Solution(s) to losing Crabs

I think the main question that will not be answered until training camp about Jenkins is if he is even capable of increasing his strength enough to fight trough the jams at the line of scrimmage. I think what the front office just assumed and some fans are still assuming is that with time in the weight room he could increase his strength enough. There are actually some people who try as they might just are not very strong. Everyone with effort can increase their strength but in his case will it be enough. Some things are just dictated by genetics. A lot of times issues like this are not really exposed until the player reaches that next level of competition. In some of the scouting reports it was stated that he had trouble maintaining weight so it's not like this issue was something new. It's not really his weight but core strength that is the issue. There are presently many successful receivers who who while much lighter are obviously stronger than Jenkins.. It just wasn't that big of a problem in college but the NFL is a different animal. Especially because in the Niner's scheme it is also important for the receivers to be able to block.

He may still be able to get strong enough, but given his body type and history, it is not that inconceivable that he might already have maxed out strength wise. We shall see.

Originally posted by Veratyr:
WE have a solid group, why do we need an elite guy? how many of the teams with truly elite guys are top teams in the nfl? who was the elite guy that the patiots/steelers (ward is NOT elite)/ and giants had for their superbowl wins in recent history? who was the elite guy for the ravens last year? ( smith and boldin are not elite).

no, I will take the solid group we have, with the very solid QB we have, and call it a day! if our D can be consistant, its another SB run period!

screw rehabilitating, Crabs can spend his downtime redesigning the team's yellow pants and f**ked up sleeve stripes...

Kaepernick obviously thinks Ricardo Lockette could be a big answer:

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130524/mct/130529676?p=2&tc=pg

Originally posted by GNielsen:
Kaepernick obviously thinks Ricardo Lockette could be a big answer:

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130524/mct/130529676?p=2&tc=pg

The kid is in the mix for sure. I am very happy that we have a bunch of hungry kids who will bust it to get a job . we got our vet leader in boldin, we got mario and kyle coming back and we got at least three young guns maybe four. for this reason, there is no reason for us to go out and sign someone,

Originally posted by cciowa:
The kid is in the mix for sure. I am very happy that we have a bunch of hungry kids who will bust it to get a job . we got our vet leader in boldin, we got mario and kyle coming back and we got at least three young guns maybe four. for this reason, there is no reason for us to go out and sign someone,

Totally agree. I will be very surprised if at least one of these young guys doesn't rise up and become a significant contributor this year.

The immediate future doesn't look very promising as far as the WR's. With Crabtree scheduled to be back later in the season and the 49ers lack of salary cap space I would venture any WR's of significance that might be available won't be feasible on the management side of things. This leaves two scenarios, neither of which are appealing: (1) Maintaining the status quo and hoping for someone to step up out of the Patton, Jenkins, Williams, Manningham group; and (2) searching for a player who might excel in a very specific role in FA. My suspicion is that management doesn't believe any FA's are available right now that would provide anything different than the guys on the roster. None of the FA's on the market comes with LESS risk than the guys the 49ers already have. This leads me to believe standing pat is the first option.

If they sign another WR I would argue that would be pretty damning to Jenkins future in the NFL. The guy was a 1st round pick and should be in there making an impact. I think we are going to struggle big time against the Seahawks this year because, without Crabtree, the 49ers won't have anybody who can gain separation from those defenders.

A lot of people are just assuming Vernon Davis is all of a sudden going to morph into something completely different. Oh, don't worry, Vernon Davis will just take up the slack. This is untrue. There is no doubt he will have to be leaned on a bit, but in the absence of a threat at wideout Vernon will see even more coverage than usual which forces him to adjust underneath, not his strong suit. If Greg Roman can keep the 49ers offense on the same track as last season, he will almost certainly have earned the right to lead his own NFL team following the season.

Originally posted by bzborow1:

A lot of people are just assuming Vernon Davis is all of a sudden going to morph into something completely different. Oh, don't worry, Vernon Davis will just take up the slack. This is untrue. There is no doubt he will have to be leaned on a bit, but in the absence of a threat at wideout Vernon will see even more coverage than usual which forces him to adjust underneath, not his strong suit. If Greg Roman can keep the 49ers offense on the same track as last season, he will almost certainly have earned the right to lead his own NFL team following the season.

