Hmm. Looks like there may be a change of plan after all?

49ers | Warner not committed to visit?
Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:32:26 -0800

Darren Urban, of AZCardinals.com, reports unrestricted free-agent QB Kurt Warner (Cardinals) is not fully committed to his visit with the San Francisco 49ers Monday, March 2, and could decide to cancel, according to ESPN's John Clayton.

Comment: Looks like there may be a change of plan after all? 49ers | Warner not committed to visit?

My response: Not yet, but the 49ers entered this with their eyes open. They knew all along that there was a chance he would not get on that flight. --Matt M.

All I know is, if he makes the trip, the Niners better put the full court press on this guy and not let him leave. Bring in Montana and Young as salesman. I would throw $15 mil a year at him with most of it guaranteed. Is a chance at a Super Bowl the next 2-3 years worth a few extra million? Absolutely. Offering him chump change and letting him leave, then relying on Hill and Smith would be a disaster.

matt---what message does niners flirtation with warner send to alex smith & tom condon (maybe that niners are less than committed to giving smith a chancer)--does this lessen liklihood of smith resigning with niners? and when cards sign warner, will niners be left with just shaun hill on roster?

I sure hope Warner doesn't agree with the Niners this makes NO SENSE but WR Jones made no sense unless they signed him for a 2 yr deal. I knew Canty wouldn't be avail. either. I'd be shocked if T.J. Houshmandzadeh A) became available to even talk to the 49ers & most important b) would even want to play with the 49ers. And the signing of defensive end Demetric Evans would be a bad move! Get a true NT!!!!

hofer36,i hope so...alex sucks. if the 49ers get rid of alex i will jump for joy!

Update:

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/KentSomers/47338

Agent says he hasn't talked to the cards today and doesn't plan too. So unless some thing happens tonight Matt. I think Warner will be on the plane to San Fran. A least I hope so...

Comment: Agent says he hasn't talked to the cards today and doesn't plan too.

My response: That is consistent with what I've heard, as well. Thanks. --Matt M.

Matt, where the Niners ever going to give Canty anything close to what he got in NY given that McCloughan stated they would not be big spenders in FA. I think not.

Hey Matt, thanks for your diligent work..

This is interesting from PFT..any Truth to it??

[PFT editor's note: This one was cobbled together by Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times, who moonlights at PFT.]

After being cut by the Baltimore Ravens at the outset of free agency, veteran defensive end Marques Douglas is drawing preliminary interest from the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, and Denver Broncos, according to a league source.

A potential return to Baltimore for the former Howard University player hasn't been ruled out.

Douglas has prior stints with the 49ers and the Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers, who traded him to Baltimore for a conditional draft pick last year.

Shortly after the season, the Ravens re-signed defensive end Dwan Edwards for the 2009 season with a $1 million base salary and a $400,000 signing bonus.

The Ravens also signed restricted free agent defensive tackle Brandon McKinney to a three-year contract worth nearly $4 million.

interest from the 9ers that is...I wouldn't mind seeing him back on the team...he played extremely well

I think 49ers are not very serious.

If they are serious, Jed York, Mike Singletary and Scott McCloughan should fly to Arizona and meet with Warner and should offer him a contract worth of $14 mil for two years.

Disagree. It's Warners move. Until he gets on the plane, there is no sign he would really be interested. If and when he shows up, they can roll out red and gold carpet. Otherwise, wasted energy.

Matt,

I like the general idea behind the Bryant Johnson and Brandon Jones signings - looking for #3 receivers that might be under-utilized and under-appreciated. You get a veteran that is NFL-ready, and playing out of the slot gives you a good look at their blocking and willingness to go over the middle for balls.

I was very surprised at the contract length, however. I figured Johnson's 1 year deal was his choice, and that we would have liked a longer deal. I didn't think we were looking for 5 years, though. Do you get the sense that we're either sky-high on Jones' potential, or that the deal is sufficiently back-end loaded that there's no chance he'll play out the full contract unless he really blows up?

