wow, McC is quick draw Mcgraw. I like the sound of Dre being hungry, I'm guessing this will be a silver lining for the niners. Hate to see Walt go down but it looks like we'll be OK now.

What are the contract details? Incentives and guarantees ?

From 2 Pro-Bowl corners, to 2 Pro-Bowl corners. I like it, Keep Brown on his toes- you need to earn your spot and Bly with a chip on his shoulder. It should raise the level of play.

Details?

Thanks Matt. I tried listening to the conference call... A little hard on the ears to say the least ;)

McC? What about MM? Matt slow down! I can't keep up with your quick posting! First you say you're not going to post for awhile, then you sneak one in on us, and now this? =)

Question: Details?

My response: According to a league source, Bly signed a one-year contract for the veteran minimum of $845,000. The deal counts just $460,000 against the 49ers' 2009 salary cap. --Matt M.

He signed for nothing..for a pro football player like Bly to sign like that says something.

The atmosphere must be incredible with the 49ers

Hey Dre!? Don't feel bad you were released. Nolan is going to be the DC in Denver. You're better off here with MS as you related in your conference call. You wouldn't have been able to understand what Nolan would of wanted you to do at CB or any position for that matter. The way he speaks, we 49er fans still can't understand what he said. Even til this day.
I'm sure you'll be on the phone often with your buddies back in Denver this year. They'll have to cry to somebody!

Ahh YEAH!!!

I think Brown would have taken the spot but I don't think he's gonna be able to beat our Dre. Dre knows the game and all the little nuances. Our DB's are gonna step up... and big thumbs up for MM and Sing!!! Getting er done!!!

Matt. Why does only part of his salary count against the cap?

I like this signing. Its probably an upgrade over Walt. Walt has been a valuable player for our D, but last year I think things were starting to change a little. If we can generate a pass rush these corners should have a field day along with Dashon Goldson. I would like to see a draft pick late first to third spent on a corner next year.

Question: Matt. Why does only part of his salary count against the cap?

My response: Several years ago they enacted a rule that veterans would count less on the cap if they signed a one-year deal for the minimum. It had gotten to the point that it became difficult for some vets to sign even minimum deals because the cap figures were too high for some teams to fit under their caps. --Matt M.

Scot McCloughan has publicly admitted he can't draft cornerbacks. So what does that leave us? Dre Bly. A ten year, bounced around the league, out of a job, vet who's hungry? Yeah, I'm hungry too if people say I'm through. But the reality is, if enough say it, you probably are.
No CB drafted, no DE/OLB, and no OT, but yeah, we got Crabtree - a spread offense guy with no height or speed. Are you guys pumped about some 7-9 football?!?!!!?
The team has never been over .500 with Scot Mccloughan, but everyone still believes in him. I don't. Terry Donahue to Mike Nolan to Scot McCloughan....... I'm pumped. Forget the Ron Wolf and Bill Parcels name drops. They mean nothing. Look at McCloughan's record. And if you need something to feel warm and fuzzle over as your head hits the pillow, turn the heater on.

Good signing, my friend actually brought up Bly yesterday, but I had no idea he would be signed that quick. I like it.

I agree with you on McCloughan to an extent. Marcus Hudson needs to be replaced and Reggie Smith obviously has not worked at corner and is now fighting for a job trying to prove he can play safety, however T. Brown is a different story. He can make big plays. I dont know if he will be able to beat out a 10 year vet who still has some gas left. I love the Crabtree draft pick. You know and I know the speed thing is overrated. This kid changes direction with amazing explosion. Reminds me of Rice. We will see in time. Dashon Goldson is going to make a big difference for the D. Our receiving core is as strong as its been in a long time. I dont see 7-9.

Time for another timeout. Please try to say one positive thing about the team before training camp.

Aren't you a Raiduh fan? Why do you care about the Niners other than trying to stir crap up?

Spencer and Bly provide good depth. Heck, Reggie Smith can play CB if he needed too.

Obviously, McSing trusts in Lawson and Haralson to get it done at OLB. I'll trust their judgment over yours. Doesn't hurt either that our D went from 25th under Nolan to 13th under Manusky...

Makes sense you hate on Crabtree since you're a Raiduh fan. I'd be pissed too if my team passed him up.

Lastly, I guess you forget Donahue's roster purge, the cap hell he put us in, etc. We have a pretty good roster again and competent coaching. Our cap situation ain't too shabby either. 7-9 was last year... Things are looking up.

$845k is nothing?? Riiiight.

Speak for yourself. Singletary has a high opinion of Nolan. Try respecting that.

Did I see this guys a Raider fan! How pathetic are you dude. Coming on to a niner blog to stir it up. You got a lot of room to be talking. Use the #7 pick to take a guy who can run track but cant even catch a football if his life depended on it.

OK so you don't believe in the 49ers. Nothing wrong with that but why post here where the rest of us are fans? Why mess with our enjoyment??

