Early season MVP

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Loved the way Willis talked about Bowman. You could tell he was trying to be careful and not dis TKO or anyone else but wound up saying something like it's like playing next to me. High praise is a little embarrassing...awkward.

Wow.. might have missed that article.. or just plain going insane... nice.

I have been quiet about this, but there have been many times in games this year where I have been asking myself... where the hell is Willis? He's been quiet, and I know that's part of the role he's now asked to play. But I'd sure like to see him making an impact pick or sack soon.

Do you guys think he's regressing or anything?

Glad you brought this up old! In the preseason, I warned fans that Willis' number will decrease dramatically in the tackling category now that we have a more balanced attack and the scheme is different. In short, Manusky is no longer here and the goal is not to keep Willis 100% free to rack up hall-of-fame numbers; its more balanced. Now we are seeing everyone on the front 7 plus Aldon Smith and backup defensive linemen playing outstanding and playing as a "team." All that said, Willis should be more free to make big plays and be the playmaker we all know he can be. But so far this year, he is in coverage much more and that is his big weakness. He's always around the receiver but rarely knocks down a pass or gets an INT. In addition, when he is used to blitz, he's not 1/2 as successful as Bowman who's much more natural. Right now, he's just getting tackles and appears human again but as a defense, we are much better in the front 7...as a team. I don't see this changing anytime soon.

On a side note: We have the potential to see many more big plays if we simply make one simple scheme change. I rewatched the Eagles game and Brooks, McDonald, CB's and Bowman were in the backfield ALL game long and produced constant pressure well under 3 seconds. The schematic issue was that while the pressure was clearly getting there, Vick was getting beat the #$%^& up, he only had time to hit the hot route and the hot route was open ALL day long for big gains b/c we were playing so far off everyone (not just the WR's)...I'm assuming we played off b/c we were respecting their speed but we needed to play our game and be physical and knock these guys off their routes and keep their eyes in the backfield. That one change, I kid you not, could have lead to close to a dozen INT's. OK I'm joking a bit but I'm telling you, Vick only had one option and had he looked up and saw blanket coverage on his hot read, it was going to be an INT or a sack, fumble. Also, we should never rush just three men again...ever. Haha. Loved all of the CB/S blitzes though...we ran a ton of them against Vick. God, that play where McDonald sacked the handoff and Brooks stayed with the play and made the huge TFL on the RB? That was one of the best plays I have EVER seen...the hits by Smith and Goldson x2 were beautiful as well as the hustle play by Justin. I was so proud of this group and wish they could have been rewarded more with this minor scheme change. Hopefully, we'll do that again like we did against the Bengals esp. when Spencer comes back. He's money at this and amazing against the run and on CB blitzes. Come on Fangio!!

I would love to see how many QB hurries/pressures, hits we had on Vick. He was BEAT UP after this game and gave us props in the media.

We have something like the 29th worst offense in the league. I don't think anyone should get the MVP on the offensive side. Give it to Iupati if you have to, because he is the only one that is playing top 5 NFL level at his position.

ST - Andy Lee

D - Justin Smith

Originally posted by valrod33:
You're Welcome

DEFENSIVE MVP!!!!! At this point in the year at least, with Bowman coming in at second.

For offense its Alex Smith.

Special teams will be Gin or Andy Lee!!

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
You know what excites me most? I dont feel like I can really single out any one person. That is a very good sign, because that means we are plan dominant as a team. Everybody is doing their job. If you put a gun to my head, it has to be the front 7 as a unit. I think Rogers should get honorable mention as well.

That's a fail. And I would pull the trigger. It asked for an MVP. Just one

But yeah, I see the same thing from our front 7 since the first game of the season. They are pretty much the same guys we had but playing as a very good unit.

Big Ray Mac!!!!

Originally posted by Lobo49er:

This Guy^

Have to agree that Harbaugh is the Most Valuable Person, but the Most Valuable Player is tougher.

On Offense, the difference maker is Alex Smith. By just playing efficient, high percentage football, he's elevated the Offense. He's made some key plays as well. Other standouts are Iupati and Hunter.

On Defense, the breakout star is Bowman. We now have the best inside linebackers in the league, bar none. Ray MacDonald has also elevated his game and Sopoaga is doing a great unheralded job at the nose... not to mention playing fullback.

on Offense: Alex Smith
on Defense: Navorro Bowman

Originally posted by Shaj:
We have something like the 29th worst offense in the league. I don't think anyone should get the MVP on the offensive side. Give it to Iupati if you have to, because he is the only one that is playing top 5 NFL level at his position.

