The national and local media thinks we are headed for the number 1 pick in the draft and bashing the 49ers seems like it's the in thing to do. Who cares what they think people, they are usually wrong anyway, right? I will admit losing Aldon Smith was a huge and unfortunate blow. He's an elite young talent and can't be replaced, not to mention it's just a sad story. With all that being said this thread is here for discussing the upcoming season and the play on the field. I don't want to get into bashing Baalke, York, Tomsula or the media.
I'm excited for the 15th and I really want to get a peek at what the OL will look like in game action. I want to see some of the rookies I'm excited about like Mike Davis, Eli Harold, Trent Brown, Jaquaski Tartt, Dres Anderson and DeAndrew White. I also want to see how healthy Jimmie Ward is or if he even plays. The same goes for Aaron Lynch. With the loss of Aldon Smith his development will be huge and the news of his back injury is a bit concerning. Another player is third year OLB Corey Lemonier and can he bounce back from a horrible sophomore campaign. Without Aldon we will need contributions from everyone and I was excited about Lemonier after his rookie year. Maybe he got some time with Haley this TC and off-season and can develop a second and third pass rush move.
A couple of Baalke's ACL picks will need to step up this year and show they weren't mistakes. Tank Carradine I believe is going to have a huge year lining up in the Nickel D and providing a desperately need interior pass rush. Even with the loss of Aldon I'm excited about the Nickel and I still believe we have enough pass rushers to get it done. Dockett could provide big dividends in a limited capacity and Brooks is in excellent shape (about time). The early returns on Arik Armstead have been positive and with his long frame should be able to tie up multiple OL along with Quentin Dial. Dial figures to start and has tied up multiple blockers during TC. That should really help on the stunts the 49ers like to incorporate into their scheme. If Ian Williams and Glenn Dorsey can return to health we should be solid against the run up the middle which was a bit of an issue last year.
Navarro Bowman is reportedly looking quick and moving around without much issue. Obviously all of us 49ers fans know a return to health by Bowman means we will have the best ILB back anchoring our defense. So far so good with him. I don't expect him to play against Houston but I can't wait to see Bow back on the field come week 1 of the regular season. I think a bigger question at this point is who lines up next to him. I always thought of Moody as just a ST player and I know a lot of you guys like Wilhoite or Wheeler to take over Pat's spot. I must admit though for much of the off-season if healthy I thought Bishop would win the job. He's only 30 and he has a SB ring as an integral part of that GB Packers defense. However injuries have derailed his career the last few years. If healthy how many of you like him as the starter next to Bow?
Moody is interesting to me as he has the speed to cover TE and RB but watching him play there just seems to be something missing with him. Maybe the increased reps will help his development and he can become the starting ILB which would make the combo two of the fastest in the league. Either way I am not a Wilhote fan. I thought he did as good as he could do last year and I think last year may turn out to be a career year for him. What do you think, can Wilhoite continue to get better or is he the epitome of average?
Moving to the secondary we have two experienced S and one with a question mark with Eric Reid's concussion history. Can he stay healthy a full year? Do you think since his concussions started it's affected his tackling abilities and aggressiveness? I think he is a very effective coverage S but I feel like he's lost some of the aggressive play he displayed his first year with the 49ers and going back to his college days. This is another reason I think Jimmie Ward's health is so important. He's a playmaker and although I think he can play in the slot and play a lot better than last year I think he's a much better FS. He's already an aggressive tackler and I love the fact he can get into the backfield and make plays on the RB when they are running outside the numbers. If Reid goes down Ward needs to be healthy because Bethea and Tartt are much better suited for the SS position and nobody wants to see Dahl back there. McCray didn't show much last year so hopefully a full off-season in a program did wonders for his development.
When it comes to the corner position I'm not as worried as most because Trent Baalke always seems to put together a decent secondary that's better than expected. Obviously the pass rush makes a difference and hopefully we get better production than last year. Brock is a solid corner when healthy but that's the key can he stay healthy? I know a lot of you are concerned with Shareece Wright starting, some because you have seen him play and others because of his PFF ratings. So far through camp the returns have been positive but we won't really know until the games start. However I would like to point out a couple of things. One would be that Trent Baalke really likes him and when it comes to a corner I think that means something good. Two is SD hasn't had a decent pass rush since Shawn Merriman was at his peak. Finally there is a lot of time between now and the start of the regular season and the expected starting lineups will most likely change as they always do.