Look at what I wrote ok. I meant for an NFL player like Bly to sign for the MINIMUM is great. That is all. You having a bad day there little man? It sounds like it by your tone maybe it's time for some warm milk and bed time. Now run along and have your mommy change your daiper ok.....little man. Nighty night

Just look at the end of the 2nd & 6th comment on this page. Pretty much says it all :)

hey ,the smart squirrels gather acorns while they can !!! .... wish to go back to the tree ? lol

Oh man. This should be illegal! Hes going to get his punishment when the season begins. Funny seeing him make a comments on our draft.

Randy,
"Good depth," just replaced "quality 14 year vet." If you can't see Walt needed a backup yesterday, you're blind....Scot McCloughan blind.

I'm a Niner fan.... a hardcore Niner fan who's disgusted by the mediocrity and more disgusted by fans who support Jed York and Scot McCloughan because they need to feel good. All that does is prolong the mediocrity. The first step is getting all bloggers to see they love mediocrity if they follow the Niners blindly. So instead of rubbing your faithful chips all night, why not run the incompetents out of town with pure outrage. At least that way you have a firm grip on reality. But I do see that being negative about this isn't noble, and is a waste of time. So lately, after the worst draft in the history of the Niner organization ('09), I've moved away from this team entirely, focusing on the genius of monster trucks... lol.

Hi Matt, I don't know how much Bly has in the tank but I think it's encouraging that the team moved quickly. The past regime would've done nothing. If the offensive line can get a push at the line of scrimmage we'll be fine.

Anyone who thinks that '09 is the worst draft in Niner history obviously hasn't been around very long or hasn't done any research. Take a look at 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003. It's of course too early to evaluate this year's draft, but I would doubt that it will be no where near as poor as those 6. And I only looked back to Walsh's first year! By the way, Walsh's first pick was James Owens, washout RB and his 2nd pick was the QB HE didn't want, some guy named Montana.
My personal "favorite" for worst draft was 1995: JJ Stokes, Hanshaw, Armstrong, and Coleman. Only had 4 picks because we sold the farm to get Stokes. Everyone remembers JJ for all the wrong reasons and I'll bet no one remembers the other 3 guys. I don't think they even made the team. Don't even mention the Druckenmiller draft. So to say this is the worst draft in team history is pretty premature.

that's solid work..... we won't know how poor this draft was for a while. But when you neglect OT with one right there at 10, neglect a second round DE / OLB in Everette Brown, hoping for a trade into the first (a round most teams want out of for more picks) and give up picks needed now for future picks, you've got some explaining to do. Trading 2 and 4 for next year's 1 is a move teams on top make, not consistent under achievers like McCloughan and York. Niner fans are so far from reality, they think it's great. So let me get this straight? Now we have seventeen WRs, with no young RT to groom, no OLB, no qb and one of the oldest secondaries in the league? Can anyone connect the problem with drafting "best player available" to Walt Harris? The rest of you guys can't be this dumb. So oldgiantfan, it's not an issue of talent - it's an issue of philosophy that makes this the worst draft ever. But additionally, if it was an issue of talent, I'd take acception there too because Crabtree came from a spread offense against weaker talent, Coffee ran behind Andre Smith and Nate Davis will need a spell checker in the huddle. Crabtree will be okay, but nothing better than Josh Morgan, and there's your talent problem. McCloughan must go!

This article is about Dre Bly...and what he'll add to the team. He'll add plenty...that's what's important. As for Mac, I think he's doing a good job. He jumped on Bly...got him signed in record time. Many top analysts have given big thumbs up on this year's draft...but we all know it'll take time to find out how good it was. Why the whining about OT? That's why we signed Marvel Smith...and Boone. Toledo and Bender are two more guys with ability. Get over it...and give these guys a chance.

Hi Matt, can you let us know how Crabtrees attitude was throughout OTAs? The reason is that I have been reading that he wasn't really paying attention and seemed bored. I would be bored if I just watched everyone else play. I just want to know your opinion about crabtree throughout the OTAs. Thanks.

Okay, time to let the cat out of the bag... I AM A RAIDERS FAN! I just couldn't help it. My team sucks! Our Owner sucks! Our coach sucks! Our players suck! Our draft sucked! Our GM Sucks! Heck we don't even have a GM! Our Owner and GM are the same guy! Al Davis offered the job to Mike Mayock and even he turned it down! Why should you guys across the Bay have all of the fun? I'm envious of you all. I'm jealous of you all. I wish I could be like you all. All Raider fans do! We suffer from Superbowl ring envy. Gosh, it must be nice to be a Niners fan. Cuz let me tell you, it sucks to be a Raiders fan! Our blogs are so horrible that we have to come on your blogs and rain on your party. That's pretty pathetic huh? But that's us. The Raiders fans :( I got nothing else to pick on so I pick on your GM. I'm desperate and I'm running out of ideas. Please hold me oneniner...

Okay, time to let the cat out of the bag... I AM A RAIDERS FAN! I just couldn't help it. My team sucks! Our Owner sucks! Our coach sucks! Our players suck! Our draft sucked! Our GM Sucks! Heck we don't even have a GM! Our Owner and GM are the same guy! Al Davis offered the job to Mike Mayock and even he turned it down! Why should you guys across the Bay have all of the fun? I'm envious of you all. I'm jealous of you all. I wish I could be like you all. All Raider fans do! We suffer from Superbowl ring envy. Gosh, it must be nice to be a Niners fan. Cuz let me tell you, it sucks to be a Raiders fan! Our blogs are so horrible that we have to come on your blogs and rain on your party. That's pretty pathetic huh? But that's us. The Raiders fans :( I got nothing else to pick on so I pick on your GM. I'm desperate and I'm running out of ideas. Please hold me oneniner...