ST - Andy Lee

D - Justin Smith

And BTW, that 29th in the league has to do with YARDS not scores which win games. We are 13th in scoring. We are eighth in QB rating. We are fourth in completion %. Most importantly, IMPOV, we have only ONE interception tied for first. We had SEVEN at this time last year, seven!!!

That's why you have soooooo many issues, son. You just seem to always take the negative POV, get your panties in a bunch and disregard the happiness that can make you smile.

Shame, really.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Glad you brought this up old! In the preseason, I warned fans that Willis' number will decrease dramatically in the tackling category now that we have a more balanced attack and the scheme is different. In short, Manusky is no longer here and the goal is not to keep Willis 100% free to rack up hall-of-fame numbers; its more balanced. Now we are seeing everyone on the front 7 plus Aldon Smith and backup defensive linemen playing outstanding and playing as a "team." All that said, Willis should be more free to make big plays and be the playmaker we all know he can be. But so far this year, he is in coverage much more and that is his big weakness. He's always around the receiver but rarely knocks down a pass or gets an INT. In addition, when he is used to blitz, he's not 1/2 as successful as Bowman who's much more natural. Right now, he's just getting tackles and appears human again but as a defense, we are much better in the front 7...as a team. I don't see this changing anytime soon.

On a side note: We have the potential to see many more big plays if we simply make one simple scheme change. I rewatched the Eagles game and Brooks, McDonald, CB's and Bowman were in the backfield ALL game long and produced constant pressure well under 3 seconds. The schematic issue was that while the pressure was clearly getting there, Vick was getting beat the #$%^& up, he only had time to hit the hot route and the hot route was open ALL day long for big gains b/c we were playing so far off everyone (not just the WR's)...I'm assuming we played off b/c we were respecting their speed but we needed to play our game and be physical and knock these guys off their routes and keep their eyes in the backfield. That one change, I kid you not, could have lead to close to a dozen INT's. OK I'm joking a bit but I'm telling you, Vick only had one option and had he looked up and saw blanket coverage on his hot read, it was going to be an INT or a sack, fumble. Also, we should never rush just three men again...ever. Haha. Loved all of the CB/S blitzes though...we ran a ton of them against Vick. God, that play where McDonald sacked the handoff and Brooks stayed with the play and made the huge TFL on the RB? That was one of the best plays I have EVER seen...the hits by Smith and Goldson x2 were beautiful as well as the hustle play by Justin. I was so proud of this group and wish they could have been rewarded more with this minor scheme change. Hopefully, we'll do that again like we did against the Bengals esp. when Spencer comes back. He's money at this and amazing against the run and on CB blitzes. Come on Fangio!!

I would love to see how many QB hurries/pressures, hits we had on Vick. He was BEAT UP after this game and gave us props in the media.

Excellent post, as always.

I remember jumping up and down in my living room after the play you're talking about in the highlighted part of your post. I was surprised it wasn't a straight sack on Vick, cause MacDonald was on him so fast. And then Brooks wasn't fooled and tackled the RB for a loss--a great play. No, two great individual plays by those two guys.

This defense is MUCH improved over last season. Brooks is playing lights out in every game so far, and it really hasn't been noticed much because so many other guys have stepped up their games--Bowman, MacDonald, Aldon Smith, etc. And I think they're just getting warmed up as a defense. We're a little thin/inexperienced at CB, but Culliver looks like the real deal, once he gets some experience. He's certainly got the athletic ability.

I find myself watching Brooks alot. He's in the offensive backfield alot, and when he tackles somebody, he does so with a vengence. He plays very physical. He's gonna hurt somebody this season--oh, wait, that's right, Tony Romo!

Originally posted by oldninerdude:
Excellent post, as always.

I remember jumping up and down in my living room after the play you're talking about in the highlighted part of your post. I was surprised it wasn't a straight sack on Vick, cause MacDonald was on him so fast. And then Brooks wasn't fooled and tackled the RB for a loss--a great play. No, two great individual plays by those two guys.

This defense is MUCH improved over last season. Brooks is playing lights out in every game so far, and it really hasn't been noticed much because so many other guys have stepped up their games--Bowman, MacDonald, Aldon Smith, etc. And I think they're just getting warmed up as a defense. We're a little thin/inexperienced at CB, but Culliver looks like the real deal, once he gets some experience. He's certainly got the athletic ability.