Hey Matt, I sure hope we aren't making the same mistake that so many of us made in our "younger days"...

You know, that girl we all used to know back in the day... the one who would always be there. She was super-cool, and all she wanted was a shot at being your girl. She didn't mind being #2 for a while. Heck, she didn't even mind if you went out and tried your luck with other girls!

There was nothing wrong with her; I just always wanted some girl who was a little sexier. Don't get me wrong, she always made me feel good, but I was always looking around.

Then, one day, she had enough. The other girls faded away. And what was I left saying? "Dang, she shoulda been my girl!!"

(At least I wasn't stuck with Alex Smith! lol)

Let's stop the nonsense and call Shaun Hill The Man before he gets sick of our games!

I also have wondered about the effect of the Warner frenzy on Sean Hill. Hill is an asset, and probably will be playing when Warner has hung it up. Maybe we just ought to work on Hill's arm and spend our acquisition energy on other positions. Unless Warner is a tutoring type and would ease into a mentor on the bench role--but that seems very unlikely, and very costly.

Exactly. Shaun Hill has proven he's a winner and has the respect of the whole team. Warner is a one year solution at best, who is a whole different QB when he's not playing in a dome.

The only good thing to come of this, is the fact we are probably going to force the Cards' hand to pay the man what he wants in order for them to avoid a fan revolt. They've got some other key guys who want to get paid too. That team is a sinking ship.

Matt, this still doesn't make any sense to me. It's not that he isn't a great QB, but Warner had an interview this year where he talked about how he believed he should be throwing the ball 35-40 times a game. But Singletary's "vision" is to run the ball 30-35 times a game. The two philosophies are contradictory. And all I can see is an unhappy Warner or Singletary's "vision" being a fraud.

Also, do you have any idea who the ones in the organization are who want Warner, and who are the ones of differing opinion?

Shaun Hill is under contract for two more years.

Warner is a great guy and a great teammate. He's been a BIG help to Matt Leinart.

Nice leverage Warner. Let's see if Bidwell blinks.

If he does ends up on the doorstep of 4949 Centennial tomorrow, I'll believe it as soon as Matt reports it. :)

Ken Whisenhunt wanted to run the ball and play more smash mouth football. That's why he kept starting Matt Leinart over Warner.

Finally, though, Whisenhunt stopped being stubborn and started using his head. With guys like Warner, Fitzgerald and Boldin, it's not a bad idea to feature the passing game.

The best coaches are adaptable. A team can run the ball AND have a quality passing attack. It's funny. After Andy Reid benched McNabb, the Eagles went to more of a balanced offense (instead of 75-25 pass to run) and started winning.

The Cardinals, who had the worst rushing attack in the regular season, made a concerted effort to run the ball in the playoffs, and they almost won it all.

The Dolphins of Marino and Shula are the perfect cautionary tale. Great passing attack, mediocre running game.

They marched the ball up and down the field, year after year, and didn't win D**K.

Even Warner's greatest show on turf had the incomparable Marshall Faulk as RB.

I don't see how we can pay the millions it would take to get Warner and then use him as a back-up. And I don't see Hill not feeling he ought to be the starting QB until someone proves they can do it better--even if that someone has a few super bowls in their scrapbook. So I don't see how this can't mess with morale if it goes through, or even if it just comes close. What am I missing?

Matt...all of these dlinemen we're targeting appear to be best suited to play rde in Manusky's defense (Evans, Canty, Douglas). Any idea why? We appear to be set on that side with Smith/Ray Mac.

It's just rotational depth at DE (Canty was signed by the Giants).

Sure but we'll most likely carry 6 dlinemen. 2 at each position...right now we need to add an nt or move either Ice or Balmer over to nt and add an lde. Adding an rde makes no sense.

I'm going to give you my Jim Mora impression from the Coors Light commercials... "Backup... you said Backup .... are you kidding me.... Backup??!!!!!!"

