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  1. Spot on.

    Although I’d never say that Baalke doesn’t deserve to be last on a list of GM’ so I’d put him and Beane as a tie. Ship them both out!

  2. Don’t know much about the others, but Baalke refortified the trenches. His fortay is defense, but now he has a proven offensive mind in Chip Kelly over the scout(s) previously tasked with that responsibility. If Baalke is peanut butter, York is banking on Kelly to be the jelly….

  3. Grant, I wonder where you would put Doug Wilson, the Sharks GM. I would put him between Meyers and Reggie.

    I also wish to respectfully disagree about Baalke and Beane. I think Beane has done well considering the money restraints imposed upon him. Baalke is drek. I would put Baalke below Beane.

      1. Lowell, Evans has been in the GM role for about a year and a half now.

        Perhaps it should be ranking the top 5 executives or something like that instead. That would be more accurate.

    1. These are the dog days of summer. At least Grant is not AWOL like the Matts have. I will be heading with my son to the Sierras for trout fishing.

  4. Grant, like his father, hate on San Jose, every time his old man does a “top teams/managers/etc” of bay area sports teams the Sharks are conveniently left off. Its a smugness that they feel that only SF and Oakland are bay area and San Jose is somehow not (even though it is the largest of all 3 cities)…

      1. Do they still let them fight? I’m thinking the pc police has caught up to them and it’s now illegal….

  5. Boy Sabean sure missed on Adam Duval and Joe Biagini. Luckily the Giants are not cheap.

    1. Baalke writes his own memos to himself. His mountainous ego dispatches the others into the waste basket before reading Knute Rockne again.

  6. Knute Rockne: Date of birth
    March 4, 1888

    Led by quarterback Charlie “Gus” Dorais and Rockne, the Notre Dame team attacked the Cadets with an offense that featured both the expected powerful running game but also long and accurate downfield forward passes from Dorais to Rockne.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5CuOTYHdXY

  7. ‘Ranking Bay Areas five pro franchise general managers’…’Except the Sharks who just made it to the cup ’cause apparently the NHL isn’t interesting enough for Grant to consider’

    Can’t blame him, it really isn’t.

  8. Giants have no salary cap and unlimited budget. Shouldn’t you be grading them on a curve?

    1. Well, The Giants have to contend with big salary teams like NY, Boston and LA, so they do not have a cakewalk.

      At least with the salary cap, everyone is semi equal,except for teams that refuse to spend up to the SC, so their team has 49 mil less talented players.

  9. The Rich get Richer: Another perspective………

    Forbes’ 50 most valuable sports teams: 49ers vault to Top 10

    Say what you want about the lack of spending in free agency, the stadium, whatever, the 49ers have arranged all of it to make money and they are certainly accomplishing that feat. There’s definitely a lot more to the financials than what Forbes wrote about…

    Source: Golden Nuggets, by ElPato.

    As much as some fans want to point fingers at how the team is driven into mediocrity, it looks like it’s anything but. Even at 5-11, the 49ers are profitable.

  10. TomD

    I believe that you touched on a subject that stirs tears in the hearts of many of the bloggers on here….money.

    How many of us even thought about the price of a players contract before the ’50’s ? Did Bob Ste.Clair work for Burgermeister brewing Co. for less than minimum wage, because he couldn’t make it on the pay he got from the 49ers ?…Bob Toneff.?…Leo Nomelini ?…The only reference to money that I remember was ” The million dollar backfield.” I DO remember McCelhenny joking with a writer about the difference going from college to professional football saying “the toughest part was the cut in pay.”

    Who of that bunch of WWll heroes would have dreamed of an unproven QB signing a $140,000,000.00 contract ? Hell, it wasn’t even Sid Luckman…or Bobby Layne…what’s this world coming to…?

    1. Oregoniner,

      Progress has been made for retirees. Below are just a few benefits available to NFL retirees. Sadly, many will not be around long enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

      1. NFL, ex-players agree to $765M settlement in concussions suit
      Published: Aug. 29, 2013 at 12:42 p
      Associated Press

      2. The last retirement benefit available to NFL players is an annuity plan. Once players have four credited seasons, the league will contribute $80,000 per credited season from 2014-2017, and $95,000 per credited season from 2018-2020. Players can begin collecting this benefit once they reach 35-years-old.Apr 24, 2016.

