Report: 49ers trade C Nick Easton to Vikings for LB Gerald Hodges

The San Francisco 49ers just announced they’ve traded center Nick Easton and an undisclosed draft pick to the Minnesota Vikings for linebacker Gerald Hodges.

The Vikings drafted Hodges in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft. He started seven games in 2014, and earned a plus 8.4-grade from Pro Football FocusHe is a solid run defender who should take inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite’s starting job immediately, and improve a 49ers’ run defense that currently ranks 19th in the NFL.

What do you think of this trade? Do you like it?

 

This article has 204 Comments

  1. Great move. Hodges has a few dumb plays a game, but he’s still an above-average starter in this league. We got him for a 6th and a backup OL on a trash OL. Instant upgrade over Wilhoite.

    1. TomD

      October 6, 2015 at 1:29 pm

      Thanks for the info. Grant.

      I did see Tomsula and Wilhoite engaged in a heated discussion during the Packer game.

      TVia Niner Noise

      The 49ers’ front office and ownership did a poor job in finding coaches this past offseason, scaring away Adam Gase and going with an in-house favorite. Had the Jed York and Trent Baalke been more willing to relinquish control of the team to a coach who knows more than they do — and is not afraid to tell them that — the 49ers could be in a very different situation right now. The sooner they realize their mistakes this past offseason, the sooner the 49ers can move on and rebuild.

        1. Yeah but they suck to. At current pace we will b fighting with them for Jared Goff lottery

  2. I guess its a positive, can’t say until we see the product on the field.

    What needs to happen is Baalke making a trip to Anthony Davis’ residence and getting him to come back NOW and not wait until 2016.

  3. According to reports, Spielman wanted a sixth round pick to replace the one he used to acquire Sirles, plus he likes Kendricks at MLB and their depth at the position….

  4. I like it,whatever Wilhoite did in sundays` game must to have been awful,cause Tomsula was really in His Face chewing Him a new one, maybe they can trade for a QB and some better play-calling. well I can always hope right?

  5. PFT has the following on Hodges:

    “It’s not a bad pickup for the Niners. Hodges was tied for third on the team with 20 tackles before the trade and owns PFF’s 14th highest inside linebacker grade out of 51 qualifiers. Hodges should be an upgrade over Michael Wilhoite, who has been among the worst inside linebackers in football this year.”

  6. This is without a doubt a good move by the 49ers. Wilhoite has stunk. Hodges is an upgrade. He may not start straight away as he’ll be new to the system, but it won’t be long before he takes over from Wilhiote.

    Easton would likely have been cut once Kilgore was ready to go.

    1. Baalke might not be knocking’em down when it comes to draft picks but the guy does know how to turn a trade.

      1. Yeah, he’s made some pretty good pick ups via low compensation trades. Boldin, Ginn, now Hodges come to mind. Oh, and Gabbert! ;-)

        1. How could you almost forget Gabbert? He’s made some nice draft pick trades as well, just wish he could get more out of the selection. :)

    2. I’m surprised they got Hodges for so little in return. He’s pretty good right now and is only 25. Back to ST’s for Wilhoite.

  7. Working put OLB Haralson and acquiring ILB Hodges tells me Baalke isn’t satisfied with some aspect of the linebacking group.

    The Packers were able to run to a degree. For those with keen eyes and access to all 22, is the issue…

    – Dial, Williams, Dorsey not holding ground?
    – LBs not filling fast enough?
    – Concentrating on the Packers pass game so much?

      1. i am the proud owner of 1 of the tweets that made the article. This guy has a lot of nerve to continue to post these foolish things on Twitter but refuse to make any comment on his “accountability”. I mean he sent out a good luck tweet to CC Sabbathia for rehab. A NY Yankee. But nothing for us fans having Harbaugh withdrawal.

  8. Easton was acquired by trading a conditional seventh-rounder to Baltimore.

    Essentially its a 6th+7th for Hodges.

    1. Sounds like an outstanding trade to me. Been following Hodges since he replaced Bowman at Penn State. 6’2″. the man is tall and a pretty darn good cover linebacker, exactly what the defense was lacking. He has played with Bowman, so that’s a plus! Now let’s make some changes on the OL.

