Before: Tedd Ginn Jr. and Kyle Williams.
Grade: B-
Why: Until December, Ginn was one of best punt returners in the league and Kyle Williams was a talented backup. Then Ted Ginn Jr. injured his ankle and Kyle Williams sustained a brutal concussion, and punt returner became the Niners biggest weakness. Williams recovered and Ginn didn’t, so Williams had to return punts in the playoffs. The Niners forgot that Williams fumbled punts in big moments back in college, but they remembered when he fumbled two in the NFC championship game against the Giants. He will fumble no more punts for the Niners because he’s been replaced as the backup returner.
Now: Subtract Williams. Add LaMichael James and Perrish Cox.
Grade: A
Why: James is so explosive he could replace Ginn at punt returner as early as this season. The newly-signed Cox returned punts in college and he was very effective – averaging 11.6 yards per return. What about A.J. Jenkins, you might be asking? He didn’t return a single punt in college, but he did return 38 kickoffs. He could replace Kendall Hunter as the kick returner opposite Ted Ginn Jr. The Niners are more than set at returner.
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Must be the coaching. How does a bunch of average players get to one play of the super bowl. Have you ever played the game? Easy for you to sit one you hindside and be critical of a bunch of guys that that bust their hindside 12 months out of the year. You’re like a food critic with his mouth taped shut.
I hope James knocks the socks off of the coaches with his punt returns and makes Ginn expendable.Roster spots are precious and we can’t afford having Ginn on the roster for only punt returns. Williams is a much better receiver over Ginn,no contest.
…AND… The coaching staff should have replaced Williams as the punt returner when he made that unwise dive for a punt early in the Giants game. They should have seen he was not ready for that spot in a huge game.Even if they just had to put someone as PR who they were sure could just fair catch the ball every time,we would have won. I blame the staff more than Williams,who was obviously blanking out during his PR duties…although he was getting open as a receiver when he got in there.
There will be changes!!!
Ginn is garbage.
Ginn is history.
Mr. Williams will have to work his tail off to even make this team.
Mr. Jenkins is going to have to work his tail off to out perform Mr. Williams at WR in training camp.
What do the Niners lose by cutting Ginn?
James only returned 14 punts in college, and Harbaugh said he needs to develop his hands. I don’t think he’ll take Ginn’s job in training camp.
Seriously what kind of comparison is that Grant. A highlight video vs a 3 game video where they show every throw to a player? Then you make your judgements on cuts into and of routes that you can almost never see on the film because these are tv highlight clips not wide angle lenses. I know you dont like to listen to scouts that disagree with your assessment and have your own opinion. But Tim is correct that the common consensus among the scouts is that he is fast out of his breaks. You know those guys that actually watch films that show the whole route.
Does it matter? Jenkins’ spot is guaranteed by virtue of being the Niners’ No. 1 pick. Williams’ only chance of sticking, no matter how well he performs, would seem to involve Moss’ training camp resembling his 2010 season, a not implausible scenario.
Otherwise, with four halfbacks (Gore, James, Hunter and either Jacobs or Dixon) and five receivers (Crabtree, Manningham, Moss, Ginn and Jenkins) likely to stick, Williams figures to be a victim of the numbers game.
Nothing is guaranteed on this team. That’s the beauty of competition. I do think Jenkins will be the #1 receiver though.
Jenkins will make the team and be ahead of Williams. Williams will be lucky to make the team. One thing for sure, there will be real competition this year.
That doesn’t mean he’ll have a better training camp than Williams, who is much quicker in and out of his cuts than Jenkins is.
Grant:
Thje one consistent thing I heard from all the commentators was that Jenkins loses no speed coming out of his cuts and that is where he runs away from the defenders.You are the ONLY one I have read so far that says the opposit ??? I like Williams too but are you saying Williams is better at what is supposed to be Jenkin’s best trait,running full speed through his cuts ?
Have you watched Jenkins? Judge for yourself.
Jenkins’ top speed is faster than Williams’ top speed, but Williams is quicker in and out of cuts. That’s my observation.
Nope,have not watched him yet.Just telling you that all the other commentators disagree with you.
Show me evidence that all the other “commentators” disagree with me.
Jenkins is a glider that doesn’t lose any speed into and out of his cuts (and as a result he sometimes rounds off his patterns, which he needs to work on) while Williams decelerates down and bursts out of his cuts.
Can you show me one clip of Jenkins not losing any speed in and out of a cut?
I don’t see any “decelaration” with Williams, but a I do see a burst which Jenkins lacks.
Grant: I already told you I have not seen clips of him. I just read and hear from those who have seen him play and have scouted him and HAVE seen plenty of clips,who all say the opposit of you. I don’t even know who these so called experts are but it was all over the radio and internet when he was drafted that his biggest attribute is his speed and his hands and that they way he easily gets open is at the point of his cut he leaves the defenders in the dust,because unlike most receivers he doesn’t slow down at all when he cuts.
I am sure you must have read the same thing over and over again in the last 2 days ? Maybe I should ask you what film you have seen that makes you disagree with all the other so called experts ?
I saw him mostly run the underneath crossing route in college. He does not have the quickness or the burst Kyle Williams has running routes or making defenders miss after the catch. That’s my observation.
Watch this for starters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtlvbPBRp4g
Which you may compare to this if you’d like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HzSB804F_Q
Scooter: Exactly,but even if he rounds off his cuts too much and needs to work on that (I am sure he will work on a lot of things),the reason for him running past defenders is not just his speed but the fact that he doesn’t slow down going into or coming out of his cuts and leaves the defenders in the dust at that point…and then they can’t catch him because he has good speed to stay seperated .
As long as he doesn’t need to slow down to catch a pooly throw pass,he is gone.
I hope those reports are accurate and Grant is just speaking about a couple clips he has seen,unlike the scouts and draft gurus who do it for a living.
The North Western highlights have some good examples of Jenkins maintining his speed into and out of his breaks when getting down the field. His breaks aren’t as sharp as Williams’ as a result, but by keeping his speed up he creates separation. Williams on the other hand, in what I have seen, uses far sharper cuts than Jenkins, and as a result tends to slow down a little then burst out with acceleration. This is not a bad thing considering he is mostly used in the shorter field where these types of sharp cuts are required. Its just a different way of getting open. Personally I like Williams as a WR and think he is under-utilised.
I understand the distinction you’re making, and it’s a good one. I’ll watch more film. Watch Williams run the post at ASU 40 seconds into the video below. Does he lose any speed? Does Jenkins have that kind of burst?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HzSB804F_Q
…Of course those TV talking heads who are the draft gurus are often as wrong as Grant.Let’s hope Baalke was right ! Naw,he couldn’t know more than Grant.
We will find out on the playing field over the next 3 years or so Grant. I hope you are wrong or I hope that if you are right that Jenkins can improve on those weak spots in his game.
No, Williams doesn’t lose any speed on those routes. Fair call. He does show those shorter strides he has which is why he is able to throttle down quickly and accelerate out of sharper breaking routes, which is why I think he is under-rated. As I said, I like Williams.
Me too. I think he’s going to compete his tail off in training camp and give all the other wide receivers a run for their money. He’s got talent and he works hard, he just can’t ever return a punt ever again, ever.
GC, I hear what you are saying but look at ARodgers. I put posted some stats here a couple of months ago stating AR had YAC from his WRs. He didn’t throw that many passes over 30 yds. I’m trying to remember but it was 9 completions I believe. I’ll check again. Most yards were by very good receivers (similar to JRice) getting separation and getting YAC. I see the underneath routes by A.J. being 10 yd completions and then running for 10+ more yds. The 9ers don’t have a WR that can do that right now. JH has a plan and TB is executing by drafting the correct players that are needed to make this offense explosive! Stay tuned…
Williams is also one of my fav newer players over the last 2 years. I hope he can stay on the roster but those concussions and his performance in the Giants game don’t help him. I trhink if he got more playing time he would prove himself a valuable receiver,but with all the changes at that position in the off season I don’t see how he gets MORE playing time. My hope is that James can get the confidence of the coaches early in the punt returning and we can let Ginn go and keep williams.
I actually think Williams is somewhat better than some people think – but he has not exactly set the world on fire in his chances. He was an edge of the roster guy in a unremarkable WR corps. He would have to come in and show something more this year to stick, I think.
Williams averaged 12 yards a catch last season. I’d be shocked if Jenkins averaged more than that this season.
Williams has one of the best College Highlight Reels I’ve ever seen…
I’d say he’s the next Wes Welker, but with all those concussions I don’t think he’ll have a long career.
You say KW is WW not DJax? Is that because DJax is a downfield GrandSlam threat, not a slot under guy?
Exactly.
Who was the streaking bolt of lightning that Alex managed to overthrow in the Giants game?
what if he caught one pass for 13 yards?
What about Chris Owuso? Could he make the roster ad a return man?
From a WCO, I am far more concerned about YAC. That is the bread and butter of the WCO. The passes so many of you hate the dumb offs the short one or two yard passes are what the WCO was built on. The long passes were used when the defense was pulling up then you go over the top and that long pass doesnt have to be 70 yards as the receivers were open early. You dont have to have a cannon to operate the WCO you have to have accuracy on short routes slants, outs, dump offs, screens and the QB has to be able to select the open man or the single coverage. This offense has the potential to be really really good this year and I dont care who the QB is. Is it possible the Crabs becomes the fourth receiver this year – wouldnt surprise me. James has all the potential in the world he is going to be a great addition to the team. Jenkins will be coached up and provide more speed. We are going to be tough to beat this year.
Oh and you dont turn over the ball. That turnover rate wins and losses more games then anything.
Grant Thanks For all the mini columns today, and for participating in the comments, I wouldn’t if I was a writer
You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.
Yes,thanks for all the action today Grant ! Keep cranking out the blogs !
See! Nice responses when you put in a little effort, huh?
Grant…Williams explosion in and out of breaks is an illusion..Get out a stop watch and clock the routes on film. Williams looks explosive because he takes short, choppy steps. He has a very quick stride frequency but by no means does that mean he is faster in and out of breaks..Jenkins is naturally smooth. He has great stride length to go along with stride frequency. Gives the illusion of moving slower but he is actually covering more ground quicker than Williams..Speed is based on a maximization of stride length coupled with stride frequency. Biomechanics 101
Poop Mechanics 101: Eat more bananas!
See Grant…a COACH ! ;). Ask him for proof,lol.
Eat a banana, Tim. That should provide you proof enough.
Potassium !!!
Grant, what has caused you to change your tune on Williams? (again) I know you like the player, like the guy, and thought he was going to do something last year, but after the NFCC game your comments reflected a distinct souring on your part. You even said you thought he might be out of the league soon due to concussions. Now you seem to be back on his jock a little, which is great! But what gives? Why?
Who makes the team?
Moss
Manningham
Crabtree
Williams
Jenkins
Ginn
Owusu
Those are 7 guys. Harbaugh intimated that 6 might make the team. If it’s 5, which 2 are gone?
Not Owusu. Williams probably will get cut, but I’m expecting him to have a monster training camp regardless. He’s a very talented slot receiver who works hard, similar to Wes Welker, but the concussions could cut his career short.
If the coaches were to retain Ginn while cutting Williams, I’d have to seriously question their judgment. Ginn scored what, 2 TDs last year in the return game? He started the season well, but did nothing in the last 15 games. And if you want to talk about return average, I’ll just drop the name Seely on you. Ginn is ONLY good in one direction, and it takes him a few strides to reach top speed. He has no quick twitch whatsoever.
Baalke said the Niners might not be done. Does that mean they might try to trade some guys? Crabtree perhaps?
If Owusu sticks, then I see Ginn and Moss as the odd men out since both are more one dimensional than Williams and Owusu.
The Niners need Moss for the Red Zone.
I think Owusu ends up on the practice squad this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 6 WRs on the roster. Ginn will be a return specialist this year, I don’t expect him to see much action at WR. As a result 5 guys may suit up on game day (4 WRs and Ginn).
Moss wont get cut. He’s the most talented WR of all-time, and when he plays for winners, he plays hard. I don’t blame him for the Raiders debacle. He saved some tread instead of busting it for a hopeless organization. The guy might be a total arsehole, if you want to indict him for the comment he made to the caterer, but there are some suggestions that he had a string of personal issues last year. Not an excuse for most guys, but for someone with his peculiarly vices, it’s understandable.
He’ll be a monster this year. Those two years he took off across the Bay mean he’s functionally 33.
Moss in his prime would give Usain Bolt a run for his money in the 100 & 200.
The key is how well Moss can hold up. Will his age catch up to him? Will Moss play to his full potential or will he half-heartedly show up?
Another key is his contract. If “I QUIT” Moss shows up during training camp or in the preseason, then the Niners can cut him as a failed experiment, opening the door for Owusu.
The last key is Jenkins. If he plays like a legit #1, then there is no need for Moss.
All hypotheticals, but still possible none the less.
Who really cares if it questions your judgement. Ginn is brought in for one reason to return punts and kick offs, Ginn is a horrible receiver but a great special team player. Williams will be on another team pratice squad this season. He will never return a punt again in the NFL, the guy is a turkey and Pop Warner players have more football smarts then he has.
Don’t forget his brain farts.
You do realize you’re basing your opinion of Williams on just one year of play? Williams is multi-dimensional and Ginn is not. It isn’t an opinion but a fact.
Williams had the same brain farts in college.
That can be fixed though.
You guys seriously need to go watch the videos on 49ers.com of there practices. Moss is the man and Crabtree is gonna shine. This is definitely the healthiest he’s been. Manningham looks great too. Those 3 are 49ers this year. The rookie is a 49er and my bet its Ginn. Who’s to say they don’t keep Williams as well? Moss looks youn and fresh tho and all the veterans are jazzed he’s a 49er.
Decent grades Grant. I think you need to reserve judgment on Jenkins until we all see what he can do at the NFL level though. I’m not a fan of him being selected either, but he does add two things most 49er WRs have lacked for the past decade: speed and great hands.
And solid character.
Yep.
Getting rid of Kyle Williams makes us a whole grade better, less is more, getting rid of that turkey.
Williams is young and only has a year of play under his belt. Cut the kid a break already.
I agree when you said ” Cut the kid” Let’s see the kid made 3 mistakes in one game, he dives for a punt, he let the ball bounce on his knee and then he fumbles the ball, you can give the kid a break I am not about too.
You would have cut Jerry Rice after his rookie season then. He didn’t play good in his first year either.
He made 3 mistakes as a punt returner – so don’t put him back on punts. Not sure what he’s done wrong as a receiver to deserve getting cut. I personally believe that if he played for the Steelers last year instead of Antonio Brown, he would put up similar #s to what Brown did.
You can learn from mistakes though.
You can, but personally I think Williams is too aggressive to be back returning punts. His aggressiveness is what leads to mistakes. As a WR it is a good trait to have.
Your now comparing Kyle Williams mistakes to Jerry Rice, JR dropped some passes but he didnot come close to what Kyle Buffoon Williams did. If Williams just caught the ball and made a fair catch, we would have our 6th ring by now. Actually I blame the Niners coaches after the turkey first two mishaps. I would not of even had a punt returner back there, let the Giants touch the ball after the kick. One first down Acres would of made the field goal.
Do none here remember JR running for an easy TD in the Meadowlands in the playoffs, then stupidly fumbling without anybody touching him? Then later in that game, Jim Burt nearly killing JM (no rule changes made).
People make mistakes. You must accept that. It’s when people make bad choices, that is when you may harshly judge them.
I don’t have to accept anything and WIlliams will not be on the team past August, Book it Dano !!
Let’s wait and see what happens.
I can accept the fumble in OT, that was just a football play. The one off the knee was unacceptable. You learn in the lowest levels of Pop Warner to just GET AWAY FROM THE BALL!
Williams will not be on the roster come opening day.
I agree Jack, but you still have to consider the fact that he was in his first season of play. You can’t throw away potential after one guffaw, big or not. Otherwise there’d be no stars in the NFL.
MidWest, he won’t be on the team because they have added better players to the roster this year. AJ Jenkins will make a better 4th receiver than Williams.
I think Jenkins will be our #1 WR, not #4. We also don’t know what Williams has been doing this offseason. He could potentially show up at training camp and play lights out. If he does, would you still want to see him get cut?
If Williams is one of the top four out of TC he should be on the team.
Exactly. That’s why I say wait and see.
If Williams doesn’t come into training camp and give it everything he’s got I’ll be very surprised. He’ll be wanting to show everyone he’s a better player than his last game. I fully expect Williams, barring injury, to make it almost impossible for the coaching staff to cut him with his play in TC.
@Jack
The hater inside you is rising.
With absolute statements like “KW will not be on the roster come opening day.”
If that is so, why is he still on the team? Why not let him go and allow him to look for a new team?
Hate Jack. Haters gotta hate.
Nah DS, I don’t make it personal about players the way you do with Crabtree. That’s hate.
Williams does some things nice, he is quick, catches most everything and is a team guy. He just isn’t as good as the guys ahead of him on the new roster. He was the 5th best guy last year, and now he is the 6th. Good kid, hope he does well.
Go back to the live blog day 1 and the Jenkins blog.
If that isn’t hate, that was some kind of tough love I’ve never heard of.
5th round? ESPN/KNBR/SFGATE/everybody but here said high 2nd/3rd at the lowest. Niners pick basically near the 2nd round. Right where was projected, liked Aldon was last year.
You were pissed. And I told you why I hate mocks before the draft. You do these mock drafts, and if the team picks somebody you didn’t have them doing, you hate the new guy right off the bat. You blamed me for ruining the atmosphere. Then you go and prove me right. Thanks. Could not have done it without you.
People did that with AS (mock pick AR). Now you just did it with Jenkins. If you did it like me, cheer for whomever, then you don’t hate anybody.
You graded the pick mere minutes after it. What kind of coach does that? That was not objective. Not loyal. Not fan. That is hate.
“You think you know, but you don’t. And you never will.”
Keep reading that quote until you figure out how it applies to you.
PS I have said since the Title game. No WR on this team is assure of anything. All will be determied in TC. That meant KW. I even specificaly said KW. But your need to show me up blinded you from all the times I wrote that.
DS, please find the comment where I said Jenkins was a 5th round guy. Look hard because you won’t find it.
Like I said then, he will be the 4th guy this year, and may be a starter in 2013 depending on how Manningham is performing.
Fleener still would have been a better selection. (mancrush in full effect on him and Luck). ; )-
Jack
You never wrote anything that can be mis-construed as really hating that pick? Not agreeing with Grants F grade?
If not, then there is another Jack Hammer about.
And I am going to give you the benefit of a doubt on your Fleener Luck admitted mancrush post just above with your choice of “odd” symbols.
)-
I never said he was a 5th round talent DS.
In my opinion it was a bad pick. If he proves to be otherwise I will admit it. For the 49ers sake I hope I am wrong.
All Ginn does is secure the football. The fastest man on the field and can score. Obtains excellent field position for the offense. He also improved as a receiver last year.
