So many unknown draft picks.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:

Originally posted by jonesadrian:
every draft pick as unknown until they produce.
everyone is afraid of change but i trust baalke to change before the bottom falls out on players.
there hasn't been 1 ex niner so far that he let go you can say wow i wish we would have kept him but we didn't.
not 1.

Delanie Walker says HELLO

So we should have dropped Davis for walker? He wanted more cash and wanted to be a starter, he was always gonna be our #2...I like to PT out how everyone loves walker but he had stone hands for yrs with us...then everyone judges Vance as having poor hands lol.

He was really good at the tough catches. It was the easy ones he kept dropping And, as you say, he wanted more than we could at that point afford.

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
Very accurate and its just a matter of gelling together and the coaches coaching them up

Thanks. So what positions are you still concerned about right now?

We're all with you on coaching/scheme...this is a newly formed coaching staff and while very experienced with a lot of upside (like a lot of our players now), they still have to gel like you said and 'prove it.'

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by theninermind:

This season hinges on so many unknown draft picks that this is clearly Trent Baalke's magnum opus. If we win this year it means that Trent hit on the following draft picks: Joe Looney, Marcus Martin, Brandon Thomas, Carlos Hyde, Quentin Dial, Tank Carradine, Aaron Lynch, Nick Moody, and Keith Keaser. That's EIGHT unknown draft pick starters that have to hit in order for us to win. Otherwise known as a third of the starters. If they win, how is he not executive if the year? I didn't even mention the coach, an unknown.

Great topic...let's take a look at how much we're REALLY going to rely on young players:

Offensive Personnel:
QB: Colin Kaepernick; Blaine Gabbert - No young guys here we need to rely on and Gabbert continues to grow/improve
RB1: Carlos Hyde; Mike Davis - Mild concerns here but let's be honest too...Hyde's worked his tail off at learning to be a patient runner and on blitz pickup from Gore. He's ready. And now with a returned emphasis to run inside as well as off tackle in the ZBS, I don't think too many fans are worried about the youth here. Davis already looks like some serious depth here as well. And Rathman coaches them...enough said!
RB2: Reggie Bush; Kendall Hunter & Jarryd Hayne - Tons of experience here and lots of upside for Hayne as well.
H-Back: Trey Millard - Here's a young one who adds tons of athleticism and security in case Miller were ever to go down again. But he's a package back so we won't lean on him too much at all.
TE: Vernon Davis; Vance McDonald & Blake Bell - You have the full package here...speed, play making ability, catching, blocking and upside and Sporano coaching them all on their weaknesses. No youth to rely on here.
FB: Bruce Miller; (Trey Millard) - Best veteran FB in the game with real depth now (first time ever).
X WR: Torrey Smith; Quinton Patton (Jerome Simpson) - zero youth here; lots of proven veteran experience
Y WR (SLOT): Bruce Ellington; DeAndrew White - here is some youth but not inexperience with Ellington; White could also be electric in the slot as depth. But again, we aren't relying on 3rd and 4th WR's much as we stay centered around the short passing game and running the ball and TOP.
Z WR: Anquan Boldin; Dres Anderson(DeAndre Smelter) - Big bro coaching up these two along with Henry? This could only be an issue if Boldin goes down with an injury and we have to rely on the young kids.
LOT: Joe Staley; (Alex Boone) - No youth here
LG: Alex Boone; Jordan Devey - No youth here
C: Joe Looney; (Marcus Martin & Daniel Kilgore) - Looney's settled in as the starter (looking good) and certainly has diverse experience behind him in Kilgore and Martin
RG: Brandon Thomas; Marcus Martin - Here we go! Here is a projected starter who is young and Thomas and Martin are going to battle this out until the end against Tiller and Devey.
ROT: Erik Pears; Trenton Brown- No youth we need to rely on here either unless Pears goes down. But even then, we most likely slide Boone over and insert another proven veteran in Jordan Devey at LG.