      1. Agreed. I actually wanted the 49ers to draft him in 2013, so I’m very happy to see them trade for him now.

        1. If it wasn’t for the 6 month memory of this blog I could pull up the discussion we had in ’13 regarding Hodges and Sio Moore. Had to do with which one was better suited to be an inside backer and which was better for the outside. Since I can’t pull it up I’ll leave off how I remember that discussion going.

          1. I preferred Moore, but he was a higher pick. I liked Hodges as a mid-round pick.

            I can’t recall our discussion about Hodges, but I do recall discussing Moore as a guy that could potentially play either OLB or ILB. I would be very surprised if I suggested Hodges as a potential OLB, so I assume I was saying he’d be best suited to ILB for the 49ers.

  9. Hopefully this means great news regarding Daniel Kilgore’s recovery, and that he will soon be ready to step in at Center. My friend saw him at Stanford Hospital yesterday with a follow-up.

  10. The Ravens would probably like Torrey Smith right about now – maybe we should trade him back!

    1. Eddie,

      I like the trade. We don’t pass with a loaded box anyways, so WR’s are a waste.

    1. If you want any shot at getting him, you can’t do better than 2-14 in my estimation….

      1. Does that translate to the first pick or do you think a team with a higher pick (say #3) could still get him.

        1. I think it might come down to Houston or the 49ers for Goff at the top of the draft….

            1. I’m not on board drafting Goff with the current coaching staff, and I’d want him to sit for a year while the offensive line is retooled….

              1. I think the offensive CS will be pretty much gone next year (with the exception of Rathman and the WR’s coach whose name escapes me at the moment).

                Baalke tried to hire Gase as the HC and when that failed he really tried to hire him as the OC (according to Maiocco). Regardless of what you think of Gase, it could have meant big changes on the offensive side of the ball (assuming Gase felt he wasn’t limited by Kap). To me that shows recognition on Baalke’s part that a major change is needed on the offensive side. If Baalke is still around at the end of the season, I hope he’ll try something similar again (but by then a coach worth his salt will probably choose to go somewhere else or stay put).

              2. If the 49ers have the first pick and let potential HCs/OCs know that they are going to select Goff, that could be a good selling point.

              3. The current situation is a bad stalemate. Prospective OCs probably realize that Baalke is not good at evaluation of offensive players, and his offensive philosophy has not evolved adequately over the deacdes, but at the same time Baalke wants full personnel control. Such a situation does not set up innovative offensive minds for success.

              4. This is where I have a problem with the GM/HC relationship, Mood. I’m not convinced that a GM should have a strong inclination towards one offensive system/strategy or another. I think the GM should look for the best HC possible – one that wins. I do think that the GM should satisfy himself that the HC’s philosophies are in sync with the current NFL; i.e. dinosaur philosophies need not apply. I don’t believe that a GM should say “what my HC meant to say is that we are going to run the ball”. If it makes any difference, Maiocco agrees with me (from his chat today).

              5. Cubus,
                I agree with you, but the GM and HC have to have some general agreement in offensive philosophy to make personnel choices that are reasonably amicable.

              6. Yes, but I think the HC should take the lead and the GM should figure out a way to get it done (both FA and the draft). I guess I think the HC should be driving the bus, but I don’t think it should be dictatorial.

      2. I was at the “Bush Bowl” in 2005.

        The 49ers would have to stink, then lose the Goff Trough vs the Rams.

        1. Kap behind Manziel and Taylor:

          fearyaks: According to the internet (PFF via reddit), Brady 1.98 seconds to pass, Eli 1.79. Kap – 2.95 (behind Manziel and Taylor).

        2. Do you remember the end of that game? We go down score a td and kickoff with 4 seconds left. We’re up by two and a field goal would win for Houston. We kickoff and they return it to our 37 or close there, gameover? Nope, we’re penalized for blocking out of bounds. 15 yards plus one last play. They send their fg kicker in to make a chip shot. He missed so far left that had it been a punt, it would have been downed on the 2 yard line……you know he got that call from upstairs. Make this and you’re walking home. They lose and draft Mario Williams, Reggie goes two to New Orleans and we get Vernon at number 7.