Williams’ brain farts might be the result of his concussions. Owusu is going to find it difficult to remain healthy because of his concussions as well. That’s why he went undrafted.
Parrot do as parrots know. I get tired of folks repeating assertions not based on science. The latest research has revealed that concussions are not any more likely after 3 months. So, Owusu’s past concussions are a non-issue.
Grant, are you saying you don’t think Baalke and Harbaugh know a good receiver when they see one? Are you smarter than them? I don’t think so, and that’s no disrespect meant to you, it’s simply a way of saying, I believe Harbaalke know what they’re doing. Jenkins is an accomplished receiver…you simply don’t catch 90 passes for almost 1300 yds without being one. And that was on a lousy team. A.J. will contribute to the passing offense…I’m not sure KW will make the team, and that has zero to do with his playoff KR blunders.
Frank,
I couldn’t agree more. His productivity with a bad qb in a run based offense is very impressive. Especially when considering how many more yards he could have had if he had a qb that could lead him at all so that he could continue with his run after the catch. Floyd from ND had fewer Yrds, and a lower average per catch while playing a lot of the same teams and he even had a better qb.
Jenkins catches the ball and it disappears in his hands. I think he could be great.
Me too. I’d still rather have Fleener on the team, but Jenkins has real potential.
Williams will be fine, but for sure he won’t be returning any punts anytime soon. Ginn and his hands as a WR is what concerns me, yeah he made progress this year but still would rather see someone else on the field. And I believe that’s why they drafted jenkins, fast and has hands, keep ginn returning punts and kickoffs maybe some trick plays like last year where he was basically a RB
Who would you cut: the elder WR who is a better KR but a horrible WR and pretty well set in his ways, or the younger WR who makes mistakes in the return game but is a better WR and can possibly have his flaws in the return game fixed?
If Ginn was playing and not hurt, we would of been in the Super Bowl, you can raise that question to Harbaugh when the turkey gets cut in August, we don’t need KW any longer, and also you tube him, the dummy made the same plays in college.
Read my post from a neutral standpoint and not one of hate.
I cut the younger receiver who is no more than the 5th best on the roster, and keep the vet who doesn’t turn the ball over. Turnovers in the return game are deadly.
Even if having him on the team gives more possibilities for the offense to use? And maybe also allow your starters to catch a breather during the game?
The 5th receiver won’t touch the field with this team anyway unless someone gets hurt. Davis never leaves the field and they lays have at least one RB in the game. They won’t keep 6 RB’s and 6 WR’s, it would cost needed depth on defense.
At most they will keep four RBs. And with the devastation that was the WR corps last year, it wouldn’t surprise me if they kept six WRs for the season.
There will be 6 RB’s MidWest.
Gore
Hunter
James
Jacobs
Miller
Cartwright (core special teams and backup FB)
Jacobs and Cartwright are both on the bubble. I think it makes more sense to have six WRs in case one of the starters goes down. We don’t want the same predicament at WR that occurred last season.
Not really WidWest. This is a team that will still be based on the run and they need to keep those guys healthy. The WR position has better talent 1-5 than last year already without counting Williams and their practice squad guys will be better as well.
The offense needs balance though. Keeping 5-6 WRs is a good idea because of what happened last season. Also consider that CB Cox could overtake Ginn’s role as th KR. If that happens, it will open up a spot on the team because Ginn would have nothing else to offer really.
MWN I’d cut them both. Kyle can’t be trusted on special teams and the #5 receiver must be a core special teams contributor. Ginn’s only value is as a returner and that is a waste of a precious roster spot if James or someone else can take over that role. The caveat being Ginn’s locker room leadership role which has a certain value.
Once training camp cuts start happening the 49ers should be able to grab someone who is better than both of these players and stash Owusu on the PS as injury insurance.
Personally I’d keep all 6 WRs (5 WRs really + Ginn as a return specialist). I’d only keep 5 RBs – I’d let Cartwright go as we got some OLBs in the draft I think will make good special teamers this year.
I also doubt we keep 7 DL on the roster this year. That’s pretty heavy on the DL for a 3-4 front. I think Williams, Dobbs and RJF will be fighting it out for the 5th and 6th DL roster spots (Tukuafu I think is safe as the primary DE backup).
My guess is that if Owusu get’s any real playing time in preseason and doesn’t get his bell rung he’ll last all of two seconds on our practice squad before someone else swoops in on him.
He’s a fast reciever who knows the system. He should be on the roster unless he really stinks or gets hurt. I’d keep him over Swaine and Hastings among others.
@Jack
Why don’t you wait till TC competition to determine who stays and goes.
Only Jenkins is assured a spot on the roster. A good/simple argument can be made why each of the others should not be on the team.
You know. Take a page out of your own book and don’t preliminarily determine who is good/sucks. You know, remain “objective” as you like to go around boasting you are.
You are? Aren’t you?
“Only Jenkins is assured a spot on the roster.”
That’s not true. Crabtree and Manningham are also assured a roster spot from the WR’s. On opening day the starting WR’s will be Crabtree and Manningham, with Moss 3rd and Jenkins 4th.
I never stated that anyone sucks, only that your mancrush, Kyle Williams is not going to make the team because they the receiving corps is much improved over last year.
Kyle Williams might not sucked but he is a dumb dumb player and has a pea brain for football smarts he will be gone in August, I think Moss will make the team, if he does not get hurt and plays hard, this is a big opportunity for him to get a big paycheck. Crabs needs to play during the pre=season or you are going to see other receivers smoke past him. Manningham will also be on the team along with Ginn.
Neal – “I think Moss will make the team”……….no sh** Neal?
“Manningham will also be on the team along with Ginn.” …….No sh** Neal?
Are you kiddin me?
Thinking is what seperates higher order organisms from lower ones Crab15.
What in that post is so horribly wrong? Just because a post shows a possibility you don’t like doe not make it false.
Global warming is happening. You can fight me all you want. But nature does not care one bit. Thus, you are wasting your breath.
@Crabby.
Don’t get so defensive because you were a lousy first round choice, you better play hard or the Niners are going to kick you the curb.
Jack
I said ALL WR’s minus our new #1 pick (not Fleener. Speaking of man crushes) are not assured of anything.
That means KW. The guy who one has a right to say cost us the Title game. Though they are wrong.
That means a #3 WR from a great WR core. He may not be so good here.
That means the best WR on the worse WR core in the whole playoffs. And one who had nearly as many drops as catches. And had only 1 more catch in the biggest game of his life than I did that day. Who got mad at AS for not just throwing it up there when a good 1/2 of AS Int’s the past few years happened because AS threw it up there for MC to catch it.
Moss. Who I’ve literally seen walk in circles after a snap because his locker wasn’t as clean as he wanted while the poor QB gets crushed because the ball was supposed to go to him. That guy sounds like one who is not asure of any roster spot.
Our undrafted rookie. Yeah. A lot of them get dropped all the time.
Ted Ginn. Who does not go over the middle and dropped a perfect strike on 4th down that would have left open the possibility of winning that game on Turkey Day.
Hastings/Swain. Are they still here? Enough said.
DS – Don’t think out loud please.
DS – You never played organized sports in your life. No more pretending to know football will be allowed from me.
Your ass is grass now pal.
I cut grass. Does that mean I cut your ass?
And interesting how you know so much about my life when I have not even been here a year.
Want to guess how often people have been right about me on my personal life here? Zero. Not once. Even though they spend so much time trying to figure it out.
That is what I call somebody with too much time in their hands.
Nobody cares how gay you are but your football I.Q. is zero.
Good night now, I’ll take care of you later.
” And one who had nearly as many drops as catches”
You better go back to those math classes at SRJC. The last time I checked 7 is not nearly as much as 72.
5 catches.
4 drops
Difference of 1 Jack.
Please, we’ll take classes together. My prior sentence said the word “playoffs”. You’ll be in the English class. The one with a lot of ESL students. BigP will join you. Don’t know how to quote. Sad. I learned that in elementary school. I’ll be in calculus.
And Eric Brach will join us. It was his article on SFGATE where he stated that.
@Crab15
What is wrong? Afraid MC can’t earn his roster spot? If he is as good as you think, it should be no sweat. Your replies though indicate a great concern on his part. What could that mean? Hmmm.
And football. That is the game with the round ball and is loved by more people around the world than any other sport.
Did you know that Mr. I know everything?
Grant
Explain to these guys that kw led receivers in preseason yardage and made two ferocious blocks when he was considered not good enough to make the team.
Explain to these guys as a receiver he was most efficient with catching balls on target
Explain to these guys he has intangibles that can’t be taught
Explainto these guys he was basically a rookie last year fresh of a nasty concussion doing his best with terrible field conditions.
Explain to these guys ginn Jr’rs return skills were reenforced by bill parcels with the dolphins who is considered one of the best in that facet of the game
Explain to these guys ginn could not be counted on in the biggest game of his career due to injury and there is no guarantee he could stay healthy throughout the 12′ season
In closing I’m not betting against kw. 4.30 asu combine speed with shiftiness and great hands …
Grant, you got some splainin’ to do.
Given the theme of the weekend and the common saying that you cant truly grade a draft until after three seasons I thought I would reflect back upon the 2009 draft. The grades are based on the individuals contribution to the team. I’m not going to go to much into the who we could have had business, I’m simply looking to see if the pick helped the team or not.
2009 Draft overall grade: D-
Of the 7 players taken in the draft only 1 is a starter and only two are left on the team. Before being cut two of them never saw regular season action and two were only special team players. Thankfully this was the last of Tipsy McStaggers drafts before he himself got shipped off to the Seahawks via the Betty Ford Clinic. This should go down as possibly one of the worst drafts the Niners had in the first decade of the new millennium when you look at how little production they got from their seven choices, which were:
Round #1 pick #10. Michael Crabtree – Grade B Despite his disappearing act in the NFC conference game MC has improved and increased his production every year in the league. Although his numbers are not mind blowing they’re are still very respectable given the passing game run by the team he’s on. Even though some quality WR’s were taken later in the first round Crabtree was by far the consensus best WR in the draft at the time and most expected him to be long gone by the 49ers pick at #10. The next receivers taken in the same round are: Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Knicks & Kenny Brit.
No second round pick. Two players taken in the second round ended up pro bowlers: Jairus Byrd and LeSean McCoy. McCoy was taken at pick #53, given our next pick in the draft and apparent need for RB it was truly a shame we didn’t still have our #2 pick this year because my guess is we might have taken him instead of who we did take with our round #3…
Round #3 #74 Glen Coffee – Grade F We all know what happened with this one. Some might suggest that the grade is too harsh and that you can never truly know what is going on inside someone’s head and this is all true but…teams employ groups of people from all sorts of fields to scrutinize and analyze these players. They’re paid very good salaries because the job is a specialized field as well as crucial to the process so when a draft pick especially one as high as a third rounder simply walks away from the game one day because his heart just isn’t in it well the bottom line is a lot of people really screwed up on that one and there is simply no deflecting the blame. It was a complete waste of a pick.
No fourth round pick. This doesn’t seem to be much of a loss as I could hardly recognize a name amongst the choices. Not a single player taken in that round has made the pro bowl.
Round #5 #156 – Scott McKillop Grade D- I’d consider rating this an F as well given how little production and time spent with the team but he did recover that blocked punt for a TD against the Rams and for that he gets bumped to a D-. Although considered one of the better inside linebackers in the draft McKillop struggled to get on the field, appearing in 16 games almost exclusively as a special teamer he recorded only 19 tackles before tearing his ACL and patellar tendon in training camp in 2010, the team waived him in August 2011.
Round #5 #171 Nate Davis -Grade F Inability to read defenses along with a learning disability that hampered his ability to keep up with the other QB’s never allowed Davis get his chance on the team, despite some very fun pre-season appearances Davis was ultimately moved to the practice squad where he was picked up by the GM that drafted him. Out of the league by 2011.
Round #6 #184 Bear Pascoe – Grade F Unable to earn a roster spot Bear was signed off the practice squad by the NYGiants where he is still currently playing. Never appeared in a game for the 49ers.
Round #7 #219 Curtis Taylor – Grade F In two years he made 7 tackles and now he plays for the Raiders.
Round #7 #244 Ricky Jean-Francois – C- The only other player besides Crabtree from this years draft to still be on the team. Although he spent his first year on the team on the practice squad he’s played in all 16 games the past two seasons. He’s only recorded 27 tackles with one sack. His production is D- quality but the fact that he’s still here after being the 244th pick in an otherwise tragic draft gets him bumped to a C-.
Fantastic post Hank.
I’d boost McKillop up to a C because he was a solid contributor on special teams and maybe bump Pascoe up to a D just because he has a very cool name.
“Tipsy McStaggers” absolutely slayed me. Nice one.
C is a little high for a 5th rounder who only saw time on special teams and ultimately never stuck with the team.
Eh, to me if a 5th rounder makes the roster that’s not bad. If he actually makes the gameday 46 then that’s decent.
Have to give Ricky Jean higher than a C-, he’s the first to rotate in and has improved each year.
Yes but in 32 games if you’re the first to rotate in you should have more then 27 tackles and one sack, I’d be curious to know how many tackles per series played that is. His production hasn’t been great but he does appear to get better each year. I could bump it to a C but that would be the highest I would go.
Good post Hank, I think your a little high on Crabtree for being a number one pick and a number 10 pick overall I would of expected him to perform better, eh B- maybe even a C+ and could be falling after this coming year. Ricky I think is a little higher a strong C or maybe a C+. Still your post is good and the grades are fair.
Crabtree is a C+, just slightly above average. He has shown improvement, and with some decent WR’s around him for a change he might move up to a B/B- this year.
RJF is a C/C- at best. Rotational player who doesn’t do anything spectacular.
Pascoe is a D, too bad Singletary and Co sent him packing too early. They would not have needed to use a pick on Byham the next year.
Jack
RJF is a 3-4 DL. Generally speaking, they don’t make a lot of remarkable plays. They occupy blockers to let the LB’s make the plays. And when RJF is in there, the LB’s make plays.
A better measurement for RJF is how often does he make the stupid mistake, exposing the defense? Like Raider DL always do. What kind of drop-off happens when he comes in to sub?
If you are using JS as your standard, then all DL will suck. That is not fair.
DS, so you think that RJF is an above average player?
Jack
I am saying that RJF coming in does not weaken our D very much. Our top D.
I try my best to not use terms like “average” if I can. Average is not specific enough. Do average players not follow their assignment? Do good/great do? What is the difference?
I believe it is hard for any offense to do much to any defense if the D does not screw up on their own end (lose containment, not picking guy up in secondary because somebody messed up, not because the WR is just bette). Skill is more even than most think between good and bad teams. Following your assignment, tackling play a much larger role than skill differences.
And on this team (I don’t care about any other) RJF does what he is supposed to do more than not on a very good D.
What ever term you want to use to describe that, then have at it.
On a different team with a different QB I would expect better numbers from Crabtree, with the system he’s in I’d say his numbers are farily decent, not amazing but appropriate.
Right DS. RJF does his job, but is not a starter so therefore he is at best a C. That could go up. Maybe he will take over for Sopoaga eventually.
What I remember about Pascoe is that he was too one dimensional. I can’t remember which way it was but he was either a great blocker and a terrible receiver or a great receiver and a terrible blocker. I’m not sure which it was but I remember that we already had players that could do both and his one trick pony show wasn’t enough to make the team.
Hank, Pascoe’s one trick pony show was enough to get him on the Giants and score a TD vs us in the championship game.
Singletary and Co were terrible talent evaluators as their drafts have shown.
regardless of who makes the team and who does’nt, harbaugh is getting what he wants…..competition competition competition and the 9ers will be a whole lot better at WR and returner. i think jenkins has a decent chance at starting this season for 1 simple reason. moss is a giant question mark he did’nt play last yr and the last season he did play he was very mediocre i think he is 50/50 to make the team out of camp
oh and by the way i hit on two picks on my mock draft looney and robinson
I nailed Fleming and Robinson. I also likes Johnson, but I thought he’d be long gone in the early second round.
two right is pretty damn good when the team is picking # 30
i also had owusu going to the 9ers in the 7th rd
Good job guys. I only got Slowey right, but I thought they would pick him up as an undrafted FA.
Thanks. I’m glad I’m not a scout or GM for the team though. I’d be looking for a job right about now.
@jack i think RJF is certainly an above avg 7th rd pick
Coach, you rate the player, not the position that they were picked at.
@Jack
Then you pay them according to performance. Not draft position.
Not going to happen. Just like having the same expectations of a 1st and 7th round pick.
And when you only have 3 DL, and one is JS, your chances of starting is less than if you have 4 DL and no JS.
Look at Grant. He would start in a 4-3 on some teams. But on this team with 4 LB’s, he is a backup. Is he average? If he was a starter on a different team, is he good because he is a starter? Or is he good because he is good. Regardless of being a starter. Try to follow the same rule with RJF.
DS, what does the pay have to do with this conversation?
Larry Grant is an average player too, just like RJF. His performance in place of Willis was good as the drop off was not too significant, but he was not an above average player.
sorry i came to the discussion late i though you were rating draft picks
No reason to be sorry Old Coach. I always like hearing your takes. Please keep them coming.
Learn something about financesJack. If you pay a guy $6 million a year and he does not produce as well as a guy who makes less than $1 million, and it was your money, you mean to tell me that matters not? Yeah. Sure.
And if Grant is average and starting for a team, then his replacement must be below average then. Right?
See why I hate the labeling.
And if Grants play did not result in a huge drop-off in play from that position, and he replaced the best in the NFL, is the best in the NFL just barely over average?
Think about it some Jack.
DS, what does the pay have to do with how we are grading these guys? The discussion had to do with their performance, not pay.
Jack
When you pay somebody a lot of money and a guy comes along making less than 1/6 the pay you just gave somebody and performs equal or better, then you’ll know what it feels like.
If that has never happened to you. Good (seriously, not being a jerk about it).
Draft position and pay are linked to what is expected in performance. One in the same thing.
Moss has reported to the training program like he said he would. Thats a good thing, as AS going to need all the new guys in to get a rapport established.
It is a very good thing. Anything on Crabtree yet?
I believe Crabtree is there already but I dont know that for a fact.
i hope like hell moss can return to his playing level of 3 yrs ago but as a betting man i would’nt place a wager on it
If he is 90 percent of what he was 3 years ago that is better then what we have had in the last few years. I just dont want him to quit on his teamates. I wouldnt place a wager on anything about Moss he is too unpredictable.
Moss reported to Santa Clara for workouts today.
50% of what Moss was is better than what the 49ers have had at the WR position for the past decade.
Punt returns:
Ginn gets an A. Good run backs. Good decision making. Never drops the ball.
Williams gets an F. Bad decision making. Drops the ball.
Receiving.
Ginn gets a C-. He runs, He gets open. He drops the ball.
Williams gets an N/A. Still developing. Did show good RAC later in the regular season.
Harbaugh means it when he says the training camp best competitor will make the team. Williams would actually stick if Moss “only works hard when he feels like it.”