We have some intriguing young prospects in Johnson who I thought had an outstanding rookie year for where he was drafted and what was expected from him. Cromartie is also an interesting player and obviously has the bloodlines to be an effective corner. Then we have Reaser and Acker who were both hurt last year but as far as Acker goes looked good during the preseason. Reaser is a fast corner with good size who is another one of Baalke's ACL picks and a player who if he had not had the injury may have been a second day pick. I'm excited to see him play this preseason after a solid off-season and he seems to have that cocky attitude and confidence that all the top corners possess. Who do you ultimately hope not expect to see playing opposite Brock? Do you think the slot position will be held down by a combination of Ward/Tartt depending on the size matchup or do you think another corner will take the slot job?
Moving over to the OL which is arguably the position group lacking the most amount of depth and proven talent I must admit I'm a little worried. Experts say the preseason doesn't matter but does anybody remember the 49ers first offensive possession in last year's preseason? Kaep was almost killed on a blindside hit. If the line looks in over it's head and Kaep has zero time to throw against arguably one of the best DL in the NFL come the 15th I won't start panicking but if he's still available I the the 49ers would be wise to look into signing Evan Mathis. I know he isn't a player the 49ers usually sign but they may need to change that strategy just this once. The Texans have an awesome DL and one of the best players in football playing on it and the 49ers will have three players playing new positions while learning a new blocking scheme. I expect them not to look good.
What I do expect to see is Marcus Martin look better than last year and for Brandon Thomas to look good when he's facing the opponent's second team DL if he's not starting. If he is starting I would like to see him hold his own and not looked overwhelmed like Johnathan Martin did last year. I'm not concerned with Staley and Boone just don't get hurt. I hope Pears plays T better than he played G in Buffalo and the zone blocking scheme should help him out some. What are your realistic expectations for the OL in the first preseason game? The WR position looks as good as it has since 2012 and everybody does a little something different and not a bunch of carbon copies like last year. I am really excited about the addition of Torrey Smith and I would have loved to see him teamed up with Crabtree (yes I admit I wish Crab was still here) and although I don't think he's a #1 WR I do believe he's a game changer and will open things up underneath for the backs and Boldin.
I really want to see the development of Ellington and I am hoping the offensive coaching staff uses him the way the Vikings used Harvin and Packers used Cobb early on in their careers. I love the addition of Reggie Bush and I really like the way Tomsula is easing him into TC. If we can have a fully healthy Reggie Bush for the start of the season that will be a weapon we haven't had here for a long time. I like the combination of Bush, Hyde, Davis and Hunter. I think they are all talented and bring something different to the table while being able to still do the traditional things a RB can do. I know it's been reported the young guys have had trouble in pass protection so that will be something to study come the Texan game. Let's hope they have improved sufficiently because a bad pass protecting back can get your QB hurt.
I think I am one of the last Vance McDonald fans left here in the zone but if he doesn't show something this preseason he will be gone come week 1. I still believe he has a lot of talent and would love to see him run over Dick Sherman a few more times. Do you guys think Vance has gotten the opportunities in the passing game to show what he can do to this point in his career? I don't but I also know some of the opportunities he has gotten he's literally dropped the ball and one of those drops could have been the difference between a win and a loss. With that said I also believe when you're not the first option or you know you may only get one or two chances a game sometimes the pressure you put on yourself can do more damage than good. This preseason the 49ers will be looking to get Vance the ball to see what he can do because they will need a replacement for Vernon after this year. He will definitely get his chances so do you think he takes advantage of them. I hope he does because I still think he can be a significant factor in the passing game.
Vernon, Bush and Smith on offense all on the field at the same time, now that is some speed we haven't had in a long time and should really help Kaep's field vision because it should open up the middle of the field. However if Vernon has lost a step and his horrible year wasn't due only to distractions and injury that's a lot of speed missing from the seams. I will give Vernon a pass for last year and chalk it up to a horrible scheme and injury, along with a lack of creativity. I think he bounces back and shows that speed he's known for and has a huge contract year as long as he's healthy or do you think he's done? One player who I think will be an absolute steal is Blake Bell. The man is physically imposing and should be used as a red zone threat off the bat. You could also get creative due to him being a former college QB and line him up under center or in the backfield in short yardage or goaline situations.