      3. Yep when it’s all said and done he’ll likely be the top QB and #1 pick in the draft.

        1. I was overseas when Alex Smith was picked #1 overall. What were people saying back then? What caliber is Goff? Is he Luck, Stafford, Eli, Rivers. I mean sometimes we are so desperate for a QB that we don’t look objectively.

          Are there any QB’s worth trading for so that we could have a functional team and develop somebody?

          1. They were saying he could make every pass, they’d drop their clip boards to applaud him. He was young athletic and graduated early. He was 20….. I wanted Rodgers because we saw him at cal. Didn’t know much about smith.

            1. I read the link. He sounds good but not great. He’s taken 12 sacks already this season.

              1. Well, on the plus side, he won’t have much of a learning curve from Cal’s porous OL to ours.

              2. That’s really not much of a comfort because the defenders hit harder in the NFL.

              3. True. But the state of OLs in the NFL is poor now relative to previous years. Can’t find the article where I read that today. At least it wouldn’t be a total shock to Goff.

              4. True, but Goff needs to add some meat to his bones in order to be able to take hits at the next level.

          2. wilsonm73,
            I really don’t Goff in any of the QB’ you listed, perhaps Rivers might be the closest, but even that is debatable.

            Don’t know if you go back this far but the closest QB that Goff reminds of is the old BYU/raider QB Marc Wilson.
            Same body type, not great arm strength, and sometimes arc’s his deep passes (ala M.Wilson).
            But the kid has great football instincts and pocket savvy. He has enough arm strength to make all the important throws and is very accurate.

            There are at least 3 college QB’s that could be #1 overall picks in 2016.
            Conner Cook, Jarred Goff, and Trevone Boykin. If these guys are gone when we draft in 2016, I like Christian Hackenberg and Cody Kessler who could be available in 2-3 rd.

              1. Goff

                Boykin

                Kessler

                *Garbage*

                Cook

                *More Garbage*

                Hack

                If we can’t get Goff, I wouldn’t want us drafting a QB to be honest.

              2. Razor,
                That list could work as well. If Goff is gone when we pick next April, which QB would you go after?

          3. I recall the incident that clinched Alex for Nolan. When Alex and Rodgers were at the niners for the pre-draft visits, Nolan asked each to throw the ball while kneeling down. Alex, always the good solider, did so promptly. Rodgers acted as if it was a joke and reportedly brushed it off. Nolan was offended :)

            This was Exhibit A for me why defensive coaches or GM from defensive background, in general, should never have the final word on players on offense. The overwhelming majority of these folks don’t get what it takes to build a successful offense in the modern NFL. Just ask Steve Young or Brent Jones about Seifert.

            1. Mood,
              It’s strange that QB is the ultimate alpha male position in all of sports and Nolan chose Smith over Rodgers simply because he wasn’t an alpha male. They probably would have screwed Rodgers up as well, but the thought of letting one of the greatest modern QB’s slip through their fingers via an unqualified evaluators ego is brutal.

    2. If the 49ers do end up having a shot at Goff and drafting him, I just hope they don’t ruin him by making him play straight way behind a leaky OL.

      1. Potential line of Staley – Boone – Kilgore – Draft pick/Thomas- Davis next year isn’t bad at all.

          1. Yep, I’m with you there. Hoping they get rid of Tomsula and the offensive staff after this year.

  11. Information for Seb:

    Question for Maiocco: Greg Cosell said the Packers stayed in their nickel package even when the Niners are in their based package. Why didn’t the Niners had more success running the football against GB?

    MM: Take anything Cosell says to the bank. He is great. He watches more film than anyone and has no biases. He tells it like it is. The reason the 49ers did not have as much success running is because they didn’t play a deep safety. They might’ve had five DBs, but a couple of those DBs were close to the line of scrimmage. The problem was that the 49ers could not exploit single coverage on the outside.