If we're going to sign this senior citizen with the kind of money that will make Bidwell gladly pay for his ticket to the bay area, it better be to start from day one. Frankly, this is just a good ol fashioned game of chicken between Warner and the desert.

Who's bright idea was this anyways, our neophyte owner who knows more about Madden football that NFL football, or our GM who only knows how to shell out the big bucks for over the hill FAs, and not have the aptitude to build through the draft?

That senior citizen has totally outplayed the young gun from USC.

Why? It's not athleticism or arm strength. It's this (as stated earlier this year by several of the Cards receivers): Kurt Warner is BETTER and QUICKER at reading the defense and knowing just what receiver to go to.

That split second edge in decision making is HUGE!!!!

There was talk recently of moving Soap back to NT since we're most likely losing Fields. McDonald usually only plays when we go with 4 down linemen. If that's the case, I think Evans would add depth to LDE, since J. Smith never comes off the field. That would leave Balmer and Evans at LDE. Plus, there's no guarantee Evans even makes it past TC.

That's my confusion...do they see Evans at under 290 lbs. as an lde??

I agree it makes no sense--but I am also surprised the chicken game has gone this far. (Cut to head-scratching scene. . .)

I think Warner could be a two year solution, maybe even three. And I'm not worried about Shaun's morale. No disrespect, but he's best as a backup. He will never have the playoff-caliber arm. He's in a good spot here, no more bouncing around from team to team, and I think he knows it.

Niner brass should hit their div rival where it hurts.. in the mouth. Offseason doesn't mean you stop competing! Let's grab their QB and force them to start Matt Leinart! or else make them pay top dollar to keep him, and see what the fallout might be from an antsy Matt Leinart (play me or trade me?) or a pissed Anquan Boldin (they took care of Fitz, now they're taking care of Warner, but nothing for me beyond that pathetic contract my agent made me sign when I wasn't paying attention).

Regarding how Warner might fit with the 49ers run-run-run mentality, I think that's a non sequitur. Singletary has said he would like to run a balanced offense, just one that can run the ball when it wants to, e.g. taking over the game with the lead and running the clock out. I believe Warner would get plenty of opportunities to throw the ball here!!! and maybe he'd even prefer the luxury of not HAVING to throw. He has said that the most tiring aspect of last season was taking the team on his back.. knowing that if he had a bad day, they might lose the game. Heck, Warner might have more fun in an offense that can also run the ball.

I hope he's on that plane tomorrow, and I hope the Niners persuade him to give up the "greatest show on retractable grass" for the real thing. We might deal a death blow to our biggest NFCW rival, and fill our biggest need (sorry, Shaun) at the same time.

Well, to be fair, he's about the same weight as J. Smith right now. I know it's always good to have a guy a little heavier over at LDE, so they may ask him to bulk up. Of course, his experience might make up for some of that as well.

If we can get Kurt Warner, then that's great in the short term...but what are the 49ers going to do about the QB position for the long term?

I think we may see a QB pick in the draft this year. Someone to mold into the franchise QB San Francisco wants and needs.

Anyone believing this Warner jibberish likely believed Canty would actually consider the niners.We got a receiver who nobody wanted to play for a team that nobody respects.Too cheap to get at least one tackle in FA,even if we had to pay a smell tax,yet we would forego our running game to get Warner who thrives only because of a premiere team,a great coach,ahd the best receiving corps in the NFL.I got the no big splash,but how about an old man/s dribble.Oh, the draft is where we shine,because we have such an advantage with Scotty spanking those sharpies on the other teams.Not to worry,team attitude,optimism,and a positive outlook shall give us the edge.because who instills those values excpt for the niners ?

Yeah, J.Smith is on the small side for 3-4 rde's. I would think we'd be targeting a guy on the other side of 300 lbs if we're looking for an lde. That's why I'm confused.

Premiere team? Great coach? Best receiving corps in the NFL? Well, one out of three isn't bad.

Let me know if you want to find out where you are wrong on the other two?

Matt, If Warner makes it to 49er headquarters on Monday as planned, do you think Mike and Scott will let him leave without a contract? Or will they have the chopper waiting?