Defensive Personnel:
RDE: Quinton Dial; Tank Carradine & Arik Armstead - Dial IMHO is already 'proven.' And now he's playing his natural end spot. Carradine shined the final 4 games he got to start. While both are younger player, they've been with us for a while now and year 3 and 4 is when DL players typically make a big jump (see Okoye/Purcell this year as well)
NT: Ian Williams; (Glenn Dorsey & Quinton Dial) - No youth here
LDE: Glenn Dorsey; Darnell Dockett - Certainly no youth here
WILL: Ahmad Brooks; Eli Harold - All-pro but if Brooks does go down, We're going to be very young here very quickly (despite Eli's upside).
TED: Michael Wilhoite; Nick Moody - Veterans here as well
MIKE: Navarro Bowman; Nick Bellore - No youth here either
SAM: Aaron Lynch; Corey Lemonier - Lynch is another player I consider "proven" as well.
RCB: Shareece Wright; Dontae Johnson & Kenneth Acker - Veteran + another "proven" young player in Johnson with tons of upside in Reaser and Acker.
SLOT (S/CB): Jimmie Ward; Keith Reaser - Ward didn't get to fully establish himself in this role d/t injuries and Fangio playing to his weaknesses. But now Brock is sliding over and Wright also is a proven slot CB as well. In short, lots of competition here and we may end up having veterans here as well
LCB: Tramaine Brock; (Dontae Johnson) - No youth here
FS: Eric Reid; L.J. McCray (Jimmie Ward) - No youth here
SS: Antoine Bethea; (Jaquiski Tartt) - No youth here
HYBRID (SS/ILB Robber on NICKEL/DIME): JaquiskiTartt - Youth package NICKEL/DIME player

Special Teams:
LS: Kyle Nelson - No youth here
PK: Phil Dawson; (Bradley Pinion) - Certainly no youth here
P: Bradley Pinion - Rookie!

PR/KOR: Jarryd Hayne + Reggie Bush (Bruce Ellington & DeAndrew White) - Youth + Veteran

So in short, let's review the players you tabbed:
Joe Looney - Currently our starting C and looking great. Paved the way for 158 and 144 yards for Gore last year and looked very good against the Texans. I wouldn't label him as an unknown but I know what you mean.
Marcus Martin - I don't even think this guy starts anywhere on the OL but he got a lot of snaps last year and is in great shape and has worked really hard.
Brandon Thomas - Agreed, this one really is an unknown coming off the ACL and just starting to round into football shape again.
Carlos Hyde - We all know this one well; he's ready to be the workhorse.
Quentin Dial - Stud (not an unknown)
Tank Carradine - Rising stud and package interior pass rusher who can also be an every down RDE if needed
Aaron Lynch - proven (not an unknown) but needs avoid the sophomore slump
Nick Moody - backup
Keith Keaser - backup most likely

So really, only Brandon Thomas is an unknown and unproven talent. The rest are all backups pushing starters or knowns who are finally getting FT reps with plenty of depth and rotational players behind them.

Thoughts?

Soild write up thanks!

It's not like we're the only team counting on some youth to take the leap...one thing I like about Baalke is drafting for the future, we very rarely count on a rookie to be a day one starter...most "young" guys mentioned have been with the team learning the position for at least a year.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
Very accurate and its just a matter of gelling together and the coaches coaching them up

Thanks. So what positions are you still concerned about right now?

We're all with you on coaching/scheme...this is a newly formed coaching staff and while very experienced with a lot of upside (like a lot of our players now), they still have to gel like you said and 'prove it.'

Aldon's position as passrusher, RT Pears, RG Martin/Thomas, CB Wright, ILB Bowman??

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Soild write up thanks!

It's not like we're the only team counting on some youth to take the leap...one thing I like about Baalke is drafting for the future, we very rarely count on a rookie to be a day one starter...most "young" guys mentioned have been with the team learning the position for at least a year.

Agreed, most young (unproven) players are package players or have beaten out veterans outright (which is a great thing). Also, probably my favorite aspect of how Baalke builds his roster is his ability to find like-players as depth and competition at each and every single position save for a couple spots.

As an example, if T.Smith goes down, you have J.Simpson.