@jack good call on slowey i had never heard of him but after hearing about his pro day he sounds like a good pick. i really love the job baalke has done with the draft. i also love jenkins. he played for the 119th ranked passing offense and still caught 90 balls for 1,250 yards. he has the speed to get deep and the cajones to excell at the crossing routes. i think he might end up being the steal of the draft
Papa on THEGAME..sez Jenkins is prima donna,has a rep for avoiding the weight room with an excuse that he has a bad wrist.
Already, none of that sounds good.
you think baalke or harbaugh would have been aware of jenkins lack of work ethic. if any of what papa says has any validity baalke and harbaugh should start looking for new jobs
He won’t be able to pull that with Harbaugh. If he does, just send him out to play catch against Willis. That would fix anybody’s attitude.
Papa is a Raiders guy. Of course he isn’t going to like what the 49ers are doing.
I’m gonna go with Baalke on this one, I’m guessing that their resources for finding information out about a player they are going to make a million dollar investment on are just slightly better then that of a local sportscaster. Ya think maybe??
You mean guys like him and Leper aren’t as good as Baalke is? I’m shocked. LOL
My keyboard app changed Kiper to Leper.
MidWest, is there much of a difference? ; )
Not really. I was just trying to be nice. This is what I was going to post:
My keyboard app changed Kiper to Leper. Although…
I heard Jenkins is a work out warrior, he should train with Jerry Rice.
Love it.
rice tweeted jenkins thurs night and invited him to the hill
Papa is a raider bioootch!!! period!!! hell say anything to keep his job. His head is soooooooooooooooo far his arse, he reminds me of a younger delusional Al Davis. The Raiders are the best and will win the super bowl every year. He’s such a homer!! An announcer has to be on a n even keel all the time. He can’t and shouldn’t show any kind of Bias period!! all calls against the Raiders are not fair in his opinion. He makes me sick!!! What a brown noser!!!
Baalke and Co did a great job of setting this team up for not only 2012, but the future as well. They currently lead the league with 13 picks in the 2013 draft. Check these links out.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/30/49ers-lead-the-way-with-four-extra-2013-draft-picks/
I heard that on KNBR earlier.
Pretty cool.
As you say Jack. All arrows pointing up!
Seeing that we will have the 32 pick next year might be able to use some of those extra picks to move up.
..datz the spirit…..go niners
This was an interesting read. Grant got a mention, not by name, and not a favorable one.
http://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/1015-our-general-manager-smarter-you/
Very interesting column, I have supported Grant on his new position but really a F was more emotional then reasonable or logical, not going to rip the kid as my oldest is close to his age and I would hate for anyone to rip my son. I am not a Brian Sabean fan but reminds me when he traded Matt Williams for Jeff Kent and someone else, he was being bashed to death, ended up to being a good trade.
I had read that from Kaplin. Biggest Niner critic, but he is coming around. Jeff is usually spot on but some people resent his brutal honesty. I disagree with a lot Kaplin says but thats nothing unusual I disagree with some on this board.
It is all opinion until they prove it on the field anyway right Neal? I tend to agree with Grant that they blew it. I hope I am wrong, but time will tell.
You know Jack its all about potential and I think an F grade was rather crude and very emotional. I too wanted Fleener but I see the potential in this Jenkins kid. I myself will hold judgement till I see him play.
Good read.
JKaplan writes like one of the commenters on here. I’m trying to remember who exactly! Hmmm. lol
It is all a opinion Jack and your 100% correct, we are not going to know squat until they play the game, I don’t think Jenkins deserves a F and it appears he would not of been around that much longer, I am ok with the pick, however other then Stanford Football, I don’t follow college, so I am not going to be critical of it or pretend I know what I am talking about. We have a much better receiver team then last year, and at this point everything us a plus.
The real bottom line as far as I’m concerned is that a true professional that follows the game has no business trying to grade a draft the day or moments after a pick has been made.
Neal, “We have a much better receiver team then last year, and at this point everything is a plus.”
Got that right Neal. Moss looked good in a 49er uniform at the workouts today (saw the picture online). I can’t wait for August to get here.
Lowell mentioned S.I’s view of the 49er draft..and they were ranked low (23?). Although the write up was contradictorily in praise of Baalke.
what made me laugh about the whole jenkins dicussion on fri was that grant feels very comfortable being highly critical of a players ability but he gets highly offended when some of the posters were critical of his writing style. grant needs to learn people who live in glass houses…..
Yeah Coach-
What got me was not that he was surprised, (we all need to expect that from Trent!) but how Grant (and Lowell) reacted. Instead of ‘Wow, they liked Jenkins better than Fleener, Hill, Randle….?’ it was about F grades and blown pick and arrogant drafting and LC carrying on about how Trent didn’t take the draft seriously. Why? Because the team didn’t satisfy their expectations? Where’s the perspective?
In the run-up Trent said he had someone targeted and expected him to be there at 30. We never know what to think about what we hear before the draft, but taking him at his word you had to expect the choice would be a player off of, or on the edge of everyone’s radar screen, or he wouldn’t have been confident on the availability.
The draft is still a spectator sport for fans and media, and ALL our Bay Area football sages were clueless. It doesn’t mean they’re dumb or ignorant, its decidedly better that others aren’t way ahead of the team’s plans, but the sages need to step back and think about how insightful they actually are or aren’t.
Grant, Lowell, Bay Area and National media all back-tracked on the panicky talk after they remembered the no-names from last year’s draft who turned out pretty well. And I don’t mind if they still disagree with the pick, but the initial over-reaction seemed sophomoric.
@brotha
Remember that one week where the Niners didn’t let the media speak to their players (all but Andy Lee)? Lowell and Grant went ballistic over it. Other reporters (at least in their articles) discussed it, but didn’t freak out like Grant and Lowell did.
Most articles saw it as an item of discussion. Lowell and Grant took personal offense to it.
It is similar to the draft thing in how they reacted to not doing what they thought would happen. They need to keep Jim Mora’s quote in mind:
“You think you know, but you don’t. And you never will.”
You start thinking you are as good/smart as our GM is with these draft picks, you will be upset a lot. Because you are not. As long as you keep that in mind, the mock draft thing is ok and maybe fun.
But far too often (though not for you old coach) people who do the mock draft get mad and judge teams by if they followed their mock draft. Not by the talent they actually got. And that is where things go bad. Look at AS as a perfect example.
Great article of a Baalke transcript:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers/2012/04/30/moss-baalke-check-in-on-fast-evolving-offense/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+49ersHotRead+%2849ers+Hot+Read%29
“Baalke did not rule out the possibility of moving right tackle Anthony Davis, their top draft pick in 2010 and a two-year starter, over to the vacant right guard slot.”
That’s not really solving the problem since there isn’t anyone to step in for Davis either. I’m not a fan of Davis as a pass blocker but I don’t see how moving him to guard helps the situation, I’d rather not have a right guard then not have a right tackle.
Also after the progress the line made(excluding RG) I’d hate to go monkey’ing around with peoples positions. Let’s use Kilgore or Looney or sign a vet FA before we try and ask someone who struggled enough as it was at his natural position to try and learn a new one.
Grant, when will your defensive reviews be out?
Hank:
If they ever did move Davis from RT to RG,it would probably be because Alex Boone showed them he can play RT. Boone stepped in for Staley a little bit last year and he looked pretty good.
So,if they thought Boone and Davis were a better combo than Davis and Kilgore,then Davis may need to move.
That is what competition is all about !
I even heard MM say that Looney has a legit shot at RG and Boone has been talked about at RG and RT.
It’s a long time until the 1st game,so there is plenty of competition .
I like to hear how our defensive secondary is going to match up with Arizonia, now with the rook and Fitz.
Hopefully Brown can step up to the plate in regards to Floyd.
They will match up and shut them down, just like they did pretty much everyone last year. They kicked AZ all around in that second game, but the offense couldn’t convert the turnovers into TD’s and let them hang around too long.
Hopefully with more and faster options on offense that won’t happen. Arizona will be tougher, so will San Francisco.
It’s all about the pass rush. The Qb can’t throw if he’s on the ground.
I llike everyone confidence, I like to kick their ass and make a huge statement, plus they have their own version of Alex Smith. We got the better team , now we have to prove it.
Alex Smith > Kevin Kolb + John Skeleton
And he will prove it with his shiny new toys.
Heck, I’d goes as far to saying that each one of our QBs are better than those two combined. Yes, I am being eccentric, but I I have that right as a 49ers fan!!! Go Niners!!!!
This is the correct answer on how you counter two explosive receivers:
“It’s all about the pass rush. The Qb can’t throw if he’s on the ground.”
Thanks Hamerin Hank.
@Hank
Very true. But, most defenses require 5 or more defenders to put pressure on the offense. Exposing their secondary to some degree.
Last year, you could play the Niners and not be exposed at all. Just stack the box to initially stop the run. If it is a pass, go get AS! If VD and or FG stay in to block, and your assignment was that guy, just blitz. If VD goes out for a pass, you can still blitz and double him. The secondary can more than handle the WR’s 1 on 1, so you don’t need to worry. This put undue pressure on the Niners OL. Which is no where near as good as an OL should be with all those #1 picks, but is much better than they are if teams have to respect the WR’s.
Now (at least on paper) teams are in a real bind. If they stack the box, they leave their corners 1 on 1 with 2 very fast WR’s (and one HOF caliber WR at times). In addition to VD running seam routes which no single LB/S can stop all game long. So, defenses will need to have more defensive backs in the game than they did last year.
But if you do that, then you take out a LB or a DL, which means the stack box is likely out of the window and that the OL has an advantage if they choose to run the ball. And the Niners are a very good running team (And I think they will still run the ball just about as much as they did before. It’s just that now when the choose to pass it, they have some weapons). They were ok last year despite the stacked boxes all game long game after game. They will be an extraordinary run blocking team against an unstacked box.
The only thing that can stop the Niners are themselves making stupid errors (False starts, running wrong routes, that kind of stuff) and defenses trying to hide their intent.
Which leads us to AS. AS will need to judge more than not, the intent of the defense and see thru their disguises. That means he needs to be smart. And OH BOY, IS HE EVER! That means he will need to study film and want to understand every little nuance. And BOY DOES HE EVER WANT TO DO THAT! The #1 attribute of a WCO QB is his brain. And AS’s brain was the best in his draft class, and a good argument can be made the best in any draft since he came out.
All AS needs to accomplish this are:
1. Reps. A ton of them. Not a single elite QB in the NFL became elite without getting a lot of reps. There is no substitute for it.
2. His teammates who he will be playing with to practice with starting now and thru-out camp. That means you MC.
3. Film study. And AS will have this nailed down. Now that he has a HC/OC who understands the purpose of the offense is not to walk onto the field and stand there until the defense comes back onto it, AS will truly have a coach to talk things out with. This worked to the tune of 13-3 last year. They will be better now.
Put away the lotion DS. The thread was about our defense.
Jack
You need the lotion more than I do (leaning issues). And I was not the first to not exclusively talk about defense. And if you were policing the blog fairly, nearly every thread would be called out for changing the initial thought.
Hardly objective Jack. And I did open up with pass rush. And pass rush was discussed quite a bit. You see Jack, pass rush and blitz are similar. And things happen when a defense blitzes. Both on the offense and defensive ends. You should know that.
Grimey/Hank,
Good calls. Our defense is going to pick right up where they left off. Can’t wait to watch Aldon get after the QB every down. The addition of the safety Robinson should make the defense ever better on the backend as well.
Isn’t it awesome when you can look forward to the defense coming out and shutting people down!?!?
Exciting times in Ninerville!
Tell me it’s not genetic, the daughter of Randy Moss was named Miss Basketball in Kentucky.
Andrew from R… – How tall is she?
5’11
Pumped for the season. Can’t wait!!!
The boys are back in town! Is it August yet?
http://instagr.am/p/KEBJs-ieur/
Not yet, but it should be. :-)
http://www.49ers.com/news-and-events/article-2/49ers-Football-School-Now-in-Session/6eb9f66c-d889-4f6d-a175-69a8ccaa7018
Nice! And Crabs is in town!
Good to see.
Moss looks fast ready to go…
http://www.49ers.com/media-gallery/videos/Moss-Joins-49ers-for-First-Day-of-Football-School/e89c8aab-3449-4464-b5f5-b71534129111
Grimey beat you to it Jack. And Moss does look great. If he plays that good in training camp, no way is he on the bubble.
Ha! Thanx for bragging for me. I’m trying to stay humble ;)
Dang It! Grimey is too quick for me. It’s all good. Fun to see some action. The Smith talk was getting a little nauseating.
Amen to that.
Quickness runs in the family.
http://www.tribeathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=25100&ATCLID=205421502
Check my cousin Jonathan, the newest Houston Texan.
I know I posted that yesterday too. I’m just so proud and excited for my little cuz. Check the highlights.
http://www.tribeathletics.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=25100&id=870499&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=606208&SPID=80810&DB_OEM_ID=25100
@grimey:
Congratulations to your nephew. Go Tribe.
Thanks Hammer, they look lean and mean.
http://www.49ers.com/media-gallery/videos/Moss-Joins-49ers-for-First-Day-of-Football-School/e89c8aab-3449-4464-b5f5-b71534129111
I’m F-ing pumped!
I am too Grimey. Moss is impressing his new teammates, ergo he is impressing me. Looks like Jenkins will have to wait for his shot at becoming the team’s #1 WR, but learning from Moss is a nice consolation prize.
I think Moss is a great addition to this team. He’s gonna give his all this year.
Randy’s still got hops.
http://prod.images.49ers.clubs.nflcdn.com/image-web/NFL/CDA/data/deployed/prod/49ERS/assets/images/imported/SF/photos/clubimages/2012/04-April/IMG_4285–nfl_mezz_1280_1024.JPG?width=960&height=720
I’m excited about Moss but in the back of my head there is this “tick tock, tick tock” countdown until Moss implodes. Will Moss make it through the year? If he implodes early then no big deal – send him through Braylon’s door. If he implodes during the run up to the playoffs that could really suck. If he waits until after the season to implode then that would be great.
But no matter when it happens, it will happen. Moss has quit on every team he has ever played for. He’ll eventually quit on the 49ers. We just have to hope the timing is good.
ms, my feeling is if he makes it through training camp he’ll be fine. I can see Alex throwing up these bombs and Moss flicking away these tiny corner-backs on his way to the end zone.
I’m still shocked Randy Moss is on the team…..watching him run fast and focused in that 84…..is just amazing…….
…I can see it now…..”Alex got better numbers because of Moss”…..this would be the response to the azz whupping Alex and the O, are about to lay down……
@oneniner
We need Moss to do that (run fast) after several thousand reps in practice and games consistently. That is determined by two things. His will power and his age. If RM climbs over those two hurdles for us this year…NOBODY can stop us come playoff time.
You are right, Clemons, about Randy’s history. I haven’t forgotten. Why then do I feel so hopeful about his presence on the team? Not sure why, but at the moment I have a good feeling about it. Homer? Well, yes,absolutely; guilty as charged. I expect (without any evidence in support) that SF gets at least one good season out of Moss.
Maybe it’s the time of year, hope springs eternal and so far we’re undefeated and unscored upon this season!
The way I see it Randy will be productive because he will respect the way the 9ers play and practice. He’s already noticed the speed and sharpness with which this team operates. That will go a long way in influencing him to give full effort to winning a championship. As a receiver he hasn’t taken too much punishment throughout his career, and after a year off probably has plenty left in the tank(even at 35). Heck, even if he has lost a step, Moss had a step to lose.
No problem Grimey. And Jack, keep those links coming.
Is Baalke the master of the draft or what?!
http://www.csnbayarea.com/football-san-francisco-niners/niners-talk/49ers-can-expect-even-more-picks-in-2013?blockID=700164&feedID=5936
It’s so nice to finally have competent leadership on this team again.
Competent anything really, from the GM to the gameplan.
Moss not make the team? Nonsense.
Looks as though Jenkins locker is next to Mr. Moss.
James, LaMichael
http://www.ninersnation.com/2012/4/30/2986617/what-new-49ers-running-back-lamichael-james-brings-to-san-francisco
@ Grant et. al
check out this link: http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/nfl/2012/04/crabtree-thin-ice-49ers-gain-target
love it. finally, FINALLY!!!!!!, a writer has the balls to write what has long been SO obvious
i seldom agree with glen dickey but as to his comparing a.j. jenkins potential to john taylor i think he is right on point
I enjoy reading Glenn Dickey articles all the time though. Whether I agree or not.
DS is gonna love this article. I have been kind of nuetral concerning Crabs but there are things out there like his speed, his inability to get open and he drops a lot of balls. I didnt know he blamed Smith for lack of production in the NCS and if thats so then thats same thing TO did to Garcia, maybe not as blatent.
@undercenter
“DS is gonna love this article. ”
Naaaaahhh!
:- )
And it was what he said about AS after that game that really pissed me off.
I was going to evaluate the player (as I do all) no matter what. But it was what he said after the game that got me riled up. It was clear that WR was the weak link in our team, but I would have treated MC like I have KW all this time had he not said what he said. A guy who made some ok plays for us in the regular season, but really messed up when it mattered most. A guy who I can see on the team next year, or not. 50/50 chances.
I forgave JR for his fumble against the Giants. It paid me dividends. I forgave JM for sucking so bad against the Vikings that one year. It paid me dividends (2 more Suaer Bowls in a row!). I forgave RC for his fumble against the Giants (what is it with that team?). The team did not. And couldn’t make the Super Bowl until they got a new RB to replace the guy they had to replace RC.
I can forgive bad play/gamess. Everybody has them. But nobody has to take shots at his teammates (MC towards AS). That was not a mistake. It was a choice. And choices are graded much more harshly than mistakes.
@DS
Unfortunatly I had broken my leg and fractured my shoulder just hours before that game. I hadnt heard that Crab threw AS under the bus. I am in total agreement with you, any team mate that bad mouths another in public I have zero use for. Hence my TO comment, I detest TO for what he said and did to the Niners (Garcia) and I never want him back on this team and I dont care how good he is or was. Screw that crap. I am no longer nuetral in the Crab debate as far as I am concerned he should be cut. Dont want him have no use for him send him packing. And I dont care if Crab was right or wrong in his assesment of the problem, just the fact he went public sucks.
@undercenter
You might be able to find that interview in its entirety on CSN. They are the ones who aired it live.
Every other player pointed all 5 fingers at themself for losing that game. SY even commented how strong a “team” they are by doing so. All but 1.
And I liked TO and supported/defended him until that comment as well.
@spit
Remember how much you know about the Niners and MC contract nsgotitaions?
Here is a quote from the link:
“NFL contracts are all basically one-year contracts with a club option for each succeeding year. That’s why agents negotiate large signing bonuses because that’s real money in the player’s hands. The fact that Crabtree thought this was a concession from the 49ers was our first indication that he’s not very smart.”
Which puts you in which camp again?
Crabs just did what his agent told him was the right way to do things. Crabs was not his own agent or negotiator.