    1. The game I watched had the Niners bunched up in a protect formation, yet still allowed pressure every other play. I still say they should have lined up 4, even 5 wide to spread them out. GB had stacked the box every time, and dared the Niners to throw. The problem was that Kaep had no time to throw, and was inaccurate because he was standing still instead of moving.
      Watching film does not make you smarter just because you watch more than average. How you process the information is just as important.
      Cosell admitted he was called a moron because he continually threw shade at Kaep. He also predicted that he would called malicious when he stated that the Niners were trying to hide Kaep. Greg Cosell is only slightly less biased about Kaep than Kawakami is about Jed.

      1. Cossell seems to like QBs who stand in the pocket and throw deep in a Coryell offense.like Palmer. His observations are useful but his opinions and analyses are superficial.

        1. He was skewered for his early takes on Kaepernick, but those have since been proven accurate.

          1. I’ve probably heard 80% of the interviews he has done on KNBR since his arrival as a regular radio analyst about 5 years ago. His take one Kap has been exactly the same since that Chicago game on Monday night. It can be summarized as “Kap is a tremendously gifted athlete playing QB. He lacks adequate pocket presence at this time, cannot at this time make all the throws that a QB needs to make, does not see the field very well, and tends to leave the pocket too soon”. I think it’s difficult to skewer him for these opinions. On the other hand, one could argue that the banality of his opinions are skewer-worthy.

            1. Those takes were ripped by many early on when Kaepernick was successful.

              Harbaugh and Co. caught lightning in a bottle with him in 2012. The league has since caught up and he is heading down the RGIII path.

  12. Cue the idiotic “In Balke We Trust” retards…

    And yes, I said the R-word. Ooooooh no!

    1. using the R-word is as offensive to some as using the N-word. My niece has downs, so it may mean a bit more to me than others, but please find another word

  13. I’m thinking and hoping ck from now on is livin quarter by quarter. Im thinking he stinks against the worst defense Sunday night and seals his fate in SF. He won’t last last halftime.
    Gabbert will be the qb for the remainder of the season. I think Gabbert can at least make the o-line look a little better than the are.
    He can’t be any worse at reading defenses and quick deliveries.
    Ck is mentally shot this year. Hand the keys over to Gabbert before those players in the lockeroom quit on this season.
    I’ll even go this far. They win last week if Gabbert is qb! Sucks to say but ck has got to go! He’s probably the worst decision maker in the NFL! He can’t even master checkdown level. And that’s beginner area. Smh!
    GABBERT GABBERT GABBERT!!

    1. Careful what you wish for Ninermd. If you didn’t like Alex Smith dinking and dunking, just wait to see what Gabbert does. He will be the safest QB and check down every time unless a guy is super wide open. As a backup trying to re-nenter the league, turning it loose is the last thing he will do.

      1. Yep, and after a couple games, defenses will have him figured out and it will be Simpletary all over again….

        1. Razor… That’s what I’m afraid of, but if they did figure him out its still better to have someone who can get rid of the ball quick and is fairly mobile and most important will go through progressions.
          He’s got nothing to lose so maaaaybe it will kickstart a career some thought would be very good. 1-3…. What would it hurt to give it a look?

          1. I’m fairly confident that Gabbert will see action soon, and Kaepernick will be released by April 2016….

              1. Terrible offensive line, check.
                Terrible coaching staff, check.

                Kaepernick was never going to be an elite quarterback, but he had an over 90 quarterback rating in 2012/13 and he did win 4 playoff games, 3 of which were out of town. Now he’s running around like a chicken with his head cut off?

                Kaepernick sought help to better himself without any knowledge of the offensive direction, and that’s about the same time those trade rumors emerged. With that kind of support, who needs a real offensive coordinator?

                I would submit to you that Dalton was Baalkes’ guy and Kaepernick was Harbaughs’.

                In my view Kaepernick has two choices. He can either go to another poor team and start, then wash out of the league eventually or go to a proven organization with real coaches as a backup and learn under a Manning or Rodgers or Brady. He’s young, healthy and a tireless hard worker. If he chooses wisely, he could end up like Plunkett….

              2. Is Ponder even in the league any more?

                Looks like he couldn’t even crack the Raiders line up.

      2. Ann Killion ‏@annkillion · 7h7 hours ago
        Tim Ryan, 49ers announcer, on Kap: “It appears he (Kap) has lost his receiver corps.”