If you stop and think about it we have a variety of weapons on offense that can all be used in conventional and creative ways to really keep opposing defenses off balance. The question is do you think this offensive coaching staff can be creative enough to make it happen and identity mismatches throughout a game? As always with any NFL team the most important player on the field is the QB. If you have an elite QB it can mask a lot of deficiencies on a team, if you don't it can make the best team look below average. Kaep did not have a good season last year and some believe he may never reach the elite status the team had hoped for after his first year. This off-season Kaep realized the struggles he went through last year and sought out help to try and correct the shortcomings in his game. I have seen Kaep look unstoppable at times both with his arm and his legs over his first four seasons. I have also seen him look downright horrible.
I think it's as simple as this for Kaep. His problems obviously aren't physical but all mental and as long as he spent more time in the film room than the weight room this off-season and during this season I expect to see an improved Kaep. Some people say it won't matter if the OL is horrible but I disagree. Yes having an above average to elite OL helps but the QB has a lot to do with the way an OL performs as well. There are a lot of QBs like Big Ben or Andrew Luck who were sacked quite a bit but are still considered elite and get their teams victories despite the play of the OL. I believe the the OL effects the RB production more than the QB production anyway. Some of you may disagree with that assessment and that's ok but one fact remains and that's if Kaep can reach elite status this year the 49ers despite the losses of key players and overhauled coaching staff have plenty of talent around him to win a SB. Now Kaep reaching elite staus this year may be a long shot but how about if he gets back to playing like he did in 2012?
After he took over the starting role in 2012 he played excellent football. His performances against New England in New England (minus the fumbled snaps) and against the Bears were great. He played excellent football in the playoffs against the Packers, Falcons and Ravens and came oh so close to bringing a sixth SB trophy back to the bay. Look at the stats for those of you that think he's a running QB only, he had games where he rushed for a lot of yards but he also had more games where he didn't have many rushes or yards and was much more of a throwing QB. He used the entire field, was very accurate and made good decisions. It also seemed like when he did deviate or threw a ball through a tight window he was usually successful. He played arguably his best football in 2012 but I still wouldn't consider that he played at an elite level but at a level he very well could get back to this year. Or what if he is just a little under that level of play, do the 49ers have the coaching staff and the pieces around Kaep to develop a ball control running offense that controls the clock, does not turn the ball over gets a lead and leans on the running game and defense in the second half? Can the coaches draw it up and do you think we have the players to execute it?
I believe Kaep lost a lot when the offense lost Moss and Delanie Walker. Crabtree had his best season and Kaep just seemed to be able to distribute the ball anywhere on the field with accuracy because Moss took two players with him downfield anytime he was in the game and really opened up the middle of the field. It wasn't clogged up with so many defenders in the box like the last two years. Walker had speed and could block. You had to prepare for the run or pass when he was in the game and he was a huge mismatch for a LB. Kaep has had a lot of players around him the last two years who had the same attributes unfortunately one of them wasn't speed. Now the defense has to respect the deep ball and even a guy like Jerome Simpson is going to help. As long as Kaep didn't lose an over abundance of confidence from last year's horrendous performances I expect a bounce back season. Now to what level he bounces back I don't know but the first step will come next Saturday in Houston. I don't think it's overly important but I would like to see the first team offense score a TD and I think it's important that they do because they did not score a single TD in last year's preseason. Obviously second half TDs are something we will have to wait for until will play Minnesota. What are you hoping to see from the first team offense against Houston?
I'm done talking about the local and national media, getting upset because they think we are going to be horrible and that we have a talent void now. I don't want to hear TK and the Cohns talking about how the turf sucks in the billion dollar stadium that's to hot. I'm done listening to how everyone thinks our owner is an idiot and our GM can't draft or pick good players. I'm tired of the morale card being used by these journalists who are only trying to cause controversy or twist words and solely trying to take the fun out of the game. The bottom line is if the 49ers win the stadium will be great, Baalke will again be a draft genius and Jed will be known as the boy wonder as he was three years ago and the journalists will be pissed. None of that stuff or their opinions matter anyway and certainly doesn't effect our team on the field. I know this was a long article and half of you probably stopped reading this three paragraphs ago but for those that didn't I want to know are you excited for later this week because I am? I want to talk about expectations for the first exhibition game coming up and what you hope to see. Who are you looking for improvement from? Will you be studying Kaep's motion or footwork and how Hyde looks as he replaces Gore? 49ers football is almost back and I am so excited and nothing anyone outside of this organization says or predicts means anything.
[ Edited by IHATELOWELLCOHN on Aug 10, 2015 at 10:11 PM ]