Great news on getting Bly. At that price for a 1 year contract, there is no risk invloved.

I dont think McC has made any bad moved since Nolan has been gone. Thats just a random thought.

I also dont see how people could say Jed has been screwing up, Ownership has looked better with Jed around. He's young and in an old mans role so it seems odd. So far so good.

So he says he's hungry huh? Matt, you should have pointed him in the direction of In n Out Burger! There's is one just down the street from the practice facility. LOL. Welcome to the Bay Area Mr. Bly. You're going to love it here!

Whoa there! Did this spitblood character just pour out his heart on here? Easy there fella.

Good move signing Bly so quickly. And not leading him on, telling him he has to compete for a spot.

But the reality is, you play nickel defense so often in the NFL you have to have three starting cornerbacks. He will see the field a LOT no matter what.

I find it ironic that you are smelling your finger in your pic.

Glad you could take time out from that and flop about with pathetic trolling.

spit- you're so full of crap. You did the same thing on the Chronicle blog, and when people got tired of your trolling, you start doing it here on the Democrat blog. Everyone knows the state of the team, and what they've been through. Did you think every decade would have four Superbowl trophies? Fans will always be upset when their teams don't perform well--that's natural. But the idea of running owners out of town with little hate comments on an internet blog??? Really? Yeah that strategy worked really well for the folks in Cinci who were sick of all those years of Mike Brown's ownership, and also in LA where the net bloggers completely ran Donald Sterling out of town for all the years of the Clippers sucking. I hear William Clay Ford is also packing his bags due to pressure from blog site fans. No matter how much whining jerks like you do (on other team's blogs of all places), owners will still fatten their pockets and do what they want to do. And people like you who do nothing other than try to get a rise out of others by saying things that have no other objective other than irritating them obviously have some deeper issues themselves. Did mommy not hold you enough there, spit? Did you always get picked last when the kids played ball at the park? Pathetic. Stop trolling, dude. It's really very sad.

--------

Oh and Matt, I love the blog--read it all the time. Keep up the good work!

WE HAVEN GOTTEN RID OF TOAST (WALT HARRIS) TO SIGN ANOTHER SCRUB CALLED MRS TOAST (DRE BLY), OH YEAH BY THE WAY NATE CEMENT CAUSE THAT IS THE WAY HE PLAYS WITH CEMENT SHOES WHEN HE ALWAYS IS BEHIND THE WRS CHASING THEM TO TRY AND PUNCH THE BALL OUT OF THEIR HANDS!!!!!! SIGN SOME DECENT PLAYERS FOR GODS SAKES, DRE BLY? TRADE THE NUMBER 2 PICK FOR SOMEONE, AND I WOULD EVEN GIVE THE RAIDERS CAROLINA'S #1 PICK FOR ASOMGWI IF THATS HOW YOU SPELL IT, NOW HE IS A SHUT DOWN CORNER, THE BEST IN THE LEAGUE!!!!! CASE IN POINT, RAIDERS VS TEXANS, ANDRE JOHNSON 2 CATCHES 22 YARDS, NOW THATS SHUT DOWN!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE NINERS, GOT THE TATTOO ON MY RIGHT ARM, BUT COME ON NINER FANS, THESE PICK UPS ARE TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

"Modes replied to comment from spitblood | May 22, 2009 2:38 AM | Reply
I find it ironic that you are smelling your finger in your pic.
Glad you could take time out from that and flop about with pathetic trolling."

Spitblood reminds me of a T Shirt that someone gave me --- 'If you think my personality stinks, you ought to smell my finger.'

Sorry Matt, I usually stick to Niner football, but a couple of these clowns are spoiling your otherwise excellent blog.

Bly will be a great addition to the team. He has been everywhere we want our team to go, Super Bowls, Pro Bowls. We all hope these younger players are ready to be quality starters, but you don't know if they can be until they show it. Let em all compete and it will sort itself out. But Bly will really help the overall quality.

I love this line:

But when you neglect OT with one right there at 10.

In 2004, the Arizona Cardinals neglected a need (OT) at #3 to take Larry Fitzgerald.

Know who the next OT who was taken in that draft? Shawn Andrews, taken 16 by the Eagles. Next one? Vernon Carey, taken @ 19 by Miami.

Who would you rather have? Larry Fitzgerald, Shawn Andrews or Vernon Carey?

I thought so.

In 2007. those same Cardinals had the consensus BPA, Adrian Peterson, fall to them at #5. Instead of gladly taking AP, they reached and selected OT Levi Brown.

Ask the Cardinals today who they would rather have: Peterson or Brown?

I'll give you a hint as to what the answer will be (It ain't Brown).

Beyond that, judging the 2009 draft NOW is idiotic.

