kendall hunter's role in the future

Originally posted by Phil:

Well, just read roman is planning on more screens this season. Maybe James will come into play.

That will really become effective if Colin becomes more developed as a pocket QB.

first off his injury is not good for this team due to the fact unlike anyone else on our current roster not named gore
kendall was a known commodity who could run, pass block, run block, play special teams, had decent speed, could catch it plus was a good locker room guy and the only thing that is good is that we can resign him cheaply. now moving forward this means we will keep james and I am not sure how I feel about that. i am not sure if I am lukewarm on this due to james himself or romans seemingly inability to know how to use him or both... Now the wildcard(s) are the two kids. I feel hyde will be able to more than make up hunters loss but he is a kid and we gotta seem him in game action.I am now at the point where I am expecting nothing from lattimore and anything we get from him is gravy. the big thing is that all you guys who thought gore was done had better hope you are wrong. i think we steal his helmet from him in the pre season, limit him in practice and give him his helmet back for the last pre season game of the year, give him about 6 carries to shake off the rust asnd he will be ready to roll, by then we will know what we got in hyde and maybe lattimore.. also do the niners have another scrub running back on the roster that can be used a bit in pre season and then discarded?

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
I love all these posts of ppl saying its the end of the world now that Hunter is gone.

its not the end of the world but some things do have to go right to make up for this loss and it is a loss. if gore has another great season left in him, if james can step up, if hyde is the real deal and whatever we get from lattimore is gravy. plus its a good special teams guy on coverage and who can return kicks. there is a fine line to draw between saying its the end of the world and its no big deal. the truth is in the middle and aside from gore and mayyyyybe james, we have two guys whose nfl experience can be fit into a thimble. i think, trust and hope hyde will be the real deal, gore will do his thing and we will over come

It's a shame, I really wanted them to cut LMJ this year, too.

Originally posted by mayo49:

Sounds like they really like Hunter and want to re-sign him. Good for him.

Originally posted by defenderDX:

Originally posted by TheGoldDiggerrrr:

Originally posted by defenderDX:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by defenderDX:

Next to James, he was our fastest running back in terms of straight line speed. Except, the coaching staff under-utilized James's abilities... Hence the frustration he had with the team. Kendall though had legitimate production as the #2 running back behind Gore. And as others have already said, his pass blocking will be missed...

I think he's actually faster than LMJ. LaMike just looks really fast because he has short strides and tiny toy doll feet. Hunter is not as quick as LMJ, for sure, but LMJ has never had special top end speed, IMO. Hunter had legit home run potential on basic stretch runs.

Possibly. I could agree with that.

What? lol. I live in Oklahoma and I'm a osu fan hunter isn't faster... He ran a 4.53 at the combine...

James ran a official 4.45 and unofficial 4.37. I just think hunter has better vision and Lmj dances to much.

Talking about game speed.

Yup. James has been run down from behind a lot (in the NFL, not college). Can't remember seeing that from Hunter. Maybe LMJ's pads and giant helmet slow him down. With all of the inherent flaws in the "official" 40 procedure, I get frustrated when people seem unwilling to trust their own eyes.

Originally posted by mayo49:

It's a shame, I really wanted them to cut LMJ this year, too.

Feel so bad for Hunter. Dude is decisive and electric with the ball esp. off tackle and out in space on passes. I bet they had big plans for him too this year. Well this means James makes the team and will be fumbling KR in big games again and putting the ball on the ground. Dude s/b given the Kyle Williams treatment but is given a pass for some reason. This also means Ellington will now most likely be inactive all year.

This really sucks. Hunter was quietly one of my favorite players and a solid backup to Gore. I never thought he'd be an every down back or the heir because of his size, but his style of running was perfect for us. I honestly expect nothing from Lattimore (not because I dislike him or anything but I just don't trust his injury history) and James doesn't really play our style. I think Hyde will be the guy, getting reps and eventually taking over for Gore. James may have a place if we implement more screens or get creative and use movement to take him out of the backfield as a wideout to really make use of his speed and quickness in space.

With the rumors that CJ Spiller is on the block...why not a LMJ + 2nd rounder for CJ.

