Who was the 9ers' biggest loss this offseason?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by philosoraptor:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by Young2Rice:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
None of the above

Kind of this. If this was 2012 all these losses would be catastrophic. 2015? Not as big as you think...

Lolz multiple pro bowl players gone but no big losses.

Put down the kool-aid yo

Can't even put it down to answer a simple question about who is the biggest loss. You have to pick one lol.

Lets see... No one! Everything is awesome! Every move brilliant!

Every move was correct and every guy on that list is replaceable?

How easy.

Gotta say whatever it takes to support the agenda to back up the narrative in the romper room.

Yeah the sky is falling we are going 0-16, we should just pack up the bags its over and we havent played a game..

It doesn't hurt to say that losing a good player will impact the team. It's called reality.

Agreed. It's also not hard to recognize much of that on-field production was already in the process of being replaced last year+ while also looking forward to the new era players. It's not like we are in a position where we're going from Gore to Boobie or Willis to Moody or Davis to Snyder/J.Martin again mid season. We have time. Most production should easily be replaced (i.e. Gore) even if it's more by committee now vs. one sole person that's leaned on 100%.

This is what I mean. Is it a blow to team losing these guys? Yes, but I dont buy the narrative that the niners are going to be horrible next year. Maybe the strength of schedule, quite possibly a division get us in the end, but I still seem them as a pretty damn good team(I remember the bad years and this team would blow those team out any day of the weak and twice on sunday). Our division is strong, but guess what? We were looking pretty amazing this time last year and we imploded.

The rams have a ton of talent, yes, but their offense doesn't scare me even a tiny bit(We own Nick Foles and thye dont really have all th). Plus I think Jeff Fisher is one of the most overrated coaches in NFL history, he took a team to a superbowl closer to 20 years a go then 10 years, and what have his teams done since then? Playoffs like what, 4-5 times? Just look at their ppf depth chart and tell me thats a playoff team, only unit that they have thats good is the dline(Which is insane btw).

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/06/04/2015-depth-charts-update-st-louis-rams/

As good as Arizona is I can see a drop off on their part, they definitely have a very questionable line, especially in pass pro, palmer is coming off a knee injury, and their defense lost their coordinator and some talent which they replaced with over the hill players. look at the link below(Still expect them to be good because Arians gonna Arians but wouldn't be surprised if they regress).

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/06/04/2015-depth-charts-update-arizona-cardinals/

Seahawks, they still good no doubt, concerns on the oline(injuries on the oline would be devastating to them) for sure but they kept most of their roster, they are most likely gonna win the west. Though they did lose a couple quality defensive coaches, and they might get caught by the super bowl hangover, again I doubt it. We will see how they do Next years due to all the money they will need to pay out.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/06/04/2015-depth-charts-update-seattle-seahawks/

Do I think We have the strongest division in the league, Yes, we are at least in the top 1-2. Are the other teams infallible, obviously not cause they didn't win the superbowl. Do they all have at least a couple of concerns, yes. Did we have a terrible offseason, yes, I dont eat paint chips. Do I still think we have a lot of young talent thats been waiting 2-3 years to get their shot, yes. Do I really like the coaching staff, yes. DO I think we win the division, doubt it. You can be positive with out being a blinded homer, its better then being a pessimist calling themselves a "realist" and assuming the worst in every thing.

Take a look at our depth chart, which you have to get rid of AD to assume(probably the biggest loss). We have no unit that is an inherent hole for us and a lot of young players in a position to step up. We actually have one to two good players in each unit, good coaching could make this team VERY good. The only team that looks better then us based off this(which isnt pefect), is the seahawks who are clearly better then us, although that oline might be the death of them on offense. Their defense is insanely stacked with the only possible weaknesses being up the middle on their dline and their nickle corners. .

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/06/04/2015-depth-charts-update-san-francisco-49ers/

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by SoCold:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by SoCold:
? this thread isn't justifying why he's not here or how he could be if he didn't retire

the injury and fact he did retire is a HUGE loss

Just like Bowman being injured and not playing was our biggest loss last year

imo

So what kinda of thread is this !

a crying thread !

The thread is about who you think the biggest loss is and why.

Not a what if Willis was here but injured and on the sideline, which I think is what you implied. Like as if he didn't retire he would be back and hurt again.

Why I think he's the biggest loss is you just can't replace a HOF player that easy.