That's like trying to say what your favorite Birthday or Christmas present is, BEFORE they are unwrapped.

Can't be done.

just ignore Spitblood. He's schizophrenic and he lives with his mom. he'll have to go do chores soon.

Bly was one of the best options left on the market. Asomugha is probably the best corner in the NFL. I think he took a smaller contract to play in Oak. Hehe...funny. Also, It would take more than the SF-CAR # 1 pick to get him.

am cool with bly....his experience is needed..

..i just wonder about his size, can he cover physical corners? i.e AZ....

Coach Nolan is very good at evaluating and using DB's,...why release him?, especially a proven one in the nfl - my guess is cost

Bly and Spencer are similar, could this be a huge opportunity for T.Brown's ?...

The Niners are an awful team and will continue to be an awful team for years until Jed York fires Scot McCloughan. McCloughan's philosophies that he's been apart of as personnel director, or dictated as GM, are terrible and inefficient. You can't win with the GM having huge flawed philosophies.

Problem in the philosophies of building the team number one: Tne Niners draft skill players over players in the trenches. Vernon Davis over Ngata, Crabtree over Oher.... this isn't changing, it's still a problem and kids learning basic football 101 should know better. Two: McCloughan is a "Best player available," guy and this leads to the Walt Harris / Dre Bly problem. What if Joe Staley goes down? What if Parys Haralson goes down? If you get two or three key injuries, the Niners will be drafting better than 10th in 2010 and people will cry it wasn't McCloughan's fault. It sure was. You don't build depth through free agency. You build it through the draft. That's why trading our 2nd and 4th was a mistake. We could use Everette Brown and more YOUNG depth (that isn't a head case) on the line. But noooooo...... we get another Kentwaun Balmer next year. Great move! Three: An inability to address the qb position. We have no qb, and we still didn't get one. Nate Davis is a three or even four year project at best and probably doesn't have the smarts to win in the NFL. Alex Smith is terrible and McCloughan is holding out hope because he's emotionally attached. "It's nothing personal, Sonny, it's business." Four: McCloughan can draft players in the secondary, and instead of attacking a weakness - making it a strenght, he cowers from it, and the result is an all free agent secondary that is getting older.
All of these things, and trust me, I could go on.... but all of these things result in Scot McCloughan's days being numbered. Do you know how I know? Mike Singletary said McCloughan was one of the best GMs in the league. You don't endorse someone like that unless he's on the hotseat. Goodbye Scot McCloughan, you were another Mike Nolan, TerryDonahue, and once you leave, being replaced by an experience GM, the Niners may have a chance as long as Jed York does his due diligence and actually finds someone talented..... Terry Donahue to Mike Nolan to Scot McCloughan doesn't suggest the York family will find someomone experienced or talented to run the show. I feel sorry for Niner fans.

Geo,
Give me a break. You're trying to piggyback Crabtree on Larry Fitzgerald's greatness, implying they are the same person. Fitzgerald is great beacuse of two reasons - his height and his jumping ability. Micheal Crabtree has neither of those qualities.
I've got a questoin for you that's more logical. Who would you rather have, Josh Morgan (with his price tag), or Micheal Crabtree? I'll take Josh Morgan everyday and twice on Sunday. Morgan is the better player because of his leaping ability, the round he was selected, and his current pay. Micheal Crabtree was a terrible pick. Best player available could cost McCloughan his job at the end of the year.

Why don't you take your phony act out of here, Spit, and go sit in the park in downtown Redding and insult everyone who walks by. You're a human virus and a pathetic joke. You're not a Niner fan, you're a fan of yourself and only yourself, crying for attention. You don't even have opinions. You have "positions" which you stake out to create as much anger as possible. We can only hope your license to post here will be revoked soon.

spitblood:

The fact that Crabtree plays the same position as Fitzgerald is totally irrelevant to my position.

I was in NO WAY making any comparison between Crab and Fitz. The fact that they both play the same position is coincidental.

My point was they took someone (Fitz) who WASN'T a position of need (they had just drafted Boldin and Bryant Johnson the year before) and they struck gold with Fitzgerald.

That's my point. They could've taken someone who was more of a position of need (like OT) and they wouldn't have Fitzgerald.

Likewise, the flipside (with AP & Levi Brown).

Drafting the BPA netted them Larry Fitzgerald.
Drafting for need cost them Adrian Peterson.

That's ALL I was saying.

As far as building the trenches first. Absolutely. That said:

A). New England almost never uses high picks on O-Linemen.

B). The BIGGEST reason that the Cardinal O-Line has played much better in the past two years is coaching (Russ Grimm) and consistency, not any first round picks.

C). Great skill position players aren't a luxury. They are a necessity.

It's easier to find some lug to fill a position on the O-Line (like NE does) than to find an Adrian Peterson. Or a Jerry Rice.

The Chicago Bears converted a Defensive lineman (Mark Bortz) to the Offensive line in the early 80's. Not only did he end up being a Pro-Bowl player, but he holds the Bear record for most playoff games played in.

I really appreciate Dre's desire to compete, and his bond with Isaac Bruce. He's a welcome addition to the team.