It’s funny to me how some few fans still blame Crabs for that holdout or for his broken foot ,etc,just because they like to use Crabs as a scapegoat for their fav players sometimes poor play.
He was our top receiver last year ,he may have a great year this year or he may get traded,I don’t know or really care,that is up to Harbaalke,but come on,he is a Niner now so cheer for the guy.
Where’d that Spit guy go, anyway? Get himself banned again? :P
I want to change his name to Gingivitis. Or maybe Ginger for short.
Spitting blood makes me think of two things: Gene Simmons and gum disease and not in any particular order.
Interesting that Dickey says Crabs runs the wrong routes. This was mentioned a time or two by guys in the booth. I remember Billick specifically questioning that.
One thing is for sure, Crabs has some serious competition. Good thing he showed up for football school. Smart move on his part, gets him a gold helmet.
I’d like to see Crabs succeed, but I guess if he doesn’t we’ve got depth.
Adam,
Some of his incentives are tied to off season participation. If hw wants the $$$ he needs to show up.
Isn’t Dickey about 100 years old now ,lol
Ouch. Discriminating based on age! :P
Tim,
Really? You’re retired aren’t you?
GDickey has a position that he can be semi-retired. He’s written books (even with BW), was a top columnist often referenced (even one time by HCosell on MNF), and was as good as it gets in the 70′s and 80′s. GDickey, ASpander, LC, IMiller, and BJenkins to mention a few, put the Chron Green Sheet on the map.
Regarding MC, he’s calling it the way it is. MC can have a great year it’s up to him.
LOL Adam !
Dickey was mostly wrong when was younger anyway.
But it is strange that Dickey ,like several other other writers in the Bay Area always seemed to make hay off of ripping the Niners players ,etc,and it seems he is trying for a comeback doing the same thing.
Crabs has been more quiet than RM may be if he gets the same .
And remember that Crabs was the best WR we had all year long and had one poor game in the Championship game. He was frustrated and let what he felt was the truth come out of his mouth after the game,after holding it in pretty well all season long. Nobody is perfect.
Alex has class,I agree ! Everyybody can’t be as classy as Alex all the time.
It was a joke HOF. Yes I am old too,lol
Tim,
I guess you are going to see why the 9ers upgraded the WR position in FA and the draft. MC needs to step up his game. I’m sure he’ll have a great year. Stay tuned…
I don’t see why Crabtree gets flak for wanting to make plays. Successful, productive, Superbowl winning QB’s recognize that when you have a receiver who can compete and win in jump ball situations it’s better to give him a chance than to take a sack(which is a drive killer). Randy Moss has built a HOF career out of winning jump balls, sometimes against two or three defenders. Larry Fitz does the same thing and Crabs has those kinds of skills as well. If whiny lil b!tche$ think Crabs threw Alex under the bus wait till they get a load of TheRealOtis. Alex needs to nut up and give his receivers a chance to make him look good.
It’s not what we think it’s what JH thinks. He’s all about team. Great WRs create their own separation with great route running (see JR) , speed (see RM), or quickness (see VCruz). There was a good read on throwing open versus throwing to a space/area where the receiver is suppose to be. Key thing is chemistry and stability. We’ll see how that plays out this year.
Hofer,
On the chemistry front, Crabtree and Alex actually having a full off season to work together should work wonders for their production. I expect to see phenomenal improvement across the board offensively. If the 9ers have the capability to sustain drives and score TDs in addition to their great defense and special teams this team will dominate no matter how tough their schedule is.
There is no denying his dissappearing act in the championship game but I still see a receiver that has improved each year in the league. I really don’t think it’s fair to be as harsh as this article is when the guy was our leading receiver last season. To come up with 72 receptions on a team that only throws the ball 20-25 times a game is far from horrible or even bad, it’s actually pretty decent. Crabtree’s 72 receptions accounted for approximately 26 percent of all of the completed passes, this isn’t a guy who sucks or doesn’t know how to play the game.
I used to think the guy’s biggest problem was his attitude and although I don’t think he’s completely shed the ‘diva’ moniker I do believe Grant when he mentions good things about Michael’s attitude and work ethic, especially when you see a receivers who’s yards and completions have improved each year.
Don’t label me a Crabtree defender I just don’t agree with the dire tone of the article.
I don’t think the tone was all negative. Basically MC has to step up and play like a team player even when frustrated. I think he has upside and will continue to improve.
I agree with you Hank(love the name by the way. One of my favorite Simpsons episodes). In addition to his statistical improvements he has also been lauded by the coaching staff for being a tenacious downfield blocker. Just cause he’s stylish doesn’t mean he’s a diva. Jerry Rice always liked to look good out on the field as well.
i’m not worried about moss’s attitude harbaugh wo’nt keep him a week if he is’nt working and i think the one and only reason he came back is he does’nt want to be a hall of famer who is known as the guy who never won a super bowl. i do’nt have great confidence in his ability to play anymore. people who say that moss at 90% was better than any receiver the niners had last yr are kidding themselves. he was 90% of himself the last yr he played and he was’nt able to compete at an nfl level but i sure hope he can come back strong
More evidence to support Jim Harbaugh’s reticence to open up with the press:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/01/john-harbaugh-patriots-titles-have-asterisks-are-stained/
I wonder if John Harbaugh is second-guessing his decision to expand on the topic.
Finally someone within footballs inner circle has the balls to call belicheat out. it makes me sick to my stomach every time i hear any of those east coast espn/nfl network fools try to say belicheat is as good or a better coach than bill walsh
“…belicheat is as good or a better coach than bill walsh”
I have not heard that for a long time old coach.
And you won’t again now that he and GQ cover Boy Tom Brady have lost 2 Super Bowls and are now 3-2.
@old coach:
I am not so sure that John Harbaugh was calling Belichick out. His quote reads like a description of the perception among fans/the public that the Patriots’ titles are tainted as much as it reads like a personal declaration that the Patriots’ titles are tainted.
And, indeed, because of the way the media is spinning his comments, Harbaugh has issued a statement asserting that the Belichick and the Patriots’ earned their titles.
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4721527/john-harbaugh-issues-statement
All of which comes back to my point. Jim Harbaugh’s style of dealing with the media may be serving him and the team well.
@claude
“All of which comes back to my point. Jim Harbaugh’s style of dealing with the media may be serving him and the team well.”
I like Jim Harbaugh style with the media, and the media has no one to blame but themselves. You are correct that it is serving him and the team well.
He didn’t call Belicheat out. He just said that his championships are tainted now that there is the perception of cheating. The media tries to spin everything and anything they can into drama causing fans to have misconceptions about players coaches etc. Hence some of the misguided opinions in this blogspace.
“In the end, everything is brought before the light of day,” Harbaugh said. “Even the thing in New England, no matter whether those things had any impact on whether they won their championships or not, they got asterisks now, it’s been stained. So to me, it’s never worth it. You’ve got to figure out ways to use the rules to your advantage.”
i hope you’re right DS
@claudeballs as to jim harbaughs style of handling the press i agree with you totally. what i hate to admit is that its the same style as belicheat
Bill Walsh>Billy B.
***BREAKING NEWS OUT OF SANTA CLARA !!! ***
*** Josh Johnson has officially been named #1 by the team .
That is completely true Tim, LOL ; )
#1waterboy?
Maybe DS,I didn’t say #1 what .
@Tim
:- )
Yep,it’s true,JJ is #1. Alex is # 11 and Kaep is # 7 etc, …lol
What did you think I meant ??? ;)
@tim
I just thought you were bored and came up with something.
Not upset at all about it if you did. I guess I am not use to seeing a lot of QB’s wearing the #1 jersey.
Some people you can GIVE tens of millions of dollars to,and they STILL want to be the best. Others? as soon as the check clears all they think about is being a fashion diva,visit all the jewelers. Guess where Mike fits?
But don’t worry,if I get tens of mill, I will STILL blog post! Maybe.
I specifically remember Bay was calling for the Niners to pick up Randy Moss last season.
Looks like they actually tried: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/49ers-tried-to-land-Randy-Moss-a-year-ago.html
Jack
The guys at ESPN compared Moss to Jenkins. Not Jenkins to Moss.
If Moss stank, they said Jenkins is there to take that role. That would imply that MC’s role is not threatened by Jenkins (not slot guy).
I can care less about roles. All WR’s are supposed to get open by themselves and catch the ball. I have all the spots in the world for WR’s who do that. And no spots for WR’s who can’t.
MC got open and caught more balls than any other Niners receiver last season,so he must know how to get open. No receiver gets the ball every time he is open.Sometimes a QB doesn’t see him or is locked in on another receiver or doesn’t have time to see him or is already on his butt . But get open MC DID,quite often.
Maybe our new WR’s can get open more often,I hope so because that would be upgrading the team and I am always all for that.
Here is a quote from Baalke about Crabs…
“Crab is crab. He’s a heck of a receiver. His skill sets are going to shine even brighter this year because he’s going to have a full offseason. He’s been working tirelessly. He’s been involved with the entire process this offseason up to this point and plans on being here throughout. ”
As usual Crabs is a very hard worker (not a diva at all),and will be a very good receiver this year again if he doesn’t break his foot again :).
But of course we know that like the QB position and others,JH or Baalke always say glowing things about all their players,no matter what the truth really is…and that is the way it should be IN PUBLIC .
If they trade Crabs then we will know differently(not because GD writes another of his bash a 49er articles ),,until the trade or benching Crabs is a big part of our team and I for one will cheer for him and ALL the others in red and gold .
One out of every four completions last season ended up in Michael’s hands. I have no idea where these kinds of articles are coming from, he had a bad game at a bad time but that doesn’t erase the fact that he had his most productive season as our #1 receiver. With two more years on the contract I think any talk of Crabtree going anywhere are moot.
Tim,
Yes MC has upside but back in late Feb TB also stated, “I like the growth that he had in a new system; like the chemistry he and Alex (Smith) seem to develop through the course of the year,” Baalke said. “Whether he can define himself as a true No. 1 in the National Football League or not remains to be seen. But (I’m) certainly happy with the progress he made.”
Sounds like a challenge.
Hof:
I personally have not thought of Crabs as a #1 receiver ,even since I saw him play for a period of time. He ,imho,is a really ,really,really good #3 and a very good #2,if there is nobody that beats him out. He has shown he can be a great 1st down making machine in this League and can also go deep (I believe he had one of only two 50+ yard TD’s last year for the team,I think VD had the other ).
Teams doubled VD. That helps. Great receivers are always doubled. If they were not great, then you don’t waste an extra defender.
And VD was doubled but still had an impact. MC was singled and had no impact. If MC were without VD, he wouldn’t lead the team in catches. If VD didn’t have MC (which basically happened in 8 of 9 quarters anyway), VD is still great. You can’t isolate a single stat and get away with it.
And MC stank in the NO game after the 1st quarter. It was more than 1 bad game in a format which 1 bad game usually prevents another from being played. VD and AS saved MC in the Saints game. That should have woken MC up. To bad they couldn’t save his rear again.
When I said #1 receiver I meant in yards and catches not to imply he’s an X or the number 1 in a numbered system.
@Tim
MC thinks he is a really really good #1 WR though. And unless he has a great season now, he won’t be on this team next year. He thinks he is #1 WR pay worthy. He is not.
The Niners will put an offer on the table which is way lower than MC thinks he is worth and MC will walk. MC’s production has not warranted a pay of $5-6 million a year.
Tim, I think he has talent but needs to have a full offseason and preseason with the team. VD and AS have the chemistry. I believe MM and the rook A.J. will also work on the chemistry. Having TG and JMorg hurt during the championship game didn’t help the team and definitely didn’t help MC. He’s not a guy that can take over a game – he needs the complimentary piece on the other side. The 9ers FO realized that as well, hence the FA and draft WR moves. Should be a great year for the offense.
…and the 5 turnovers by the defense in the NO’s game saved the entire offense from losing a game they should have won by 2 TD’s or more. So,one game it is VD who does well,another it is Crabs and another it is Alex or Frank …but it was almost always the defense ,consistently.
Now we all hope the offense comes along for the ride to the SB THIS year,that includes Crabs and Alex ,who both need to get better,along with the entire offense.
Great call Hofer. Here’s to a good season ahead.
VD had a great game against NO because he was single covered by their terrible safeties. On the “Vernon Post” play he was bracketed but the safety was late getting there(great anticipation on that throw by Alex).Of his TD catches in the Championship game one was against single coverage on the outside and the other he was running free through a zone.
No team is successful with only one quality receiving target.
Hank:
That is what I meant also,when I use the team #1 receiver I was simply talking about the best receiver,the classic #1 go to guy on a team. Crabs imho is a #2 and with a really greatly talented receiver group he may be only a #3. I hope he is only a #3 on this team. It’s great to have great depth !
@hank
Somebody has to lead the team in those things. I don’t really care about those things as presented in a vacuum. Especially since he led a Niner team which had a bunch of mediocre to awful WR’s. Especially in that Giants game. And the Giants did not feel compelled to double MC. MC didn’t give them a reason to do so. I mean if MC was any kind of a threat, the Giants could have gotten away with doubling him as well to show some respect to his abilities. Hastings and Swain flat out suck. The fact they didn’t do that and got away with it with a mediocre secondary means A LOT.
That speaks volumes to me. Much more so than MC leading the team in catches and yards (again, by definition, every team has that). Big time players make big time plays in big games. VD and AS did that on the passing front. If MC had joined them in both games, there is a third and we are once again tied with Pit with most Super Bowl trophies.
No Tim
3 TO’s by the defense.
2 TO’s by the ST.
And in the title game –
0 TO’s by the defense
-2 TO’s by the ST
TO’s are the only single stat that can be measured in a vacuum and mean something. And as midwest pointed out already, the WR’s in the NO’s game stank minus KW great block on AS’s bootleg run and MC’s first quarter. If MC had a 2-4 quarter like he did his first, the Niners blow the Saints out. Not even remotely close. There was one drive in which MC single-handedly ended with 2 drops in a row. Perfect passes dropped. Be sure to put that in your analysis.
Well,Crabs was wide open at least once for what looked like a sure TD in that Giants game,but the QB didn’t see him.The same goes for Williams and I think VD was also not seen once,when he was wide open. So,if Crabs caught that one TD,or if Williams caught that one TD,then one of them would be the hero. Instead Crabs was almost shut out and Williams had the disaster with the punts.
But as always I try to be fair,so the credit goes to the QB and the receiver when it is a good play and the blame goes to both when there is a bad play or no play. (not to mention the O line blocking and the coaches play call and the blocking and decoying of other receivers etc etc ).
Tim,
go back to the Giants game during the regular season. Crabtree had one of his best games of the season. Alex also had one of his poorest when throwing to Crabs. Crabs got free on several occasions. Alex missed him on 4 passes where he was wide open. Three of them were sure TD’s.
Crabs never threw a fit, he just kept going back to work. On two of the throws Alex clutched his helmet knowing he blew it. So yes, Crabs demonstrated that he could get loose against these guys. You could talk about coulda, shoulda, but in the end a WR cannot show their true value when an average QB is chucking it to him.
You can listen to the garbage DSL spews, but the reality is Alex isn’t elite, or a pro bowl caliber QB like DS and others tried to label him during the season. He is average like his production stats show. Although DS will argue that he is great based on the teams greatness and the teams record. Laughable.
Sorry DS,I meant to say 5 turnovers by the D and ST’s .
And you prove my point when you mention that there were 0 turnover in the Giants game ! The Offense needed to step up and they were not good enough to win without another great game by their D and ST’s. They need to get better as a whole,not just Alex and Crabs.
” So,one game it is VD who does well,another it is Crabs and another it is Alex or Frank”
The FO and JH know that they needed key weapons on offense to get on par with the elite defense. Clearly adding WRs in FA and the draft reinforces that thought. Additionally, the drafting of a play making speedy quick RB in the 2nd round also reinforces that there are gaps in the offense that they are addressing.
The previous regimes focused on defense partly because they were defensive HCs that had little to no experience on the offense. It didn’t help that they had a very poor 2009 draft. This team clearly lacked the players on offense to get them over the top that teams like N.E., Philly, N.O. and NYG had in their arsenal. Now the full play book will be utilized and the woes of RZ and 3rd down conversion will be a thing of the past.
@Tim
“Well,Crabs was wide open at least once for what looked like a sure TD in that Giants game,”
Really? I didn’t see it when I watched the game the first time. Or the second time. Nor did I hear the guys in the booth (which includes a HOF QB who knows when a pass is missed or a WR is open) said that at all.
Nor did I hear any of the post game show guys talk about it. Or read an article referencing such a play. I’m pretty sure I didn’t read any blogger write that before, but since there are some peoples posts I just flat out don’t read, it might have been one of them.
AS missed on the KW play. EM also missed a lot more early in that game as well. If each QB had hit on all those missed opportunities, the Giants would not have needed OT to beat us. The fact the Giants won that game makes people forget all the misses he had. But he had them. And he also had 2 sure Int’s which DG stupidly prevented by hitting his own teammates. And injuring the guy who had the best game of his life and would have been covering the guy who caught the 4th quarter TD pass.
“had one of his poorest when throwing to Crabs.”
He doesn’t get separation by running crisp routes, being fast, or his quickness. His own teammate (CR) mentioned that he wasn’t fast. If the route is to be in a certain area and he isn’t there or he is smothered by a DB, the connection doesn’t happen. In this case, easy to lay blame on the QB, but AS won’t go negative. This year should be different because MC will be pushed by RM, MM, and the rook A.J. This is the most receiving talent this team has had since 1998 when JR and TO were on the same team and BJones was towards the end of his career. Should be a great year for the offense.
@Tim
In the regular season ,having a -2 TO ratio is a killer. For any team to overcome. The Niners did it against Detroit. Can’t expect that to happen again.
In the playoffs, TO’s are everything! You have a -2 TO, you will lose! Some people say the Niners got lucky in the Saints game. No. The Saints got lucky. Being in a game with a -5 TO ratio (that is due to no stupid mistakes by AS and the offense).
People say the Giants got lucky to beat us. No. They had a +2 TO margin. That just about assures you win as much as the sun rising tomorrow morning. And they did. Despite the fact that we (like the Saints before us) made that game a lot closer than it should have been given that -2 TO margin.
TO’s win and lose games. Flat out FACT.
Still waiting for Grant to write some blogs about the TO’s though.
@ DS Crabtree was running wide open on a sail route on the the first drive of the second half. It’s been well documented by analysts who watch the 22 coaches film. plus it was very easy to see from my seat in the stands. when you watch games on tv the camera follows the ball and you don’t get to see the whole field.
Bayarea, you should try looking forward to the future 49ers and not the past games and statistics. Stop trying to defend your hate over Alex on last year and everything since his draft year. Your a moron for trying to convince us that Alex is terrible when a) no one cares and b) all that stuff is irrelevant now that Harbaugh is leading this new era.
You should be an excited fan with the new additons like AJ Jenkins, James, Moss and Manningham where we can all agree that Alex and this offense have all the pieces to be a legit Superbowl contender. You say that Im angry, who can’t stop talkin about negative, rhetorical diarrehea?