CJ is a much more explosive version of LMJ and would be a monster weapon on this squad. He is in a contract year, but he will make us better for a run this year, IMO. Regardless of if we resign CJ next year.

Am I out of my mind with this thought?

following my posts - i googled 'CJ Spiller on the trade block"

Report: C.J. Spiller could wind up on trading blockPosted 18 hrs ago via CBSSports.com
A trade scenario developing soon for Bills running back C.J. Spilleris a possibility, according to CBSSports.com NFL Insider Jason LaCanfora. LaCanfora has speculated that since the Bills are replete with running backs and other teams such as Indianapolis and San Francisco might need starters or primary backups, Spiller could become available

Honestly I think we will be okay. As long as Gore stays healthy I think either Hyde, Latti, or James will fill KH's role. If we can't get ONE of those fools to produce then we have a serious issue.

Like you said 9erguy, pure speculation from LaCanfora at this point.

Accroding to AB the Niners are currently $5,157,459 under the cap.

CJ Spillers 2014 cap hit is $5,916,666.

Don't get me wrong, I like Hunter. But this injury needs to be kept in perspective. Either James or Hunter were likely to get cut or traded prior to the final cuts. They both offer a similar change of pace style to the primary running back (whether Gore, Hyde, or Lattimore), and we don't have room for both on the roster this year. I believe that James' lack of playing time was directly related to Hunter's role on the team last year.

It's not like James totally fell apart when he was forced into the change of pace role during the end of the 2012 season, in fact, I recall him doing quite well. Just comparing stats, James and Hunter have produced very similar average yards per carry and yards per reception. Yes, Hunter had the ability to be a very explosive player, but so does James.

All the injury did was immediately force the team's decision between Hunter and James.

Originally posted by cciowa:

first off his injury is not good for this team due to the fact unlike anyone else on our current roster not named gore
kendall was a known commodity who could run, pass block, run block, play special teams, had decent speed, could catch it plus was a good locker room guy and the only thing that is good is that we can resign him cheaply. now moving forward this means we will keep james and I am not sure how I feel about that. i am not sure if I am lukewarm on this due to james himself or romans seemingly inability to know how to use him or both... Now the wildcard(s) are the two kids. I feel hyde will be able to more than make up hunters loss but he is a kid and we gotta seem him in game action.I am now at the point where I am expecting nothing from lattimore and anything we get from him is gravy. the big thing is that all you guys who thought gore was done had better hope you are wrong. i think we steal his helmet from him in the pre season, limit him in practice and give him his helmet back for the last pre season game of the year, give him about 6 carries to shake off the rust asnd he will be ready to roll, by then we will know what we got in hyde and maybe lattimore.. also do the niners have another scrub running back on the roster that can be used a bit in pre season and then discarded?

My bet is that Gore LMJ hyde and Hampton make the team. Lattimore might stay on the PUP for the time being until one of them gets a ding and lattimore is activated.

In other words they will be extremely careful with Lattimore because we may need him in November and December. As for the young guys replacing a veteran. Either they can or they cant, we won't know if they are going to sit on the bench. I think they can. With a good o-line your backs don't have to be Adrienne Peterson to be productive in this system.

Originally posted by Wisconsin49erfan:

Don't get me wrong, I like Hunter. But this injury needs to be kept in perspective. Either James or Hunter were likely to get cut or traded prior to the final cuts. They both offer a similar change of pace style to the primary running back (whether Gore, Hyde, or Lattimore), and we don't have room for both on the roster this year. I believe that James' lack of playing time was directly related to Hunter's role on the team last year.

It's not like James totally fell apart when he was forced into the change of pace role during the end of the 2012 season, in fact, I recall him doing quite well. Just comparing stats, James and Hunter have produced very similar average yards per carry and yards per reception. Yes, Hunter had the ability to be a very explosive player, but so does James.

All the injury did was immediately force the team's decision between Hunter and James.

I agree they are both very similar. That was one reason I favored a trade. I.e. trade depth for draft picks, so no depth no trade. LMJ pretty much makes the team now with Hunters injury.