The coaches will decide if he's the 2,3, or 4 CB. He'll have his chances no matter where he ends up on the depth chart. Now we can shift our attention back to the 5-6 slots. Hudson only appeared in 9 games last year. He's either got to get back on ST duty, or he could be vulnerable.

The main thing I remember about Bly is the time he tried tackling TO out in the flat and TO swatted him out of bounds like Bly was a feather and then took off downfield. Good memories of the good side of Owens...

Geo--don't take this as a defense for Spit, but I think injury concerns are what caused AP to slip in the draft. It does make Minnisota look brilliant though.

Spit,
1) the only person I'll read that writes posts that extend past one page is Matt
2) in one point I'll agree, I question the trade for Carolina's 2010 #1--I hope Everett Brown does not prove my team wrong.
3) if your message remains 'fire McC' and you merely pull different ideas to support this one focus, I'll soon start overlooking your posts.
4) then again, this seems very personal. Did McC fire you or steal your woman?

Now that you have admitted you are "really a Raider fan" I and probably everyone reading comments can understand why you have convoluted and disorganized thinking. Since you have heard and watched old Al Davis in action over time, your mind and eyes are filled with the same dementia that old Al has displayed.
Like the typical Raider fan, you must dress up in one of the stupid, childlike costumes Raider fans display at home games, beat your wife and kids up, and then start pressing computor keys displaying the same dementia old Al has.
So this is what I encourage you to do. Get to a psychiatrist fast. Tell him all of the comments you have made on Matt's site. Beg him for some of the new medicines available to stop the progression of the Al dementia. Or better yet! Start Electric shock treatment and completely erase all of Al's disease! Then come back to Matt's site, make a few comments, and the rest of us might be able to tell you if you've regained your sanity!
God Bless and Good Luck! You'll need it!

Bignick...Have you checked your eyes lately? Or are you acting like the spoiled little child in the classroom always trying to get attention?
Cool it with the caps! I guess that's your way of raising your hand at the teacher and yelling "me...me..me!"
We can read your comments without you crying for attention! So ease up dude!

Yeah but even with that factored in, he was the consensus best pick when the Cards were on the clock.

They loved Peterson but, well, they had Edgerrin James and they really needed help on the O-Line.

So they passed up a player they really liked, who was considered a no-brainer at #5 (Merril Hoge, on ESPN radio, was saying before the draft that he felt that a few years later that AP will end up being the best player from that draft class). he was right.

They reached (and that's the operative word here) for a player who most felt would go from 10 -20 when they selected Levi Brown.

End result? The next year, in 2008, James was benched and he's no longer on the team. Brown is a good player, but he has struggled and so far isn't even close to being worth the number 5 pick (he's not even playing LT. He plays on the right side).

And Peterson looks like Jim Brown.

Guys, lighten up. This is only May and a lot of you are in your end of another losing season mode.

Some of these posts look like homework papers from The Ralph Barbieri School of Whining!

You guys forget just how totally void of talent this team was a couple years ago. This years team is not yet Superbowl caliber but it's a whole lot better than it's been. Just give Singletary a chance to coach the players he has. It should be light years ahead of what it was with Mike (look at me in a suit!) Nolan.

Matt,

You reported earlier that Brian Kelly was also coming in. Did he ever show up?

Bly is listed as 5'10/188, and Brown at 5'10/193. If you get a chance to see them side-by-side, can you give us your eyeball impression of whether they're that similar in size?

Okay I'm going to say this for the last time.....

FAITHFUL, RANDY, REALFAN, OLDGIANT, MODES, SAM_OWEN, GEO, BALLGAME, TERRY ...Don't feed the Mutants (spit/BIGNICK) you're just falling into what they want you to do. Guys ya know how you try to explain something to a 4 year old and they always reply back saying "why" and you end up going around & around until you say to yourself "okay I'm done" That's exactly what you're doing with these tools. If you guys want to stop the insanity just ingnore the village idiots. It's as simple as that.

Sorry F49, as a retired teacher I just can't overcome the desire to save every student, no matter how irrational they are! Of course some of the best advice I received when I was a young teacher is still pretty relevant: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

And Terry, your analogy in regards to bignick took the words right out of my mouth.

I know I'm only probably feeding the trolls, but I'd like to get my two cents in on this whole debate. I don't think Bly is exactly an upgrade over Harris, but he's by no means a step backwards, either. I fully expect him to be the week 1 starter, but wouldn't be surprised to see Brown take the position over by midseason. Or maybe even a rotation? That would keep Bly fresh and give Brown a chance to state his case for being the full time starter. In regards to the draft, as I was watching it, I'll admit, it had me groaning. I thought we were making a mistake taking talent over needs, but when you go back and look at this draft, it really wasn't very deep, and next year's draft should be well stocked in talent. I'd love to have gotten Oher, but in 3 years time, I doubt I'll still feel that way when we have one of the top offenses in the league. ;) I also applaud the commitment of some of out players from the later rounds, particularly McKillop. I'm looking forward to see that guy come up and be a major player after Spikes and Ulbrich move on. The more I read this offseason the more more excited I get for the coming year. I haven't been this psyched for a Niners season in years.