Grimey,
You are wasting your time. When it comes to Crabtree, DS’s hate cannot be overcome with facts.
I know. I guess I just don’t understand how someone can spend so much time defending one player who hasn’t lived up to expectations while attacking another for the same reason. I guess logic escapes some people.
Hank,
It all has to do with unfulfilled expectations, a contract hold out, a foot injury that has caused missed time in training camp, and a shy person saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
I fully agree Jack !
That and the fact that some few fans want to hate Crabs and rip on him because if they believe Crabs is never getting open and is a bad receiver,then there is a built in excuse for another player who they love to defend,even if they have to throw another member of the team under the bus.
I prefer to cheer for the ENTIRE team …but if Crabs plays poorly I will say that is my humble opinion,just like I will with every other player or coach on the team. But I hope I never need to say anything bad about the play of any Niner,but that is just unrealistic.
“I prefer to cheer for the ENTIRE team”
Really? The TSmith or NDavis team? Cheer for the entire team and ridicule the starting QB. LOL
I agree Tim… If you stink your gonna get it from the fans, but MC almost had 1000 yards. And was open at times and never got the ball. It happens in football. Gotta say he is on the list of prove yourself this year with me.
Hoff Alex stunk for years and deserved every booo he got. That’s all in the past. He will not get boo’d this year because he will blow up. Seriously how can’t he? To many weapons and to quote a good friend of mine. ” the O-line will dominate this year” Get ready for the high powered offense we’ve been missing for 10 years.
That was a rude post hof !
I just tell it as I see it in my humble opinion. If The QB plays poorly imho ,then I say so.What would YOU have me do ,lie,just so you can feel better about OUR starting QB ?
I am not rude to you when we don’t agree and I expect better from you . We do agree on many issues,so try to be fair.
Tim, some opinions that are consistently negative, should be considered to not be spoken, don’t you agree?
I mean for years you have been outspoken about Alex, has it made you feel any better or has it caused you more unneccessary debates and ridicule from other fans, or do you enjoy them altogether, just curious?
Tim,
Just giving you grief. Although we don’t agree often, you would be missed here if you didn’t do your drive by every so often. BTW, when the offense starts lighting up the scoreboard this year, get ready because I’m going to dig up some of those past negative comments you wrote about the starting QB just to remind you that it takes talent on offense in key positions (not to mention an HC that knows how to utilize talent) to help improve the QB’s play even though you weren’t listening by placing all of the blame on the AS. Are you ready?!! LOL
FDM: Most of my negative posts over the last few years about Alex have been in response to what I coonsidered silly posts of others that were praising Alex as if he were a Pro Bowl talent or something.
In my mind I was just being a counter point to what I thought was a too high opinion of Alex or of what I saw as making excuses.
I will be very happy to praise Alex if and when I see him play well consistently,very happy indeed. But I will reluctantly rip him if that is my opinion of his play on the field.
Right now I am waiting to see what we have in alex when he gets back on the field again. Right now there is no new info and nothing new to base any new opinions on,so I will wait and watch and hopefully I can give glowing remarks about Alex’s play on the field ,when he gets on the field again. (as I have always given him glowing praise about his character and toughness and class,on and off the field. ).
If he plays like the QB I want ,then I will be his biggest supporter ,as I was when he was drafted. But I will not lie about my opinion just because I like the guy personally.
OK Hof,but remember that imho if Alex plays well and I am happy with his play and am praising him,it is because he deserves it .And imho he didn’t deserve it before. It will be because he raised his personal level of play,not just because he has the players around him.
I have always taken into account all the so called Alexcuses,that the O line was not good and the coaching was not good and the WR’s left something to be desired,etc. When I said in the past that alex was not playing well ,I always took those things into consideration and I always came up with the same conclusion…that along with the poor play of others,Alex also was playing poorly on the field as well as the others. That is the difference between me and some few others,I never tried to excuse Alex for his poor play by bringingv up the others poor play,but factored all that into my judgement.
The QB spot has been a weak point and imho it still is . I am completely open to Alex changing my mind and hope he does. But no matter how good the surrounding cast,just like no matter how bad the surrounding cast of the past was,I will only judge Alex on how he himself handles his job.
But I am just a fan,so don’t get so bent out of shape by the opinion of one fan,even if it is a fan like me TRYING to be fair to all the players and not throw one under the bus to excuse another. Crabs has plenty to improve upon and so does Alex,I hope they both play great ,but I judge them both on what they DO,not what I had once hoped they would be.
See Tim this is the issue I have with you haters. First of all, to date none of you have been able to come up with a list or individual on here who has praised Alex to the 100th degree you talk about. Tell me who on this blog has ever labelled Alex elite, hall of famer, pro-bowler and top 5 QB in the league? No one is praising him like you say we have. All we do is look at the course of his career, say he finally is in a better situation to succeed, and cheer and hope for the best like every right minded fan should every season.
Secondly, your waiting with baited breath and anticipation to see Alex fail, why? If you really are a 49er fan, why are you looking for him to fail?
You say,”But I will reluctantly rip him if that is my opinion of his play on the field.
Tim, QB’s have bad games, your micrscoping him too much. You have to look at the entire body of work if your gonna be that hypercritical and form an opinion. Alex had an impressive season last year. He did not cost us any games and most times, he was an integral part in the regular season wins and playoffs.
Its a new era for Alex and the 49ers. The organization is finally back to its winning ways and your on your tippy toes looking for Alex to mess up, I don’t get that.
You have stated your “opinion on Alex many times, over 50% of it all negative. Again I will ask you, do you need to voice that opinion, do you enjoy fans coming after you and ridiculing you because you have such a negative opinion, do you really enjoy those debates?
“Alex also was playing poorly on the field as well as the others.”
Tim, you are still missing the point. They are *finally* giving AS weapons that TB, PM, and DBrees have had to make them look great and be successful in the NFL. AS never had these kind of weapons. Add the two former HC’s that didn’t know how to utilize an offense or hire/keep the right OC’s. Now that the weapons are finally in place, AS has to vastly improve. By winning and not just throwing for 5000 yds. Learn to win from behind and learn how to blow teams out when up by 14. Looking forward to it!
Nope,you have me all wrong FDM.
I didn’t want to get into a discussion about alex because I am tired of the whole debate and don’t get any pleasure at rehashing all the points and counter points we all know all too well.
I don’t hate Alex and don’t enjoy ripping him when he plays poorly.
So,lets just do as I am doing,wait until we actually see what alex has become and how he performs,before we praise him or rip his play.
All I ever did was tell it as I see it. I always thought there was room in this World fore all different kinds of opinions,but I guess that is not true if you say something negative about alex?
Keep your opinions flowing FDM ! I like to read all opinions,especially those that differ from mine,that is how we learn.
….”Tell me who on this blog has ever labelled Alex elite, hall of famer, pro-bowler and top 5 QB in the league?”
……no one can answer this question!!!…….
No Hof,you are missing MY point. That I always take into account all the play of those around Alex . If a WR drops a ball then I never blame alex.If Alex throws a ball over the head of a WR I never blame the WR.
The talent around Alex is irrelevant in my judgement of him . Thank goodness it is not irrelevant in how the whole team plays together though !
And I am also looking forward to blowing teams out with a good D and good ST’s and coaching and now a good offense to go along. And right now Alex is part of my hopes for a good offense !
“your on your tippy toes looking for Alex to mess up,”
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The line of the month. LOL
The truth is that I have been on my tippy toes hoping to see a better Alex on the field. My calves are getting tired,lol.
Hey Tim I have nothing wrong with different opinions and differrent perspectives, my issue is when the same people like you, 23J, and Bay keep expressing the negative connotations against Alex on years past, I dont see what benefit or value it adds to any discussion.
BTW, have you been able to identify the people who have labelled Alex elite, probowler, hall of famer to which you have only replied to with your negative opinion on Alex?
… @ TIMMY….”I am tired of the whole debate”….really dude?….
…..you posted the same comment ………”***BREAKING NEWS OUT OF SANTA CLARA !!! ****** Josh Johnson has officially been named #1 by the team .”…..on mercury newsblog……..after all this yrs, I think its obvious you are addicted to the debate….
Thanks for the humor ONEplayer !
…And yes ONE player,I posted that on several sites because just like Matt Barrows,who wrote a story on it,I thought it was funny. So did everyone else,except you. As usual you are out of step .
OneNiner,
The burning question is???? What typeof QB do you label Smith as being??? Top 10. Top 15. Top 25? Average, above average, BUST….???
23J, the burning itching question is, do you feel good about expressing a negative opinion over and over again?
Jordo, does it matter what we think? JH has named AS the starting QB claiming he earned it. He said there would be competition at the #2 an #3 spots. With more talent at WR and RB, this offense is finally loaded. Be optimistic and quit living on the stats from regimes poorly run by defensive minded inexperienced HC’s that didn’t know offense. It will be a great year especially offensively. Stay tuned…
FDM: You can’t be serious? Hundreds of times many posters have repeated the JH statement that Alex should be in the PB. Not to mention the hundreds of times it has been said he is elite and a top 10 QB etc.They always say it is everyone elses fault when Alex plays poorly ,although Alex himself has too much class to blame others and says what I say,that he needs to get better.
I respect Alex and am glad he got his QB rating up and had so few turnovers etc etc ,but I desire much more from my QB and you should too. Maybe Alex will give us much more this year,I hope so.
…and bye the way,how come I don’t get all this hate when I am fair about Crabs and say I don’t believe he is a #1 receiver??? It’s only when I am fair about Alex and say he has not been a quality #1 QB,that I get the hate.That should tell you where the hate is coming from,certainly not from me.
Tim, not true. JH stated AS was elite and PB worthy. Everyone here just debated his reasoning. Maybe he was basing it on the punchless offense he had to work with in 2011 and validating his thoughts this offseason by upgrading the offense via FA and the draft. Right Tim!??
FDM,
My answer is a resounding YES. Yes because I know we need a new QB for this team to succeed based on the other players that we have in place. Smith IS the weak link. Hopefully the defense and special teams can keep us in games until he finally gets benched. His ceiling is inside of his helmet. You just saw his best year of his career and it was average.
Why should any of us believe in a QB with a contract like Smiths?? He’s got the worst contract of any starting QB in the NFL!! Who do you think is responsible for that? But we’re supposed to believe in him because because JH says hes the starter. JH is a snake oil salesman!! You guys buy it but Smith doesn’t any more. he knows the writing is on the wall. He knows his days are numbered! That why he has a series of (3) 1 year deals. So we can cut bait right after the season. JH used to play the position. Don’t you think he recognizes the flaws in Smiths game. If JH didn’t know the flaws, Smith would’ve gotten a 4 year deal with some guaranteed money.
Call me anything you want. It hasn’t changed my position 1 bit. We go out in the off season and bring in all this speed, but for some reason, they won’t be open this year either. It’s not that nobody is open. We don’t have a QB with the pocket presence or the field vision to see everyone. We could use an extra second from our line as well. You will finally see that this year.
I really dont want Crabs on the team, but he is and I will root for him to get faster, and I will root for him not to drop the ball, I will root for him to get seperation, I will root for him to run correct routes, but for me to be on Crabs side he needs to shut his mouth. You never ever never throw your team mate under the bus. Its a cardinal sin to do that.
A lot of people here are saying that by going after Manning is a reflection that the Niner Staff didnt have confidence in our QBs, (AS, CK, JJ, ST). The same can be said for our WRs if they had confidence in our WRs they wouldnt have signed Moss, Manningham, drafted Jenkins and added some in the UDFAs.
WRs are going to have to fight for their job this year, just like the QBs and RBs. If Moss and Jenkins prove out and Manningham plays like he did for the Giants I can see Crabs droping to fourth on the depth chart. Just because Crabs led the team in receptions is not a reflection in his game its more of a reflection on how bad our WRs corps were. I am all for Crabs cause he is a Niner but that is the only reason I am pulling for him. I would never wish ill will on any memeber of the team.
…@TIMMY….After all the 7+ years you have been roaming 49er blogs and arguing with posters about Alex………your answer is “they”……..you really are a sad one….
Like I said no one has a answer to the question…..because it is a lie made up by the haters!!!….even you Jordan Welcher……(I need to get used to writing your last name)
Under center,
You actually bit on that trash that BS, I mean DS told you. You didn’t hear about Crabtrees statement after the NFC championship game because it wasn’t as big as BS is making it seem. Did you watch the game. Crabtree was open on several plays in that game. At least 5 that I can think of. The ball never got delivered to him. So no, he didn’t throw smith under the bus, he told the truth. Smith threw at least 2 balls in the dirt at Crabtree’s feet that Crabtree could’ve caught. If you have the game on tape, Ill tell you when the 5 plays occured and you can go back and look at them. If you don’t have the game, I will send you a copy on DVD and you Paypal me after you get it.
DS is the biggest fabricator of faction this blog. Don’t just take to heart what it says until you can confirm it. Crabtree said he’d wished he had been given a chance to make some plays.
I’ll give you this example. Third quarter I believe. Smith rolls right and Crabtree is running an out pattern pf about 13 yards. Crabtree comes back to Smith when he sees him scrambling right. Crabtree gets to about 8 yards upfield, away from the defender near the sideline. Smith throws the pass at his feet. Crabtree turns where?? Right at coach Harbaugh and throws his hands up right in front of the coach. JH motions to Crabtree with his arms to calm down. Tell me if you remember this play.
Hofer,
Can you ever answer a question?? Please answer the question. Is it possible for Smith to get benched if he plays horribly in the preseason and Kap plays lights out?? An answer would be appreciated. If not, then you’ve proved that you are a Smith family member and not a NINER fan.
@TIM:
Asking you to name the legions of commenters who allegedly praise Smith as elite or Pro Bowl worthy is a simple request. The fact that you cannot provide a single name is revealing.
@23welcher:
Since you cannot honor a simple promise to disappear if the 49ers bring back Alex Smith, you are in no position to demand that anyone answer your questions.
@23Jordan
It doesnt matter if he told the truth or not, (Crabs), it doesnt belong out in public. To me its an issue that remains in the locker room. I also remember Crabs snide remark last year at Alexcamp. I already had probs with Crabs kind of kept them to myself. By the way I feel the same way about TO dont want him not for anything else but for taking crap to the media. Sorry I dont have any use for that stuff. If Alex or any other member did that I would take the same exact stance. To me its a matter of ethics and I no to some that isnt important but to me it is.
@23jordan, if you feel good about having a negative opinion on your team then you are who we thought you were.
That makes 5 points Jack.
And that is enough to draw a standard curve from and project outcomes.
Hof,you need to listen to that presser with JH again,I listened 3 times and JH said the same each time . Competition throughout the whole QB depth chart.
I am not delusional enough to believe JJ or Kaep will start this season,but JH said Alex is competing and the other all want to move up. Listen again,it’s no big deal but you keep hanging your hat on a misunderstanding you have about that statement.
I did Tim. You can have selective hearing because you disagree with JH, but that is exactly what he said.
Hofer/ Alexfan11,
Are you saying that Smith can’t lode that job in the preseason no matter how he plays and no matter how the other QB’s play? Please make that clear.
OK Hof,here is THE quote,right from the M Barrows blog today (where I got the funny info that JJ was now #1 ,lol)…
Judge for yourself folks,if you can read it is self explanatory…
Alex Smith is our starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said Friday. “That’s something that he’s earned. They’ll be competition at the quarterback position throughout the entire depth chart of our quarterbacks. They’ll be competing for the second spot. They’ll be competing for the third spot. Alex is always competing. That’s just his makeup and his nature. Kaep’s the same way. He’s always competing. He’s always trying to climb. I know Josh is that way. That’s the way Scott Tolzien is. That’s how all those youngsters are wired.”
Notice the period after the line”They’ll be competition at the QB position throughout the entire depth chart of our QB’s”??? That is one complete thought. THEN he goes on to be redundant and say there will be competition for the #2 and #3 etc.
But he said that all 4 spots are being competed for ,no debate .
But like I said,he has to say that to keep Kaep and JJ and Tolzien happy. Alex will start unless we all get a big surprise. My point was that your slanted view of Alex made YOU hear something that was not there.
“They’ll be competing for the second spot.”
Tim,
Correct. Thanks for proving my point!!
Preseason means nothing except for those fighting for a roster spot 23, unless one of the starters suffer a serious injury. It’s the season that matters. As I’ve said: Barring the offense being decimated by injures, Alex will have to take a big leap in his production. If this doesn’t happen, then he will be replaced. Period.
Are you really THAT stubborn Hof. Come on,I proved beyond any doubt that JH said they were competing for every spot on the QB depth chart. Of course that inclused #2 and #3 as well as #1.
Why do you feel the need to be in denial when I have proven my point and it is done,just say you are right TIM. Even a broken clock is right twice a day Hof,give me credit for this one,since there is no doubt.It’s English 101,actually it’s 3rd grade reading comprehension.
I know you are just pulling my chain Hof. I know you can read just fine .
Tim, get real. JH isn’t going to say AS is the starter and that he’s earned it then make him compete in preseason. AS will be starting during the season and if his performance falls off or his improvement falters drastically (not one or two games), then they look to replace him (see MidWestNiner comment above).
Of course Hof,you are saying what I already stated,that Alex will start. It was “real” when I said it earlier but not “real” enough for you to agree with me ?
I never said Alex was not the starter,as a matter of fact I quoted JH in saying that Alex has earned it.
All I was pointing out is the obvious FACT that you misunderstood JH’s comments and that you keep misquoting him by saying only the 2nd and 3rd QB spots are open for competition. JH clearly stated that all the spots are open and that Alex is competing and so is Kaep and JJ and Tolzien.
AS I suggested,read it again or listen again,and you will clearly see this time what he was saying.No biggie.
…and JH always says all spots are open for competition,if he said anything else THAT would be THE story. He is consistent.
And Hof,surely you understand that any starting player is @1 on the depth chart “for now” until he isn’t any longer. No player is guaranteed anything in the NFL (Not For Long).
Alex was THE undisputed starter before,until he wasn’t. That goes for any QB or any player,you know that.Nothing is locked in stone.
In JH’s opinion Alex gives us the best chance to win games right now(I agree with him),but there are no games right now,lol.
He said there is competition and that Alex is competing and that Kaep is trying to move up. Seems to me he couldn’t be more clear. But believe what you want,I was just correcting your misunderstanding,it happens to all of us.
Midwest,
I’ll try the question again. If Smith plays poorly in his stints during the preseason and Kap lights it up in his action. ( Suppose Kap gets a start in the 2nd game and lights it up against starters, then lights itup in his other game action.) Smith gets 2 starts and turns it over a few times and his production is horrible. Are you saying that Smith can’t lose his job?
Jordan:
I still think Alex will start the 1st game,even if he has a bad preseason and Kaep or JJ light it up as you say. But if that happens the staff will certainly feel more comfortable about their backup than they were last year.