As much as I hated ending the year with 19 players on I.R., like Bethea noted, these "unproven" players got a TON of playing time. If we had to take one step backwards last year to make two steps forward this year, it was worth it!

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:

Originally posted by jonesadrian:
every draft pick as unknown until they produce.
everyone is afraid of change but i trust baalke to change before the bottom falls out on players.
there hasn't been 1 ex niner so far that he let go you can say wow i wish we would have kept him but we didn't.
not 1.

Delanie Walker says HELLO

IMO he was not worth what he was going to be paid. You all talk about McDonald's hands being suspect? This guy is the quintessential stone hands receiver. This one cost them a game.

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
Very accurate and its just a matter of gelling together and the coaches coaching them up

Thanks. So what positions are you still concerned about right now?

We're all with you on coaching/scheme...this is a newly formed coaching staff and while very experienced with a lot of upside (like a lot of our players now), they still have to gel like you said and 'prove it.'

Aldon's position as passrusher, RT Pears, RG Martin/Thomas, CB Wright, ILB Bowman??

All 100% fair. Agreed. We still need to keep an eye on RT (Pears played very well last game) and a lot of our runs were to the right side; lots of time for CK and Gabbert to roll right and find receivers down fild (that's a great sign) not only for "arrow up" on Pears but also on the youth at RG (Thomas and Martin).

Yeah, nobody is going to debate about how the health of Bowman is key to this defense for way more than his play. That said, he's now playing without the brace and he's been epic all camp so that's pretty encouraging. Worst case scenario, b/c Wilhoite is a good in coverage, we sub out Bowman for Tartt in coverage and keep him healthy and fresh and playing down hill instead of having to flip the hips and cover vertically and horizontally. We also have to keep in mind that ILB is also the one position we've been able to plug ANYONE in and produce at a high level.

Wright is an interesting security to me. It sounds like the coaches are working in the youth on him and challenging him outright now. The coaches already know what they have in Johnson and they probably know more about Acker than Reaser too. So next man up to challenging Wright? Reaser! This is smart coaching. The good news is that if a younger player beats out Wright, Wright is still an excellent slot CB (where he got his start in the NFL) and depth. If nothing else, he adds veteran insurance for us outside and inside.

Pass rush. No doubt, Aldon is a huge loss and I'm still at him. But an addict is an addict and addiction takes #1 precedence over everything else in life. Period. It's a sad sad story. But what more could we have done?

Enter Mangini...just in time. Can you imagine if Fangio lost Aldon like this? We'd be F*CKED! But with Mangini, it doesn't change the scheme at all. He's going to disguise pre and post snap pass rushers (and use all of them...OLB's, ILB's, S, CB's and pass rushing DL). We already got a small sample of that with CB and S blitzes last game...overloaded blitzes. But he's also going to disguise coverages. thl408 illustrated an excellent example with Acker making a 1-yard gain/tackle.

At the end of the day you know 90% of the NFL would love to have Brooks and Lynch as their starting OLB's in a 3-4. If Eli can continue to grow at the WILL (primary pass rusher) and Lemonier at the backup SAM (better fit) coupled with Mangini's dictating scheme, Brooks and Lynch could have huge seasons with all the attention that may have to be given to the disguised ILB blitzers, S, CB and with pass rushers such as Dockett and Carradine inside.

Granted, Mangini still has to use all the tools correctly and timing is everything (quality and quantity), but I feel much better with Mangini + the loss of Aldon vs. Fangio + the loss of Aldon.

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
I'll tell you what, if the 49ers win this year and make the playoffs, I personally will endorse Balke for North America Execitive of the year.

I have a better idea; how about you eat crow by taking a break and thinking long and hard about what claims your making in silence ... alone.

We'll hold you to that!

