Dobbs and Williams

I think BOTH Dobbs and Williams make the roster again. Both showed enough promise last year to make the final 53, and after a full off-season with Coach Tomsula, I can't wait to see these guys this year! Tukuafu was primed to become part of the DL rotation last year before he got injured. Dobbs moves extremely well for a big guy, as evidenced by his ability to play on the kickoff team. He also had an uncanny rapport with Aldon Smith when they were paired up during the preseason. As far as Ian Williams, the guy came to us largely due to a recommendation from his former college position coach, a guy some Niner fans may remember, BRYANT YOUNG. I may not be an expert in DL play, but if BY says the kid is legit, I'll take his word for it. As far as 2013, i think the kid Star Lotulelei may be a nice fit for our D. man I can't wait for the season to start already! GO NINERS!!!

PS-RIP Junior Seau

The concept of a "mammoth NT" is becoming more of a luxury than a requirement in the 3-4. Really you just need someone who can stand their ground and diagnose a play. Look at Ratliff, he is one of the better NT's but is not that big. Especially with offenses getting more pass happy, a NT who can hold the point but also get upfield on a pass play is more valuable than a 350 pnd guy who doesnt get moved but doesnt collapse the pocket much either.

Guys like Wilfork are an exception, rarely do big guys have his athleticism to do everything. And most likely we wont be picking that early in the draft to grab those types of players for a long time. And since we already have the #1 run D, why fix what isnt broken.

Originally posted by nickbradley:
Can we sign Aubrayo Franklin as a backup?

Forget him he is a joke

Originally posted by 5280High:

The concept of a "mammoth NT" is becoming more of a luxury than a requirement in the 3-4. Really you just need someone who can stand their ground and diagnose a play. Look at Ratliff, he is one of the better NT's but is not that big. Especially with offenses getting more pass happy, a NT who can hold the point but also get upfield on a pass play is more valuable than a 350 pnd guy who doesnt get moved but doesnt collapse the pocket much either.

Guys like Wilfork are an exception, rarely do big guys have his athleticism to do everything. And most likely we wont be picking that early in the draft to grab those types of players for a long time. And since we already have the #1 run D, why fix what isnt broken.

This. Ever since we made the switch to the 3-4, we've never gone after these mammoth 340-350 lb nose tackles. 315-320 is good enough for our scheme as long as they can anchor against the run and have the lateral movement to make plays at the line of scrimmage.

Originally posted by SofaKing:

Originally posted by 5280High:
The concept of a "mammoth NT" is becoming more of a luxury than a requirement in the 3-4. Really you just need someone who can stand their ground and diagnose a play. Look at Ratliff, he is one of the better NT's but is not that big. Especially with offenses getting more pass happy, a NT who can hold the point but also get upfield on a pass play is more valuable than a 350 pnd guy who doesnt get moved but doesnt collapse the pocket much either.

Guys like Wilfork are an exception, rarely do big guys have his athleticism to do everything. And most likely we wont be picking that early in the draft to grab those types of players for a long time. And since we already have the #1 run D, why fix what isnt broken.

This. Ever since we made the switch to the 3-4, we've never gone after these mammoth 340-350 lb nose tackles. 315-320 is good enough for our scheme as long as they can anchor against the run and have the lateral movement to make plays at the line of scrimmage.

True! We are in a LUXURY position and if a guy like Suh or a Jamal Williams or Ted Washington or Vince Wilfork fall into our lap, we take him, develop him and slowly work him into a starter with depth behind him. Right now, our one-gappers are fine and we have plenty of depth. If we COULD find these rare players, imagine how effective our OLB's would be and how many more INT's we'd have b/c the QB can't step into throws. Obviously, the run would be automatically stuffed...the two aforementioned skills are icing on the cake!

RJF is first off the bench for all three spots

I think they keep Williams to develop

Dobbs and Tuku battle for the last spot

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SofaKing:

Originally posted by 5280High:

The concept of a "mammoth NT" is becoming more of a luxury than a requirement in the 3-4. Really you just need someone who can stand their ground and diagnose a play. Look at Ratliff, he is one of the better NT's but is not that big. Especially with offenses getting more pass happy, a NT who can hold the point but also get upfield on a pass play is more valuable than a 350 pnd guy who doesnt get moved but doesnt collapse the pocket much either.

Guys like Wilfork are an exception, rarely do big guys have his athleticism to do everything. And most likely we wont be picking that early in the draft to grab those types of players for a long time. And since we already have the #1 run D, why fix what isnt broken.

This. Ever since we made the switch to the 3-4, we've never gone after these mammoth 340-350 lb nose tackles. 315-320 is good enough for our scheme as long as they can anchor against the run and have the lateral movement to make plays at the line of scrimmage.

True! We are in a LUXURY position and if a guy like Suh or a Jamal Williams or Ted Washington or Vince Wilfork fall into our lap, we take him, develop him and slowly work him into a starter with depth behind him. Right now, our one-gappers are fine and we have plenty of depth. If we COULD find these rare players, imagine how effective our OLB's would be and how many more INT's we'd have b/c the QB can't step into throws. Obviously, the run would be automatically stuffed...the two aforementioned skills are icing on the cake!

Agreed. If a Vince Wilfork type falls into our laps, then by all means take him. It's just nice to know we are not pigeon-holed into requiring a rare 350 lb athlete. Tomsula is the man!