@MidWestNiner:
I have my own question for you.
If jordan promises never to post another comment if the 49ers re-sign Alex smith for 2012, does he keep the promise, or does he welch?
@Jordan
It’s certainly possible, but not likely since Alex will get the lion’s share of reps with the 1st team. If this were truly an open compitition among all 49er QBs, then I’d put his chances of remaining a starter this year at ~50%.
Hey Claude Balls,
You’re act is getting old. Do you have thoughts other than pulling the welcher card on Jordan?
ONEplayer:
I actually have a retarded young cousin,so I don’t appreciate your bigotry and would ask that although you seem very,very immature,that you TRY to act like an adult and ACT like you have some class,
Thank You .
…….If you know anything about the blog y0u will understand The Jordan Welcher act is never going to be an old one…..it’s a classic….Jordan Welcher for life…….
Nick, I’d have to say 99% – stay tuned…
Now you are getting it Hof ! “stay tuned” is my attitude as well ! Open minded and paying attention and hoping for the best with an optimistic outlook.
Tim
There will be competition for every starting and backup role. Including MLB. And PW will win out. Just like AS will. The real competition will be for 2nd string and a roster spot
Tim,
That’s my attitude too, except I use the wait and see mantra.
23,
I will say it again, this time in bold type. THE PRESEASON MEANS SQUAT EXCEPT FOR THOSE FIGHTING FOR A ROSTER SPOT! THE SEASON IS WHEN ALEX’S PRODUCTION WILL MATTER. IF HE CAN’T TAKE A HUGE LEAP IN PRODUCTION, THEN HE STANDS TO LOSE HIS JOB AS THE STARTING QB. AGAIN, THE PRESEASON MEANS SQUAT!
I agree DS,well said.
My problem was the misquoting of JH from the presser.Although I can’t type well and I sometimes can’t spell,I have a thing for not misrepresenting another persons quotes to further your own slanted view. (not a rip,we all have our slanted views on things,wheather we know it or not).
I am sad for you ONEplayer,that you don’t understand that the word you used is a word that only bigots or ignorant people use in polite conversation (adult conversation). My Cousins Mother and Father would differ with you that using that bigoted word has nothing to do with him.
Pathetic !
Oneniner,
You owe Tim an apology. It doesn’t matter who you directed to. It was blatantly offensive. It reminds me of when I was called a racist. I didn’t appreciate it. The one who called me that patched things up with me. I suggest you do the same thing.
Calling someone a “Tard”?
Seriously? WTF?
What are you, OneNeuron, thirteen years old? Because only a snotty nosed little Junior high school kid would think that was funny.
I suggest you don’t want to say this to people in public. Particularly to someone who has a developmentally disabled family member. Bad things happen to people with no sense. Often resulting in the loss of teeth.
You just confirmed all the bad things people here say about you.
Ninermd:
I agree,the O line should be a beast this season and the receivers are top shelf for sure and with Hunter being a year in the system and now we add James,well,it all looks soooo good I am hoping I am not not being too much of an optimist,as I usually am.
The O should finally come close to catching up with the D and ST’s ! I expect Alex to improve in his 2nd year in the system and play well enough .
I *HOPE* the offensive line finally reaches its potential. We’ve been waiting for a while for that to fall into place. Chilo busting set us back two years, IMHO. We’ll have to see how quickly Kilgore, or Looney if he somehow beats him out, settle in and gel with the other four.
When Chilo left I hope he took his red matador cape with him. I’d hate for the new guy (whoever that ends up being) to pick it up.
Good one Clemons
…two names I hope stick around…..Al Netter (G) and Kourtnei Brown (DE)
No chance for the 53 unless we have some nasty injuries. Maybe 70-30 for the Practice Squad. Their chance of staying here will go down in direct proportion to how well they play in the exhibitions – if they look too good, someone will claim them on waivers.
al netter santa rosa kid
I was born in Santa Rosa OldCoach ! But I am no longer a kid,lol
Hmm … I thought you only cared about One Niner (i.e. Alex Smith)
…Cmon dude…thinking is not something you are good at………..stick with follower for now, that fits you better…..
Always good for a laugh Oneplayer ! Thanks !
Jordan:
So far average at best,but that should be plenty good with all the great surrounding cast we have now. And if he plays better than that (as I hope) ,then it is all gravy and we should be unstoppable !
The future looks bright !
Tim,
Remember, people thought the cast was great last year. Smith averaged 200 yards a game before and after Josh Morgan got hurt. Remember those weapons( Edwards, Davis, Morgan, Walker, Crabtree, Gore). It’s not the receivers. You will soon see. I’d rather you blame the offensive line. It’s the QB. Always has been, always will be.
Jordo, very poor argument trying to make your point. JMorg was out 2/3 of the year. DW was out 1/4 of the year. VD was kept in to block until the OL got their act together first by replacing CRachal with ASnyder and then by playing as a unit after the Ravens game. BE? Are you serious. He was hurt and never played up to past performance. WOW this was one of your all time worst comments!
Hopefully not always ! lol
Hofer,
Alexcuses # 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005. You kill me man. You have to be Alex Smiths brother. Do tell.
Hof/DS,etc;
See ,I am so fair to Alex that now Jordan is calling me Alex Smith’s Brother,because he thinks I am a Smither,lol
I gues those who look at things from both sides and try to be fair always get stones thrown from both extreems.
opps,I guess he was talking to you Hof. I am so used to getting hit from both sides it was expected.
Tim,
Can you read??? I adressed that message to Hofer. Not you dude!
“Remember, people thought…”
I remember you eating a ton of crow and saying you were wrong about Smith. That’s not meant as a slap, by the way or anything but I have a question.
Here it is: What happened? Why is it there were a few of you guys that were talking about how wrong you all were and were happy to eat crow, — “Alex Freakin’ Smith!” — and now we’re back to Smith-bshin’ business as usual.
I’m curious, what happened from 13-3 to right now? What happened from being wrong about Smith to now flipping back over the other way again?
Just seems kinda weird.
It happens when you back up what you say Tim.
Tim
It’s simple. Do the opposite of what 23J says, and you will always be right.
*Smith bashin’*
And why is there Smith bashin’ in a Punt Returner article?
Good grief, is nothing sacred? :P
Mr Negative/Jordo,
From you perspective, all of the poor play and results prior to 2011 to 2005 was on the QB – I know. I really think you are afraid that AS may surpass expectations and you’ll *never* get that QB change and you’ll finally go away due to embarrassment! LOL
Always do midwest.
Adam: I have not seen the need to eat crow . Alex still played mediocre last year for the most part.
I will love me a big feast of Crow ,if Alex greatly improves this year as I hope. I expect improvement,if it is big improvement,then I want my crow deep fried. But in reality I shouldn’t need to eat crow,since I have always correctly written my humble opinion of Alex and if he improves then I will write that. Why would I eat crow? More likely I would pop the champaign cork and celebrate that I can finally change my opinion BECAUSE Alex has finally changed his performances on the field.
I hope it happens !
I know.
I think Smith will have around 4,000yards passing this season because the offense will be even more balanced than last season. Plus they finally have some doped at the WR position!
Adam,
Alex Smith has played one great game in his life in the NFL. it was the exception, not the rule. Yeah, I was in shock for 2 days. Then I looked at the rest of his career. Before I knew it, he was stinking it up in the NFC championship game. Now you know what happened.
Let ma ask you a question. Why does Alex Smith have the worst contract of any starting QB in the NFL, with no security whatsoever?
Jordy, I seem to remember you being in shock-and-awe after several games last season. You were pretty animated (as much as one can be writing on a blog :P)
Read Dickey’s column today, all NFL contracts are essentially year-to-year, it’s why agents try to front-load these things to get whatever they can in “real” money.
Smith isn’t fighting the contract deal *that* much. He’s made some money. Maybe he figures once he gets the pieces in place, the offense will finally be firing on all cylinders, then he can re-negotiate? Maybe he can cruise off what he’s made already? No idea.
or…
Maybe he’s not good enough to be offered a big money contract and what is offered is what his perceived value is.
Hard to say why the contract is the way it is (definitively) although I suspect the front office has a value tag on each of its players and knows approximately what all of them are worth.
I’m not sure it matters all that much. Smith earned all of his post-season incentives, I believe. Maybe it’s set up that way again? No idea.
His motivation seems to be winning. That’s fine by me. :)
Speed, not doped.
Adam,
Just 1 game. The saint game. he played great that game. Late in it anyway. Crazy that with 5 turnovers, we still almost lost.
“The saint game. he played great that game.”
Coming from the guy that said he couldn’t lead the 9ers to the playoffs and then he couldn’t win a playoff game and then if he wins a playoff game you said you’d quit bashing him…what’s next!??
If the 9ers could’ve put together an 8 minute drive in each half, that Saints game would have never been in doubt.
Alex Smith has played one great game in his life in the NFL. it was the exception, not the rule. Yeah, I was in shock for 2 days. Then I looked at the rest of his career. Before I knew it, he was stinking it up in the NFC championship game. Now you know what happened
It’s this kind of post that sums up the problem with your attitude Jordan. You are obsessing over the fact Smith threw a couple of passes that would have gained 6-8 yards tops into the ground, while completely glossing over the fact he threw two long TD passes to Davis and had his team in the lead until Kyle Williams decided to treat the ball like a grenade.
You either can’t or won’t accept the truth. The truth is, Alex Smith is not the terrible player you were going on and on about disparaging, predicting he’d be benched, wouldn’t win more than a handful of games, wouldn’t win a playoff game blah, blah, blah.
He’s not an elite player either, but he did lead this team to 14 wins in a lockout shortened season, and was not the reason they didn’t go to the SB last year.
It’s a real shame you can’t get past your pride and allow yourself to pull for the guy. Last year was amazing and I can’t help but think you didn’t truly enjoy it because of your desire for Smith to fail and justify your opinion of him.
Hof:
I hope Alex becomes a Pro Bowl player this year (while we still have a PB,lol). I hope I am writing how he is “elite” and how happy I am that after all these years he finally found his QB guru in JH and became a top 5 QB. I promise I will write it if it is true imho. No hate for Alex from me !
I’m with you Tim, but don’t hold your breath. Past track record indicates otherwise, but if AS becomes an accurate, efficient, prolific passer all of a sudden, I’d be singing hallelujah. Somehow, the odds are againts that happening. Let’s see how the season unfolds.
Past track record indicates otherwise
Only if you believe that past performance under Nolan/Singletary is more predictive of future performance than is past performance under Harbaugh.
My attitude exactly Nick !
But we can hope and who knows.
Even if he doesn’t significantly improve as we feel he needs to,we still have a stocked roster all around him now to make him look better. As we have always said ,somebody needs to step up and make those around them better ,just by playing with the other. Maybe Alex will get help from someone new ? Or who knows,maybe Alex takes that huge leap forward ?
Claude Balls
If you consider the following stretch: 2nd half of 2010 (Singletary era) all the way to the end of last season, Alex Smith’s performance was pretty much the same. So, there goes your argument.
..@Nick……”Past track record indicates otherwise”……you just proved my point….if you could think about the past you won’t have written that…..
Claude,
JJwas a beast under JH but he’ trash because he didn’t have success at Tampa Bay. However, Alex is the man because he was average last year under JH. Sounds like a 2 edge sword. JJ will show the Smithers what he has in this offense. Hopefully, they will see and acknowledge it.
Says the guy hoping AS isn’t the starter come game 6. Excuse me while I laugh how a fan hopes his team loses, or for a person to get injured.
you won’t have written that
Pure genius
@NickRow:
If you couldn’t see the improvement in Alex Smith’s play last year, then you weren’t paying attention. It’s not about fantasy football stats.
@jordan:
Alex Smith was a better QB in college than Johnson was, and Alex Smith didn’t have Harbaugh as his coach. Can you imagine what he is going to do with an actual offseason in Harbaugh’s offense and a chance to learn more of the playbook?
@Claude, “Alex Smith was a better QB in college than Johnson was…”
Did you ever watch USD play when Johnson and Harbaugh were there?
@Jack:
I am not questioning that Johnson played well in college. He and Smith put up similar stats, but Johnson’s came against Div.2 schools.
@Claude,
You are passing your opinion off as fact having never even seen Johnson in 1 play at his Div 1-AA college.
This is bad video quality, but he looks good to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q5qF8ggBMM
@Jack:
Yes, It’s my opinion, but it’s an opinion based upon established facts. Smith played at a Division 1A program; Johnson played at a Division 1AA program (please excuse my earlier error in saying it was Division 2). They put up similar numbers, and Smith had more success (Utah finished the 2004 season ranked No. 4 in the BCS) against much tougher competition.
I am not denying that Johnson played well in college. I am just pointing out yet another flaw in jordan’s “logic.”
@Claude,
Smith threw 47 TD’s in 2 years as a starter in college, while Johnson threw for 43 in his senior year alone and 34 the year before that.
Those are some pretty good numbers regardless of the level.
@jack
1. Who cares who did what in college some 4-9 years ago? What bearing does that have on us now?
2. Name me a single NFL player who had a crappy college career. Bet you can’t. And if you can, you can’t name nearly as many as those NFL players who had a great college career.
Point is every NFL player was good in college. Does not translate into the pros though. That is why the NFL Draft is such a crap shoot. If the skills were so easily transferable, there would be few/zero busts.
Claude,
based on the fact that it’s alex smith, no I can’t imagine what he’ll do. Every time we though Smith would improve on the year before, he didn’t. I’ll call it when I see it.
@jordan:
I’ll call it when I see it.
No you won’t. You saw it last year and didn’t call it.
Face it, you refuse to see it because doing so would mean that you have to admit you were wrong, and for some reason, you are incapable of doing that.
Claude,
You’re right, before last year I saw a BUST! Last year I saw mediocrity. Problem is, I’m not interested in mediocrity. I know Smith is elite in your eyes. Why don’t you give me your opinion of him instead of cutting and pasting everyone else’s. List his strength and WEAKNESSES. Don’t tell me he’s a nice guy. I already know that.
MM said yesterday that regardless of who our starting QB is we still will win the West.
He also said that Alex Smith’s strength is the Niners running game.
Looks like MM is a hater ?
I’ll take that one step further, Alex Smith’s strengths are:
1. The defense
2. Special teams
3. Coaching staff
4. Running game
To be fair, he HAS learned to avoid turnovers. That is a big plus. Now if he can just read defenses a little faster, and develop chemistry with his WRs, we might have a legit conversation about top ten QBs in the NFL. For now, though, it’s best to wait and see what he brings to the table in September. The 49ers certainly have done all they can this off-season to set him up for success. Something no one can accuse Nolan or Sing of…
Just shows that more than any other sport football is a TEAM SPORT and no one player wins or loses games. QBs are dependent on every other player on offense and every other player on offense is dependent on the QB. This year I expect the Offense to keep up it’s end of the bargain by keeping the defense off the field for long stretches and scoring TDs.
Grimey9er,
Well said!!
I completely agree Grimey !
See Hof,we agree pretty often !
Grimey,
+1.
And you wonder why you are labeled a hater? 6 come back wins not on your list. Very telling.
To expand on Grump’s point, in the NFL, it’s a remarkable feat to throw only 5 interceptions in 513 pass attempts at a completion rate of 60%. This is a huge improvement for Smith.
He has shown with Davis and Morgan that he can establish rapport with his receivers. So that is something I expect from the offense this time around. The onus is not just on Smith, but also the pass catchers.
He will probably also polish up his mechanics, e.g., footwork. He can get the ball out fast to his receivers when needed as he showed in several instances last season.
My area of concern is the need for his improvement in reading defenses. Other teams will have time to dissect the new Niners offense and will be throwing a lot more looks at Smith. They say half the NFL game is played before the snap and I think Smith will show improvements in pre-snap reads. But I don’t how much improvement he can make in post-snap decision making since a lot of it is hardwired in the brain.
Mood,
Not really remarkable when you’re playing every throw safe and very seldom throw the football down the field. Safe throws, minimal yardage, few touchdowns or 1st downs for that matter. Don’t forget about at least 6 dropped ints. However, they don’t count, they got dropped.
@mood
AS’s #1 attribute coming into the NFL was his smarts. Before you can dissect what the other team is doing, you need to focus on what you are doing.
Up until now, AS has never had that chance (and the Raye “Can’t change a play” rule does not count as 2 years). This will be the first time he can really get into a real NFL type offense. With new weapons. Once AS (or really any QB) has started to master their own offense, then they can focus on the defense and reading the correct pre-snap reads.
I suspect AS will improve on this as he gets more reps/experience and that he will be better at it come playoff time (when it really matters for us anyway) than he is at the beginning of the year. And that will only get exponentially better as 2013, 2014 and beyond come.
I take back all previous negative comments about MM. He is a GENIUS just like Stan!
BS, I mean DS,
We won’t know about Smith in 2013 and 2014. He won’t be here. Yes, I thought that way last year but I’m not the only one who thinks that way this year. Just look at his contract. He’s got one year on it. You think it’s 3 years but we all you can’t think. You need help form the other Smithers on this blog. What number does Josh Johnson wear Alex Smith Fan??
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2012/05/01/49ers-two-layer-upgrade-draftfree-agent-duplication-at-wr-and-rb/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kawakami-merc+%28Talking+Points+with+Tim+Kawakami%29
Thanks for sharing the link
No problem Nick.
Hey Grant: How about a blog about the QB’s so we can talk about Alex more ? LOL
Hey Tim. If you don’t want to talk about AS, try backing away from the keyboard. LOL!!!
He has one right here Tim. Now if only everyone would forget about the other players on the 49ers team. lol
Tim,
Then we could discuss LB/DL issues.
:- )
LOL !
At least most of us are having fun !
Tim, you eat this AS stuff up. You started the whole starting QB debate yet again by posting that JJ is #1 comment earlier today. Someone mentioned a smithigator on here yesterday. Does that define you Tim. LOL
But M. Barrows posted that joke about JJ being #1 and I just posted it because I thought it was funny and I love to tease you guys.
This is the first time in weeks I have posted opinions on Alex and in reality I am just being open minded and waiting for Alex to do something new before I make any further judgements. I have been pleading for weeks to get off the subject but as you have seen I pleaded to deaf ears ,so why not have fun with it ?
Isn’t that why we are all here.to have fun and talk about our beloved Niners and learn from each others opinions ?
…But if you ask me my opionion about Alex I will probably reply. Don’t blame me if I am polite that way .
@hof
To which I replied #1 waterman?
Tim didn’t deny it.
I think it started with the MC posts. But like I told Crab15, all discussions lead to AS. Like all roads lead to Rome. No matter the route taken you will reach Rome.
DS, doesn’t matter. I’m enjoying the banter because ultimately the starting QB is JH’s guy and that is AS.
Hof
Imagine the blog if JH never said that competition quote.
Like the world if WW II never happened. Would require a syfy show to ponder it.
