Which player are you most eager to see in the preseason?

It's all about tank for me. Had he not ripped his knee vs UF at the tail end of 2012, he probably would have been a top 15 type pick. If he is similar to the guy I saw at FSU, this DL just got instantly better. If this season is gonna result in #6 I think depth of DL might be the biggest reason why.

Just like everybody else..Tank and Hyde. I think hey have the biggest opportunity to make an impact for our team right out of the gate. We need somebody to help Gore at this stage in his career. Even if the we make huge strides in the passing game the power run is our bread and butter and we cant just lose that. Gore needs fresh legs later in the year and Hyde might just be the man who can finally make sure that happens. In a perfect world Hyde becomes the workhorse early on this year and Gore gets used as a third down back early..... slowly moving him up to 50/50 split later in the year. Also we need someone to take up some of the slack left by losing Dorsey, having to go without Bow for half the season and possibly going without Aldon for a stretch as well. Tank has the ability to be that fresh blood, a disruptive force that can collapse pockets and get to the QB and also give Cowboy an occasional breather while we get healthy. He and Dial will go a long way towards making everything else work smoothly on defense if they can get up and running early. Especially in light of the fact that I honestly believe the secondary will be much improved and Willis will keep the LB's on point until reinforcements arrive.

Just like everybody else..Tank and Hyde. I think hey have the biggest opportunity to make an impact for our team right out of the gate. We need somebody to help Gore at this stage in his career. Even if the we make huge strides in the passing game the power run is our bread and butter and we cant just lose that. Gore needs fresh legs later in the year and Hyde might just be the man who can finally make sure that happens. In a perfect world Hyde becomes the workhorse early on this year and Gore gets used as a third down back early..... slowly moving him up to 50/50 split later in the year. Also we need someone to take up some of the slack left by losing Dorsey, having to go without Bow for half the season and possibly going without Aldon for a stretch as well. Tank has the ability to be that fresh blood, a disruptive force that can collapse pockets and get to the QB and also give Cowboy an occasional breather while we get healthy. He and Dial will go a long way towards making everything else work smoothly on defense if they can get up and running early. Especially in light of the fact that I honestly believe the secondary will be much improved and Willis will keep the LB's on point until reinforcements arrive.

For me it's Marcus Lattimore, I really like the kid and have been rooting for a full recovery. I want to see him come back and return to form (I know it's a long shot). I think Hyde will be fine but he and Lattimore would make a nice 1-2 punch. Hunter could be in the mix too if we go back and get him.

Originally posted by GoForGold:

Really interested in Chris Cook. Heard a lot of good things about him in camp, and want to see some for myself. I know they wont be playing any exotic defense, but still want to see how his cover and ball skills are. Oh who am I kidding? I want to see TANK crush somebody!

From what I've read, Cook has had an excellent camp. I'm really interested in his battle with Culliver.

Wow. I picked Tank without looking at the results and Im glad to see Im in the majority. I think the D line is most intriguing position with Okoye, Dobbs, Dial, TJE, and hopefully Williams I'll be watching close.

Those guys is where it starts in collapsing the pocket to crush that Seattle oline and quarterback

No injuries then Tank

Originally posted by Dodub:

Originally posted by GoForGold:
Really interested in Chris Cook. Heard a lot of good things about him in camp, and want to see some for myself. I know they wont be playing any exotic defense, but still want to see how his cover and ball skills are. Oh who am I kidding? I want to see TANK crush somebody!

From what I've read, Cook has had an excellent camp. I'm really interested in his battle with Culliver.

I would say that Cook had a good camp so far, not excellent.

We have to keep things in perspective. His two interceptions came against Devon Wylie and Chuck Jacobs who none of us think will make the team.

I´´m definitely interested to see how far he progessed since joining the Niners and Baltimores receiving corps should give us a chance to see that.

I put Tank. I have been excited about his potential for the last 16 months.

Here's what I'll be looking for in game 1!

QB
Blaine Gabbert - Curious to see how he performs given all the praise he's received this TC and I want to see if we change offensive styles when he's in the game vs. CK.

