Good I am all for drafting an O-lineman. It all starts in the trenches. It does not matter what skill players you have if you dont have the proper personell to run block and pass protect anyway.

Love the idea of an OT at #10 (I'm figuring Raji will be taken be the SeaHACKS.)

But for the love of football, DO NOT TAKE ANDRE SMITH. His work ethic and love of the game are highly suspect (something Singletary will sniff out), he interviewed poorly and bailed from the combine without telling anyone.

Not welcome here, talented or not.

Go Oher, McSing!

I dont necessarily agree with drafting an OT and paying him top 10 money to play Right Tackle. Seems like a better spot to improve our pass rush, IMHO.

DC or SF? Both have ridiculous taxes. I hope he signs with us, but I won't be crying if he doesn't.

I still think they should look at Khalif Barnes instead. He will be out here anyways. I guess they are set on drafting a OT.

Hey guys, just thought i'd post this cnnsi article which basically rips our niners for the warner pursuit and FA dealings.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jim_trotter/03/04/49ers/index.html?eref=T1

Coach Singletary will make a man out of Andre Smith don't worry. If he falls to us that would be a big XMAS present wrapped in scarlet and gold. Why we don't bring in Ray Willis is a head scratcher to me. If Evans fails to sign will we pursue Taylor?

I think Andre Smith would be a great pick hes a beast!!

Watching (Andre) Smith play, it doesn't look like he's got a poor work ethic. He follows his blocks through the end of the play and doesn't stop until the whistle is blown. I'm not 100% positive, but I believe he didn't have any issues prior to the Sugar Bowl. People make mistakes, and he is a dominant blocker. There's no question about that. I trust that they were thorough in their interviews of him, and I try not to get too caught up in what Mike Florio says happened at the combine. I think Smith or Oher would be a great pick at 10.

Perfect, I hope they think like you think in the war room MM. Let the young o-line grow and get stronger together, for a long time.

Matt,

Any truth to the Trotter story on SI, that 49ers offered Warner a 2 yr., 30 mil. contract? If so, is that why you think the 49ers still have a decent shot at getting Warner?

Question: Any truth to the Trotter story on SI, that 49ers offered Warner a 2 yr., 30 mil. contract? If so, is that why you think the 49ers still have a decent shot at getting Warner?

My response: I don't know the exact terms of the 49ers' "non-offer" offer to Warner. But I've been told the numbers were a lot more in total money and guarantees than the Cardinals were offering. So the numbers Trotter reported seem about right.

But you have to believe the Cardinals and Warner will work something out. They're so close on the total package, they just have to come together on the guarantees. Thankfully, we should know fairly soon. --Matt M.

Yep, good work Holmes, we would only be willing to invest big money in one more OT. Any of the four mentioned should work. That'd give us the final piece for a solid OL, assuming they stay together for a few years, stay healthy and all develop and improve together. Ahem, I seem to be salivating over having a dominant O line...pardon me.
Best of all, George Warhop is no longer in the building, and we improved mightily when he left. We should continue to improve.

So, whom to target in round 2? A WR would be nice, but maybe not a priority now we signed BJ. A QB to groom would be super-nice, or maybe a RB to share the load? I guess it'll be BPA.

Matt,

I seriously need your opinion about this article written by Jim Trotter of CNNSI. He basically talks about how bad the 49ers organization is for trying to pursue Warner?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jim_trotter/03/04/49ers/index.html?eref=T1

Please give me your opinion if you can. He just sounds so bitter to me. I don't like it at all granted I may be a little bias ;-).

Bro i think either way whether that "non offer" is true or not we still come out looking like jackasses and Trotter is right. Even if somehow Warner does accept. Worse off we've probably alienated our QBs as well, regardless of whether any of them is indeed the future of the 49ers. I feel especially bad for Hill who has been so utterly professional throughout his tenure with SF.

Trotter makes good points, some that I think all of us have thought at one point (I know have). But he also shows how little he understands the NFL. The Niners were bad, free agents don't go to bad teams unless they are going to make more money. Hence the larger numbers for Jennings, Clements and J. Smith.

I don't think talking heads realize how bad this team was. With few exceptions, the players that were on the team when McNolan took over would not have played, much less started, on the good teams in the league. Have they made mistakes, of course they have, but they weren't going to become the Colts or Patriots over night.

On the draft, I really wish people would give up on bashing the Smith pick. Who should the Niners have taken? Take a look at the first round of the '05 draft, close to half the guys are not starters, and a few are no longer in the league. Smith was totally mis-handled by an inexperienced organization (and stubborn coach). All indications are the Bucs would have taken him at 4, so obviously the Niners weren't reaching that bad...

Question: I seriously need your opinion about this article written by Jim Trotter of CNNSI. He basically talks about how bad the 49ers organization is for trying to pursue Warner?

My response: I've heard a lot of people state their disagreements with the 49ers' pursuit of Warner. Very few of those people, in my opinion, presented clear and rational arguments. From a technical standpoint, I believe Trotter provided a well-thought-out opinion.

My personal opinion is, if the 49ers felt they had a chance to upgrade the most important position on the field, they had to go for it. The downside is if they don't get Warner, then it gives the appearance that they believe neither Shaun Hill or Alex Smith is a starter. --Matt M.

I get the feeling they're gonna go RB or DT in the second round. However, if Darrius Heyward-Bey is available at 11 in the 2nd (which I highly doubt, but one can hope), they NEED to snatch this guy up.

You make some good points. I think Smith showed a ton of potential during the 06 season with Turner and i don't believe you can just suddenly descend into a crap QB. He's been mishandled and undermined like you said and remember he's still very young.