Naw,you said #1 waterBOY,and I didn’t deny it,lol
JJ is #1 !!! And Alex is still #11 and Kaep #7 so on and so forth…What did you all think I meant ??? ;)
@Tim
Is JJ’s uniform# really #1?
http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2012/04/whos-no-1-josh-johnson-thats-who.html
Grant could put up a post about proper rotation of your car tires and it would become a discussion (regurgitation) of the SF QB supposed-controversy on this site.
@brotha
It would include a few posts about which car/tire size one would use to run over said QB.
@ DS
OK, that got a chuckle out of me. Kinda’ reminds me of the old ‘Lawyer’ joke:
What’s the difference between a dead possum in the road and a dead Lawyer in the road? There’s skid marks leading up to the possum.
@brotha
:- )
This place gets heated too quickly and often. Just trying to keep it cooler.
Fact is, nobody knows anything until after the decisions have been made.
I should forward that joke onto a family member or two. They hate lawyers. And yes, they are lawyers.
Wow. Way to go Tannehill. Dude doesn’t ever have to play a down to get my respect!
http://www.page713.com/Portfolio/Fashion-Women/Lauren-Ufer
CBS Sports calls Mrs. Tannehill, “intensely attractive.”
Ya think?
Hello nurse!
Looks like my GF :)
If you have a girlfriend who looks like that, you better spend less time on here! :P
Good Twitter Q&A with Matt:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/football-san-francisco-niners/niners-talk/40-Tweets-Randy-Moss-reports-to-offseaso?blockID=699682&feedID=5936
Way to go Benny, you got one in! :)
Don’t know if it will work Adam. The AS discussion is in stage 4. Nothing will stop it now.
I saw that yesterday too Adam !
Hey DS:
Waht do you think of the new stadium ?
@Tim
I wish Grant had written a lot more on it. Or something at least for us to work off of.
I am stoked. The Niners have wanted SF to build them a stadium basically since they won their 2nd Super Bowl. The City dragged their feet. And Gavin Newsome split out of town to be Lieutenant Governor the first chance he got so he wouldn’t stay around as the Mayor who lost the Niners from SF.
And I like how it is going to be closer to the majority of attending Niner fans as well (in the south bay). I figure if the traffic/parking lot thing is a lot better, it won’t take any more time for fans to get back home if they do have to travel the extra 30 miles or so down the peninsula.
Newsome’s a total douche.
@grimey
I actually liked him as a politician. And if you are attracted to women, you really liked his wife (now ex).
But he knew that he could never be re-elected mayor. So, he isn’t that stupid.
Newsome is a liar, cheater, and a coke-head who cheated on his wife with his campaign managers wife. He used the equal rights for LGBT cause to further his own political career while doing absolutely nothing for the people of SF. His kind doesn’t deserve the gift of life.
Grimey
You really missed the point. Tim was trying to get the topic of discussion onto something that wouldn’t pit us (all) against one another.
The stadium thing is one such item which should get us all excited. I wrote 1 sentence on Gavin. And 5 on something else (City, fans, being happy).
I’m just tellin the truth. It’s not an attack on you.
Not taking it as an attack on me at all. Sorry if I implied it was. So I guess we all know that DS is not Gavin then.
lol
How do you know Gavin is a coke head?
I know people who have been around him off the clock.
That’s not my main issue with him though. I could care less if people do drugs, I just don’t like slimy politicians who use public office exclusively for personal gain.
I have read that Alex’s QB rating in the Red Zone in 2010 is over 100. Can anyone confirm that?
If that is accurate then the red zone problems in 2011 should not be laid solely on Alex. The entire team appeared to have issues with the red zone from play design, play calling to execution.
While I am not a big fan of Alex’s, (but hope he has a great year) its unfair to blame him for a problem, if it is the teams problem as a whole.
Yep,bring back Sing,that will solve the red zone issues,lol
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=69&f=1922&t=6987464
I love the first line of the counterpoint.
“Being the best QB in the NFC West is like being thinnest guy at a fat camp”
Hilarious.
That’s all I could find. Everything else was written during the 2010 season. One article had Smith’s redzone rating over 124 going into the second game against the Saints.
Alex was awesome in the redzone in 2010. He just rarely got there.
Yeah, if I remember right it was something like 127 give or take. Something definitely changed. Could be that Smith was drilled to be more cautious, could be that Morgan and Edwards going down was too difficult to overcome.
It’s a weird one. Dunno.
I looked at the plays on 3rd down and in the RZ – they were run top heavy. The run was getting stuffed and then it was all on the pass. Then the turnstiles opened up for the opponents DL! Easier to pass when the run is working.
@Adam
Freaky mind/brain exchanges.
When Raye got into the red zone, he actually called good plays. The same as on 4th down. He just really, really sucked the rest of the time.
Roman called good plays until he reached the redzone. Then he stank it up. There are a lot reasons which I and you have gone over at nausea-um.
If we could mind meld the brains of Roman before the redzone with Raye in the redzone, we would have something going on here.
“He just really, really sucked the rest of the time.”
Not all on JRaye. He was hired because he agreed to carry out MS’s philosophy on offense.
You are right hof. But Raye could have said screw you, and just run the offense in a proper fashion and forced Sing to fire him as a successful OC.
Which Sing already had a history of doing. When he fired Martz. I thought the two of them were perfect for one another. Each weakness cancelled out by the others strength. When Martz was kicked out, MS weakness was exposed as it is also Raye’s weakness.
Some of that was a conscious decision to make sure we at least got the FG. Some of it may be that 2010 was a small sample size. Raye did not GET us into the Red Zone all that often.
Well whatever it is/was, let’s hope they’ve adjusted. We’ve got some new blood and new opportunities to use those guys, so… being the optimist I am, I’ll predict that it looks better all across the board.
Not the point,, but”cute”.
Sorry,I am just in one of those joking around moods today.
Yes I think Alex was very good in the red zone in 2010. Maybe RM will help him get back to those 2010 stats ? Not to mention that we have a couple running backs now that are good at busting in in from short yardage on the goal line !
KingCrab15 is excited for the upcoming season.
http://www.49ers.com/news-and-events/article-2/Crabtree-Makes-Offseason-Strides/4d8677ed-f962-4b4e-8d2d-c2ac14b263b9
Thanks Jack ! Great article. Sounds like Crabs has a lot of potential this year to be even better than last year !
I’m rooting for the guy.
Don’t click this link DS. Your head might explode! :P
@Grimey
He was supposed to be jacked up when he was drafted. I would have been after getting near minimum wage jobs in college and then being offered 30+ million after college.
Shouldn’t need to see the writing on the wall to get excited. And what was he supposed to say?
“I don’t want to play.”
Doubt it.
Hater’s gonna hate
He sounds motivated. Even mentions AS in a good light. He also knows he needs be driven to be productive in the NFL. Seeing what the FO did to replenish the WRs has motivated and excited him. He’ll be a better player this year and JH has again inspired another player to be their best.
Hofer, Like you always say, all arrows up. I didn’t realize he is still only 24. Boy, he and Alex were young when they started here. Good to see the maturity.
@Jack
Sorry, but that comment is for you more than it can ever be for me.
You hate Jenkins before he even put on the uniform. Your own words, you describe eating crow and liking it if Jenkins proves you wrong and he does well.
You are hating the guy before he did anything. I on the other hand like Jenkins and used to like MC before he revealed himself to be an ahole who can’t play worth a damn when it mattered most and throws his teammates under the bus. As a former coach (your claim) how can that remotely be acceptable to you?
Hating. That is you with Jenkins. I have actual good reasons to despise MC. Reasons that happened here as a pro as a Niner. You have no reasons beyond your own desire to be right (pick Fleener). So Jenkins must prove himself to you.
I as a loyal Niner fan, Jenkins has my faith. He will have it until he has done something to lose it. There is a big difference in the two philosophies Jack. Mine, you are good/have my backing till you prove other wise. Yours, you suck till you prove otherwise.
Haters gonna hate. Good description of you. Jenkins has done nothing wrong at all. Show faith and loyalty.
Jack, AS was 20 when drafted by the 9ers. He was too young and should have stayed in school another year somewhat like RG3 did. Oh well, finally working out not that he has JH as his mentor.
And he doesn’t sound like a player who is resentful or threatened that more talent has been added to the position he plays. Team player.
It is all good now Hofer. Now these guys have grown up in the organization and can appreciate the discipline, knowledge and drive Harbaugh and Co bring.
It is so good to be a 49er fan right now.
With the upgrades on offense, particularly at WR, I can see Crabtree having a good year this year. Last season Vernon and Crabtree were the only real receiving weapons we had. This season I expect there will be much more respect given by defenses to our other receiving threats, which should open it up a bit more for Vernon and Crabtree. I expect another 70+ catch season, but with some more big plays from Crabtree than last season.
@scooter
I can easily see each and every one of the Niner WR’s being great. And I can just as easily seeing how they can all suck.
Very plausible that either one can happen.
DS,
Please show were I said Jenkins sucks. Look hard you won’t find it. True, I don’t like the pick. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the player. They are separate issues. He seems like a very good guy with a good head on his shoulders and I wish him the best.
As a coach I would love to have Crabtree on my team. He is a hard worker, willing to do the dirty work to help the team succeed (note Harbaugh’s compliments of his blocking during the season). He isn’t perfect, but no one is. All that matters is he is coachable, and wants to improve.
Thanks for the insight DS. I can say the same for every player and position on the roster. Its very plausible the 49ers could win the Superbowl this year or finish last in the division. My point is I expect Crabtree to do well this year.
Giving a guy an “F” grade.
Can’t be so angry about that without hating the guy.
Don’t try to pass is off as TB’s grade. If TB had picked the player you wanted, you would have given him an “A” grade.
You also said that you will be happy to eat crow if Jenkins proves himself to you. That means he isn’t starting with you having faith in him. I get a feeling that you would have all the faith in Fleener though. Even though both have proven/done nothing at all in the NFL.
Put a few things together Jack.
Haters gonna hate.
At worse I dislike MC for what he has done here. At best, you hate Jenkins for not being Fleener. Which of us has the most hate?
PS If you get tired of me writing “Haters gonna hate” to you, then stop writing it to me.
DS,
You are right. I am giving Baalke the F, and if it had been Fleener I would have given him an A.
I told you this morning that if I grade Crabtree as a C then Jenkins is a D right now because he has not played yet so he probably is not better than Crabtree and that I hope he proves me wrong.
Jack
By the same account I hope MC proves me wrong.
There. Are we done?
I guess we are not done then.
Too bad.
I posted same article on pass catching thread. It’s a great read. Shows Crab is making progress as a pro and maturing. I enjoyed reading everything he had to say about his teammates, it was all positive. Shows he is a good teammate despite the false reports some people make. Favorite statement of whole article ” I feel like I can do anything I want to do right now.”
Gotta love the confidence.
” Shows he is a good teammate despite the false reports some people make.”
He’s changed. Now he believes in JH and the FO especially after the offseason moves and the draft. He’s come around.
He is showing more confidence now than he ever has in the past. Hope he continues to work hard and makes it throught camp and the season injury free, then we’ll see what he can do.
Adam707, “He is showing more confidence now than he ever has in the past.”
That might be the best take away from the entire article. As a former player, you know that the most difficult type of player to stop is a confident player who feels that they can do anything. That is one of the biggest things that Harbaugh has brought to this organization. Confidence.
He has made it so that everyone has 100% confidence in the system and themselves. They all buy into it and there is no doubt in there minds they are getting better everyday.
It is so awesome to see this type of leadership back here again. It has been so long, but these good times would not be so sweet if not for the lean years.
The only drawback I see to the 9ers being good is now we’re gonna have Joe Buck calling games on FOX. Ugh. Just threw up in my mouth a little.
When Im not at the Home games and watching it on the Tube, I turn the TV down and tune into the Radio. Much better. Get more insight on your team.
True, but I generally DVR the games and watch Redzone.
Check out Iupati’s new look.
http://blog.49ers.com/2012/05/01/big-mike-iupati-loses-long-hair/
No Thanks. Rather check out the new Gold Rush GIRLS!!! lol
+1
……..its like you are wishing for an injury against a team I love – so yes you are a Tard…..Onelame
LMAO I dont know whats more funny. That this dummy thinks Alex Smith is the team, or he really thinks he’s a 49er fan. Haha hahahahahahaaa. This clown is on a roll lately. HA HA HAAAAAAAA
Hoferfan67 says:
May 1, 2012 at 6:06 pm
” Shows he is a good teammate despite the false reports some people make.”
Hofer reply:
“He’s changed. Now he believes in JH and the FO especially after the offseason moves and the draft. He’s come around.”
Why is it that many here have been slow to agree/accept with Harbaugh’ comment at the beginning of the season that Crabtree was a total team player?
The same people who embrace the “In Harbaugh we trust” adage, still can’t seem to accept Crabtree as a full time 49er. Some have pushed the idea that Crabtree will not give total dedication because his heart belongs to Texas.
Some have labeled Crabtree with the ‘diva’ or ‘bad attitude’ label because he did not attend Camp Alex II because of a surgically repaired foot.
Some have said that Crabtree threw Alex under the bus after the championshp game because he questioned why his QB didn’t make more attempts to throw him the ball so he could try to make plays.
Still he’s called a team player by his coach, even after that infraction (as viewed by some here).
Here’s the deal; If Crabtree can’t cut it, then he does not deserve to be on the team, period! My only contention has been that because he was our #1 WR in 2011, he deserves the same benefit of a doubt that is being given AS.
I think that’s fair enough.
“My only contention has been that because he was our #1 WR in 2011, he deserves the same benefit of a doubt that is being given AS.
I think that’s fair enough.”
Your spot on. Crabtree was tied with the 16th most catches among starting WR’s and was 28th in yards. Roughly the same statistical spots Alex was among QB’s. Crab played big in alot of games during the regular season which gets overlooked at his lack of production in playoffs. Too many people love to nit pick at every word he says, like last season when he wouldn’t crown Smith the starting QB or after the NYG loss when he said “you need to be thrown the ball to make plays”. He’s a competitor who will only get better. I believe he will shush the critics this year with his on the field play and off the field work.
AES,
That is a small group led by someone who has a problem with Crabtree’s personality and ignores the realities that are described so well in that article.
It is all good AES. This is shaping up to be a very interesting year.
I know I am in that small group, my problem wasnt that Crabtree thought, thinks, that AS messed up, its taking to the media. I understand some people dont care about class or ethics or whatever, but it is important to me. Its a locker room thing, stays in the locker room, I am pretty sure most of you dont air out your family problems in public its the same thing here. I guess my thinking comes from the military thats in me and being in a war zone. You have to have absolute trust to survive. I still support Crabs but I dont like him never will but he is a Niner and I wish him well. As far as Crabs skills I place them low on the totum poll but thats just me. We all have eyes we all see what we want to see. Everyone after the NFC commented how we needed WRs that we couldnt get to the next level without them. Most in here clamored for better WRs to include me. Crabs could become an elite receiver and I do hope he does but he like TO I will never like, so be it. Its no big deal I still want the Niners to be great.
Undercenter,
Did you actually hear the interview that you are referencing?
To be honest I hadnt heard about till today and I asked a couple of my good friends about it they said it wasnt as bad as some in here say, however with his little snide remark and his holdout rubs me the wrong way. By the way I never have called Crabs any names or use the Diva thing, as a mater of fact I stood up for Crabs when the Diva thing comes up, I think most confuse being shy with Diva and thats wrong. So to answer your question, no I havnt found the clip and I was totaly out of it for a week or so after the game. I trust my friends, one is a pro Crab and the other is anti (and he is anti for other reasons then mine) and they both said eh no big deal. But like I said I come from a differnet cloth then most and whats important to me is not important to others. I certainly understand that.
No worries Undercenter. At least you checked into it a bit. It really wasn’t as bad as the commentor on here or Dickey are making it out to be.
In every good story there is a Hero and a Villain. Smith makes for an easy Hero and Crabtree makes for an easy Villain.
AES
I don’t like people of a certain character. MC is of that character. I won’t like him because he is on my team. That is what one calls a double standard.
I will cheer for him come the season and all that. But I don’t pretend to like somebody who I don’t. And the fact that MC is doing all these great things now is akin to the bad kid in school suddenly acting nice. Don’t expect any immediate rewards. I want you to be nice all year long. Even when things don’t go your way. I want MC to say and do these things all year long. Not just in the start. I want him to point the finger at himself for losing a game even if he had 200 yards and 3 TD’s.
And don’t think for a second that TB and JH didn’t have a word with MC. As well as his current agent. Such actions need to occur over a long period of time to become acceptable as the new MC.
Look at 23welcher boy for a perfect example. For a week, he was all “I love AS!” Some here were fooled into thinking that welcher had really changed. I was not among them. I told others that welcher boy will need to do a lot more than a single post or two over a short period of time to change how I feel. Then he reverted back to what he was in no time flat as I predicted. Turns out welcher boy could not (to no shock to me) stop with the AS hate.
Hater’s gonna hate. There is your answer from the above question. Although Crabtree may have turned the corner and is trying to do the right things you can’t put your biased view behind you.
Maybe Harbaugh and Baalke did have a few choice words with him. If that happened and he is showing improvement it is something to cheer for, not tear down. Everyone makes mistakes, and it is how one responds to those mistakes that shows their true character.
If you don’t like him that is your choice. The article that was posted today completely shreds the majority of the negative junk you have tried to spew about Crabtree ever since the Championship game.
Instead of pouting and sulking with the new additions as you have suggested, Crabtree is happy that they have brought in additional receivers, because he knows that he can’t do it all by himself and that this will help him and the team be more successful. He showed praise for Alex and every teammate.
You are no better than any of the commenters that come on here posting negative junk about Alex Smith. The funniest part of this whole thing is that I have never been a big fan of Crabtree. That being said, your agenda pushing against this guy makes absolutely zero sense from a football perspective.
Jack
There are two articles posted today. One was very critical of MC. The other loved MC.
Keep your facts straight.
And what kind of things are being said of the other WR’s? Wait until you hear them before you make any such comparisons. What if the same is said of KW? The one so many here think is done for. Will that mean anything?
Nope. It won’t. I said all along Jack, the WR’s position is a TC competition. Nobody but Jenkins is safe. Everybody else is fair game to either make the team or not. That is the spirit of competition.
I said all along that MC will be in TC unless he is traded on or just before draft day. I expect him to be there. Now that his career is on the line in a way it wasn’t before, he says he will change. Saying is not doing. Doing takes a lot of time.
“I have never been a big fan of Crabtree. That being said, your agenda pushing against this guy makes absolutely zero sense from a football perspective.”
Funny thing is, I have never hated a pick. Certainly not the second we made it. I was quite ecstatic when we got MC in fact.
We all have our little nuances Jack. And in what universe does giving an “F” for a player who hasn’t ever suited up make any sense from a football perspective?
“Instead of pouting and sulking with the new additions as you have suggested, Crabtree is happy that they have brought in additional receivers,”
Find where I said he was doing that Jack. I never did. I said that by bringing in so many WR’s it will force him to come to grips with the fact that he may not be here. And, it sure seems to me like that is indeed happening.