Then how is X Player a huge loss if they can't perform like they used to , which means its not a huge loss

haha How could over 50% of those who voted feel he's a big loss yet you guys need it explained to you??

wow

Originally posted by cciowa:
actually, its probably something that is thrown out there in desperation when they do not have a logical answer to your question

no see my last statement, I'm not explaining it to you

Originally posted by SoCold:

Originally posted by cciowa:
actually, its probably something that is thrown out there in desperation when they do not have a logical answer to your question

no see my last statement, I'm not explaining it to you

what cc said, times ten

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by SoCold:

Originally posted by cciowa:
actually, its probably something that is thrown out there in desperation when they do not have a logical answer to your question

no see my last statement, I'm not explaining it to you

what cc said, times ten

Who was our last HOF player to have a career ending injury, Steve Young? Yeah it's only been 16 years and 12 different starting QB's since then. Not a huge loss at all. I'm sure Wilhoite will start at ILB for the next 10 years and be a HOFer.

Harbaugh

Originally posted by SoCold:
haha How could over 50% of those who voted feel he's a big loss yet you guys need it explained to you??

wow

because this is not a football loss thread, its the which player i will miss more thread

Justin Smith was already in decline, Willis has had nagging injuries the last two years, so if you are looking at them 3years ago then yes big loss, but using the last two years, not as big, however being that we lost the options of backups such as Borland, and did not get a replacement well that seems to have magnified it into a big loss. Still Wilhoite is still here with Bowman (which still needs to be seen if he was recovered), Plus the abundance of talent at rush lb may allow the niners the option of moving Brooks inside where he does have experience, plus he has had a great OTA and TC

Iupati may have been more of a run blocker than pass protector, but then again that is the 49ers bread and butter. Same with A Davis. Injuries and scheme of the O may have also contributed to them look really bad as pass protectors I think.

Crabtree was a decent WR but not dependable, always some injury slowing him down and rarely produced in big games. Kaep felt obligated it seemed to find Crabtree, now maybe he will spread it around more. Other wise if crabtree was that good, there would have been more interest in him in F.A. We have a bunch of young talent, Now teams won't key in on one the wr as they don't know how the new wr will fit in with the niners.

Culliver and Cox, we had been down that road many times before...we'll be okay, if we are not, I think it is more because of the scheme and coaching of the new staff.

Though Gore is older, he was consistent and hasn't shown to be slowing down. In fact he might have been more productive if he were thrown to more often both as a design option of fallback option.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
None of the above

Kind of this. If this was 2012 all these losses would be catastrophic. 2015? Not as big as you think...

Lolz multiple pro bowl players gone but no big losses.

Put down the kool-aid yo

In Back to the Future, you'd be correct.

Put is this way sus...which would you rather have (LOL):

Gore today plus his contract or Hyde/Davis/Hunter/Bush and a new ZBS?
Iupati today and his monster contract with piss poor pass protection and one-trick pony ability (pull block) or a cheaper, younger Thomas with more upside or Boone?
A. Davis today as a fatass lazy Twitter whore with his fat contract or Boone or someone who's willing to slim down, work hard and give it a go?
Crabtree's half-ass efforts and his contract or anybody else who is cable of using a walker?
J. Smith with one arm for the 3rd year in a row (hoping he can make it through more than 13 games) taking up snaps at a high salary or Carradine/Dockett/AA/Doresey
Willis with no feet left (or toe) and a huge contract or Wilhoite starting year 2 next to Bowman?
Borland sitting on his couch watching NFL Network or Bowman back and starting next to Wilhoite?
Culliver's big contract or Johnson, Wright, Brock, Acker and Reaser fighting for those spots at a fraction of the cost?
Cox's big contract and inconsistent play or Ward, Tartt, Wright, Brock, Acker, Reaser, etc. vying for that SLOT CB spot?
Skuta's big contract or Eli taking those snaps and/or the Lemonier who is now getting coached up better and improving?
S. Johnson's contract and unpredictable route-running or T.Smith, White, Ellington, Patton, Dres, etc. taking those snaps?

In some case you may want the latter and that's fine but it's important to stick to reality in 2015 and not that of 2012.

JSmith is still better one handed than Tank/Dial are, if they actually play then ok not a big lose as some say, but right now yes it is, he was a guy who took up two OL and allowed Aldon to get to the QB, I don't see the same from Tank or Dial right now. Dockett is coming off a terrible ACL injury, we'll have to see how much he helps.

I rather have a hurt Willis or Borland over Wilhoite any day of the week NCommand.

