Originally posted by genus49:
It's easy to assume the young unknowns are somehow hidden talents and guys who would automatically be great when given an opportunity. Maybe they would. There is certainly something there cuz we've seen guys come up and play great - Jordan Mason is a great example.
However it doesn't always work like that. Sometimes guys are down on the depth chart for a reason. Jordan James btw was active…and the reason why is because of depth. Need those guys if guys ahead get injured. You know this.
I do agree that Kyle needs to let guys play sometime cuz there are guys who are simply gamers - show up in games but maybe don't practice the same way but I also understand him expecting a certain level from the players. You want gamers but you don't want to set bad practice habits either. You want guys giving 100% in practice then translating it to the games. Looking past bad practice habits hurts the team overall. Before Aiyuk flaked on us he spoke how Kyle teaching him that lesson was critical in him taking the next step at WR.
It's a tough line you have to walk as a coach.
I'm not saying there are a bunch of undiscovered gems hiding on the team, it's just that in a year that they seemed to think was going to be something of a roster reset, why not look at everyone. I think early injuries, especially to Watkins and James, derailed some opportunities for them. Cowing has been injured for two years so we still have no idea what he might bring to the team, plus Kyle seems notoriously hard about giving rookie receivers playing time, with Pearsall being a notable exception.
There was an article from the Niners Wire listing free agents that should be resigned that included some easy choices, Pineiro and Tonges, a maybe, Jennings, which I would do for the right price, but also included Kalia Davis and Jordan Elliott, two guys who seem like they've been around forever but, on the surface at least, don't really seem to make a huge impact one way or the other. One name that was missing from the list was Grant Wallow. I'd really like to see them bring him back next year to see if he could be an improvement over Giffords, who I think made the Pro Bowl as a Special Teams guy, but was kind of a liability in pass coverage and didn't have a lot of standout plays in run support. I saw a breakdown on Wallows's games with us and it seemed like he was doing some really good things out there, so I'd like to see him get another chance.
Still, when all is said and done, I thought it was a pretty good season, and Kyle deserves a lot of credit for the coaching job he did. Hopefully, we can avoid all of the injuries next year and be in a better position to take on the Hawks and Rams. Go Niners!
