Originally posted by Willisfn4life:
I think the sound of what we lost sounds worse than what it actually is. If you put our depth chart down on paper, this team is actually still very much stacked with talent and take 5 mins to soak the paper chart in and I guarantee anybody will feel better about the state of the team. What we loss in some areas we will gain in others. There will be some good football players cut off this team this year and it will be players that were on the roster last year and or the year before.
Yes Wilhoite/Wheeler/Moody isn't the sexy pick to replace Patrick or Borland but then you realize that our pass rush could be the best in the NFL this year. You have Aldon which if you look at what he did with restructring his contract is very much motivated. You have Brooks who has always been good for 5-7 sacks. You have Lynch who got 6 in limited work last year and now you add a Eli Harold to the mix. That's just ridiculous. Tank will finally get a real chance to contribute. We saw the flashes of the pass rush that we've been drooling over from him at the end of the season last year. Let's not forget that Justin hasn't retired yet either.
What do we know about a pass rush? It can make ordinary corners look like pro bowlers. I could see us having at least two corners in the conversation for the pro bowl this year just because of our pass rush. Reid and Bethea were already as solid as any safety tandem in the NFL last year. What could they be with an improved pass rush?
You look on offense at what we lost. Iupati may be the best run blocking guard in the NFL. Crabtree was a key point to our 2012 super bowl run. He hasn't been the same since his injury though and in his place we get one of the leagues priemere deep threats in Smith. Add Simpson who is a younger and faster version of Brandon Lloyd. Someone that makes the circus catches. Works the sidelines. Makes contested deep catches. These guys with Boldin working the intermidiate routes will put Kap right in his comfort zone. Somebody strong enough to catch his 10 yard lasers and two guys that get down the field to take advantage of that arm.
We have a healthy oline now. Thomas may not ever be what Iupati was as a run blocker but it will not be hard for him to be an upgrade as a pass blocker. Add Martin, Pears, and Looney to the mix and collectively we have the most experienced line we've had in years.
Then the dreaded loss of Frank Gore. I have always loved Frank and always will but Hyde showed last year that he is ready to step up. He got better as the year went on and let's not forget he wasn't dominating Seattle before he got hurt last season in the 2nd game and that is when we started to lose control of that game. Add Reggie bush and a healthier Hunter to the mix. Two guys well versed in pass protection and have above average hands out of the backfield and we have the most talented collective stable of backs in a long long time. You may not look at any of them individually and say they can take Franks place but put all of them into one big collective pot and this is an outstanding group, that has many complementary talents. Don't forget about Mike Davis who is very similar to how Frank was coming out of college.
Add in swiss army knife players like Millard and now Bell and there is quite a bit to be excited about. I don't see too many holes that were filled with one individual superstar but there is a lot of collective upgrades in many areas that were filled by two or so solid players over one great player. This game is won by teamwork not flashy superstars. Enjoy the ride niner fans because I think it's going to be a better one than many think.
Great post! Agree with everything!
Smelter is an other guy that if he recovers nicely he could be a stud 
Armstead isn't a sexy pick 
but with Tomsula and Mangini he will be way better than McDonald 