For the naysayers, or critics of baalke, I would just say this:

At end of last season we had either on IR, PUP, or some other injury list, something like 18 players? Now that includes several that then retired, (P-52, Justin, Borland, AD), plus those that were in contract yrs and were up for a big paycheck( Frank, Crabs, Iupati), but overall, we had a bunch of injured...way more than usual and seemingly, more than other teams. We also had a bunch of rooks and 2nd yr players sitting the pine, who harbaw saw fit not to give any , or very little playing time to. The fact the HC was unwilling to try out and test drive a number of 1st and 2nd yr guys was an egregious error IMO. Not knowing what you had on the bench is a hallmark of a coach who is... well , not very inquisitive, or flat out a bad coach. That lack of unwillingness has contributed to the multiple question marks today. That has nothing to do with Baalke, and everything to do with a former HC who liked playing vets, and cared little in developing the remainder of the squad.

Add to those untested young guys 13 new picks, and you are looking at a remake of a team without selling off all talent and rebuilding again from scratch. So, in the midst of retirements, guys getting big fat checks elsewhere, when that wasn't in the 9ers best interest, baalke is remaking this team in part, due to natural attrition...and also due to harbs failure to bring along younger talent. So sure, there are a lot of questions about the squad this yr, and why don't we have more experience here...or there. Detractors can point to a number of potential deficiencies and have a point. The coaching itself was a major league housecleaning...of an incredibly talented team that barely crossed the finish line at .500. Add to that the fact that a number of players had lost faith in harbaw.

Fast forward to after 1st PS game. What have we learned?

DL and front 7 can make unbelievable goal line stands...9 to be exact without giving up a point.
#2 QB has been resurrected so that he is no longer a potential back up. Blaine is a bona fide backup...kudos to Coach T, Logan, Geep.
Plays came in on time, no delay of game penalties, and we once again look like a squared away team...again kudos to JT, Logan, Geep
WRs , esp newly added Torrey, look like missing piece has been found...thank you trent.
TEs...now looks like a bona fide 4 starters.
RB....Hyde picked up where he left off last yr. Terrific
QB...too little PT to evaluate... and blaine played great.
OL...ZBS appears to be working and pass pro is off to a good start. Kap didn't get sacked 4 times in 9 plays....for that matter, no sacks
LBs...we lost basically 4 all pros, and get one back, still too early to tell, but looked good. New starters did well on runs , need work on passing D
DBs...hard to tell due to rearrangements looking for best combo on passing downs and running downs. Poor on passing for sure.
HC and remainder of coaching staff...did themselves proud, looked like NFL coaches (plus no sideline tantrums, no delay getting plays in). Also showed new passing philosophy (which 95% of other teams use all the time) of release valve passes to RBs, WR, TEs. Return to some of WCO if you will.

So, except for DBs and Kap, virtually all big questions before PS game have been answered or are in process of being answered. Kap needs more PT in PS, another fault of last HC. And DBs were interchanged so much it made for a non cohesive group, based on no extended period of time for our best 4 guys. That is a work in progress, with what most, myself included, involves some very talented guys, Tartt being the newest and best addition.

In summary, the above convinces me that baalke has done a sterling job of getting entirely new coaching staff and it works. They have in turn answered the remaining questions re: the team, with DBs being the group that needs the most work in sorting out who is best where, and in both running and passing downs. As for kap, I think it was necessary to firmly establish we had a legit #2, and that was obvious, but surprising. Good coaching obviously, plus work on part of Blaine. Now JT needs to get kap his reps with new OL, TEs, WRs, and RB.

Looking at that, how in the world has baalke not done a tremendous job...rebuilding yet keeping the team with tons of talent. The new guys and then bench warmers are going to get good long looks with JT. Again, another big plus, something harbs was not known for. Critics will continue to complain, but Trent has proven his mettle here, and everyone now needs to have patience and let it all play out. We are in good hands,here, detractors views, notwithstanding.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
For the naysayers, or critics of baalke, I would just say this:

At end of last season we had either on IR, PUP, or some other injury list, something like 18 players? Now that includes several that then retired, (P-52, Justin, Borland, AD), plus those that were in contract yrs and were up for a big paycheck( Frank, Crabs, Iupati), but overall, we had a bunch of injured...way more than usual and seemingly, more than other teams. We also had a bunch of rooks and 2nd yr players sitting the pine, who harbaw saw fit not to give any , or very little playing time to. The fact the HC was unwilling to try out and test drive a number of 1st and 2nd yr guys was an egregious error IMO. Not knowing what you had on the bench is a hallmark of a coach who is... well , not very inquisitive, or flat out a bad coach. That lack of unwillingness has contributed to the multiple question marks today. That has nothing to do with Baalke, and everything to do with a former HC who liked playing vets, and cared little in developing the remainder of the squad.

