2014 Team Needs - Updates

Originally posted by cciowa:
i think we all know where that conversation will lead to for some of us

We can leave Roman to the Roman thread. But you're right. I would love to talk about ALL of our coaches...many unsung hereos, for sure!

Morton?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by cciowa:
i think we all know where that conversation will lead to for some of us

We can leave Roman to the Roman thread. But you're right. I would love to talk about ALL of our coaches...many unsung hereos, for sure!

i still do not know why mangini was hired, what he does and if he makes a difference

Originally posted by cciowa:
i still do not know why mangini was hired, what he does and if he makes a difference

Its funny you say that b/c if you listen to the Vance McDonald interview he sort of sounded like he (and his dad) didn't know why either...and talks about how he adds a "defensive perspective." That could be beneficial but it is a bit of a head-scratcher to say the least and perhaps a bit of an insult to the other position coaches???

Originally posted by NCommand:
Its funny you say that b/c if you listen to the Vance McDonald interview he sort of sounded like he (and his dad) didn't know why either...and talks about how he adds a "defensive perspective." That could be beneficial but it is a bit of a head-scratcher to say the least and perhaps a bit of an insult to the other position coaches???

At one point JH mentioned Mangini's ability to analyze and help the offense by doing defensive scouting of the unit...could be his role and it would defninately help reduce discernable tendencies. Pretty expensive scout though. He may also be an insurance policy if Harbaugh goes off the range. Not one I would want but...

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Its funny you say that b/c if you listen to the Vance McDonald interview he sort of sounded like he (and his dad) didn't know why either...and talks about how he adds a "defensive perspective." That could be beneficial but it is a bit of a head-scratcher to say the least and perhaps a bit of an insult to the other position coaches???

At one point JH mentioned Mangini's ability to analyze and help the offense by doing defensive scouting of the unit...could be his role and it would defninately help reduce discernable tendencies. Pretty expensive scout though. He may also be an insurance policy if Harbaugh goes off the range. Not one I would want but...

That thought certainly crossed my mind!

BTW: Kenneth Acker seemed like a smart kid in his interview...well spoken. But man, he's got to get some work done on those yellow teeth!

Peter King said Mangini was one of the best football minds he'd ever met and he's met a lot of them. I don't know that Mangini is helping, but I don't know that he's not either. TE coach is strange.

Football mind and coaching ability are not necessarily one and the same. Mangini may be smart...he certainly seemed that way when he was an analyst breaking down plays on TV, but who knows if he can coach or not? His coaching career as HC was rather short lived and not all that successful. He did fine UNDER bellichek, but not so hot solo. And I , like others, still wonder just exactly he is doing. When a very successful DC, say mike Nolan , says "Well, since I know D so well, I must know something about the O also,", I shudder. Not saying that is mangini here, but if he is part of the circus calling plays and getting them in to kap, well, he shouldn't be. Nor should roman for that matter. JH can do fine by himself with his Qb. Leave them to it. If nothing else it would save 4 time outs/game and 3 delay of game penalties due to plays not in on time. My favorite? Calling a time out because the play wasn't in on time, then going to the line and calling timeout again, because the play wasn't clear...or was not usable against that particular D set.

Originally posted by Scoots:

Peter King said Mangini was one of the best football minds he'd ever met and he's met a lot of them. I don't know that Mangini is helping, but I don't know that he's not either. TE coach is strange.

I believe the old tight end position coach is still there, just coaching the O-linemen now so there isn't a real big loss expertise-wise as far as I'm concerned. The Raven/Patriot/49er connection is definitely alive. Magenius is supposedly one of the better defensive back coaches. I can see him be in line for one of the defensive coaching spots if one becomes available. Johnny Morton is a guy I'd tab as a weak spot on a strong coaching staff.

Bummer about Eric Wright...he knows this system well. The good news is that all the young guys have clearly developed and are more attractive and pushed Wright into retirement (speculation).

Originally posted by NCommand:
I'll say it again, we may need another quality OT. Outside of Staley and Davis, we now only have Carter Bykowski and Jonathan Martin. Netter was let go for Blake. We don't ever want to have to move Boone over again from RG (and he may be holding out anyhow).

Just recently saw an article from last year about Carter Bykowski. I still have very high hopes for him. At least to be a decent backup / swing tackle.

Gil Brandt on Carter Bykowski May 15, 2013

Mr. Smarty Pants could be another steal, he said. In 2011, the 49ers snagged starting fullback Bruce Miller, a college defensive end, in the seventh round.

"(Bykowski) might not make their team because they have so many players, but they dig them out of the bushes, I'll tell you that," said Brandt, the Cowboys vice president of player personnel from 1960-88. "I just think when you get a guy as big as he is, with those long arms, that can run as well as he can, that's a strong as he is — that's a pretty good seventh-round pick."

"When you come out of high school in Minnesota, they don't have spring practices and so forth, so those kids are usually a little bit behind," Brandt said. "And then he got a late start at his current position, so, to me, he's going to be a very intriguing guy to watch."

http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2013/05/15/seventh-round-steal-nfl-analyst-intrigued-by-ot-bykowski/

Originally posted by DeUh:

Originally posted by NCommand:
I'll say it again, we may need another quality OT. Outside of Staley and Davis, we now only have Carter Bykowski and Jonathan Martin. Netter was let go for Blake. We don't ever want to have to move Boone over again from RG (and he may be holding out anyhow).