Geo,
Putting Crabtree and Fitz in the same argument, making comparisons not to position but to philosophy (best player) implies Crabtree is going to workout like Fitz, and that's something you'd like for me to take for granted, and I'm not conceding that point. Crabtree will never be Fitz, so to say "Best player available will take the Niners to the SuperBowl like Fitz did the Cards is Susan Reachy, Reachy, Reachy......

SpitBlood: Look. My argument had NOTHING to do with who SF took at number 10 and EVERYTHING to do with NOT reaching for the trenches.

I never said or implied that the Niners taking the supposed BPA in Crabtree will do for them what Fitz did for AZ.

You are twisting this all around.

Simply put, if SM had Crabtreee rated as his BPA, then it would have been STUPID to take someone like Michael Oher.

That type of thinking is just what cost AZ. Adrian Peterson. NOT using that type of thinking brought them Larry Fitzgerald.

Why is this so hard to understand?

Matt, why don't the Niners give Marcus Hudson more of a shot?

Here's ESPNs scouting report in Dre' Bly.

"He is an excellent athlete with good foot quickness, agility and excellent speed. He is fluid and smooth in his hip turn and can mirror most receivers all over the field. He has good route awareness when in off coverage, but has a tendancy to gamble and jump on routes at the wrong time, which can cost him. He is not a big cornerback and struggles against some of the larger receivers in the league. He has awareness and good ball skills when in position to make a play on the ball. He is not very physical and not much of a force in run support. he lets himself get blocked too easily. he would probably be a better fit as a nickel back, but can still play effectively as a starter."

They gave him an overall score of 72 out of 100, which was better then the score they gave Harris, 63. Personally I think he's a slight upgrade over Harris, mainly because he's a few years younger.

Not reaching for the trenches? If there's one area you reach for it's the trenches. But addiontally, the preception of a reach is debatable. I oould make the case the Micheal Oher should be a top ten talent, the Raven got a steal, and also make the case that the Niners reached for Crabtree because of Jason Hill, Josh Morgan, the kid from the Titans, Isaac Bruce and so on. Without an Oline and a qb, the wr position becomes less valuable. Crabtree was a bad pick, trading 2 and 4 was garbage, and not addressing the secondary, o-line or pass rush this year will cost McCloughan his job. You'll see.

An extra pick in next years draft garbage? That's a joke, right? We're talking about a class that's going to be extraordinarily deep on both offense and defense, and we'll have two picks in the first round. The pass rush quality on this years draft was questionable at best, so you can't fault the team for not going out of their way there. You can somewhat make a case that they should have went OT instead of WR, but we just brought in Marvel Smith to anchor that position. Assuming he stays healthy, which I realize may not be a realistic scenario, our line should be just fine this year and we can address going younger in next years draft. With the extra pick, we can now address both OL AND defense. This was a good draft, a very good draft. If you want to explore silly drafting tactics, lets head over to the Raiders' blogs.

Gotta love this dudes attitude. I knew Singletary would command the desire in players to want to play for him. I'd run through a brick wall for him. As far as Mr. Blys' hunger goes we've got chicken and lamb on the menu so bon appitite`.

You don't know what., or how deep, the 2010 class is going to be until several years after the draft. Additionally, trading away two for one is ridiculous, but then if you add the value of time (time to develop, time to teach), it makes the trade that much more ridiculous. If you want to know how I know..... Singletary and McCloughan were in full sales force swing after the trade. That's not a good sign.....ever. The minute they sell something is an omission of incompetence or guilt. You don't have to sell Joe Montana.

S-LAB, absolutely correct ...what one pays attention to increases in importance ...some things just need to be left alone as the they are about nothing .

Who do I sound Like???
"I'm a die hard Faithfull and love my team. but everything about them sucks. If they would just listen to me because EVERYONE knows that I am a football genius then maybe we would only half suck. I mean... Crabtree might as well work at a carwash and the rest of the team should just quit and start a flag football league. Oneniner and I are going to open a Alex Smith restaurant that serves PESSIMISM for every course."

You need to find a girl mate

I recommend that readers first read Matt's post. Skim through the comments, only reading those which appear germane to the original topic. You'd be pleasantly surprised how quickly it will go, as many posters simply say the same things repeatedly, regardless of the OT.

There's probably not much talk about Hudson because the coaches don't see him as part of the long term plan. He's in the last year of his rookie contract. Right now, he just needs to beat out the UDFAs to stick, but we'll undoubtedly draft a CB next year, and he'll be gone unless he can turn around their opinion of his play.

Matt,

Quick question...how does it work with compensatory picks when it comes to a situation like the 49ers? In this case, we're signing Bly which is a plus on the FA side and we're not losing Harris to another team.

Ian

The salary cap is a reality. Bly's 6+ million contract in Denver seems to be the primary reason for his release along with a new regime. At less than 500K, he's a good bargain for the Niners. It's not often that you can add a proven vet for so little. And he's on a 1-year contract, so if he works out, he gets a contract more in keeping with his performance. If not, we draft CBs, plural, next year.

Hudson is just another body who needs to contribute on special teams. If he plays on D, we are in trouble. Petaluman, you hit the nail on the head in regards to Hudson.