        1. If you listen to Michael Crabtree and watch Vernon Davis, Kaep lost his receivers some time ago.

          1. it would be hilarious to see Antonio Brown on this team. Would he even catch 3 balls a game? Kap is late, inaccurate, and hasn’t thrown anyone open that i’ve seen this season.

      3. Hey I’ll take those dinks and dunks with the possibility of a long game soon. Lol
        I liked his footwork in the pre season and I liked that he stood in and delivered. I know I know it’s pre season but I like the actions.

        Hey does anybody know gabberts arm strength? I hear cannon and I hear floaters come out.
        If he could throw a decent deep ball that’s an upgrade over our last two qb’s

        1. I read that Logan told him to throw the ball at about 85% of his previous velocity. Apparently, it’s resulted in better accuracy. Also, during the practices with Denver, the Denver beat writers tweeted a couple times that they were amazed at a few good deep passes that Gabbert made. Of course he made some bad passes too.

          1. I was reading some jax blogs and it sounds like he has the same problems our last two qb’s had.
            Seeing ghosts in the pocket.
            That me a tough thing to get over and with this o-line he might go back to the old days of jax.
            Just tank the season please! :-/

            1. I knew that from doing draft analysis and watchinh him in college MD. That’s one of the reasons that I don’t Kaepernick sitting for more than one or two games.

          2. Actually since I am living in Denver the media made fun of how bad he was at practice.

            1. They did that too. But I was following the NN blog during the practices and they had tweets from both Denver and SF beat writers. On the one day, the Denver beat writers were definitely commenting about a few surprising passes that he made. I remember it very well.

              1. Gotcha. I listen to 104.3 the fan on the way home from work and those guys were tearing Gabbert up.

              2. Cubus we all are. I didn’t follow the Twitter feed so I didn’t see what you did. It’s all good. I think Gabbert can throw some good passes.

              3. I’m not trying to talk up Gabbert, I’m just saying I have no problem with giving him a chance if Kap continues to play so poorly.

          3. Gabbert did ok against second stringers in the preseason, but when he played in real games, he did not do too well

    2. Hmm. Didn’t you predict a Niner victory? Now you have switched and are ripping them?
      O ye of little faith…..
      Guess what? With the O line sucking so bad, Gabbert will be sacked 6 times, too.

      1. At the risk of repeating myself, Bruce Arians was on his fourth quarterback last year. A guy who was eating a hamburger in a local restaurant when he got the call. If Gabbert performs poorly then you do something besides just keepin on hoping that things will get better. I think Arians could take volunteers from the stands and put a better offense on the field than we have recently. It’s the analysis paralysis that kills me. Three games of absolutely terrible football and, gee, we just can’t think of any changes that should be made. We just gotta execute, that’s all. Enough!

        1. I would start with the O line, if changes are to be made. Put in Brown and Thomas, even recall Looney.

  14. I’m on the fence. He’s a light weight coming from a 4-3 defense, so I’m not sure when he’d be ready to contribute.

      1. The Vikings have a lot of talent at LB. I’m guessing this was more a case of moving a player that was excess to provide better depth at another position for the Vikings, rather than not liking Hodges. At least that is what I’m hoping!

    1. Thanks for the link. He played alot of OLB, but it was 4-3 OLB and he’s way too light for a typical 3-4 OLB. But that combined with a high ST grade shows he’s versatile.

      In some situations he could have interchangeable roles with Brooks to confuse defenses.

      1. He did play a lot of OLB, as well as MLB this year. Much like Bowman before him at Penn State, he played all 3 LB spots for them too if my memory serves. He’s versatile.

        And it is worth keeping in mind that weakside OLBs in a 4-3 move to weakside ILB in a 3-4 quite often. The positions aren’t that different.

    1. The New York press is generally a little more candid than the rest. Don’t forget that’s where Papa Cohn made his bones.

        1. Same here. I doubt it’ll change anything, but at least it lets our voices be heard.

              1. Hey I wanted that nick name! Very Classy! We do need to have our voices heard even if that is all we can control!

  15. Maybe nobody wants to think about this, but is the trade for Hodges a sign that Bowman might be experiencing too much soreness to play as many snaps as he has been. Or possibly a worse scenario……

    1. While Bowman may never be the same player again, and we do need to prepare to move on, I think this is more about Wilhoite than Bowman.