What if the guy is 288 lbs of pure muscle as in Jarron Gilbert in the 2nd round?

Like I said before, calling yourself "truthpeddler" is false advertisement :)

By the way, here's what a Titan's fan said about Jones leaving:

"I'm gonna miss Brandon Jones....he's got a lot of potential...he'll be a star in san fran"

I don't agree about the star comment, but an upgrade from the former B.J. also known as "Skillet Hands"? You bet.

Bryant Johnson is a classic "underachiever."

After all, this is the guy who was drafted in the first round by AZ., the same year that Anquan Boldin was drafted in the SECOND round!

Oh, the draft is where we shine,because we have such an advantage with Scotty spanking those sharpies on the other teams.Not to worry,team attitude,optimism,and a positive outlook shall give us the edge.because who instills those values excpt for the niners ?

lol peddler

Hey Matt,
Just wondering if theres any chance the 49ers make a run at Peppers? Havn't heard much since he got tagged.

As much as I like Warner and think he is a great QB, let's all take a step back and think on this. However, if we remember Warner's career, he has been amazing when he has amazing receivers catching the ball, and less than average when he had less than average receivers catching the ball.

As it stands now, we are a good team with a great RB and budding talent at WR (but a FAR distance from AZ). Getting Warner right now will be about as helpful as getting a great RB with no OL.

I think with Hill we have a tough as nails QB willing to work with what we have. I would rather us stay with Hill and spend our $25M on talented young guys (see Willis, Patrick) in our many areas of need, OL, DE, DT, FS, WR, QB to build a foundation for the next few years. Lets face it, we are still a few years away from being contenders, and while having guys like Nate Clements is great, he alone can't make our passing defense great.

Same goes for Warner, having a great QB won't turn us into an offensive juggernaut.

It wouldn't turn the Niners into an offensive juggernaut, but it would make them much more competitive than they are now. Give a guy like Warner time to throw and he'll find an open receiver.

I like Hill and his toughness and leadership. Actually, a guy like Warner has "All that (minus any scrambling ability) PLUS the ability to hit a few, key HOMERUNS during the course of a game.

A "home run" here and a "home run" there are HUGE in the NFL.

They instantly put points on the board and stick a dagger into the heart of the opposition.

Hey Franchise -

They get Warner, then it will be time to get Sanchez.....
Why, I don't know...it just sounds really good, doesn't it!! I mean that would give the Dirty Sanchez some time with a SB QB...bla bla bla...Wait that would tie up a lot of money in QB's....Nevermind....

Hi Matt, The Warner situation should play itself out sooner rather than later. The Giants signings of Canty and Bernard were a great stroke of solid front office evaluation. Plug those two into the 49er rotation add a pass rusher in the draft and you'd have a monster defense. Is Scotty a step behind? He may be next on the chopping block. Put a guy that's been there and produced not someone that's learning on the job (and comes cheap).

Matt,

Great name. This was just put in the St. Louis Dispatch today:

League sources remain "convinced" that Torry Holt and Orlando Pace are on the trade block, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

We're fairly certain Pace could bring back draft pick compensation, but there's been no movement yet. Holt is a candidate for release. Ideally, the Rams would probably package both players to one team for a mid-round choice.

Wouldn't it tempt Warner a little more if we filled a couple gaping holes on our team with a couple old buddies of his?

There is no way the 49ers go after Holt or Pace if they became available. Holt had a bad season and Pace can't stay healthy. Bruce had a better season than Holt.

Indeed. Why pay for a horse that's a year or two away from being put out to pasture, when you can grab a young colt in Sanchez?

There goes my theory about the Chefs taking Sanchez on April 25th. Now there's 90% probability that he'll fall at 10. But our beloved, yet oblivious, McGM will turn down the belle of the ball and instead stick with his toothless, insecure dance partner in Smith.