Not all FAs count on compensatory picks. They only include players whose rights are still held by a team. This is to "compensate" teams whose FAs are signed away by wealthier teams. Bly had been released by Denver to save 6M against the cap, so he has no effect on our compensatory picks next year.

I don't really agree with that spit. I say reach for position players before you reach for linemen. With either, there is the risk-reward factor. But the reward is much greater if you can find a game-breaking position player in the draft. I agree with GeoMak--the Vikes got AP and Arizona got Levi Brown. AP has become arguably the most explosive player in the league. Going for the skill players = swinging for the fences. Drafting linemen (while a smart move at times) = hitting singles/taking walks. And as our beloved Gigantes have shown us recently...no bopper, the team falters.

And again. It's STUPID to reach. Why on Earth would you take the 20th best player in the draft, when you could have the 10th. That's STUPID!

I just gave you a PERFECT example. Reaching could've/would've cost them Fitzgerald. Fortunately they didn't do it.

Unfortunately, reaching cost them AP (and left them with Levi Brown).

You are arguing that the Niners should have bypassed the consensus best WR in the draft, for the fourth best OT.

That's stupid.

DUDE. Wake the F++K up! Look at the 1985 draft.

You are arguing that the 49ers should not have drafted Jerry Rice in order to 'fill the trenches.' Here are those lineman available after Rice:

Darryl Sims
William Perry
Trevor Matich
Kevin Glover
Richard Byrd
Daren Gilbert

Had enough?

I'm not suggesting that a team ignore the trenches in favor of skill position players. Not at all.

I am suggesting that it's STUPID to bypass a Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson or a Jerry Rice . . . because you NEED a lineman.

You don't take a lineman over players like that unless you have that lineman rated HIGHER than those players.

Again, what part of this confuses you?

Wow, I didn't know the formula to a great WR was height and jumping ability. That's all it takes, huh? Vernon Davis is the same height as Fitzgerald and has a 43" vertical. There are more important things than height and hops, spit. Hands, eye coordination, and most of all a desire and drive to go and get every ball thrown his way and make himself the best player possible. Traits by the way that Mr. Crabtree has shown as well. But according to your theory, the team should just draft Manute Bol and have the second coming of Fitzgerald.

I've always like taking the best player available strategy. But your Fitzgerald/AP/Brown analogy just nailed it. Michael Oher may be great tackle in the league, but the potential of what Crabtree could be in the league trumped that. And Scot McC saw that (anyone with half a brain could see that).

I hope I'm wrong about Marcus, but it's not looking good for him. Everyone wants the 6'+, 200 lb CB, but it's very hard to find guys that size who can react quickly enough to cover. That's why Nate gets the big bucks. We've recently drafted Rumph, Hudson, and Smith in that category, without success. Plummer and Spencer are a little lighter (190) and had/are having some success, but both also had injury issues.

In reality, I would guess that the average NFL CB is about Dre and Tarell's size - 5'10"/190ish. The bigger guys usually only stick for several years if they convert to safety. Of course, if they can play CB at a high level, they end up like Clements, Asomugha, McAlister, Bailey, ...

Living here in Phoenix gives me a close-up view of all things Cardinals.

Can you imagine if they had used their brains and selected Peterson in 2007:

Kurt Warner.
Larry Fitzgerald.
Anquan Boldin.
Adrian Peterson.

Those four together would have been scary.

I did my best in telling you guys not feed the Mutants behind the cage. So GEO, BENNY BLANCO, SAM_OWENS you are as bad as the Mutants for bringing down Matt's blog. You guys need to check your self's, c'mon you're BETTER THAN THAT!

VICK IS COMING TO SF!!!!! Folks, it is so obvious. Now, the Boston press is reporting it: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/other_nfl/view/2009_05_22_49ers_might_bite_on_Michael_Vick_after_ban/srvc=sports&position=also . I read it in an Atlanta newspaper earlier today. The groundswell is happening!

I think this is great. Alex Smith is a bust. Hill is, at best, a poor man's Elvis Grbac. Nate Davis is Nate Davis. Vick has the awesome speed as well as the awesome arm. A mature, focused Vick, with the recieving bunch that the Niners have, could be DYNAMITE. People forget that he had $hit around him during his Atlanta days. That Atlanta team was Vick plus a very pedestrian supporting cast. Vick + VD + Crabtree + Gore + Morgan + Bruce is Super Bowl quality.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE I WANT THE FOOTBALL GODS TO GRANT ME THIS WISH!!

Ender,

Go sell crazy somehere else.