Cully and Cox are better than all our CBs IMO, but the contract Cully got was too much, I would have been ok with Cox's deal. Not a fan of Brock, as most know, I never have been.

Davis will hurt, but I was never a fan of him anyway.

Iupati sucked period, terrible in pass protection, and got overpaid, but so will Boone, but at least Boone is versatile.

Skuta earned that contract, he will be missed, but I wouldn't of kept him for that price, hoping Harold plays well.

Crabs, screw him, never liked him, ever since he held out, glad he is gone, hopefully Torrey Smith plays up to the hype that everyone has for him, cause a lot of Ravens fans say he was never consistent, and he isn't a #1 WR.

I would have paid Gore $4M a yr in a heartbeat, sorry but never was, and never will be a big Bush fan, Hyde needs to step up from day 1.

So yes we have a lot of major losses, for people to write these off, cause they hurt, whether you believe it or not, some are upgrades, but most are downgrades in their replacements.

Originally posted by pdizo916:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
AD would be the player because his game really wasn't slipping like most of the guys on the list.

Gore, Patrick, Justin's best days are behind them.

Iupati's performance was slipping.

Craptree was never better than just above average.

Although both Cox and Culliver are good players - I think we'll see almost the same story as our other Dbacks who left after last season.

Borland could have been VERY special but the team wasn't impacted in a terrible way.

S Johnson - I thought he could have been a real difference maker. I was wrong!

I thought Skuta was the most under-estimated guy on the D. He flat out played and showed up time & time again.

I disagree with AD, he missed so many games that he didn't have much of an impact as a full time starter would. I think the biggest loss was either Patrick or Chris Borland. NO ONE saw those two coming. And don't underestimate Justin Smith's impact.

You may be right on AD.

Although none of us saw the Patrick, Borland retirements - the injuries were catching up w/Patrick.

Maybe Boreland, since he is so young and had so much potential.

As far as Justin - the injuries were also starting to add up - IMO, he would have still been a MAJOR force but not as much as in the past.

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
None of the above

Kind of this. If this was 2012 all these losses would be catastrophic. 2015? Not as big as you think...

Lolz multiple pro bowl players gone but no big losses.

Put down the kool-aid yo

In Back to the Future, you'd be correct.

Put is this way sus...which would you rather have (LOL):

Gore today plus his contract or Hyde/Davis/Hunter/Bush and a new ZBS?
Iupati today and his monster contract with piss poor pass protection and one-trick pony ability (pull block) or a cheaper, younger Thomas with more upside or Boone?
A. Davis today as a fatass lazy Twitter whore with his fat contract or Boone or someone who's willing to slim down, work hard and give it a go?
Crabtree's half-ass efforts and his contract or anybody else who is cable of using a walker?
J. Smith with one arm for the 3rd year in a row (hoping he can make it through more than 13 games) taking up snaps at a high salary or Carradine/Dockett/AA/Doresey
Willis with no feet left (or toe) and a huge contract or Wilhoite starting year 2 next to Bowman?
Borland sitting on his couch watching NFL Network or Bowman back and starting next to Wilhoite?
Culliver's big contract or Johnson, Wright, Brock, Acker and Reaser fighting for those spots at a fraction of the cost?
Cox's big contract and inconsistent play or Ward, Tartt, Wright, Brock, Acker, Reaser, etc. vying for that SLOT CB spot?
Skuta's big contract or Eli taking those snaps and/or the Lemonier who is now getting coached up better and improving?
S. Johnson's contract and unpredictable route-running or T.Smith, White, Ellington, Patton, Dres, etc. taking those snaps?

In some case you may want the latter and that's fine but it's important to stick to reality in 2015 and not that of 2012.

JSmith is still better one handed than Tank/Dial are, if they actually play then ok not a big lose as some say, but right now yes it is, he was a guy who took up two OL and allowed Aldon to get to the QB, I don't see the same from Tank or Dial right now. Dockett is coming off a terrible ACL injury, we'll have to see how much he helps.

I rather have a hurt Willis or Borland over Wilhoite any day of the week NCommand.

Cully and Cox are better than all our CBs IMO, but the contract Cully got was too much, I would have been ok with Cox's deal. Not a fan of Brock, as most know, I never have been.

Davis will hurt, but I was never a fan of him anyway.

Iupati sucked period, terrible in pass protection, and got overpaid, but so will Boone, but at least Boone is versatile.

Skuta earned that contract, he will be missed, but I wouldn't of kept him for that price, hoping Harold plays well.