The 49ers have a chance to get such good right tackle as ray willis, why not sign him and at the #10 pick you could sign a another need like a QB, pass rusher, safety,wide receivers, the 4ers got so many holes it wouldn't make any sense if they think they can go and find some good quality in those players though all 7 picks in the draft, come on!

I'm torn on Ray Willis/OT situation. I think they should at least sit down with Willis. But I also understand that the draft is loaded with OT prospects and they could feasibly even find one later than 10 who will be a starter. The other problem is, who else do they take at 10?

Sanchez - more $ for an unproven QB
Maybin/Brown/Orakpo - Maybin and Brown have fallen on most boards, and Orakpo may not be the ideal 3-4 OLB
Jenkins - if they are positive he can be an impact FS, I mean , Ed Reed type of FS, I say take him, but right now I can't see them taking him as a CB
Crabtree - if he is there you have to take him
Maclin - maybe

Personally, I think they are little gun shy on FA RT's.

A ton of potential??? Did you mean this stat-line?: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/gamelog?playerId=8416&sYear=2006

Sweet, he actually had 5 okay games, against the Lambs, Raiders, SeaHacks, and the then-crappy Cardinals, with a combined Won-Loss record of 12 games under the .500 mark.

I don't see a single break-out game in his career. ANY player at ANY position that truly has ANY upside shows some flashes of greatness. Even Shaun Hill and JTO have at least one 300-yard game to their career.

You make the comment that you "..don't believe you can just suddenly descend into a crap QB." Well I say he didn't suddenly descend into a crap QB. He has always been one.

I don't wholly blame the Niners for picking him, they got stuck with the #1 pick and no one to pawn it off to. And thank that jerk Leinart for deciding to go back to school for us winding up with Alex Smith. That isn't a ringing endorsement for Leinart, either. But he definitely has 'potential' unlike A. Smith. We finally get a high pick and it ends up in the worst year possible for picking a QB. The drafts before and after 2005 are full of starters and all-pros.

Kurt has officially signed with Arizona. Can we please move on now. Thanks. Overall great move by SF in my opinion trying to upgrade the QB position. Hopefully Smith signs soon or we may have to look at Leftwich or someone else out there. Anyway, I'm just glad this is over.

"The downside is if they don't get Warner, then it gives the appearance that they believe neither Shaun Hill or Alex Smith is a starter"

I think it's fair to say Hill and Smith had to expect something. Singletary said right after the season he didn't want to commit to a starting QB because of competition and who they may bring in. Therefore, the downside isn't all that bad and neither QB should be surprised or insulted. We are talking about the the NFC Suberbowl QB here...

I don't believe Alex Smith or Shaun Hill are starters, either. I'd rather the Niners try to better themselves at the position than to pretend otherwise.


And Trotter's cnnsi article seems to me typical of the East Coast, major media's bias against the team. They're always gonna see the glass half empty here. I don't pay'em too much attention.

"Personally, I think they are little gun shy on FA RT's."

----just sounds funny----

Matt, I thought the NFL put in a new 1 week moratorium for signing FA's this year? To stop the midnight signings these guys were doing... What ever happened to that?

It seems to me, and I didn't think so at the beginning, what Matt says is really the truth on the Warner situation. The 49ers really went after Warner and if the money figures are in any way near the truth, the team thought he would either fit the new system MS wants to bring to the offense or MS wanted to open the offense up a little more than originally thought.
But either way it's mute now. Except, even though Hill said he wasn't distracted by the possibility Warner could come to the 9ers, that's hard to believe. I remember when Montana was at the top of his game, Walsh went after Young and brought him to the team. It definitely bothered Montana. And Montana was a future HOF QB who succeeded in almost every pressure situation on the field. But Walsh's off field pick up of Young upset Montana until he left the 49ers.
Now my only wonder is if the Young situation upset Montana that much, how could it not bother Hill who has maybe 1/4 of the skills of Montana. And not nearly the confidence of Montana. Will it seem to Hill the 9ers really don't have that confidence in him? Will it make him constantly look behind him to the bench, like Montana did?
I guess will just have to see.

The problem and big mistake with this whole Warner mess is that, not only they didn't get the QB, they showed their hand with how they really feel about Smith and Hill, (which by the way was no mystery.) Now everything is out there on the table. We are now going into the season with a good backup QB as a starter. It seems like its the same old story with a lack of focus with building this team. Do the 49ers actually have a plan or are they just making things up as they go along? The only solution i can see is drafting a QB in the 3rd round and start grooming him.

Hey, Kwame Harris is an UFA -- let's go get him ....... ahahaha

The reason why the brass won't bring in either Willis or Barnes is because they are more commited to saving money than winning,or,they don't have any money and pretend otherwise with the Warner theatrics.Look at the jags they've pursued in FA who never had ties with team,and it should be obvious this is not a franchise that deserves to be taken seriouly.

Re 49ers draft pick at # 10, I think it's between pass rushing OLB Everette Brown and road grader OT Andre Smith.

I think OT Smith might be the better prospect overall (very slightly), but quality OTs are available every year, whereas demon pass rushers come along only every so often.

I say take OLB Brown, the demon pass rusher who can rack up 10+ sacks per year, and fill the OT slot next year - Snyder, Rachal & Simms are not superstars, but they are OK till we can get a star OT.

I sure hope we get an offensive tackle that can start from the draft. But I don't like putting all our eggs in one basket. What if it's like last year and there all taken before we pick? We're screwed! I think it would be smarter to sign a veteran through free agency and take one in the draft as well. Scot is really pushing his luck.