      1. The tongue-lashing Wilhoite received from Tomsula on Sunday supports your contention. Still, do you think a trade like this could have been initiated and executed in a little over one day?

      2. I think this is about the play at ILB in general. Its been poor. Wilhoite has been the biggest culprit, and is the far more likely to lose his spot. But basically the 49ers need to get better production from all their ILBs.

        It could, however, have been partly precipitated by Bowman tweaking his knee in the last game. Perhaps he isn’t fully right this week, and may not suit up if its still bothering him a little by Sunday.

    1. Said the same thing last year and had some clown calling me an idiot.
      He takes plays off. Never liked him.

    1. Other than a couple where I disagree that it was a clean pocket, I overall believe that the fan is correct in his analysis. That only adds more fuel to the fire under Kaepernick’s starting seat.

    1. My blood boils every time I see Bush’s name because it keeps reminding me that we should have taken Abdullah in the draft.

      1. Helter Smelter better not bust. There’s only two NFL starting wide receivers on this team, and one of them is 35 years old….

        1. I wouldn’t be surprised if a WR isn’t targeted in rounds 2-4 during next year’s draft.

          1. They kind of have to, unless they sign another WR in FA. Patton isn’t good enough, Ellington is always injured, and they won’t know what they have in Smelter until next season.

            1. I’d like to see White, Smelter and Campbell on the field at some point. Unless we can throw the ball its kind of a waste.

            2. They kind of have to, unless they sign another WR in FA.

              Just because they have to doesn’t mean they will Scooter. Case in point, they should have gone after a #1 CB in the offseason.

              1. Well, it is certainly true that just because they really should, doesn’t mean thy will.

          2. I don’t want to mention the draft without
            A Goff
            B offensive linemen.
            I was waiting for a boring o-line draft last draft. I didn’t get my wish. Now I get to endure the worst offensive line I’ve seen in years. Sigh!! If only Baalke would
            Listen to fans sometimes. Lol

            1. I think it would make more sense to sign a stopgap QB and draft someone like Gunner Kiel to develop rather than try to get Goff MD.
              Besides, can you honestly see Baalke with the first, second, or third pick and actually keeping it instead of trading it for more picks?

        1. I like him, but I still contend Abdullah would have been the better pick because we would have had a RB/WR/KR combo from a dynamite player.

      1. It could only be by default, as you say, unless there were signs in the last game that Martin was improving. Maybe someone can comment on that. Generally, I agree with Lowell Cohn’s comment that Martin, although a big man with long arms who may be versatile, does not appear to be functionally strong. His muscle tone reminds me of Jonathan Martin.

        1. George,

          Martin is only 21 years old. He does need to get stronger, as well as hone his technique. I would think he’s not a finished product and should get better. The open question is, how much better?

            1. George,

              Up to now, it seems the coaches don’t think Thomas is ready. Of course, that could change this weekend. He’s also young, so he has a chance, but you’d like to think he could’ve beaten Devey out already. That he hasn’t isn’t an encouraging sign, IMO.

              What do you think?

              1. Wasn’t Brandon Thomas’ claim to fame in college was that he played very well against Clowney? I didn’t see that game, but it seems odd that he can’t crack the lineup.

              2. Keep in mind that Thomas was drafted when we had a different offensive scheme Ex and George. If we follow that logic, it leads to two distinct possibilities: he hasn’t learned the new offensive scheme yet or he isn’t a fit for the current offense.

              3. What makes matters worse is when the QB is winging it on the fly and not letting plays develop. Nothing confuses a rookie offensive linemen more than not having structure and consistency at the QB position.
                The most mind boggling thing about Colin Kaepernick this year is that he is being asked to be himself, but that has caused more of a set back in his development.
                Losing to the Giants this week maybe will put everything in perspective for me in understanding that this is the year we implode and the organization finally gets it that you find a coach/GM combination that can win games and you manage it to work. Jed, you listening man?

              4. To exgolfer: I don’t have a clue. Could be what I wrote above about him being a gap blocker and having power and stance issues. Big disappointment, though.