Crabs, screw him, never liked him, ever since he held out, glad he is gone, hopefully Torrey Smith plays up to the hype that everyone has for him, cause a lot of Ravens fans say he was never consistent, and he isn't a #1 WR.

I would have paid Gore $4M a yr in a heartbeat, sorry but never was, and never will be a big Bush fan, Hyde needs to step up from day 1.

So yes we have a lot of major losses, for people to write these off, cause they hurt, whether you believe it or not, some are upgrades, but most are downgrades in their replacements.

the niners were willing to give gore four million. the sticking point and rightfully so was giving him multi years

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
None of the above

Kind of this. If this was 2012 all these losses would be catastrophic. 2015? Not as big as you think...

Lolz multiple pro bowl players gone but no big losses.

Put down the kool-aid yo

In Back to the Future, you'd be correct.

Put is this way sus...which would you rather have (LOL):

Gore today plus his contract or Hyde/Davis/Hunter/Bush and a new ZBS?
Iupati today and his monster contract with piss poor pass protection and one-trick pony ability (pull block) or a cheaper, younger Thomas with more upside or Boone?
A. Davis today as a fatass lazy Twitter whore with his fat contract or Boone or someone who's willing to slim down, work hard and give it a go?
Crabtree's half-ass efforts and his contract or anybody else who is cable of using a walker?
J. Smith with one arm for the 3rd year in a row (hoping he can make it through more than 13 games) taking up snaps at a high salary or Carradine/Dockett/AA/Doresey
Willis with no feet left (or toe) and a huge contract or Wilhoite starting year 2 next to Bowman?
Borland sitting on his couch watching NFL Network or Bowman back and starting next to Wilhoite?
Culliver's big contract or Johnson, Wright, Brock, Acker and Reaser fighting for those spots at a fraction of the cost?
Cox's big contract and inconsistent play or Ward, Tartt, Wright, Brock, Acker, Reaser, etc. vying for that SLOT CB spot?
Skuta's big contract or Eli taking those snaps and/or the Lemonier who is now getting coached up better and improving?
S. Johnson's contract and unpredictable route-running or T.Smith, White, Ellington, Patton, Dres, etc. taking those snaps?

In some case you may want the latter and that's fine but it's important to stick to reality in 2015 and not that of 2012.

JSmith is still better one handed than Tank/Dial are, if they actually play then ok not a big lose as some say, but right now yes it is, he was a guy who took up two OL and allowed Aldon to get to the QB, I don't see the same from Tank or Dial right now. Dockett is coming off a terrible ACL injury, we'll have to see how much he helps.

I rather have a hurt Willis or Borland over Wilhoite any day of the week NCommand.

Cully and Cox are better than all our CBs IMO, but the contract Cully got was too much, I would have been ok with Cox's deal. Not a fan of Brock, as most know, I never have been.

Davis will hurt, but I was never a fan of him anyway.

Iupati sucked period, terrible in pass protection, and got overpaid, but so will Boone, but at least Boone is versatile.

Skuta earned that contract, he will be missed, but I wouldn't of kept him for that price, hoping Harold plays well.

Crabs, screw him, never liked him, ever since he held out, glad he is gone, hopefully Torrey Smith plays up to the hype that everyone has for him, cause a lot of Ravens fans say he was never consistent, and he isn't a #1 WR.

I would have paid Gore $4M a yr in a heartbeat, sorry but never was, and never will be a big Bush fan, Hyde needs to step up from day 1.

So yes we have a lot of major losses, for people to write these off, cause they hurt, whether you believe it or not, some are upgrades, but most are downgrades in their replacements.

Good post. Agree with everything highlighted above. I am more hopeful about the dline, J smith was a huge lsos but I think the young talent steps up bares the punishment(plus Justin's snap counts were declinging each season and it would be easy to assume he would have dropped from his 65% last year). I really do like brock though and think he is better then cox who really only performed for 6 games last year, and can be as good as cully. The young guys, specifically reaser, Johnson, and Acker make me hopeful.

You not a fan of bush, I love me some bush nomsayindoe

I think torrey is an upgrade, and I think Hyde needs to step up from day 1, but I think he will make the jump.

I think Borland was an overwhelming loss, he could have been great. Although I think we will do fine with wilhoite and bowman.

AD might be the biggest cause their is no one who can really take over at RT other then Boone who plays guard and Erik Pears, gonna be rough for runblocking if we have to use Pears.

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
None of the above

Kind of this. If this was 2012 all these losses would be catastrophic. 2015? Not as big as you think...

