I'm worried about the 49ers

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

If smith and davis become a decent tandem I can see the niners winning that weak division with a 10-6record then probably bottom out in wild card weekend - we probably get the 1st round pick around early 20s

 

[dhamz]

49ers will make the playoffs in the abysmal NFC. Count on a pick in the high 20's.

The high 20s? Give me a break. Last year the NFC had 3 teams with records good enough to pick after 25 and one good enough to pick after 28.

The 49ers are highly unlikely to be one of the best 3 teams in the NFC and have almost no chance to be the best. The worst this pick could possibly be is mid 20s which is still a huge upgrade from 28th in a draft the Pats thought was weak.

 

[Born_a_Patriot]

Niners 10-6 this season is very possible. NFC

 

[BelichickFan]

Niners 10-6 this season is very possible. NFC

Sure. As is 4-12.

 

[patsgo]

Since we have their first round pick next year we all know that the worst they do the better we do. Could you imagine if we ended up getting a top 12 pick, as well as our own first rounder. That would be amazing. The problem is that the 49ers seem like they could be an up and coming team who added some talent this offseason.

It was so frustrating to watch a mediocre Seattle team win more games than they should have because 1. They played in a terrible division 2. They played in a terrible conference 3. They had a clutch kicker with a strong leg. The 49ers play in the same weak division and conference as the Seahawks.

Key talent added this offseason:

Nate Clements
Michael Lewis
Patrick Willis
Darryl Jackson
Joe Staley
Jason Hill
Jay Moore
Tarell Brown

They already have a tremendous do everything running back in Frank Gore, a freak of a tight end in Vernon Davis, and their QB was the number one overall pick in 2004. They still have a very young team, but they have some talent and I fear they could get lucky and win a few more games than they should. A few games could be the difference between a pick in the early teens and a pick in the early twenties.

To me, the key to their season will be the performance of Alex Smith. If he has a pretty good year then they stand a chance of making the playoffs. If he doesn't, then hello high pick. Last year he threw as many touchdowns as interceptions but he will be going into his third year and might improve, but he is a big question mark. I can also only hope that the Cardinals, Rams, and Seahawks improve this year so that division becomes tougher.

The possibilities that having an additional high first rounder next would open up are endless.

as bb would say it is what it is i wouldnt loose sleep over it

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

The SF resurgence is still theory, not fact. Their absymal D, Nate Clements or no, will be a huge albatross. Having the worst D in the league despite a stud grinder like Gore eating up time for you is a pretty scary situation. Expecting a rookie star, even one as good Willis, to turn around the D is fantasy. The extent of the now missing Turner's effect on Smith will be revealed early on - if Smith bombs, the team will come unraveled quickly as the 'dream' disappears in a blizzard of INT's and low 3rd completion rates.

 

[patsfan-1982]

lets face it the 49ers are no worst then a 8-8 team in the NFC and even if they get a top 10 pick i dont see the pats even useing it they wont pay a rookie that kinda money

 

[BelichickFan]

lets face it the 49ers are no worst then a 8-8

I'm not buying that in any way.

even if they get a top 10 pick i dont see the pats even useing it they wont pay a rookie that kinda money

Seymour says HI.

 

[patsfan-1982]

I'm not buying that in any way.


Seymour says HI.

yes but we were 6-10 when we picked seymour and we dont have the money any more to sign a top 10 pick but im not BB or SP so we will find out next yer

 

[BelichickFan]

yes but we were 6-10 when we picked seymour and we dont have the money any more to sign a top 10 pick but im not BB or SP so we will find out next yer

Belichick would love the #1 pick . . . don't want to pay it ? Trade down to #12 and get another #1 next year. Having a high pick would not be a problem.

 

[Cags49ers]

Sure. As is 4-12.

Only if Frank Gore suffers a catastrophic injury early on in the season. But the same can be said about Manning/The Colts.

