance to make the PS.

May 25, 2010 at 5:50 PM

The_Distort
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Posts: 832

Nice breakdown. You left out Curtis Taylor as well, but I don't think it matters.

May 25, 2010 at 5:57 PM

PatrickJira411
Member
Posts: 4,117

Originally posted by The_Distort:
Nice breakdown. You left out Curtis Taylor as well, but I don't think it matters.

I mentioned him

May 25, 2010 at 6:20 PM

Pintor73
Info N/A

starters will be spencer clements goldson and lewis on third downs clements spencer brown corners goldson smith safeties and mays on the te let the others battle it out for the fourth corner position we will let go of clements and lewis next year too much money i think it's like 12mil to keep these two guys clements will get replaced by brown and lewis by mays keep taylor on prac squad this year he'll back up mays next year and reggie smith will back up goldson and play the nickel and dime safety we've already beat arizona without these guys so im not worried about letting them go next year

May 25, 2010 at 6:52 PM

tohara3
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Posts: 30,691

Nice breakdown! Hope the whole secondary steps up this year.

May 25, 2010 at 7:47 PM

GoldenIowa49er
Member
Posts: 2,717

if our offense takes a giant step and we can continue improving our qb pressure at least it tones down our glaring need for better depth at cb

May 25, 2010 at 8:45 PM

ninerlifer
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Posts: 17,237

wait forgive me, didnt Nate get hurt? I dont recall him being benched, I know he got hurt, but not benched. I could be wrong....

May 25, 2010 at 8:52 PM

matt49er
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Posts: 7,460

Originally posted by ninerlifer:
wait forgive me, didnt Nate get hurt? I dont recall him being benched, I know he got hurt, but not benched. I could be wrong....

got hurt the same game he was benched, broke his shoulder returning a punt.

May 25, 2010 at 8:54 PM

#10

ninerlifer
Veteran
Posts: 17,237

Originally posted by matt49er:
Originally posted by ninerlifer:
wait forgive me, didnt Nate get hurt? I dont recall him being benched, I know he got hurt, but not benched. I could be wrong....

got hurt the same game he was benched, broke his shoulder returning a punt.

ok thats right I knew he broke something...couldnt remember what....didnt know he got benched though.

May 26, 2010 at 5:16 AM

#11

TheXFactor
Veteran
Posts: 25,990

Originally posted by tohara3:
Nice breakdown! Hope the whole secondary steps up this year.

yeah you forgot CB PHillip Adams who will make the team and not Kieth Smith

May 26, 2010 at 7:45 AM

#12

LasVegasWally
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Posts: 24,856

Excellent breakdown.

May 26, 2010 at 8:41 AM

#13

lamontb
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Posts: 33,143

Nice break down I agree they are playing with fire when it comes to the CB's. Much less is what if Nate is playing at a level to where they feel he should be benched again for Brown? But like you said if Nate or Spencer goes down it could get real ugly. I just have no faith at all in Paymah, Allen, or Smith.

May 26, 2010 at 9:05 AM

#14

miked1978
Veteran
Posts: 12,563

Yeah I think corner is going to be a top priorty next offseason with Clements getting older. The good thing about our secondary is that they have experience.