      3. FOOTBALL GREATS ALLIANCE CREATED TO PRESERVE THE LEGACY OF FORMER NFL PLAYERS
      Apr 18, 2016

      http://img.com/news/news/2016/april/football-greats-alliance-created-to-preserve-the-l.aspx

      1. TomD

        Thanks…I have a friend who’s in his 50’s-60’s who’s beginning to show signs of dementia after a 17 year career…sad

      2. Probably a little late for the poster by the handle (N+5= _EB) to appreciate another pro athlete “activist” helping others at his late age, but Jim Brown leads the charge in helping the elderly NFL retirees:

        “The FGA will provide opportunities for retired players to band together for a wide variety of partnerships,” said Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns legend, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Chairman of the Board, FGA. “These deals will have direct financial benefits to the players involved, and more importantly, will provide revenue for the Greater Good Fund which will benefit the health and welfare of retired players.”

        Above Source: IMG posted directly above.

  11. Sharks go to Stanley Cup and nothing on Doug Wilson, who has been a hit or miss GM. Any where else in the NHL, he would of been fired after the collasped and all time choke with the Kings two years ago,

  12. Tim Kawakami Verified account 
    ‏@timkawakami
    Tim Kawakami Retweeted Chris Biderman

    49ers exec threatened to sue me a few years ago for reporting… that this was happening.

    Tim Kawakami

    #49ers move to Levi’s Stadium makes them one of the most profitable teams in sports, per Forbes
    Chris Biderman
    ‏@ChrisBiderman

    Tim Kawakami Verified account 
    ‏@timkawakami
    My response: Why don’t you want people to know that the team is profitable? That’s usually considered a good thing. #49ersareweird

    hours ago

    @timkawakami

    Bc they think it’ll give fans a reason to expect them to spend money

    Mike Martin ‏@MikeeeMartin · 22h22 hours ago

    @timkawakami crying poor made being stingy with Harbaugh and staff (even though the fallout wasn’t money) gave them a fall back w/some fans

    slder78 · 23h23 hours ago

    @timkawakami B/c when you’re under the cap your fanbase will question where the money is going. And the other owners will have a hard time

    JR ‏@slder78 · 23h23 hours ago

    @timkawakami getting public money for stadiums if a team is getting huge profits.

    0 retweets 0 likes

     Reply

     Retweet

    Like

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  13. Grant- my biggest issue with your Baalke ranking is that draft position is basically everything. Until this year we haven’t even been in the top 10 without trading up, (which I think is where he has dropped the ball ). Baalke has hit on great first round picks just like McKenzie. Let McKenzie draft late and see how he does. Right now his resume on all fronts is not on Baalkes level when you consider draft position. Which you have to. You just have to.

    1. I beg to differ. Bill Walsh consistently drafted late, even last, yet kept the Niners in the perennial playoff picture.

      Baalke whiffed on an entire draft, and the Niners are reaping what he sowed.

      1. Bill Walsh also didn’t have to deal with the internet and all of the second-guessing of all of the breakfast club experts disclosing EVERY possible
        out come (Kind of like we are doing now).

        Good hunting TB, go for it ‘Chip”, and count those greenbacks Jed….Oh and GO NINERS!

        1. Oh how I wish the Niners could emulate Bill Walsh and manage to achieve another ’86 draft. No second guessing on that one, it was a masterpiece, and he essentially drafted another SB winner from that draft.

          GO NINERS

          1. Seb,

            There was also no salary cap when Walsh was the GM.

            Tell me, what do you think Walsh’s hit rate was? How do you define a successful draft pick?

            Please don’t try to spin this into me hating Walsh. Nothing could be further from the truth. My point is, being an NFL GM is hard. Even for the great, BW.

            1. Ex, BW had some doozies, I fully admit it. However, he drafted almost an entire backfield. (Lott, Williamson and Wright) . He saw the potential in SY and he drafted Jerry Rice. He also saw a skinny kid from ND and drafted him after every team in the NFL passed on him twice.

              BW also has an owner who had a burning passion to achieve greatness. Chip has an owner who is content with losing because he wants to be rewarded with a high draft position.

        2. You know a tree by the fruit it bears.

          Oregoniner, when the 9ers were on top during the Harbaugh years, please list for me all the all-pros Bulky has drafted this past half decade?

    2. Draft position is NOT everything. An eye for talent and how to incorporate it into your teams culture is far more important.

      Baalke is clueless on both accounts. He’s Jeds captain of the Titanic, and in 5 years he just keeps on hitting that iceberg.

  14. Beane looks like Captain Kirk in that photo with the yellow top and the white emblem on the chest.

  15. In about two weeks training camp starts, and two after that we get our first glimpse of the new team. My one hope is either Kaep or Gabbert establishes themselves as the clear cut starter and I hope that it happens very soon in training camp.