If Frank is healthy though, we are making the playoffs.:rocker:

Well I'm tired of doing this, but the 49ers were awful last year. They had the 5th worst point differential. They allowed the most points in the league. Alex Smith was better in the first half than the second half. They lost their OC. Two of their wins were against Detriot and Oakland. Another against Seattle with no Hasselbeck. If you assume Seattle with no Hasselbeck is not a playoff quality team, they had only one win against a playoff team, Seattle, and that was when Seattle was playing badly having just lost to Arizona. They haven't added THAT much. The bottom 4 on your list likely won't make a big difference. Willis is a rookie. Jackson is no better than Antonio Bryant, IMO, who they lost.

I thought we addressed our needs nearly perfectly this season. We needed a tougher, better tackling secondary so we added Nate Clements and Michael Lewis two of the biggest hitting DB's in football.

Linebacker corps? We added Patrick Willis, the best ILB prospect to come out in years to replace Derek "I suck" Smith. Added an upcoming pass rusher in TBC.

RT? Added one of the most atheletic OT's in the draft (Staley) to replace Kwame "No Feet" Harris.

WR? Majorly bolstered this unit. Lost Bryant but added Jason Hill, a solid Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie for peanuts which could ened up as a boom or bust signing.

I like Seattle better. They added Kerney. They should get Hasselbeck and Alexander all year. Branch will know the offense better.

But how is Kerney going to solve their run defense problems? Is Brandon Mebane going to answer all those questions?

The O-Line is still a major concern there after they lost out on Dielman.

I like St. Louis better. They added McMichael to finish off their offense. Leonard will help in many ways. Carriker will have a good impact where they need it. They aren't a team of young guys who might do it like SF, they're veterans who WILL do it.

Yes MORE offense for in St. Louis... Since when has that been the problem? Again, run defense? Carriker is good against the run but not a formidible force that warrants the 13th overall. And we don't even know where he'll play yet.

Not really that impressed by St. Louis's offseason. They still have not gave their defense a long hard look.

I might even like Arizona better. Their defense was better than SF last year. Their skill guys surely are better. Can the OL get going ? That's a question but Levi Brown should be a good start.

The O-line is a question you've mentioned, and Arizona is improving but we've been saying this for years. Edgerrin James, being a shell of his former self, isn't going to create a running game by himself as we saw last year.

Sure SF has the POTENTIAL to be very good this year. Will they be ? Almost certainly not. 5th worst point differential last year, repeat that over and over. They have a long, long way to go and the chances of them going that distance this year is remote.

Top 15 pick, I'm telling you guys.

That was LAST YEAR's defense, which has now been overhauled with actual talent instead of crap like Mike Adams, Tony Parrish, Derek Smith, Jeff Ulbrich, etc. Throw those numbers out.

We're at least tied with St. Louis for projected 2nd in the division behind Seattle. To put Arizna above us is proposterous unless they get Faneca somehow.

 

[DarMan]

Alex Smith remains the fourth best quarterback in the NFC West. That and a below average defense equals a top 15 pick

 

[BelichickFan]

Awww, a 40whiner fan shows up, how cute. Bottom line, the 49ers sucked last year, their 7-9 overstated how they played. Will their additions make a big difference ? Maybe. But they'll have to be a better team just to get to 7-9 again this year.

 

[Cags49ers]

I also posted this recently on another board, some of you may have seen it:

Brandon Moore, ILB, San Francisco 49ers

Keep an eye on him when the Niners are on this season.

Last year, he was shuffled around to different spots within the LB core, from ILB, to OLB. As a result of shuffling Moore around, along with keeping two crappy players like Derek Smith and Jeff Ulbrich in the starting line-up, the defense was terrible (as you know)

But when Ulbrich was benched/Smith got hurt, and Moore was inserted inside as a starter, he flourished and became the pulse of the defense. He brought elements to the important spot of MLB that shad been sorely lacking before. He played strong, was pro-active, and aggressive.

