There was talk early in the season / preseason that Rachal might make a good tackle. Has there been any other mention of that or do you know if they've given him a try at all in practice? With all the talk of looking at an OT in the draft, I would think they'd want to give him a shot at some point and see what he can do.

Good move by Singletary to put Chilo in. If he falters, they can put Wragge back in. We need the nastiness that Chilo brings to the OL, especially against the Cowgirls.

ouch losing Willis is going to hurt quite a bit. He's one of the few guys on the team that actually wrap up and tackle a guy instead of chipping/tripping up. I hope the hip injury isn't too severe. Michael Robinson is going to hurt a bit too, since he can be a play maker, or at least threaten to be one in the new wildcat fad.

Season's a wash so great idea to start Chilo. Let's see what they guy can do. If he's getting beat and is a liability plug Wragge back in. I haven't seen the nasty side of him but I like the idea of high draft picks being put into the fire to see how they respond. Now we need Balmer to do something. ANYTHING!

Matty,
Is Chilo really nasty? Can we quantify how nasty? Are we talking Larry Allen nasty.

Matt can you comment on the significance of Willis hip strain?

When he was drafted, I read a few interviews with him in which he expressed admiration for Larry Allen's style of play and referred to himself as a 'glasseater,' which should tell you everything you need to know. He's from Compton and a good family man, but I'm hoping he turns out to be a real a**hole in the lockerroom; we have too many nice guys on the o-line for my taste.

I hope he turns out that way too. We can use some fire.

followup to my reply: I just read the entrance interview on the 49ers website for chilo rachal and two Q&A's stood out to me:

Q: You were impressive in your own right, recording 77 knockdowns last season. How did you feel after those?
A: Like a million bucks. It’s the best feeling there is. I just like to go out there and be a mauler, a glass eater. If I see someone in my way, they are going to get it. I want to be a punisher.

Q: That’s a lot like Larry Allen, who you’ve said you idolized growing up?
A: Oh yeah. I can just remember watching him play with Dallas and then him coming here. He’s just a mauler, a glass eater. If you are in his way and he gets his hands on you, it’s pretty much good night.

Matt – nice tidbit you shared re Singletary's words of encouragement for Hill.

Singletary is taking a page out of Falcons Mike Smith's coaching book – always maintain an open door policy with players and be more available not just on, but off the field.

Good news! Barry Sims is back practicing. Yikes! Let's hope we never see him on the field again in a Niner uniform.
As for Rachal, I like this move since the season is indeed a wash and we need to find out what our young guys have. Again, I'm wonder if the firing of Warhop has anything to do with the line changes. It's about time. Now if we can do the same for the defense and bench Franklin and Roman. Walt and Sop are a few bad plays from riding the pine, IMO.

A few Chilo observations from Sando over at ESPN after going over the tape of the Rams game:

Chilo Rachal going after a defender several yards downfield when everyone else seemed to be content running out the clock.
Rachal pulling and burying Chavous cleanly but unnecessarily on the 49ers' final offensive play. I say this admiringly. He was playing hard in garbage time. It can't be long before the 49ers give him a start.

to txniner, Balmer has done something to your "do ANYTHING," but just isnt what we drafted him to do. he acutally fielded 3 kickoff return this year. but yes, do put those high draft pick in now since the season's a wash.

Good for Chilo. Now we have two tough guards in the trenches. Next move should be to see if Cody wallace can play NFL center -- since Heitmann is just a shadow of what he was pre-injury. If that doesn't work, I'd consider playing Wragge and rachal at gurad and moving Baas to center, where he'd be a bull, as he was at Michigan. The OL's coming around; next, let's get a DL -- because right now it's pretty much Smith out there alone on an island of mediocrity.

K. Balmer is a beast on those KO returns.

On Hill's TD pass to Morgan in the MNF game against AZ, Chilo took Darnell Dockett and pushed/man-handled him 10 yards backwards, down field. You could tell Dockett was not pleased being handled by a rookie =)

jsl - I'd rather see Wragge at center, he's slow when he's pulling at guard but his asset is power so he can hold the middle better than Heitman + doesn't he already have some experience at that position? The question is can he learn to make all the proper line calls? I don't see why not. Baas is faster than Wragge. Leave Baas & Chilo at guard. IMO quit experimenting & let these guys play their natural positions as much as possible specifically talking about Rachal. Let's draft our OT & finally be done with the line personnel. Soon afterwards find permanent homes for everyone & work on the CONTINUITY from there on out. Love the move by Singletary...we wouldn't be seeing any of these personnel adjustments & pushing of the Rookies by the previous HC until the end of the season if at all.

Happy about Chilo starting at guard, but want Wragge to stay in at C. Heitmann is the weak link in the middle. He just gets pushed around way to much.

Our line for next year could really be very good.

Staley
Bass
?
Rachal
? Our first round pick

Put Oher or Monroe at RT with Wallace or Wragge at C and that will be a tough ass line

I would just like to applaud Shaun Hill, for his O.P. of the week award. Richly deserved, by a player who must certainly have felt that he was unfairly placed on the reject heap at the beginning of the season, but kept himself ready to play nonetheless. I wish him a solid game, and some old-fashioned down-field luck, against Dallas. (If there is such a thing as a trashed-season-gps-game, this is it.)
PS --Shaun, keep your helmet on. One defining moment is enough concussion-bait for this year. You have the starting job, Singletary likes you, Martz is beginning to recognize your grit, and now you have to stay alive.

Did you guys forget we extended Heitman thru 2011? Scot loves him and he actually hasn't played bad this year. The coaches and players also love him and I think he is getting a bad wrap thanks to Martz and JTO. Let’s see what happens over the next 6 games.

Thanks Matt, it's always nice to see the big boys get some love in the press. I think Rachal would be a good fit on this line; big, strong and relatively quick.

bump mike in sf #2, about the players loving Heitman, after Hill ran in his qb sneak for the TD he gave the ball to Heitman for a spike. That's showing the O line some love. And I'm really glad to hear that Rachal looks up to guys like Larry Allen. That guy was a beast and helped Gore show to the league how much of a stud running back he is. Although I'm not sure if he's going to make the probowl this year, if Rachal ---> Larry Allen, Gore will be going to the probowl for a long time.

I am very excited about Rachal starting! With Baas on other side we got a nasty interior. Rachal has been standing linemen up at the line and when he gets a hold of guys he finishes blocks until whistle, I like it! Singletary seems to have a real sense of players he has and where they can fit. Hopefully we will give Dallas a run for their money. How sweet would it be to beat them and they dont make playoffs!

Like Romo mentioned in the earlier thread, this is a playoff game.
Here's where Singletary let's these guys Tee Off on the overhyped 'Boys and, hopefully earn some respect.

This game is all about establishing our identity and building some character.
Singletary and Martz have enough credibility to get these guys ready for the challenge.
Time to execute and play spoiler. The obvious change in attitude comes from Singletary challenging them on every series to stay focused and play to win.