    For me I have no problem with the schedule and I do hope all of our opponents are at full strength when we play them. It’s my 49er right to be delusional – super bowl here we come baby.

    1. San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh traded for Young in exchange for a second- and fourth-round selections. Young served as backup to Joe Montana, but assumed the full-time starting role in 1992 and two seasons later led the 49ers to their fifth Super Bowl triumph.

      2. 1987 – Steve Young

      1. 1985 – Jerry Rice……..1985 NFL Draft was fairly even. New England gave up the 16th overall pick in exchange for the 49ers’ 28th and 56th overall picks (the teams also swapped third-round picks). It appears a fair deal for both sides, until you look at whom the 49ers traded up to select – Jerry Rice.

      Then-49ers coach Bill Walsh was captivated by the Mississippi Valley State wide receiver and traded up to obtain the 16th pick in the draft for fear that the Cowboys were going to select Rice with the 17th pick. With Rice the 49ers landed the greatest receiver in the history of the game. By the time Rice retired he owned the career records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns – and no one is going to come close to any of those records anytime soon.

      NFL.com has a similar rank, but Young slips to # 3.

      Tom Brady can win all the SupeerBowls he wants with current rules favoring, the pass; maybe Chip will become an average head coach. But neither will ever draft a player to break these records made when rules did not favor the pass…TomD

      NFL’s most unbreakable records

      Jim Reineking
      NFL Media editor | NFL.com

      San Francisco 49ers (18 consecutive road wins from 1988-1990)

      Winning on the road in the NFL is tough business. Doing so for a stretch of two-plus seasons is nearly impossible, unless you’re the talent-laden 49ers of the late-1980s, early-1990s. The 49ers won the Super Bowl following the 1988 and 1989 seasons, and were vying for a rare three-peat during the 1990 season. With teams routinely gunning for defending Super Bowl champions at every chance they get, it’s amazing what the 49ers were able to pull off and this accomplishment only speaks to their status as one of the NFL’s all-time greatest dynasties

      Jerry Rice (career receiving records)

      The records set by Rice during his spectacular 21-year NFL career are too numerous. So, we’ve placed these marks in one spot. Rice holds nearly every significant career receiving record, including receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), touchdowns (197) and most 1,000-yard receiving seasons (14).

      1. Tom D,

        I remember that Walsh was hoping to get any Brown, Toon or Rice and would’ve been equally happy with any of the three. In fact, Walsh tried to trade up to with Sam Wyche to get Eddie Brown. He offered 16 plus a fifth, Wyche said make it a third and you’ve got a deal. Walsh, thankfully, said no.

        Walsh also wanted Simms over Montana. Walsh liked Easley just as much as Lott.

        It just goes to show, you have to be good and lucky. Fortunately, Walsh was both

        1. BTW, if Rice had been able to be somewhat tolerant of Deion Sanders, he might’ve stayed and the 49ers might’ve won a one or two more SB’s.

          Don’t get me wrong, Sanders played a big part in the their conflict, but if Rice could’ve found a way to rise above the fray, things might’ve been different.

          Along the same lines, I’ve heard Steve Young and Brent Jones admit it was a mistake to go to management and push for Charles Haley to be traded. They both expressed regret that they couldn’t see that keeping Haley really was worth the hassle. They were worn out and couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

          Had the 49ers found some way to keep both of those guys, there’s no telling what the would’ve accomplished in the early 90’s. Oh, well…

          1. Trading Haley was a horrible mistake, and haunted the Niners for years. It was further compounded by trading him to the Cowgirls. He should have been sent to Cleveland.

  16. underctr…love your enthusiasm but yes you are delusional…and that’s just how Jed and Trent want fans to be. This whole big discussion “Kaep/Gabbert” or is it “Gabbert/Kaep” ….lets face it, the 9ers have 2 very average if not marginal QB’s. One of them will start, will be average, then Chip will throw the other one in, who will be average. The net is marginal no matter what, and 4 wins is probably the season. We forget as fans what it is like to have a relevant team thru the whole season,and have every weekend be an exciting lead-up to Sunday. A 4 win level team means late October/November for fans will be a time to look for other things to do. That was disappointing last year, all that was left was watching Jimmy T in another awkward, sweaty post game presser. Chip will probably be more entertaining on those…

    1. Max – yes I have been delusional since 1959 when I first started my fandom. I played on a team that was horrible we lost every game, I was the best player on the team which is a great indicator how bad our team was. Not once did I ever go into a game expecting to lose. The following year I expected to win our division, we once again lost every game. The point being there is no sense playing a game or being a fan of the game (team) and expect anything less then a win and a championship regardless of the situation. Now if you ask me to ‘bet’ on the win that puts a entire different slant on things, I would be a fool to bet on a win. I am a fan of the game that allows me to be delusional with high expectations of success. Losing is not an option in my world its just something I have to put up with.