Add to those untested young guys 13 new picks, and you are looking at a remake of a team without selling off all talent and rebuilding again from scratch. So, in the midst of retirements, guys getting big fat checks elsewhere, when that wasn't in the 9ers best interest, baalke is remaking this team in part, due to natural attrition...and also due to harbs failure to bring along younger talent. So sure, there are a lot of questions about the squad this yr, and why don't we have more experience here...or there. Detractors can point to a number of potential deficiencies and have a point. The coaching itself was a major league housecleaning...of an incredibly talented team that barely crossed the finish line at .500. Add to that the fact that a number of players had lost faith in harbaw.

Fast forward to after 1st PS game. What have we learned?

DL and front 7 can make unbelievable goal line stands...9 to be exact without giving up a point.
#2 QB has been resurrected so that he is no longer a potential back up. Blaine is a bona fide backup...kudos to Coach T, Logan, Geep.
Plays came in on time, no delay of game penalties, and we once again look like a squared away team...again kudos to JT, Logan, Geep
WRs , esp newly added Torrey, look like missing piece has been found...thank you trent.
TEs...now looks like a bona fide 4 starters.
RB....Hyde picked up where he left off last yr. Terrific
QB...too little PT to evaluate... and blaine played great.
OL...ZBS appears to be working and pass pro is off to a good start. Kap didn't get sacked 4 times in 9 plays....for that matter, no sacks
LBs...we lost basically 4 all pros, and get one back, still too early to tell, but looked good. New starters did well on runs , need work on passing D
DBs...hard to tell due to rearrangements looking for best combo on passing downs and running downs. Poor on passing for sure.
HC and remainder of coaching staff...did themselves proud, looked like NFL coaches (plus no sideline tantrums, no delay getting plays in). Also showed new passing philosophy (which 95% of other teams use all the time) of release valve passes to RBs, WR, TEs. Return to some of WCO if you will.

So, except for DBs and Kap, virtually all big questions before PS game have been answered or are in process of being answered. Kap needs more PT in PS, another fault of last HC. And DBs were interchanged so much it made for a non cohesive group, based on no extended period of time for our best 4 guys. That is a work in progress, with what most, myself included, involves some very talented guys, Tartt being the newest and best addition.

In summary, the above convinces me that baalke has done a sterling job of getting entirely new coaching staff and it works. They have in turn answered the remaining questions re: the team, with DBs being the group that needs the most work in sorting out who is best where, and in both running and passing downs. As for kap, I think it was necessary to firmly establish we had a legit #2, and that was obvious, but surprising. Good coaching obviously, plus work on part of Blaine. Now JT needs to get kap his reps with new OL, TEs, WRs, and RB.

Looking at that, how in the world has baalke not done a tremendous job...rebuilding yet keeping the team with tons of talent. The new guys and then bench warmers are going to get good long looks with JT. Again, another big plus, something harbs was not known for. Critics will continue to complain, but Trent has proven his mettle here, and everyone now needs to have patience and let it all play out. We are in good hands,here, detractors views, notwithstanding.

The Doc Knows Best!

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
I'll tell you what, if the 49ers win this year and make the playoffs, I personally will endorse Balke for North America Execitive of the year.

Thanks man!

I NEVER thought you'd say that.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
I'll tell you what, if the 49ers win this year and make the playoffs, I personally will endorse Balke for North America Execitive of the year.

Thanks man!

I NEVER thought you'd say that.

We need to pin this thread!