RB
Carlos Hyde - Can't wait to see how he performs against a stacked box esp. his ability to bounce it outside and his speed. Can he catch? Pass protect?
Jewel Hampton - This dude's been training for 3 years with us and is ready to look good again in TC. I hope he shines. He looked great the past 2 TC's.

FB
Bruce Miller - Curious to see if he even plays.

TE
Vance McDonald - Can't wait to see how he does in games in traffic (seam routes). I want to see a more confident player out there.
Derek Carrier (H-Back) - One of my dark horses who's been shining. Let's see how he does in games now.

WR
Stevie Johnson (Y) - Can't wait to see how shifty he is. Running the right routes?
Brandon Lloyd (X,Y,Z) - You know he's looking forward to this BUT can he block down field, make the most of his opportunities, fight and high-point the ball, etc.
Quinton Patton (X,Y,Z) - Just looking forward to seeing him in year 2, healthy.
Bruce Ellington (Y & P/KR) - Are we going to use him out of the backfield, as a returner and on deeper routes?

OT
Joe Staley - Stay healthy please!
Jonathan Martin (OT & G) - How is this dude going to hold up in a real game not at full strength?

OG
Joe Looney - Hello stud! It's time to show your nastiness. You've been waiting for your chance and here it is!
Adam Snyder (G & T) - I'm curious of where he'll be lined up at...G or T?

C
Daniel Kilgore - This is a big one for me!
Marcus Martin (C & OG) - Where is he going to be lined up at? G and C?

DE
'Tank' Carradine - Who isn't excited to see him get some extended time...for the first time!
Lawrence Okoye - I'm a long-shot fan so I'm super excited to see how far Okoye has come from last year in extensive PT.

NT
Quinton Dial - Been hearing great things about Dial. I had him as a lock months ago b/c of his versatility but now he can concentrate on just NT.
Tony-Jerod Eddie - He's going to be playing at DE and NT. I'm curious to see how he's progressed this year.

OLB
Dan Skuta - He probably won't get many snaps.
Corey Lemonier - I can't wait to see how year 2 goes for him at SAM.
Aaron Lynch - Who isn't excited to see Lynch at the WILL?

ILB
Michael Wilhoite - A stud and probably won't play more than a half.
Chris Borland - It's going to be fun to see how he fares in a game now.
Nick Moody - I keep hearing we may use him as a hybrid S/ILB for the nickle

CB
Jimmie Ward (#3 Nickle/Dime/Slot/FS) - Let the games begin!
Perrish Cox (#4 Nickle/Dime/ST)(Backs up Brock) - Having another great TC and appears to be heading down the Brock-path to getting more and more PT.
Chris Cook (#5 Nickle/Dime)(Backs up Culliver) - Super stoked to see he and Johnson in press. I'm stoked to see ANY Niner CB play a real physical jamming press!
Darryl Morris (#1 Slot/ST) - Dude's about equal right now with Ward in the slot and a ST ace. He's grown a ton as a player.
Dontae Johnson (Backs up both Brock/Culliver) - Here we go!

S
Antoine Bethea - I wonder how much he'll play.
L.J. McCray - Looking forward to seeing the upside he brings as a S (he also has experience in the retrun game as well)
D.J. Campbell - Looking forward to seeing the upside he brings as a S (he also has experience in the retrun game as well)

Hope Ward and Hyde will be show a great game.Lynch is may best a game and beast..

To be honest, I would probably pick Okoye who is not on the list. Ward and Hyde are also ones I will be watching.

I'm most looking forward to Patton at the moment. I think it's because of the bandwagon hype last year combined with the fact that we really didn't get to see enough of the guy. What he did show when he was healthy looked pretty good though.

The next is a toss up between Tank and Culliver. I was really high on Culliver when he was healthy and thought he had the potential to be a #1 CB. It will be interesting to see how far he's come in his rehab. Tank I think is the default. A guy with immense potential that was sidelined for a year. If he's as good as the training camp reports are, the Niners got a steal.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Here's what I'll be looking for in game 1!

QB
Blaine Gabbert - Curious to see how he performs given all the praise he's received this TC and I want to see if we change offensive styles when he's in the game vs. CK.

RB
Carlos Hyde - Can't wait to see how he performs against a stacked box esp. his ability to bounce it outside and his speed. Can he catch? Pass protect?
Jewel Hampton - This dude's been training for 3 years with us and is ready to look good again in TC. I hope he shines. He looked great the past 2 TC's.

