I recall writing a little about Ratliff after last season because of the statistical comparisons with Isaac Sopoaga. When teams and agents are trying to determine a fair contract for a player, it becomes a lot like real estate. They look for "comps."
Sopoaga's agent, Ken Zuckerman, used Ratliff as a comp. After all, at the conclusion of last season, Ratliff had 34 NFL games played with 14 starts in three seasons. He recorded 50 tackles and eight sacks. Meanwhile, Sopoaga played 47 games with eight starts in three seasons. He recorded 114 tackles with three sacks.
In December, the Cowboys signed Ratliff to a five-year, $20.5 million contract with $8 million guaranteed. In February, just before he was he was scheduled for unrestricted free agent, Sopoaga signed a five-year, $20 million deal with $4.775 million guaranteed.
The Ratliff deal is looking like a bargain for the Cowboys.
"He gets you with a good push," 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. "He defeats double teams in the running game. He splits those zone blocks. For a nose guard, he's the best pass rusher at that position that I've seen. He's quick off the ball. He uses his hands really well."
In 10 games, Ratliff has 50 tackles, six sacks and 18 quarterback pressures. Sopoaga has 43 tackles, one sack and seven QB pressures. Sopoaga was moved this season from nose tackle to defensive end in a 3-4 or defensive tackle in a 4-3.
I asked Singletary yesterday about Sopoaga's production.
"He's played well," Singletary said. "He wants to play better. We want him to play better, but he's played pretty well."
Is it a matter of consistency?
"I think for him, it's a matter of continuing to know exactly where he's supposed to be on every situation," Singletary said. "And he's done a better job, but he is trying to make sure that he has good leverage on every play. Sometimes he has the tendency to get high, but he's playing better this year than I think he ever has, so that's good too see."
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Singletary said no decision has been finalized, but he's leaning toward starting Chilo Rachal over Tony Wragge at right guard. He said it would be a game-time decision.
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INJURY REPORT
49ers: WR Josh Morgan (groin), WR Arnaz Battle (foot) and S Dashon Goldson (knee) are out. LB Patrick Willis (illness), RB Michael Robinson (stinger), CB Tarell Brown (neck strain), S Mark Roman (groin), TE Delanie Walker (shoulder) and T Barry Sims (ankle) are all probable.
Robinson, Sims and Willis went through full practices, while Brown, Roman and Walker were limited.
Cowboys: WR Miles Austin (knee) and RB Felix Jones (hamstring) are out. CB Terrence Newman (groin) and LB Justin Rodgers (back) are questionable. QB Tony Romo (finger), TE Jason Witten (ribs), LB Bobby Carpenter (groin) and WR Isaiah Stanback (shoulder) are probable.
Newman and Rogers did not practice. Newman is a new addition to the injury report, and this is a biggie. He is a very good player who just returned last week and gave the Cowboys' defense a major boost with his play against the Redskins. Romo,
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I guess the Niners got the short end of the stick in Sop. He's been mediocre at best. He's a big, powerful dude but he gets pushed around out there. He and Franklin have been disappointments to say the least.
I think Sop as well as the whole d line would be a lot better with more depth. I think this should be continually adressed via the draft.
Sop is in the wrong scheme....i was shocked when we extended him. He would be a good DT in a 4-3 because he can penetrate with quickness and disrupt in the back field
i am dissapointed in Soap...with all that strength, i expect more than this...
Yeah, depth is the big problem. You could have the best d-line in the league but if they're on the field 30 minutes per game they're going to get worn out and pushed around.
Guys over 300 pounds, regardless of conditioning, aren't known for their endurance. Too much weight to carry.
You think that depth is the problem? Sopoaga and Franklin get pushed around from the opening play of the game, before they've even had a chance to get tired. The DL's problem is a lack of quality, not depth.
Matt, just heard you on Ralph & Tom. ARe you capable of saying three words without using the phrase "you know"?
You know it! Darn, I failed again. --Matt M.
A good dose of OL run blocking will slow down a heavy pass rush.
This game is our Playoff Game.
If Mike and Mike can get these focused and show some fire there's no reason to think we can't win this matchup.
Looking forward to taking a big step on Sunday. Confidence is key. We should be ready for this one.
Matt, what are the chances Patrick Willis' "illness" is the same one that Josh Morgan had at the end of August..... :$ ?!?!?!
he wouldn't be probable if it was.
How about Ahmad Brooks?
I'm still hoping to see some packages where we employ some zone blitz schemes.
Not sure what Manusky has up his sleeve, but Lawson and Justin Smith along with Patrick and maybe Brooks could allow some pressure packages to be introduced?
Really looking forward to this game as a measure on our development on defense.
No reason to think we can't give these guys a loss.
It's a fair question because of the secretive nature in which the 49ers handled staph infections to Josh Morgan and Keith Lewis earlier this season. Instead of revealing the nature of those "illnesses" and publicly talking about the steps the organization has taken to clean things up, the 49ers decided to never acknowledge what happened. As a result, stuff like that can -- and should -- be something they have to address with free agents. I do not believe Willis has a staph infection because he returned to fuill practice on Friday. If that were his "illness," he would still be under quarantine. --Matt M.
Soap and Franklin have been near terrible this season and last season.... They rarely makes plays and get pushed around like they are rag dolls out there. Fair players at best. Locking in Soap for $20 million for five years was an absolute steal for Soap, certainly not the team. The two of them should not even be playing except for the fact that the back-ups are even worse. Why not play 1st rounder Balmer most of the game? The team is 3-7; let's find out what Balmer can do in real game situations. Otherwise is he another McNolan bust?
The biggest problem the 49ers have had over the past few years and coontinue to have is that they are not aquiring good enough players. They continue (as the Warriors did for many years) to pay HUGE amounts of guaranteed salaries to run of the mill or mediocre players. It is kind of ironic that a businessman/fan who wanted to play at GM like Jerry Jones has been (next to New England - also run by a businessman/fan) the best in the league at getting players WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. The Cowboys keep getting good/great players while the 49ers keep getting ordinary ones.
A nose tackle moved to DE?? I'm not a defensive genius or anything but that sounds like a bad plan. It also supports a report earlier in the year where a league source said one of the problems with the 9ers is that they have too many guys playing out of position.
Matt, the 9ers have had several instances over the past 2 years where the competence of the medical staff and trainers have come into question. How are the guys on the 9ers staff perceived around the league?
THOSE "FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS" -- Matt, often professional teams report a player being out because of "flu-like symptoms." But those very often occur outside of flu season and leaves me wondering: What is being masked by that phrase? I suspect it means the player has a big-time hangover, and no team wants to admit that.
Got any insight into that strange phrase?
FRANKLIN and 'SOAP' have put up pedestrian numbers so far. at first i thought that they were victims of the defensive scheme but upon further study (tvo review of each game) these guys are being consistantly pushed around. even the helpless RAMS were earning some good yardage up the middle where FRANKLIN and 'SOAP' generally fill those gaps. i was surprised when the team gave up on M-OLIVER during training camp because when he was healthy he was more consistant in penetrating with a strong push. i agree with the other postings that would like to see BALMER receive more playing time. at the very least he could provide an obstacle in the middle passing lanes with his height where many opposing QB' are loging pro-bowl numbers. we need to draft a DT stalwart who could constantly bring pressure up the middle and perhaps sign a free agent DT as well. also, where's AHMAD BROOKS?