Lolz multiple pro bowl players gone but no big losses.

Put down the kool-aid yo

In Back to the Future, you'd be correct.

Put is this way sus...which would you rather have (LOL):

Gore today plus his contract or Hyde/Davis/Hunter/Bush and a new ZBS?
Iupati today and his monster contract with piss poor pass protection and one-trick pony ability (pull block) or a cheaper, younger Thomas with more upside or Boone?
A. Davis today as a fatass lazy Twitter whore with his fat contract or Boone or someone who's willing to slim down, work hard and give it a go?
Crabtree's half-ass efforts and his contract or anybody else who is cable of using a walker?
J. Smith with one arm for the 3rd year in a row (hoping he can make it through more than 13 games) taking up snaps at a high salary or Carradine/Dockett/AA/Doresey
Willis with no feet left (or toe) and a huge contract or Wilhoite starting year 2 next to Bowman?
Borland sitting on his couch watching NFL Network or Bowman back and starting next to Wilhoite?
Culliver's big contract or Johnson, Wright, Brock, Acker and Reaser fighting for those spots at a fraction of the cost?
Cox's big contract and inconsistent play or Ward, Tartt, Wright, Brock, Acker, Reaser, etc. vying for that SLOT CB spot?
Skuta's big contract or Eli taking those snaps and/or the Lemonier who is now getting coached up better and improving?
S. Johnson's contract and unpredictable route-running or T.Smith, White, Ellington, Patton, Dres, etc. taking those snaps?

In some case you may want the latter and that's fine but it's important to stick to reality in 2015 and not that of 2012.

JSmith is still better one handed than Tank/Dial are, if they actually play then ok not a big lose as some say, but right now yes it is, he was a guy who took up two OL and allowed Aldon to get to the QB, I don't see the same from Tank or Dial right now. Dockett is coming off a terrible ACL injury, we'll have to see how much he helps.

I rather have a hurt Willis or Borland over Wilhoite any day of the week NCommand.

Cully and Cox are better than all our CBs IMO, but the contract Cully got was too much, I would have been ok with Cox's deal. Not a fan of Brock, as most know, I never have been.

Davis will hurt, but I was never a fan of him anyway.

Iupati sucked period, terrible in pass protection, and got overpaid, but so will Boone, but at least Boone is versatile.

Skuta earned that contract, he will be missed, but I wouldn't of kept him for that price, hoping Harold plays well.

Crabs, screw him, never liked him, ever since he held out, glad he is gone, hopefully Torrey Smith plays up to the hype that everyone has for him, cause a lot of Ravens fans say he was never consistent, and he isn't a #1 WR.

I would have paid Gore $4M a yr in a heartbeat, sorry but never was, and never will be a big Bush fan, Hyde needs to step up from day 1.

So yes we have a lot of major losses, for people to write these off, cause they hurt, whether you believe it or not, some are upgrades, but most are downgrades in their replacements.

the niners were willing to give gore four million. the sticking point and rightfully so was giving him multi years

The total contract offer was said to be roughly $4m, the guaranteed amount (never stated) was prob half that.
No player looking to end their career in a couple years would sign something like that lol

Gore will make roughly $4m guaranteed with Indy.

Originally posted by SoCold:
The total contract offer was said to be roughly $4m, the guaranteed amount (never stated) was prob half that.
No player looking to end their career in a couple years would sign something like that lol

Gore will make roughly $4m guaranteed with Indy.

on a multi year deal ..though

that roughly 4 mil deal would have been paid in full for completing 1 year with the 9ers

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
None of the above

Kind of this. If this was 2012 all these losses would be catastrophic. 2015? Not as big as you think...

Lolz multiple pro bowl players gone but no big losses.

Put down the kool-aid yo

In Back to the Future, you'd be correct.

Put is this way sus...which would you rather have (LOL):