FB
Bruce Miller - Curious to see if he even plays.

TE
Vance McDonald - Can't wait to see how he does in games in traffic (seam routes). I want to see a more confident player out there.
Derek Carrier (H-Back) - One of my dark horses who's been shining. Let's see how he does in games now.

WR
Stevie Johnson (Y) - Can't wait to see how shifty he is. Running the right routes?
Brandon Lloyd (X,Y,Z) - You know he's looking forward to this BUT can he block down field, make the most of his opportunities, fight and high-point the ball, etc.
Quinton Patton (X,Y,Z) - Just looking forward to seeing him in year 2, healthy.
Bruce Ellington (Y & P/KR) - Are we going to use him out of the backfield, as a returner and on deeper routes?

OT
Joe Staley - Stay healthy please!
Jonathan Martin (OT & G) - How is this dude going to hold up in a real game not at full strength?

OG
Joe Looney - Hello stud! It's time to show your nastiness. You've been waiting for your chance and here it is!
Adam Snyder (G & T) - I'm curious of where he'll be lined up at...G or T?

C
Daniel Kilgore - This is a big one for me!
Marcus Martin (C & OG) - Where is he going to be lined up at? G and C?

DE
'Tank' Carradine - Who isn't excited to see him get some extended time...for the first time!
Lawrence Okoye - I'm a long-shot fan so I'm super excited to see how far Okoye has come from last year in extensive PT.

NT
Quinton Dial - Been hearing great things about Dial. I had him as a lock months ago b/c of his versatility but now he can concentrate on just NT.
Tony-Jerod Eddie - He's going to be playing at DE and NT. I'm curious to see how he's progressed this year.

OLB
Dan Skuta - He probably won't get many snaps.
Corey Lemonier - I can't wait to see how year 2 goes for him at SAM.
Aaron Lynch - Who isn't excited to see Lynch at the WILL?

ILB
Michael Wilhoite - A stud and probably won't play more than a half.
Chris Borland - It's going to be fun to see how he fares in a game now.
Nick Moody - I keep hearing we may use him as a hybrid S/ILB for the nickle

CB
Jimmie Ward (#3 Nickle/Dime/Slot/FS) - Let the games begin!
Perrish Cox (#4 Nickle/Dime/ST)(Backs up Brock) - Having another great TC and appears to be heading down the Brock-path to getting more and more PT.
Chris Cook (#5 Nickle/Dime)(Backs up Culliver) - Super stoked to see he and Johnson in press. I'm stoked to see ANY Niner CB play a real physical jamming press!
Darryl Morris (#1 Slot/ST) - Dude's about equal right now with Ward in the slot and a ST ace. He's grown a ton as a player.
Dontae Johnson (Backs up both Brock/Culliver) - Here we go!

S
Antoine Bethea - I wonder how much he'll play.
L.J. McCray - Looking forward to seeing the upside he brings as a S (he also has experience in the retrun game as well)
D.J. Campbell - Looking forward to seeing the upside he brings as a S (he also has experience in the retrun game as well)

Great post....I'm an offense guy at heart, but schemewise I think this preseason will be very barebones showing little if any schematic changes. My feeling is any offensive changes will be unleashed in the regular season to keep them off of film as long as possible. Therefore this preseason in my eyes is all about the defense. Can't wait to see how the new guys fit in.

Originally posted by Niners816:
Great post....I'm an offense guy at heart, but schemewise I think this preseason will be very barebones showing little if any schematic changes. My feeling is any offensive changes will be unleashed in the regular season to keep them off of film as long as possible. Therefore this preseason in my eyes is all about the defense. Can't wait to see how the new guys fit in.

Absolutely! But even if it's vanilla (no change for us), it will be fun to see if we start incorporating more "safe" plays (i.e. more designed passes to our RB's as primary targets, more check downs to a RB/FB and more safe passes to the TE's in the soft zone holes). All three areas where non-existent last year but could be HUGE for us going forward.

But overall, I agree...I can't wait to see not only the individual play, but are we going to see a glimpse of a scheme change defensively (i.e. single-high S with more press?).