Matt,
How long is Haralson signed through.Is it 2010? And do you have any idea if ownership knows what they have in him. Do you see the potential for him to get an extention before his value increases.

Wouldn't Alex Smith belong on this list of Overpaid?

Q: How long is Haralson signed through.Is it 2010? And do you have any idea if ownership knows what they have in him. Do you see the potential for him to get an extention before his value increases.

My response: He is signed through 2009. I don't know what ownership feels about him, but I know GM Scot McCloughan is high on him. He kept telling all last season how Haralson was ready to break out. Now, it's pretty obvious that Haralson has broken out. They'll have to pay him some pretty decent money. If they don't get a deal done, his price could make another dramatic jump if he hits the open market. --Matt M.

If your talking about the ownership in Ohio they don't have a clue. All that counts now is what the young Jedi thinks which he solely relies on McCloughan. This is a no brainer & McCloughan should have already given Paraage the green light to get to work or should be VERY SOON. Any delays causing the prices to go up (a possible monster sack game or games to add to the total, adding to his QB pressures/tackles/caused fumbles/INT numbers & taking more visible steps that shows his growth/command in his position while watching him on film) is on McCloughan's lap. This is an easy one Scotty off the to-do list. Call Paraage & get 'er done!

I don't care if Vernon Davis can block like the great wall of China. He's way overpaid. He's far from being an elite tight end. He gives up on passes he doesn't think he can catch, he still has alligator arms, and won't leave his feet to make a catch. He still thinks he has to make a touchdown on every catch. He' a legit headcase.

Lets not get too excited about signing Haralson to a large deal just yet. How many of his sacks came seconds after they should have, and were primarily the result of solid coverage?

The mythology of a "failed" Nolan regime is already concretizing on that list. They say the lone exception to Nolan's disastrous draft picking was linebackers. Presumably they're talking only about Patrick Willis (success) and Alex Smith (disaster). Let's look at the first day picks from the Nolan tenure: Balmer, Rachal, R. Smith, Willis, Staley, Hill, MacDonald, Davis, Lawson, Williams, A. Smith, Baas, Gore. That includes one bust (A. Smith..arguably Williams, but he was a 3rd-rounder, so less was at stake), two home-runs (Willis, Gore), and a lot of in-between. Nolan's fate was tied to Smith's, though--that was the one pick the 49ers could not afford to screw up, and they did.

well thing is about VD and his passing plays is that when he can hold onto the ball they get mad yardage usually like 20 yds or so. and about him not laying out to get passes, I'd hate to lay out get smashed by 2 linebackers then have to go back to blocking a DE.

graham brings up some good points about nolans drafts, in that although he wasn't a genius, the players that he drafted haven't been total busts. Even though most of them haven't been instant starters, they are developing pretty well and are finally showing it.

Nolan was a tool, and his players are only developing now, after he is gone. If Nolan was still here, Jason Hill and others would still be gathering moss on the bench.

VD isn't a Tony Mandarich / Brian Bosworth level bust, but he certainly hasn't produced as much as you'd want from the 6th pick in the draft. I for one would be satisfied at this point if he cuts out the stupid penalties and gets 40-50 catches a year.

Alex Marvez is a CLOWN! I love it on Sundays on FOX Radio when former 49er Derrick Deese always calls this guy out for being a MORON! His article in August about how boring the Hall of Fame Ceremony was especially Fred Dean was ridiculous. This guy's perspective of the NFL goes back to about 2000. Poster Child for everything that is WRONG with the American Sportswriter!

Wow, what's got you so grumpy? Are you arguing that Nolan's departure allowed the players he drafted to get better? Also, McCloughan is really the talent guy in the organization. Jerry O'Sullivan probably had a lot to do with keeping Jason Hill off the field. Also, be careful about telling any NFL vets that rookies typically make an impact immediately. Experienced players are better players. Is that some kind of voodoo mystery around here? Crazy. Cheer up, grumps.

I really think they should consider in the off season turning VD into a fullback. 9ers need a fullback, VD can block, and actually, he'd probably be a good fullback, threat catching passes out of the backfield, even a few touches running the ball - VD and Gore in the backfield ...... Matt, ask the 9ers if they've or will considered it.

the list illustrates how selective you must be handing out big contracts. I would rather have young guys, hungry for the big money contracts than content players sitting on bonus money.

If you hand out a big contract you better be sure that player would play football for free and loves the game.

VD a Fullback?????? SERIOUSLY, put a sub 4.4 guy at fullback??? Under Singletary, VD is still set to become the BEST TE in football. He is still very young.

They keep him in to block anyways, but just imagine VD from the fullback position -- He'd blow up the blitzer, they'd have an explosive backfield. They could put VD in motion, fullback screens, heck hand VD the ball at the goal line - I tell ya, he'd be more involved in the offense, with more touches, and Martz could really get creative.

[Are you arguing that Nolan's departure allowed the players he drafted to get better?]

If you have been paying ANY attention the last few weeks, you KNOW this is a simple fact. Singletary is getting good play out of rookies who never saw the field under Nolan (eg Chilo), young vets who never played under Nolan (Jason Hill), and by using players correctly, is getting better play out of veteran guys like Aubrayo Frankliin. Nolan was a tool. Case closed.

[Experienced players are better players.]

LOL... and just where does Mark "I never make plays but I'm a veteran" Roman fit into this logic?

Umm... yeah. right.

I think Vernon Davis is a victim of the team he's on more than anything else. He really is a gifted athlete and lately he's been making big plays and earning his paycheck. If Haralson gets like 10 sacks this year, they better lock him up instead of letting him file for free agency after '09. It's been a long time since the Niners had an outside pass rush. Jonas Jennings has been a disaster and that one's on the GM. They need to address that RT spot this offseason.

VD - he has the talent. The knock on him has never been about talent - its been million dollar athlete, ten cent head.

My take is, he will be far better off under Singletary. He is a marginal guy who needs a leader, a father figure even. Singletary already has more cred with VD and the rest of this team than Nolan did. So, all in all, I agree that Davis may yet llive up to most of his potential yet.

Haralson is a very good player. Ideally I want another good rusher to team with him but certainly Parys has done very well for a middle round pick.

And I think the 49ers will indeed seriously look at tackles in this years draft. They also will look at NTs, OLB rush guys and safeties. It will probably come down to who is there when they pick. They are surviving okay with Snyder but if they have a shot at a dominant tackle they should grab him. OTOH, Staley's improvement on the left side allows them to consider going defense first and getting a pile driver right tackle in round two (Loadholt?) - which I really doubted a month ago. That might even allow us to move down in the first round, get a NT like Cody or Raji, and pick up an extra 2nd or 3rd to use in the secondary. That would be sweet.

Go 49ers - this is not about getting overly excited about Haralson. This is about a GM doing his job & covering the basics. Haralson was a 5th Rd draft choice. With our lack of ANY pass rushers (JSmith is a hard worker & a keeper but not a true pass rusher) he's proving to be a steal since a lot of 5th rounders are throw-aways, back-ups, or ST's players. Haralson's still growing as a player & hasn't quite reached his ceiling 100% yet as a pass rusher. He has 1 more notch max to go IMO. The point is we KNOW we're going to keep him. At worst he'll be a backup (but a legit one who's proven he can play & get to the QB) once we get our stud rusher if he doesn't develop to be that #1 guy. The common sense AUTOMATIC thing to do is to re-sign him now...the only thing that's going to happen by waiting is as he raises his stats & grows in commanding his position his price will go up. As I said for a GM it's a no brainer.

Lock him up now & sign him to a fair & reasonable deal.