I don't know about that. I just think it took some time for Davis to adjust to Kaepernick's passes which usually have quite a bit more velocity than what he was used to. What I think is that they still see Davis as someone who can create mismatches and use his wide-receiver level speed to get open with safeties and linebackers. If you remember, towards the end of the season in the playoffs, Kaepernick started hitting Davis on some long bombs very effectively. Troy Aikman went pretty nuts on one of those plays when he said Kaepernick couldn't have thrown it more accurately if he had run down the field and handed it to Davis. I think they drafted Vance McDonald to be the underneath alternative and he's pretty good at that. K Williams, when healthy has also shown himself to be a very nice underneath alternative out of the slot. Apart from that, if just one of three players, Jenkins, Patton or Lockette steps up, the receiving corp will be in pretty good shape.

Originally posted by GNielsen:

Originally posted by bzborow1:

A lot of people are just assuming Vernon Davis is all of a sudden going to morph into something completely different. Oh, don't worry, Vernon Davis will just take up the slack. This is untrue. There is no doubt he will have to be leaned on a bit, but in the absence of a threat at wideout Vernon will see even more coverage than usual which forces him to adjust underneath, not his strong suit. If Greg Roman can keep the 49ers offense on the same track as last season, he will almost certainly have earned the right to lead his own NFL team following the season.

I don't know about that. I just think it took some time for Davis to adjust to Kaepernick's passes which usually have quite a bit more velocity than what he was used to. What I think is that they still see Davis as someone who can create mismatches and use his wide-receiver level speed to get open with safeties and linebackers. If you remember, towards the end of the season in the playoffs, Kaepernick started hitting Davis on some long bombs very effectively. Troy Aikman went pretty nuts on one of those plays when he said Kaepernick couldn't have thrown it more accurately if he had run down the field and handed it to Davis. I think they drafted Vance McDonald to be the underneath alternative and he's pretty good at that. K Williams, when healthy has also shown himself to be a very nice underneath alternative out of the slot. Apart from that, if just one of three players, Jenkins, Patton or Lockette steps up, the receiving corp will be in pretty good shape.

Not saying he can't, but trying to reduce expectations a bit because a lot of people think he's going to blow up statistically with Crabtree out of the picture. Defense will know that the 49ers need Davis to get the ball more without Crabtree and will be adjusting accordingly.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

The solution to this problem is Vernon Davis. He had 965 yards and 13 TD's one year. And 900 + and a lot of TD's another year. He around 6'4" 255 lbs. with 4.3 speed. When Kaep came in he totally forgot how to use the TE. Well it's time to learn the TE is actually on the field again.

I think Patton will do really well. I don't think AJ Jenkins is as bad as made out to be but I don't expect him to be a savior either.

I like how you're thinking. One more wild card out of the young guns is V. McDonald. This kid can't have worse hands than Delanie Walker and it looks like he can make plays in space. Kaep will have plenty of options to spread the ball around this year, especially with 3 months to prepare.

I'm liking the way Kaepernick is tutoring Lockette and Harbaugh's praising of him. We don't need Jenkins or Lockette to be pro bowl status, but for them to contribute a little here and there.

Originally posted by Team49ers:

I'm liking the way Kaepernick is tutoring Lockette and Harbaugh's praising of him. We don't need Jenkins or Lockette to be pro bowl status, but for them to contribute a little here and there.

They need to stretch the field.

I remember Brett Favre losing Sterling Sharpe and doing OK. Sharpe was on pace to best Jerry Rice

Originally posted by Pillbusta:

Originally posted by Team49ers:
I'm liking the way Kaepernick is tutoring Lockette and Harbaugh's praising of him. We don't need Jenkins or Lockette to be pro bowl status, but for them to contribute a little here and there.

They need to stretch the field.

I remember Brett Favre losing Sterling Sharpe and doing OK. Sharpe was on pace to best Jerry Rice

Both are capable of stretching the field, we'll have to wait and see how things play out in the regular season

I think Coach H comes out of the box with WRs this yr. Look for LMJ to be in the slot on occasion, look for Vernon to be in the slot on occasion. And on 3rd down, look for vance either in slot or split wide to run just past the chains and to do a sit down for the 1st down. Man, unless these new guys have leprosy or something, I expect to see some amazing offensive sets with some surprising people, and I am betting on vance becoming the go to man of 3rd and 6(or 8). Anybody tries to stop him at the LOS is in for a surprise.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
I think Coach H comes out of the box with WRs this yr. Look for LMJ to be in the slot on occasion, look for Vernon to be in the slot on occasion. And on 3rd down, look for vance either in slot or split wide to run just past the chains and to do a sit down for the 1st down. Man, unless these new guys have leprosy or something, I expect to see some amazing offensive sets with some surprising people, and I am betting on vance becoming the go to man of 3rd and 6(or 8). Anybody tries to stop him at the LOS is in for a surprise.

Yes , they will get broken in 2. End up on IR or some sh!t