              5. FDM,
                How can anyone not see this coming?
                All the pistol read/option Qbs are not doing well. Colin’s doing the worse. Well except for Tm Tebow I guess.
                If there was a viable option, he would be benched.

                You know his play sucks when die hards like NinerMD are calling for Gabbert.

                I guarantee that Kaep will have one or two good games before this is all said and done, but that won’t change anything. Those are outliers, not the norm.

                They have no passing game, it’s embarrassing and a joke until a new QB steps in.

              6. And a new GM, Head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator. This team has talent. If Gabbert can come in and be productive, this will allow us to draft a QB and give him a year to develop. I’m looking at 2018 to be back in the playoffs. Please note, this means we get the first overall pick and draft Goff. I’d be very happy with Connor Cook as well!

    2. Grant, Hodges is a converted safety and seems too light to start at ILB, no? Kind of a bigger, slower Tartt. I wonder if they will begin to platoon Wilhoite’s position with Skov in the base and Hodges in the nickel — or substitute for Bowman that way.

      1. He’s around 240lbs. Some have him listed at 236lbs, others at 243lbs.

        Willis was listed around 240lbs, and Bowman is listed at 242lbs.

        So I don’t think his weight is an issue. And he’s played LB for quite some time now. He was a HS safety.

    3. I think Bush is well past his prime, but to be fair some of the passes thrown his way were uncatchable .

  16. Alex Smith and Russell Wilson have been sacked 18 times, and at that rate would finish the season with around 72 sacks, four short of the record….

    1. Ouch. That’s not going to end well for either of them. Or even our own QB. At some point they’ll get injured.

      1. :-)))))
        And what do ya know. Wilson has one td pass and is turning the ball over, can’t find graham. Sound familiar?

  17. The Niners current offensive approach of supposedly oversimplifying the offense to suit Kap perversely reminded me of this classic quote.
    “I’m not going to outsmart anyone” Mike SIngletary, Jan 2009.

    Then I remembered that day in November, 2010 when the Niners plumbed the very bottom, the darkest moment before dawn — after 6 seasons of suffering before Harbaugh arrived 2 months later:
    http://www.ninersnation.com/2010/11/21/1828485/bucs-14-49ers-0-this-is-just-atrocious
    This post on NN had exactly 666 comments, a sign of those dark times !

  18. Niners play NY, and get to play against a former Niner. Dahl knows the Niner defense and all the Niner offensive tendencies, so they should throw out the playbook and do something completely different.
    If the Niners do not target Dahl, I will think they are grossly incompetent. They should line up 5 wide and air it out so they cannot stack 8 in the box. They should put a man in motion, pinch in the DE and let Kaep roll out. At other times, they should put a man in motion to have a player running at full speed at the snap of the ball to do reverses or fly sweeps. On game day, the Niners should blindfold Geep, tie him up and stuff him in a closet, and let Kaep be the field general to let him call his own plays. The Giants want to contain Kaep in the pocket, so the RO and Pistol should be run often. Kaep should engage the spy, and then throw where the LB used to be, or somehow get the ball into the hands of his playmakers.
    Kaep should emulate Rogers and run the hurry up with quick snaps and delayed snaps to try and gain 12 men or entice someone off sides for a free play. The Niners should be bold on second and short, and throw an explosion play downfield when they are bunched up to stop the short run. The Niners should be bold and go for it in the red zone, and not settle for FGs.
    The 49ers need to start playing NINER FOOTBALL.

    1. Based on what we’ve gotten from the York’s, I’d say the 49ers have been playing NINER FOOTBALL, and that’s the problem.

  19. The Packers made it a point to stress that they wanted to keep Kaep in the pocket. The Giants all have stressed that their game plan is to keep Kaep in the pocket. Geep better wise up and start rolling Kaep out like they did during the Viking game, or I will accuse him for not wanting to win.

