Originally posted by SanDiego49er:When you say we are losing a lot on defense, are you talking about Dashon Goldson? Sopoaga? What exactly are the Niners losing here? I hate to be the guy who keeps pointing this out because I've enjoyed watching Goldson over the years, but based on his 2012 performance, I think a lot of you are over-estimating his value to the defense. Again, 11 safeties had more interceptions than his 3, 7 safeties had more passes defended and 36 safeties had more total tackles. Goldson just did not have a very good year. And, how many times did he kill a drive by doing his patented "blowing up" the receiver?
Kaep is 25. He will be 37 by then. I doubt he will be that good then. He will lose a lot of speed by 37. I'd say 31 or so is is top end. 25 - 31. We have 6 years.
But we are losing a lot on defense even this offseason. Justin Smith and Frank Gore both retire within the next 6 years or less. A major change to the team.
I think if Goldson is replaced by a safety with better coverage skills and the defensive line is given more depth with a serious tackle rotating with Justin Smith, the defense might get better, not worse. And, on your estimate of Kaepernick's lifespan, are you kidding? He doesn't have to run. He ran on designed plays less than 3% of the time during his first 10 starts. He wants to be a pocket passer. He's got an easy 10 year window. That will put him in his mid thirties. Tom Brady is 35 and still rated as the number one QB in the league.