Why are the 49ers going after a quarterback that is so old? What happened to try and get younger. Also the 49ers do not have the wide recievers that the Rams had or that the Cardinals currently have. His age will definitly show if he plays with the 49ers. Hill should be the starter he proved last year he could win with the recievers we have.

Yes 86 but last year we had Martz. Can Sean Hill win with Jimmy Raye? That's the $64k question. And seeing Jimmy the OC has never taken a team to the playoffs, I'd say the answer is pretty obvious.

I'm sure it's been asked before but I must have missed the answer. Sorry if so but a post above brought it back to me: If we have a running game that can impose its will and successfully run the ball in any game situation, why wouldn't we start every game running and just keep with it for the whole 90 minutes?

1 - You would really have to question Warner's brains - too many hits? - if he gives up a SB team, fine young coach, best receivers in the NFL to play for Jimmy Raye and throw to the "new JB" (hey a "Titan's fan" says he'll be good - that seals it for me) because he can't live on 10 million a year.
2 - I don't deny that if Warner came to SF, next year would be fun, fun, fun, a circus (so was Favre on the Jets), but a 38 year old QB? Warner broke down at least twice when he was years YOUNGER. NFL QBs rarely do well at 38 and all the greats stop at that age (Montana, Marino, Kelly, Elway, Tarkenton, Staubach, Young, etc etc - well Unitas tried to continue to disastrous results). Probably Shaun Hill would wind up playing a lot. Let's get a hot young QB. What about Sanchez? If Cutler really IS upset at Denver.....I'd offer the #10 pick in a HEARTBEAT for that stud. Can Vinny T still play? (kidding). Too bad we didn't offer NE our 1st for Cassel.

Is Raye the sole reason the teams he was OC for didn't make the playoffs? Don't you think Raye's digit offense would be better for Shaun Hill than all the deep, constant passing required in Martz's offense (who's still unemployed btw)?

The few critics of Shaun Hill would say he has a weak arm... If anything your $64k question doesn't make much sense...

Aw shucks, I thought the question was great. What's better than asking if we can win with the new OC? Is there a bigger question that I've missed?

Martz not working in the NFL is hardly relevant. Neither is Holgrem, Shanahan, Cowher, Jimmy Johnson, John Madden, Bill Walsh or Vince Lombardi.

All of whom, by the way, would have done a better job than Jimmy Raye will.

Ah, but Cowher, Johnson, Madden, Shanahan, Holmgren, etc. are not coaching by choice... Martz has said he wants to coach this year, but people don't want him around...

Maybe we should wait until after FA, the draft, MC's, TC, preseason and a few regular season games before declaring the Raye experiment a failure, huh? Nah, I guess that would make too much sense :)

Martz will be getting a bunch of money from the Niners this year. He may say he wants to coach but he clearly doesn't need to.

Anyhow it's irrelevant. Martz should be judged on his job performance in getting the 49ers offense playing so much better than before and putting together a winning end to the season.

And maybe we can make some judgments about the future of Jimmy Raye based on his prior performance.

No, of course not. It's soooo much smarter to go with the look in his eyes and his ability to take orders from his rookie Head Coach. Yes that's what wins games. We don't need no stinkin X's and O's. We just need the right attitude. Just need to be pumped up by few speeches from the great leader & away we go.

Sign Warner, trade Alice Smith to Cards for A. Boldin

Lol at those people claiming that signing Warner "makes no sense".
The guy has taken two teams to the dance, been MVP, and would represent a massive upgrade at a problem position.
It would also weaken our main rival.

If you can't see the sense in that, go and watch baseball.

" If we have a running game that can impose its will and successfully run the ball in any game situation, why wouldn't we start every game running and just keep with it for the whole 90 minutes? "
-
Because there's a difference between 3rd and 1 and 1st and 10. A two yard run on 3rd and 1 is a very successful play. Not so on 1st and 10. This game's kind of hard for you to understand, isn't it? Well, keep trying. Maybe some day you'll get it.

By the way, Realfan, it's a 60 minute game, not 90. You really have a long way to go.