I find myself watching Brooks alot. He's in the offensive backfield alot, and when he tackles somebody, he does so with a vengence. He plays very physical. He's gonna hurt somebody this season--oh, wait, that's right, Tony Romo!

LMAO! Yeah, I haven't jumped up and down (for a positive reason) so much in a game for quite a while. I'm glad you're watching my boy, Brooks too. You are right, he has been one of the unsung hero's ala Justin Smith so far esp. b/c he's an improvement over Lawson, afforded us to draft Aldon Smith and split time with Haralson who is going back to where he was most successful (as a PT player). He can also play three positions too at the drop of a dime.

He's been double-teamed SO much this year but is still making huge plays in TFL's, hits, pressures, knocking down passes, in coverage, sacks, QB crushes (haha), sealing the edge, etc. We also forget he has played just about every single down too...wasn't his "conditioning" always in question? Hmmm. Haha.

But you are right...when he has a RB or QB in his sights he EXPLODES through them; serious closing speed! You can see he wants to kill them...even that hit where he chased down Vick from behind, he tried to rip his head off. Another thing we need to keep in mind too is that Vic is playing he and Haralson straight up too. Aldon, he is moving from an inside DT to OLB up at the LOS (e.g. a DE).

Brooks had a stunt with McDonald and a huge hit on Vick in under 2 seconds but again, Vick was able to hit his hot read. Its very frustrating to watch (obviously). But it can be changed.

Brooks has tremendous play-recognition and very quick for a man his size - he needs to work on his off-sides and neutral zone infraction penalties. But I have rewatched all of his penalties too and if you watch closely, he jumped b/c the center pumped his head up quickly (as if snapping the ball) and the other, Justin Smith "digs in" right before the snap. So the coaches need work with him on watching the ball (which may be hard from where he lines up). And the neutral zone infractions? Total B.S...did anyone watch Babin? The dude was a full yard across the LOS on many of his snaps.

Either way, it's fun to highlight individual players...now with all the videos, we can really evaluate these guys for their true worth! Happy to see ppl doing their research again.

Here are mine:

Coaches: ST & DL coaches. (Harbaugh/Roman & Vic are where they should be right now)
Offense: Alex Smith
Defensive Highlighted Players: Bowman & Rogers
Defensive Unsung Players: Brooks, Sopoaga & J. Smith

Originally posted by Shaj:
We have something like the 29th worst offense in the league. I don't think anyone should get the MVP on the offensive side. Give it to Iupati if you have to, because he is the only one that is playing top 5 NFL level at his position.

ST - Andy Lee

D - Justin Smith

So out of 32 teams we should have more than 1 player of 11 positions playing at a top 5 level? The definition of the acronym - MVP - Most Valuable Player, OP Said:

Originally posted by AUniner:
So I'm guessing most of you have read the weekly team reviews. I thought now is a good time to look at the team MVP's so far this season....

My picks...

Offense: Alex Smith, he's been the brightest light in a team that's struggled up to last week. The only other player I can think of that would be worthy is Kendall Hunter. Vernon has had his flashes as well.

Defense: Issac Sopoaga, I know a lot of you will be thinking NO WAY!! But he's been excellent. The playmakers, MacDonald, Smith, Bowman & Rogers(who have all been outstanding), owe this guy a lot for the way he's creating pressure in the middle. Opposing teams run game is non existant meaning these guys are making plays on the edge. Soap is also contributing on short yardage O extremely well.

ST: Andy Lee, I don't think it matters who gets this. ST has been superb all around.

Interested to hear your thoughts!

So other than Iupati, no one player is more valuable than the other guys on offense? It's all relative - we aren't talking about league MVP.

In that Alex Smith is still able to walk after the battering he took the first month of the season, he gets my vote by default.

On defense, it comes down to Smith, Bowman, and McDonald. All are playing at a high level, as well as Soap and Willis. The secondary still needs a LOT of work. It is a mess.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
In that Alex Smith is still able to walk after the battering he took the first month of the season, he gets my vote by default.

On defense, it comes down to Smith, Bowman, and McDonald. All are playing at a high level, as well as Soap and Willis. The secondary still needs a LOT of work. It is a mess.

when you start posting mocks they better have a s**t ton of DB's in them