He rarely misses tackles. His size, at 6'1" 255 Lbs, makes him not unlike Jeremiah Trotter in physique and gives him the size to hit with. Shaun Alexander knows this well.

Another thing that Moore brings, which is rare from a MLB-- is versatility. He can play any LB spot pretty effectively, as well as 4-3 DE with his hand down (he played that in the elephant role for us last season). He's a great pass rusher, tacking 6.5 sacks in limited time.

Not great speed, or the most talented from a physical standpoint, but he's determined. Signed as a UDFA in 2002 (after being waived by New England, interestingly enough) Moore started as a special teams guy and worked hard, evolving from there. He wouldn't be denied. And now he's going to get his chance to shine, as he comes into the 2007 season as the top linebacker on the team (another feat, since our LB core also features two 1st round picks considered to be physical freaks coming out of college).

So try to pry some of your attention away from high profile names like Nate Clements, Michael Lewis, and Patrick Willis-- and Give Brandon Moore, #56, some well deserved attention this season.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Good luck with that up and coming pass-rusher, TBC! Bwahaha!

 

[BelichickFan]

Good luck with that up and coming pass-rusher, TBC! Bwahaha!

TBC is fine as a pass rusher, he's just not a very good LB. Why else did Belichick have to go and get Seau out of retirement and then only crawl back to TBC when Seau got hurt

 

[Cags49ers]

Alex Smith remains the fourth best quarterback in the NFC West. That and a below average defense equals a top 15 pick

I don't deny that Alex Smith is probably the fourth best QB in the west. He's average most of the time.

Awww, a 40whiner fan shows up, how cute. Bottom line, the 49ers sucked last year, their 7-9 overstated how they played. Will their additions make a big difference ? Maybe. But they'll have to be a better team just to get to 7-9 again this year.

There were times when our O-Line was flat-out dominating other teams and Frank Gore alone puts above where you have us rated. Not to mention rare talent like Vernon Davis there.

The defense is pretty loaded with talent now also. Clements, Walt Harris, Michael Lewis, Keith Lewis, Brandon Moore, Bryant Young etc...

I don't see how anyone can honestly look at the roster we have and not say we're not a borderline playoff team next year. We're relatively solid at most starting positions and with the way we finished the season strong I see no reason to think that in the NFC we're a contender.

 

[BelichickFan]

I don't see how anyone can honestly look at the roster we have and not say we're not a borderline playoff team next year.

I look at your results and you had the 4th worst point differential in the league last year and a QB who played better in the first half of the season than the second. Maybe the additions will make the difference but they're mostly rookies and role players other than Clements and Jackson (the latter of which I think is WAY overrated).

 

[fair catch fryar]

TBC is fine as a pass rusher, he's just not a very good LB. Why else did Belichick have to go and get Seau out of retirement and then only crawl back to TBC when Seau got hurt

I had no problems with TBC until I saw what SF dished out for him. He had a few big plays, but was mediocre at best and ultimately exposed our greatest weakness against the Colts. $8.7 million for 3 years including a 2.9 million signing bonus is why I laugh, of course SF is still approx. 10 million under the cap.

 

[Cags49ers]

I look at your results and you had the 4th worst point differential in the league last year and a QB who played better in the first half of the season than the second. Maybe the additions will make the difference but they're mostly rookies and role players other than Clements and Jackson (the latter of which I think is WAY overrated).

Yeah, but that was last years defense. Since then a lot has changed, the LB corps and the secondary have been almost completely overhauled. Old, soft slow players have been replaced by young, physical players who generally tackle well.

Alex Smith played well starting the season, then hit a bug lull-- But was probably playing his best football the last few games of the year.

And I agree that Jackson is overrated. He's injured a lot and has sub-par hands. But we also got Lelie and Jason Hill, and then there's Vernon f'n Davis... lol....