  17. It appears Von Miller will stay in Denver, unless he’s crazy. Denver has offered him $70 mil guaranteed.

  18. Pro Football Focus (PFF) has provided their rankings for each position group on each team, and they were predictably harsh on the 49ers.

    As a team that has succeeded in the recent past by running the ball and stopping the run, it must be concerning to 49er fans to see that PFF has the 49ers defensive front seven ranked 23rd out of 32 teams, and the offensive line rated at 26th overall.

    it is important to consider PFF and their methods. PFF tracks advanced stats for every player in the NFL and many players in NCAA football. PFF has algorithms for assigning degrees of success and blame to the outcome of plays at an individual level. They use these grades to rank players…

    http://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/1570-pff-rates-49ers-defensive-front-bottom-units/

  19. Current NFL Power rankings:
    by NFL.com.

    31

    49ERS

    1

    This ranking is not indicative of the Niners’ draft. Rather, it reflects a team that endured a poor 2015 campaign and still doesn’t have a plan at the quarterback position. Colin Kaepernick’s excitement for playing in San Francisco resembles that of your girlfriend after you ask her to play Axis & Allies. Blaine Gabbert is a reasonable option in a pinch, but the point is, waiting until the sixth round to draft Jeff Driskel isn’t going to cut it. And this is coming from someone who really liked the 49ers’ draft.

    http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000659907/article/nfl-power-rankings-draft-lifts-cardinals-broncos-patriots-fall

    1. I hear some rumblings. Could it be the “Fool on the Hill,” head stuck in sand, day after day proclaiming 49er greatness, Cheerleading every 49er move, aka, _EB.

      He relates to this well

      Fool on the Hill, by The Beatles, performed by The Sergio Mendez Band:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEHckjjbE8I

      1. TrollD, like a moth to a flame, you seem to be begging for it.

        Since others cannot reign you in, and you keep leading with your chin, I guess I will have to defend myself.

        TrollD, the Raider lover, who hates the Niners with a consuming passion. He predicted the Niners would lose 0-52, and never predicted that the Niners would win a game.

        TrollD, who crowed when the Niners lost . He is the poster child for schadenfreude.

        TrollD, the cut and paste king because he cannot generate an original thought.

        TrollD who claims to be a a football analyst, but advocated trading Kaep for Tebow, who will speak at the GOP convention for Trump.

        TrollD, who mentions breaking into gun vaults and creating nighmares, even after Orlando and Dallas.

        TrollD, we both know who the real fool on the hill is.

        TrollD, you remind me of another gadfly, who joked about cancer patients.

        1. I forgot one.

          TrollD, who declares he wants to beat me like clubbing a baby seal.

          TrollD, baby seal clubbers sometimes do a botched job, and leave a quivering baby seal covered in blood after skinning it.
          I know you can relate.

            1. Very sorry if the main character in the song was so self-absorbed by yourself, but large egos many times feel as if the “world is their oyster.”

          1. TrollD, I said that I will use your own words to throw back in your face, Be a man and take them, instead of whining and crying. Remember, I have a pretty good memory.

            1. Memory is suspect here, however you remember which keystrokes to punch when you invent your debate strategies.

  20. 49ers rookie expectations: DeForest Buckner best, worst case scenarios:
    By David Fucillo  @davidfucillo on Jul 15, 2016, 8:55a

    Realistic expectations

    He earns a steady role in the nickel and dime defensive packages as the first defensive tackle off the bench. I think we see him get a bit more work than Arik Armstead did in his rookie year.