Just recently saw an article from last year about Carter Bykowski. I still have very high hopes for him. At least to be a decent backup / swing tackle.

Gil Brandt on Carter Bykowski May 15, 2013

Mr. Smarty Pants could be another steal, he said. In 2011, the 49ers snagged starting fullback Bruce Miller, a college defensive end, in the seventh round.

"(Bykowski) might not make their team because they have so many players, but they dig them out of the bushes, I'll tell you that," said Brandt, the Cowboys vice president of player personnel from 1960-88. "I just think when you get a guy as big as he is, with those long arms, that can run as well as he can, that's a strong as he is — that's a pretty good seventh-round pick."

"When you come out of high school in Minnesota, they don't have spring practices and so forth, so those kids are usually a little bit behind," Brandt said. "And then he got a late start at his current position, so, to me, he's going to be a very intriguing guy to watch."

http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2013/05/15/seventh-round-steal-nfl-analyst-intrigued-by-ot-bykowski/

Just saw your early-prediction 53!

Bykowski is intriguing to me b/c he was horrendous when I watched him last year in pre season (he and Netter). That said, we've had a year to develop him as well so this will be another one of those guys to watch closer and see how much they've developed. I agree that now that it's down to him and Jonathan Martin, he's got a very real shot to make the team here with very little competition. Let's keep an eye on him as well...

.

Matt Barrows observations from OTA´s + Mini Camp.

Bruce Ellington. That familiar spring visitor, the hamstring injury, felled a number of wide receivers, who do more running than anyone else. But not Ellington. As advertised, he showed excellent strength and stamina. It was also obvious that the playbook began to click for him the deeper he went into the spring. He became quicker as a result, something that really was apparent in the recent minicamp. Many of you noted my mancrush for Oregon State receiver Brandin Cooks prior to the draft. Ellington may not be quite as fast and explosive as Cooks, but he has many of the same qualities, including drive and toughness.

Quinton Patton. The second-year receiver shook off a scare about his foot, which he broke last year, to finish with a good minicamp. He was prolific in Wednesday's session, and he looks to make a big jump in his second season. He also served up the most memorable image – at least in my mind – of the session when, in the locker room following the final practice, he power-dunked over coach Jim Harbaugh. See, it's become a game inside the locker room where there is a Nerf hoop. The players lure someone to walk under the hoop and then one of the players, usually Patton, poster-izes that person with a vicious dunk. (Laughter ensues). The victim on Thursday was none other than Harbaugh, which to me signals how well-liked he is – just one of the guys – in the locker room. Of course, there were roars, absolute howls, after it happened, although some of the players noted to Patton that he actually missed the dunk. A few minutes later, the game came to a halt when Patton's next power-dunk ripped the rim from the backboard.

Chris Cook. He was the beneficiary of Chris Culliver's absence and of an ankle injury to Eric Wright, who retired this week. That meant that Cook took nearly all the first-team defensive repetitions at right cornerback. He did not stand out with any interceptions – a shortcoming of his – during any of the open practices. But there also was no press or jam coverage permitted, which is Cook's specialty. That is, Cook had a good spring and we still have yet to see him in his element.

Darryl Morris. He also benefits from Wright's retirement in that it means there's one less player competing for nickel cornerback duties. Vic Fangio likes Morris' quickness – he may be the fastest player on the team. He also likes Morris' smarts, which is what won Carlos Rogers the job the past three years. That Morris also shines on special teams is a bonus.

Tank Carradine. It's clear he's back from the knee injury that hampered him his rookie season. It's tough to evaluate defensive linemen in spring, but Carradine certainly showed the explosion off the line of scrimmage for which he was known at Florida State. It was a positive spring for him.

Blaine Gabbert. Harbaugh says there are four quarterbacks competing to be the No. 2 quarterback. Mmmm. Gabbert had, by far, the most repetitions after Colin Kaepernick. And while none of the passers were terribly accurate as the team breaks down and reinstalls its offense, Gabbert looked solid.

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/20/6499092/arrow-up-which-49ers-stood-out.html

Originally posted by NCommand:
Just saw your early-prediction 53!

Bykowski is intriguing to me b/c he was horrendous when I watched him last year in pre season (he and Netter). That said, we've had a year to develop him as well so this will be another one of those guys to watch closer and see how much they've developed. I agree that now that it's down to him and Jonathan Martin, he's got a very real shot to make the team here with very little competition. Let's keep an eye on him as well...

Last pre season O-Line play

At this moment I see his upside. his competitiveness and the fact the he is still relatively new to the position and was just a one year starter in college.

Call it a gut feeling.

Edit: Just read Matt Barrows observations from mini camp. There may be antother surprise player to keep an eye on as a OT, Dillon Farrell.

Dillon Farrell. This is an obscure one, yes, but I'm including him because I constantly heard offensive line coach Mike Solari lauding Farrell on Thursday. The undrafted rookie played center at New Mexico the last two years. But he also has experience at tackle, and that's what he was playing – right tackle, with the second-team offense – this spring. Farrell proved to have quick feet and, as you would expect from a center, is a quick learner. It will be tough for him to land a spot on the 53-man roster, but versatile linemen always are coveted on the practice quad.