I said MC would not be happy not being a #1, and especially if he ends up being the #3 WR after TC. That the Nines are paying a ton of money for that #3 WR, and that MC will not want to be here if that does indeed happen and demand a trade because he feels he is a true #1 WR. That if the Niners can find a similar skill WR at #3 (say a unsigned FA WR) that the Nines will not need him. That is still very much in the realm of possibilities Jack.
All this time we have been at this Jack, and you still never got that message? I have repeated it a ton. I bet the same people quoted in this article will say pretty much the same thing about every other WR. Just like how there were articles last year describing how TG had become such a good WR and how he has improved. Remember them? Proof is not in words Jack. But on the field.
Haters, gonna hate.
ROTFLMAO! Have a great Hump Day DS ; )
“Why is it that many here have been slow to agree/accept with Harbaugh’ comment at the beginning of the season that Crabtree was a total team player?”
Same reason some have been slow to agree with JH that as is the starter and has earned it!
*AS*
Seeing that I have said in Harbaugh-Baalke I trust then I have to own up to that. Being a man who believes in manning up then as far as I am concerend Crabs is a closed case for me. I do trust the FO and if they feel Crabs is for them then I will accept that with no more being said on my part.
Agree with 90% of your comment…..the diva thing, thats all Crabtree’s doing. He labeled himself a ‘diva’ right after he was drafted, and, I guess unfortunately for him, it stuck. However, I didn’t agree with him being labeled the #1 receiver…..that was a Jimmy Raye / Mike Singletary decision. But, that being the case, I do agree that he does deserve the some of the same considerations that Alex gets, because he is a ‘victim’ of the Singletary / Raye offensive offense.
I never called MC a diva. He just isn’t very good. And certainly not as good as he thinks he is. The best players are their own harshest critics. And I have never seen MC be critical of himself.
AES
It’s only too bad that MC didn’t learn that you only have one chance to make a good first impression….
@oregon
I was fine with the first impression. But by the 5th one, I get tired of it.
“Why is it that many here have been slow to agree/accept with Harbaugh’ comment at the beginning of the season that Crabtree was a total team player?”
Because believing anything Harbaugh says is a mistake.
The only thing we can trust in is Harbaugh, the coach. And we can trust in Baalke the talent evaluator.
Either one of these guys on the podium saying stuff to the press? Not so much.
The takeaway is this: the proof will be on the field. That’s about the only way we know for sure what they’re thinking about certain players. The guys they like and believe in will get the minutes. The talk is all worthless smoke.
I expect this team to be in the top half of the NFL offensivly. Green Zone will no longer be an issue. Mr. Crabs is gonna have a 1000yd season. Barring any unforeseeen injuries to key players I have no doubt the San Francisco Forty Niners will be your 2012 Super Bowl Champions.
Green zone?
Green Zone = Red Zone
Green zone on offense. Red zone on defense.
Never heard that term before. Thanks for teaching me something new. :-)
The vibes are too good to good. Check out how excited Smith is to be “throwing darts” to his new teammates.
http://blog.49ers.com/2012/05/01/smith-throws-darts-to-moss-manningham/
The best part is the fact that the 9ers went 13-3 under a brand new coaching staff with no off season preparation. Now in year 2 we get a full off season program to build on what was accomplished last year. This team is gonna dominate for years.
Interesting column by Glenn Dickey on Crabtree.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/nfl/2012/04/crabtree-thin-ice-49ers-gain-target
Late to the party Neal.
Sorry Grimey.
I have a pretty full life and lots of other interests and only come here in spurts.
No worries.
Neal,
You are never late to the party. You ARE the party!
Thanks Grimey,
Jack was that a compliment or were you pulling my huge chain.
That was a compliment Neal. And when did 2 links become a chain? Just messin with you.
lol @Jack,
Those were two very big links.
We’ve also been discussing this article which was posted above by Jack Hammer.
http://www.49ers.com/news-and-events/article-2/Crabtree-Makes-Offseason-Strides/4d8677ed-f962-4b4e-8d2d-c2ac14b263b9
Written by someone who is not completely sour.
What a great read!
Crabtree is working very hard this offseason and I’m sure some people in here can’t stand it.
They are not true Niner fans.
Crab15
Will you change your name if MC is not on the team whenever that may happen?
DS,
Give it a rest already. It’s becoming as annoying as the constant back-and-forth about Alex Smith.
I was just wondering. When I made my name, I thought about using player names. But because I know players move from one team to another all the time now, I didn’t.
No
DS – I will change my name when Crabtree is gone if you admit you’re a girl and you’re receiving ongoing mental health treatment.
Fair enough.
Thank you.
That was all.
Probably wish you had a delete post option right now, right Crab15?
DS – Congrats on being the worlds first “Blog Bum.”
You have spent 90% of your life in here that last couple years…..Belly laugh!!
Somebody sounds like a woman here who is on their certain time of month. It isn’t me.
All you want to do is throw insults Crab15? Sad.
And I have certain times I am on, and off. I am on at this time. Whatever that might be in your time zone.
“Written by someone who is not completely sour.”
OK, but remember Price is an advocacy journalist, he works for the Niners. Price and the guy who does the little video pieces – they’re not exactly objective.
Not that I’m disagreeing with the premise of the article, just wanted to point that out.
@Adam
Training Camp will determine the pecking order. Not journalists or bloggers.
Obviously Price works for the 9ers, and just as obvious is the fact that Glenn Dickey is completely sour.
What reasonable logical (since that seems to be your fav word now) reason does Glenn have to be sour at MC? Glenn is an old vet who does not need to sell himself by attacking poor defenseless MC.
He wrote an opinion piece. Just like the pro MC writer (Price) did. Same thing. TC will determine the pecking order. Not Glenn, or you, or me. It says a lot more about you that you think Glenn is sour than it does about Glenn. He gave his opinion. Price gave his. I gave mine. You give yours.
Know what they all have in common? Not a one will be used to determine the fate of MC. I am fine with that. Are you?
I grew up in the Bay Area and have been reading Dickey my whole life. He has become very sour in his old age.
I think Crab’s foot injury was always worse than what was reported, so that’s not good but hopefully it’s wired together right. That particular injury is bad one, very difficult to heal properly.
His attitude stuff I think is a combination of being shy and misunderstood and immaturity. I think he’s too quick to be defensive about his performances when asked. I think he feels he has to be that way for some reason as opposed to being a bit more humble or self-deprecating. What he has to learn is that a leader takes the weight on his shoulders, “I should have done more,” or “that one was on me,” etc.
He just needs to grow up a bit and keep healthy.
Adam,
I was surprised to hear that he was only 24. Just like Alex, he was very young when he first arrived here. Good to see them both finally getting to be a part of a good organization.
@Adam
I remember doctors saying that Crabs foot injury was not going to be chronic. And once it healed (within months) it might be even stronger. At least there were rumors about it. That is why so many people thought the Niners had a great draft pick. They get the best WR in college history, whose recent injury dropped him in the draft, who is going to be fine in a few months health wise and kick bleep.
And I am even fine with his foot maybe not ever going to recover. I just don’t like how he has never said “I am to blame for this loss.”
FG/VD/AS who are players typically interviewed after games always say it. “I didn’t get the ball out. I didn’t get open enough. I didn’t take it to the hole like I should have.”
I know these are the type of thing that players are supposed to say when I was a little tike. I didn’t need to grow up to know it. It is what players do. Even if the player apparently dominated that game and the team lost. Even if to all neutral observers, that guy did everything he could. As a player on any team sport, it is your duty to gravitate the reason for losing a game to yourself (at least in public). You are never to deflect the loss onto anybody (teammate/coach/ref) but yourself when doing interviews.
Now as a pro athlete, it is your duty to hold others up to a high standard. And if a player is “dogging” it, then you approach him/coach about it. You don’t go to the media. The media is to know only what has already been decided. Not what is happening (beyond an obvious WR/QB/DE type competition thing).
I knew that in elementary school And I don’t need to be a pro athlete either. So, I don’t buy any excuses to the contrary. A 20+ year old should know how to conduct themselves if an 8 year old knows.
BS,
Crabs is right, you’re on all the damn time. The 100,ooo,ooo question is…….. When are off this site????
Where is Grant anyway? Maybe Spit was right and he has been shipped off to fish in Mexico, LOL ; )
LMAO!!
It feels like it did in the 80′s. The San Francisco Forty Niners are destined to be the next dynasty. Better make the display case a little bigger in the new stadium for the extra Lombardi Trophies.
For the real fanatical football fan, and you know who you are, the Canadian Football League has it’s 2 round draft May 3rd. I’m a die hard 9er fan but I haven’t attained to that level of fanaticism to watch the Canadian draft…….yet.
Still can’t get used to the Canadian game. Or Arena football for that matter.
Where’s the Grant Focker?
lol @Razor and his Father is Lowell Focker.Meet the Fockersteins. ahah
I’m getting football cabin fever! Might have to start watching some Area Football to quell the the nerves. Nah, maybe not. I need some 49er football!
*Arena Football*
Football fans we are officially in Death Valley. That’s the time between the draft and the opening of training camp. If you look around the desert you’ll see the blanched bones of sportswriters who had nothing to write about. Watch some baseball and the NBA playoffs offer some relief. Take deep breaths, stay hydrated and you’ll make it. I guarantee it.
Grant – this post is taking on a fetid smell. Time for a new one.
Cooled off yet on the AJ pick?
Hahaha, I’ll try Andrew. BTW, nice imagery!
9ers get some ESPN love in this video. Too bad the audio is really crappy.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/58113/nfl32-harbaughs-asterisk-comment
This could be the best year in 49er land in about 18 years.
If the offense can perform; if it can get into the the top 10-15 in scoring and yards this could be a Super Bowl year.
I think with the year of experience and the new talent the coaches will be willing to take some more chances on offense. There will probably be more turnovers, but if we can score about 28 points a game, which is about 5 more, and gain about another 60 yards we will have a good offense to go with a great defense. These are achievable goals in 2012.
#6 in 12!
Harbaugh laid down the gauntlet today!
http://www.49ers.com/media-gallery/videos/49ers-Run-Gauntlet-at-Football-School/c23ab1d8-dd88-4356-ad21-ef93e6bc5786
Don’t they just look like soon-to-be Super Champs to everybody?
Saints suspension just announced – Jonathan Vima got suspended for entire 2012 season.
Can’t say I’m shedding a tear for any of them.
Kinda sucks for Cleveland and Green Bay though, I guess.
They shoulda done their due diligence.
And ask what?
“Have you ever been told by your DC to go and break somebody’s neck and had a cash reward for doing so?”
Yeah. That will go over well in a player interview. Chances of getting that FA is now 0%.
Observationally challenged.
Those guys played on a team in a time period where every defensive player was being investigated for violating league policy. Obvious. Logic.
And why would they want to land a FA that’s gonna be suspended? If you lose out on that guy who cares?
How do you know if the other teams GM’s/HC’s knew? If you don’t have that proof ready to link, then you are jump to conclusions without facts.
And you are socially challenged. Not all Saints players obeyed his order. Who dat said that. Watch the games. What kind of impression do you leave on somebody if you remotely imply that he (player x) did that? And asking around or the player that qualifies as “remotely imply”.
Can you imagine that getting out? FA’s would stay away from you. All of them. They would be offended by the question/inquiry. I would be.
@DS, Grimey:
Green Bay didn’t sign Hargrove until the end of March. http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120329/PKR01/120329075/Green-Bay-Packers-sign-free-agent-defensive-lineman-Anthony-Hargrove
By that time, everyone knew that sanctions were coming against some players. After Vilma, Hargrove was the most likely suspect. I assure you that Green Bay did its due diligence, talked to Hargrove about the situation, and signed him with full knowledge of the risks.
Thanks claude.
Then I am confident in saying the Pack are stupid if they gave this guy any real money/expectations to do something.
@DS:
They did not. If I remember correctly, he signed a one year contract for the veteran’s minimum with no signing bonus.
The decision makers in Green Bay rarely do anything that causes me to think they are stupid.
claude
Damn.
I was hoping they got stupid.
Someone had posted this on FB this morning and I felt that it needed a few additions:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f257/4evrnyt/535601_10150781776352454_753732453_9598281_1430715750_n.jpg
Here are my additions to that great list, what are yours? :
Always mortgage your future draft picks for washed up players
Always draft receivers that run the 40 under 4.3 regardless of talent or ability to catch the ball
Always hire first year Coaches or GM so they’ll be desperate to take the job and wont mind being puppets to the owner(s)
@Hank
AKA “The Raiders”
If Alex deserves to be #1 at his position then so does Crabtree.
AS had 6TD’s in the playoffs.
MC had 5 catches.
Those two things are not equal. May as well say if PW is the starter, MC should be as well.
9ers wouldn’t have been in the playoffs if it wasn’t for Crabtree.
I know. Crabtree carried the defense all season long.
Pw is the best LB in the league. MC and AS are about the same at their positions.
Mr. Crabs looked the best in the guantlet. Smooth and the natural ability to know which way to juke the defender as he catches. All he is lacking is the acceleration. Maybe he should shed a few pounds. Moss looked good as well. Manningham did not impress.
How do you know any of that razor? Where/who did you hear it from?
He got it from the video posted above regarding Harbaugh throwing down the gauntlet.
Thank you jack.
I don’t think I like that drill very much. It looks like WR drops.
How long has this been going on? I want drills where the WR displays themselves not dropping it.
And I don’t see how any of the WR’s distinguished themselves. They all caught all passes. Which is good. But how did MC look great and Manningham suck after watching them?
The passes to MC were better, so MC didn’t have to stop like Manningham did.
DS, You should call the NFL and tell them they should take it out of the combine then : )
I got it from watching the video and my own assessment. You can make your own observations.
DS is observationally challenged.
Was it just me or does Patrick Willis have better hands than Vernon Davis?
@jack
If anything, I will call the NFL and tell them to put an end to the combine in general.
I like how it brings a bunch of draftee’s and scouts and GM’s together. That is cool.
I hate how they make players practice drills, do things that don’t actually tie in directly in being a good football player. I don’t like how college players practice these individual drills for the sole purpose of the combine, then neglect it for much of the rest of their careers.
I don’t remotely care how fast a DL can run thru some cone maze. I do care how fast (how well he moves his feet/quick feet) he can find his way thru the mass of bodies which hide the RB and take the RB down with minimal yardage gained. You can see thru cones, and cones are not reaching/grabbing/scratching/pulling/tripping you. OL are.
Get me some drills where the college players are going against one another, that means something. I know that will never happen, but it would tell me how good a football player he is live in person as opposed to on tape.
No Grimey.
I actually am commended for my observational skills in a great many areas of my life. Things that other people miss, I find.
I just saw nobody look bad/good. Specifically how did MC look great and how did Manningham suck? Details now. Not just some stupid rant of liking/disliking a player. And keep in mind the pass quality to each. I didn’t see a bad pass which any of the WR’s saved (dove, leap higher than anything I’ve eve seen). The passes were all more or less equal. The WR’s were all more or less equal.
You do that DS. And while you are at it, you should call Harbaugh and tell him that his drills are not sound.
I am sure he would like to take advice from a former playground football great ; )
Just for the record I did not say from my observations that Manningham sucked. I said he did not impress like Mr. Crabs did or Mr. Moss in the drill.
While I am on the phone with JH, I’ll get TB as well. I can tell him that a former DC in some community college says that you suck with your pick of Jenkins over Fleener.
Know what both will do? Nothing. Do you think TB will listen to you, or JH will listen to me?
Geez. Ego-maniac here.
Razor,
He did look a tad slower than Crabtree, Moss and Willis for that matter ; )
You are correct razor. You didn’t say that. I implied it from “not impress”.
But I really can’t take much from a 2 minute or so video and make any sound conclusions.
Here is Jim’s number, 408-867-5309.
Tell him I said hi ; )
The passes seemed to be a little behind as well. That could ruin the timing.
For MC/Moss, the passes were a little better and hit in stride.
And I’ll be at a loss for words if JH actually answered.
crabtree can get open enough to be a quality # 2 receiver the question marks regarding him are his durability [ he is kind of a china doll] and his hands. alex smith has given him ample opportunity to show he can make catches on the balls thrown high or low but he only seems to consistently catch the ball thrown on target to him. he needs to make the tough catch regardless of who is throwing him the ball.
I think MC does a better job catching the ball if it is a little high when he has to reach up for it a bit. I recall more drops that were chest high than drops that were just above his head. And quite a few of this nicer grabs seem to be the higher thrown passes (as opposed to chest high in traffic for example).
@ds he does drop the catchable ball occasionally but i think he drops alot of balls that are’nt right on target and although the QB could make better throws he needs to make alot of those catches. those drops are balls that dwight clark/jerry rice/freddie solomon/john taylor/mike wilson/j.j. stokes would have made
Not really arguing any of your points old coach. I just think for whatever reason MC does a good job with the high passes (ones which are catchable but above his head like a foot or so) as opposed to the ones thrown at his chest.
Just from memory, MC didn’t drop hardly any of the high throws, but did drop chest high throws. Even though the degree of difficulty on the high throws one would think is higher than the chest high throws. And for whatever reason AS seemed to throw higher to MC than to other players in my opinion.
yeah ds what i mean by high balls is ones he might have to leave his feet for but still solidly hit him in his hands but i understand what you mean
Off season power rankings
http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2012/week/0
I can’t believe Walker has the texans and eagles ranked above the 9ers. 9ers should be top 4 based on last years finish, keeping the D together and adding offensive weapons.
@grimey
???
Niners are ranked 5
Texans are ranked 6
Eagles are ranked 7
What are you referencing?
Grimey, You were right on that observationally challenged comment earlier ; )
It’s reading comprehension that’s his main problem. You should get a tutor DS.
Although, to be fair DS probably didn’t look at this.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/64443/nfl-power-rankings-how-they-voted-17
That is hardly fair Jack.
The link given and comment had the teams in the order I gave. Now you are just being a jerk about it.
Notice how I did not insult grimey at all in my 11:12 post above. I merely asked for his reference. Once again Jack, it says more about you than it does me.
Haters, gonna hate.
You are right Grimey. It would have taken a few extra clicks for him to find the details.
I figured every die-hard 9er fan reads Mike Sando’s NFC West blog and was familiar with the “how they voted” posts. I don’t even look at the rankings before going there.
You figured wrong grimey.
You may read something. Does not mean others do. Don’t doubt a persons fandom if they don’t. Not cool.
I’m ready for the Denver game.
Now for some serious and tragic news. Just heard KNBR report that Junior Seau was shot and killed in his home today. That is a real tragedy.
RIP to Mr. Seau. Great player. Lots of respect for that guy.
It is sad.
Waiting to hear more details.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20531283/report-former-nfl-player-junior-seau-fatally-shot?source=rss
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/junior-seau-dead-gunshot-wound.html
That is tragic news. My thoughts are with his family.
Wow. RIP Mr. Seau
Rumor is its self-inflicted chest wound; like Duerson.
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