  21. TomD

    I disagree about your TE choices, even though I do agree with your reasoning….I don’t believe that V McDonald goes for Cajuste, but I do believe that McDonald goes. I just don’t think that Cajuste has the size nor cajones to keep off the IR…I think that our starter at TE will come from another teams’ roster who have toooo many good TE’s. ‘Could be a first cut…

  22. Cajuste finds soft spots in cover 3, cover 2 and Man.
    Baalke can’t teach this. Can’t draft this, and his and Jed’s previous teachers have had trouble with finding this ability.
    Plug and play, day one for Kelly is not a bad option if the man gains 15 lbs.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FfWqvlQsLo

  23. WHAT HAS BAALKE DONE??? Nothing. Scott Mcclueless built our team with nowin. The only thing is nowin can’t coach but they made that team. Baalke can’t draft for $hit. Don’t even say he got us free agents cause he has don’e nothing and we have more money now than we ever had to get em and he dropped the ball. Don’t say he drafted Davis and Iupati cause he hasn’t drafted an o lineman to save his life since then. Those were singletary picks. Ballke drafted marcus martin brandon thomas joe looney and who else? Jason Slowey? Cmon. Mcclueless got us gore vernon willis staley crabtree COWBOY Goldson etc. Who did ballke get us? Aldon? We know how that turnd out. Kap? Harbaugh. Boldin? Harbaugh. Whitner? Goodwin? Culliver? lmaoooo good ones ballke. Who gets rid of their entire draft class? Baalke needs to get THE BOOT right now.

  24. Also, the Stanford WCO coach–an numerous talented WCO coaches around the USA know how to draft and teach this….Why Jed and company do not hire Gruden, Holmgren and Shannahan (who have sons coaching in the nfl ) into the front office (pay them what they need) and a Ron Wolfe like consultant /gm I’ll never know. Until they do this, were in trouble with these basic teaching principles.

    1. I know why……..Money. Football people do not run this organization. Yorks do.

  25. Oregoniner,

    Watch the video, 49ers receivers, Solomon, TE Young (sits down all day in zone soft spot) on Flea Flicker, and Clark all read coverages.

  26. Grant,
    I drop bye every so often to see if things have changed…… it looks to me that they have only gotten worse. I really don’t understand the world of blogging but if there is anything you can do please intervene. It just seems odd to me that one or two of your posters post 10 X’s the material than the writer\moderator does. Have you noticed how many less hits you are receiving compared to last year at this time. Well anyways I hope you can do something, this used to be a great place to hang out.
    OC

    1. OC, nothing will change because they aren’t being meanies to Grant.

      Look at some of the commenters that he’s blocked in the past compared to these two yahoo’s.

      Hope your summer break is going good.

      1. Jack’s Hammered and Never coached, where have you been old friends? I don’t post that often when the season starts up, however, even then, both of you were York Family Styled sychophants who massacred my few posts whenever critical of the 49ers, such as the Girl Scout Imbroglio even a novice PR Rep would have avoided during SuperBowl week…Are you on payroll for the 49er Computer Tech. Dept???

        1. And did you hear they tried to Sue Tim Kawakami for revealing there Annual profits?

          Here’s the story in Tim’s own Words:

          Tim Kawakami ‏@timkawakami · Jul 13

          Tim Kawakami Retweeted Chris Biderman

          49ers exec threatened to sue me a few years ago for reporting… that this was happening.

        1. I actually like this avatar better anyway. It looks like a cross between a piece of pizza and The Rock.

  27. Grime,

    Thx. for the info. before game one.

    Those who chose to give the 49ers a 5 + victory column have time to run and hide. Especially since the own the NFL’s toughest Schedule.

  28. Even more bad news for 49ers,

    –Virtually all major fantasy football publishers have no 49er WR’s listed in the top 55.
    Boldin is 57.

    –None of their Tight Ends are listed.

    –Running back listed at 18. (Running Game # 21 in NFL for 2015)

      1. Grant ..
        any answer one could give at this early stage ..
        would be highly speculative.. at best .. but ..
        I would think .. your answer could come during
        the Week 1 Monday Night Game .. perhaps

      2. Right now for sure exactly 1. Simpson may have in the past. Patton may beat coverage once in a while. Ellington in the slot. Rogers, we’ll see if the CFL translates to NFL or not. The rest who knows?

  29. Underctr, I applaud your positive approach and I typically like to be there as well. What has me (45 year fan, I seen bad times and good) is that the team says “Win” but actions are anything but. If the leadership is making big bets, really showing effort and intent and they swing and miss, I’m good with that. But when they make self-serving moves, emotional moves, lie through their teeth and on top of that make no or very very few real moves…they lose me not as a fan but as a supporter. There is a difference. I am a Fan always will be, I grew up with this team. But I do NOT support them , and this means I refuse to vist Levi’s any more (after a rotten fan experience then another time a complete hose job at Mina’s that my guests and company that paid that bill still lament). Soccer field, girl scouts…I mean I am not operating off limited data points.

    But a fan I remain til the end. Can’t help it. DNA. I sense I am not the only one living this conflict.

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