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by theninermind:
This season hinges on so many unknown draft picks that this is clearly Trent Baalke's magnum opus. If we win this year it means that Trent hit on the following draft picks: Joe Looney, Marcus Martin, Brandon Thomas, Carlos Hyde, Quentin Dial, Tank Carradine, Aaron Lynch, Nick Moody, and Keith Keaser. That's EIGHT unknown draft pick starters that have to hit in order for us to win. Otherwise known as a third of the starters. If they win, how is he not executive if the year? I didn't even mention the coach, an unknown.

Great topic...let's take a look at how much we're REALLY going to rely on young players:

Offensive Personnel:
QB: Colin Kaepernick; Blaine Gabbert - No young guys here we need to rely on and Gabbert continues to grow/improve which is great news for us worried fans.
RB1: Carlos Hyde; Mike Davis - Mild concerns here but let's be honest too...Hyde's worked his tail off at learning to be a patient runner and on blitz pickup from Gore. He's ready. And now with a returned emphasis to runs inside as well as off tackle in the ZBS (Hyde's strength), I don't think too many fans are worried about the youth here. Davis already looks like some serious depth here as well. And Rathman coaches them...enough said!
RB2: Reggie Bush; Kendall Hunter & Jarryd Hayne - Tons of experience here and lots of upside for Hayne as well (as a pass catching back, short yardage and goal line and ST ace).
H-Back: Trey Millard - Here's a young one who adds tons of athleticism and security in case Miller were ever to go down again. But he's a package back so we won't lean on him too much at all.
TE: Vernon Davis; Vance McDonald & Blake Bell - You have the full package here...experience, speed, proven play making ability, catching, blocking and upside and Sporano coaching them all on their weaknesses (note catching reports on McDonald). No youth to rely on here.
FB: Bruce Miller; (Trey Millard) - Best veteran FB in the game with real depth now (first time ever).
X WR: Torrey Smith; Quinton Patton (Jerome Simpson) - zero youth here; lots of proven veteran experience.
Y WR (SLOT): Bruce Ellington; DeAndrew White - here is some youth but not inexperience with Ellington; White could also be electric in the slot as added depth. But again, we aren't relying too much on 3rd and 4th WR's given we'll stay centered around the short passing game, timely deep shots and running the ball and TOP.
Z WR: Anquan Boldin; Dres Anderson (DeAndre Smelter) - Big bro coaching up these two (esp. Baby Boldin) along with Henry? This could only be an issue if Boldin goes down with an injury and we have to rely on the young kids but most likely, Patton would slide over.
LOT: Joe Staley; (Alex Boone) - No youth here.
LG: Alex Boone; Jordan Devey - No youth here.
C: Joe Looney; (Marcus Martin & Daniel Kilgore) - Looney's settled in as the starter (looking good too) and certainly has some proven experience behind him in Kilgore and Martin (versatility).
RG: Brandon Thomas; Marcus Martin - Here we go! Here is a projected starter who is young and unproven and Thomas and Martin are going to battle this out until the end and perhaps against Tiller and Devey (proven starting veteran).
ROT: Erik Pears; Trenton Brown - No youth here we need to rely on unless Pears goes down. But even then, we most likely slide Boone over to RT and insert another proven veteran in Jordan Devey at LG.