    1. Fan’s,

      I know it’s worth trying–switching offensive linemen to provide Kap protection. But this is just “rearranging the deck chairs on board the Titanic”.
      Fans are beinning to realize that Baalke knows little about offensive football. Smart teams currently are taking advantage of the rule changes geared toward offensive football…Baalke continues to stick with the run….That should tell you something.
      Walsh and Holmgren constantly kept up to date with rule changes, actually designing plays to take advantage of them on a yearly basis…Baalke is not a talent evaluator and will never allow a strong-willed passing genius in the 49er facility for fear of his own job.

  20. “We haven’t played like we need to play.” says the HC………..
    NewJim is such a nice guy, everybody in the locker room loves him!

    1. But aside from rule changes favoring the forward pass. The 49ers won’t pass even with 9-10 men in the box (meaning noone covering the deep middle–he’s on the line of scrimmage)…I almost lost my lunch that day when the QB did not audible to a slant or post pattern.
      It was a 3rd and inches play…How many times through out the years did they try that with Rice, Montana and Young, who audibled to those patterns on 3rd and inches, and hit it for a TD, I’ve lost count!

      1. Kaep won’t audible because he’s afraid to make that pass. He has 10 players in a box. He has to throw an up and go and let Torry Smith fight for the ball.
        It’s easiest to blame the Geep and the play-calling, but the wrs are getting open. We have a dysfunctional passing offense because the QB is completely lost. This started last year. Harbaugh knew he knew what he was doing when he put Kaep in, it was an ALL IN move. It failed with big brother figured out how to rattle Kaep.

        It’s an easy fix that no one wants to own up and admit: Kaep is a mistake at QB. Pull all the stats you want — but long term he didn’t get it done, cannot get it done.

        Let’s move on.

        1. Fan

          You’re right about an all in move. Get rid of Baalke and Hire both Shannahan and Holmgren as consultants now. They can both use their NFL connections to rebuild

  21. This is all Andrew Luck’s fault. He told Harbaugh about the kid from Turlock. Actually this is no one’s fault. Not Harbaugh, Baalk, York. Even though the current staff can’t coach him up in any way, if you really think about it he should have never been drafted in the first place. He was a given a chance to take it and run with it, and for a brief moment he did. But ultimately he came crashing back to earth because he couldn’t develop. There’s a reason he went to Nevada Reno and not a bigger college. This is not to say he’s not a bright kid, or bad person, he’s not. He just had to overcome a little more and couldn’t.

    But still how many people get a chance to be a NFL QB? Enjoy the moment Kaep, as your ride off into the sunset. I doin’t know what you majored in at Reno, but I hope you can put it to good use,

    1. Fansince77, I believe Colin Kaepernick can become a very valuable back up in the NFL. Just not in SF as a change of venue might be the best thing for him. Best case scenario, trade him to Philadelphia with Chip Kelly. Honestly, Id make the deal right now for Sanchez and a pick. I believe Sanchez is a free agent at years end. Throw in a 3rd and its a deal.

      1. I think they should trade him to Phill and Chip Kelly will experiment with him like he’s some kind of Frankensten monster. But ultimately he’s going to be out of the league because you have to know how to pass.

        I do think the WRs are giving up on him because they’re professional and it’s embarrassing to have GB put practically 11 men in the box and the Niners still ran it.

        That’s how bad it is. I don’t think it’s on the coaching staff either, This was starting to happen last year and now this year other teams just figured it out. It’s a copy cat league. If the Niners are this one-dimensional then other teams know they have to score 10 points, don’t make mistakes and it’s an easy win.

        That’s how bad Kaep is right now. He’s dragging everything down.

        1. Fan,

          Good description…When a team pulls its safties, is daring you to throw a 10 yard pass while stacking the line of scrimmage with 10 men, (and don’t forget last year a few times teams put all 11 men on the line) on 3rd and inches, and you still don’t pass, something is terribly wrong with the offense, not just the QB (because a 3rd and inches call for a run has happened more than once)

  22. We don’t need another defensive player, what we need is to beef up the offensive line. I guess the 49ers brass doesn’t care if Kaepernick gets hurt and winning football games.

      1. Agree. If he turns out to be great, that’s one position that can be removed as a top priority during FA and 2016 draft. Seems like a high reward/low risk proposition. But then I though Marcus Martin and Brandon Thomas were also high reward/low risk given where they were drafted.

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