Gore today plus his contract or Hyde/Davis/Hunter/Bush and a new ZBS?
Iupati today and his monster contract with piss poor pass protection and one-trick pony ability (pull block) or a cheaper, younger Thomas with more upside or Boone?
A. Davis today as a fatass lazy Twitter whore with his fat contract or Boone or someone who's willing to slim down, work hard and give it a go?
Crabtree's half-ass efforts and his contract or anybody else who is cable of using a walker?
J. Smith with one arm for the 3rd year in a row (hoping he can make it through more than 13 games) taking up snaps at a high salary or Carradine/Dockett/AA/Doresey
Willis with no feet left (or toe) and a huge contract or Wilhoite starting year 2 next to Bowman?
Borland sitting on his couch watching NFL Network or Bowman back and starting next to Wilhoite?
Culliver's big contract or Johnson, Wright, Brock, Acker and Reaser fighting for those spots at a fraction of the cost?
Cox's big contract and inconsistent play or Ward, Tartt, Wright, Brock, Acker, Reaser, etc. vying for that SLOT CB spot?
Skuta's big contract or Eli taking those snaps and/or the Lemonier who is now getting coached up better and improving?
S. Johnson's contract and unpredictable route-running or T.Smith, White, Ellington, Patton, Dres, etc. taking those snaps?

In some case you may want the latter and that's fine but it's important to stick to reality in 2015 and not that of 2012.

JSmith is still better one handed than Tank/Dial are, if they actually play then ok not a big lose as some say, but right now yes it is, he was a guy who took up two OL and allowed Aldon to get to the QB, I don't see the same from Tank or Dial right now. Dockett is coming off a terrible ACL injury, we'll have to see how much he helps.

I rather have a hurt Willis or Borland over Wilhoite any day of the week NCommand.

Cully and Cox are better than all our CBs IMO, but the contract Cully got was too much, I would have been ok with Cox's deal. Not a fan of Brock, as most know, I never have been.

Davis will hurt, but I was never a fan of him anyway.

Iupati sucked period, terrible in pass protection, and got overpaid, but so will Boone, but at least Boone is versatile.

Skuta earned that contract, he will be missed, but I wouldn't of kept him for that price, hoping Harold plays well.

Crabs, screw him, never liked him, ever since he held out, glad he is gone, hopefully Torrey Smith plays up to the hype that everyone has for him, cause a lot of Ravens fans say he was never consistent, and he isn't a #1 WR.

I would have paid Gore $4M a yr in a heartbeat, sorry but never was, and never will be a big Bush fan, Hyde needs to step up from day 1.

So yes we have a lot of major losses, for people to write these off, cause they hurt, whether you believe it or not, some are upgrades, but most are downgrades in their replacements.

Good post AB...always appreciate the discussion.

RDE Justin Smith...naturally we only have a small sample size with Carradine (3 starts at the end of last year) but his stats say he averages the same number of tackles per game but with x3 the sack rate of 2014 Justin-version...a defense that still finished top 7 against the run. That's evidence that Carradine has good potential and needed more snaps and/or that Justin has fallen off (naturally) in production. In 2015, Justin couldn't go. He tried hard to come back but couldn't. Therefore, the reality is no matter what production we get from Tank/AA/Dial at RDE, it's an arrow-up over an absent player...a player who was forced to retire d/t over-usage and lingering issues. Is his leadership a loss? Yes. Can the 2014 production be duplicated by one or multiple players? I believe so.

ILB Patrick Willis/Chris Borland...neither in 2015 are physically in position to play (reality) at any level and esp. at the level they both were accustomed to play. I'd prefer the play-making Borland of 2014 when he was on the field and not on I.R. over Wilhoite esp. in 2015 next to Bowman...but that's not reality so again, hard for me to count it a loss. Reports too are that Wilhoite is playing very well and even ahead of Bowman in the playbook. Him in year 2 next to Bowman should be pretty darn good in a position that ALWAYS produces big production in our 3-4. Willis could hardly walk...no freaking way would I put him on the field next to Bowman. That's just reality. Is it a "loss?" It depends on how you are defining the 2015 conditions of Willis and Borland. Borland to me was a "loss" b/c he was secure in his contract, young and arrow up and would be competing with Wilhoite right now. That part is a "loss."

RB Frank Gore...nope, no way. He was wishy-washy at best in the FA market and HE made his choice. It was time to move on from an older player who does not fit a ZBS and who, sadly, contributed to much of the predictabilty of this offense over the year (stack the box and run blitz up to 10 players). It was time for youth, power, speed, hunger, diversity (ability to run inside, off tackle, PP, catch passes, develop, arrow-up, etc.) and a much less predictable offense. Me? I'm going with Hyde/Davis/Bush/Hunter all day every day as a GM!

Agreed with the rest and you bring up the biggest piece to this...salary cap room. You guys want to keep Aldon and Boone right? There you go...the turnover was inevitable but I hope you guys can get excited about the young guys once things settle in more. Many of these players have been waiting 1-2-3 years for their chance and have learned from the best in the game! It's their time...let's see what these guys have now.