Defensive Personnel:
RDE: Quinton Dial; Tank Carradine & Arik Armstead - Dial IMHO is already 'proven.' And now he's playing his natural end spot. Carradine shined the final 4 games he got to start. While both are younger player, they've been with us for a while now and year 3 and 4 is when DL players typically make a big jump esp. with more playing time and opportunities (see Okoye/Purcell this year as well). Anyone really worried about the DL, depth, rotation and specialty players?
NT: Ian Williams; (Glenn Dorsey & Quinton Dial) - No youth here.
LDE: Glenn Dorsey; Darnell Dockett - Certainly no youth here.
WILL: Ahmad Brooks; Eli Harold - All-pro but if Brooks does go down, We're going to be very young here very quickly (despite Eli's upside).
TED: Michael Wilhoite; Nick Moody - Veterans here as well.
MIKE: Navarro Bowman; Nick Bellore - No youth here either.
SAM: Aaron Lynch; Corey Lemonier - Lynch is another player I consider "proven" as well and Lemonier is decent depth at the SAM (no-pass rushing OLB).
RCB: Shareece Wright; Dontae Johnson & Kenneth Acker - Veteran + another "proven" young player in Johnson with tons of upside in Reaser and Acker. Again, not relying on youth here unless we choose to go that route with Reaser/Acker.
SLOT (S/CB): Jimmie Ward; Keith Reaser - Ward didn't get to fully establish himself in this role d/t injuries and Fangio playing to his weaknesses. But now Brock is sliding over and Wright also is a proven slot CB as well (maybe his best spot). In short, lots of competition here and we may end up having veterans here as well.
LCB: Tramaine Brock; (Dontae Johnson) - No youth here
FS: Eric Reid; L.J. McCray (Jimmie Ward) - No youth here unless Reid goes down but McCray and Ward have been developing for 2+ years and FS is a more ideal spot for Ward anyhow (playing to his strengths).
SS: Antoine Bethea; (Jaquiski Tartt) - No youth here unless Bethea goes down.
HYBRID (SS/ILB Robber on NICKEL/DIME): JaquiskiTartt - Youth reliant package NICKEL/DIME player. I get the impression McCray may also be learning this package position as well in case needed. McCray is an underrated stud IMHO. This position, at most, will be on the field in place of an ILB 60% of the time.

Special Teams:
LS: Kyle Nelson - No youth here
PK: Phil Dawson; (Bradley Pinion) - Certainly no youth here. LOL
P: Bradley Pinion - Rookie!

PR/KOR: Jarryd Hayne + Reggie Bush (Bruce Ellington & DeAndrew White) - Youth + Veteran

So in short, let's review the players you tabbed:
Joe Looney - Currently our starting C and looking great. Paved the way for 158 and 144 yards for Gore last year and looked very good against the Texans. I wouldn't label him as an unknown but I know what you mean.
Marcus Martin - I don't even think this guy starts anywhere on the OL but he got a lot of snaps last year and is in great shape and has worked really hard.
Brandon Thomas - Agreed, this one really is an unknown coming off the ACL and just starting to round into football shape again.
Carlos Hyde - We all know this one well; he's ready to be the workhorse.
Quentin Dial - Stud (not an unknown)
Tank Carradine - Rising stud and package interior pass rusher who can also be an every down RDE if needed
Aaron Lynch - proven (not an unknown) but needs avoid the sophomore slump
Nick Moody - backup
Keith Keaser - backup most likely

So really, only Brandon Thomas is an unknown and unproven talent. The rest are all backups pushing starters or knowns who are finally getting FT reps with plenty of depth and rotational players behind them.

Thoughts?

You know what's funny? Looking at that line-up, I actually feel confident in the team. That is, despite all the players we've lost this offseason, I still think this team has plenty of young talent and can do some serious damage once the regular season begins. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I'm pretty optimistic, or, at the very least, I'm not pessimistic.

Thanks, NC, but way , way too long. I guess, like your post above, there is just a lot of good where there is so much zone negativity. What I don't quite get is why it isn't noted by the downer-complainers. And Byisgod, I agree with you, but am not worried about the PS loss. With 10 big questions to answer in the PS, if we played to win, then we probably weren't looking to answer our big 10 question marks very aggressively.

As it is, beginning with could our coaches even call plays half decently,
and continuing to do we have a true #2 back up at Qb, to the 9 play stop at the goal line and then moving on down the list....I would say the team made huge headway for the first PS game. Honestly, I wondered if they could even function, months ago. Turns out they can and quite well too. Still need Kap to get a lot of snaps with new OL, new coaches, plays, players, WCO, and of course the pass D...which wasn't very dam good last yr,, if somebody asked me. So no, I don't care about a PS loss, but I sure do about could we answer some of the many questions marks. And the answer was a resounding yes.

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
I'll tell you what, if the 49ers win this year and make the playoffs, I personally will endorse Balke for North America Execitive of the year.

I would endorse that as well. I would also nominate Tomsula as coach of the decade.