Geo,
Your logic is flawed in most arguments you've been making. Crabtree and Fitzgerald.... flawed logic. Again your logic is flawed with you comments about Oher at 10 being a reach if the Ravens picked him at 20 or whatever. One thing everyone knows is that Ozzie Newsome is the master, better than everyone else at orchestaring draft selections. He's good because first and foremost he, and his staff, can evaluate talent. But he is equally as good at valuing picks in relation to other organization's draft boards.... something Scot McCloughan has no clue about. So if Ozzie picks Oher at 20, there's a good chance there's value to be had because of Ozzie's track record.
To your point about reaching, draft selection does not mean NFL value. How many drafts do bloggers look back on with contempt or respect over the value or the bust? Do you think Kentwaun Balmer was a late twenty pick? Was that considered a reach? The answer is we really don't know. There are indicators it was a reach, but we don't know. You need a few years of perspective to make an argument. But you aren't doing that. If Oher becomes a dominant player, and 10+ year pro, it wasn't a reach. Again, the flaw in your logic is that you believe each pro's value will coincide with his draft position. It doesn't work that way.
You don't build football teams from the skill positions in - you build them from the trenches out. Scot McClougha = Mike Nolan = Terry Donahue. It's time for another GM.

Oh please, no Vick. We already have 3 mediocre QBs on the roster. Just because Vick is faster than the three of them doesn't make him better. Let's keep that second 1st round pick on ice and when Sam Bradford is sitting atop our draft board next April...

Spitblood:

Again, you are arguing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT point than I am. That is why YOU are confused here.

You write:
about Oher at 10 being a reach if the Ravens picked him at 20 or whatever. One thing everyone knows is that Ozzie Newsome is the master, better than everyone else at orchestaring draft selections. He's good because first and foremost he, and his staff, can evaluate talent.

If Newsome felt that Oher was actually worth being picked at 10, for example, and 'stole' him at 20, than that's one thing.

THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT I AM SAYING.

Get It?

Here is what I am saying.

The Arizona Cardinals were picking at #5. Neither they (nor ANYONE else) had Levi brown rated higher than Adrian Peterson.

Get it?

Please find me one analyst or mock draft that had Levi Brown rated higher than Adrian Peterson. Please.
Ain't gonna happen. Brown wasn't rated like an Orlando Pace. Or Jonathon Ogden. OR Walter Jones. Or Joe Thomas from that same draft class.

Can you follow this SIMPLE logic?

The Cardinals had Peterson rated HIGHER than Levi Brown, and yet, they chose Brown because they NEEDED an OT . . . .and got BURNED. BADLY!

As far as a REACH goes, again you have it all wrong.

Let me try to help you here (cause boy do you need it).
Every team lists (among other things) their bested rated players from 1 on down.

If, for example, Newsome has Oher rated at 10 and Crabtree rated at 20, and then years later, it is shown at Oher is a better player than Crabtree, then that means that Newsome is a superior evaluator of talent.

Taking Oher at 10 (instead of Crabtree) would NOT be a reach for Newsome in that situation.

It IS a reach for Rod Graves of Arizona to select a player (Brown) that he had rated lower than another (Peterson).

Your basic problem here is that you don't understand the concept of 'reaching' in the draft.

A REACH IS DEFINED A PICKING A PLAYER YOU HAVE RATED AT LEAST 5 SPOTS BELOW WHERE YOU ARE PICKING.

Stay on topic, try to understand what I am is saying (it's not that difficult) and stop wasting time trying to confuse the issue.

Sam Bradford is not my guy. Tsquared is the guy if we select QB and he could be had from pick 15 thru 25. I love the fact we traded for that extra 1st rounder, that coupled with the Crabree gift really made me do the cheshire.

With all do respect -you are wasting your time ...don't cast your pearls.

Assuming Dre Bly wins the starting job (which according to his interview, he's hungry with a chip on his shoulder and I think he is going to have a good year) Tarell Brown and Shawntae Spencer are still going to have plenty of opportunities for a lot of playing time in sub packages. That is their time to shine, and they will still need to play well. I love this move.

Good to have a vet to push the young guys-I'm looking for Tarell Brown to step it up this year ...he knows the system is familiar with the pace of the game and in the interviews I've seen of late seems to be display a more mature demeanor -now we see if he brings it on game day ...go niners!

just correcting some errors someone posted -

James Owens was a WR, not a RB, and he actually played well often, the reason he didn't work out in the long run is because of never ending muscle pulls and minor injuries. when he was on the field, he would often produce.

about the worst draft ever - gotta be the drukenmiller/RWMCQ draft..... horrible.

Signing Bly for the vet minimum is a pretty good move, definitely no downside and at worst a sideways move for us. If they use him correctly he could be a very serviceable CB for us for the year, definitely not a long term solution of course since he is getting up there in age and has lost a step or two but he's a smart player. I though for sure we would come away from this draft with a least one of the following positions OLB / OT / CB but Crabtree being there and not being able to trade down boxed us in a bit, trading the 2nd was a good move and will pay off next year. Hopefully we will have a new GM though to use the pick.

Looks like we sure are lucky to have Scotty and Sing running the show (and lucky that they will be around for many years to come !) . Or maybe it is not luck at all but just that Jed is a good boss who made a couple of good choices !

And in a few years our QB of the future (Davis) will probably make Bradford look like a second stringer ! (At least I hope so,Davis sure has the talent).So please ,no QB's woth either 1st round pick next year.

Uh, correcting your correction. Owens played RB in college at UCLA, was drafted as a WR by Walsh (1st pick, 2nd round). In 2 years with the Niners he played 30 games, catching 19 passes for 254 yards and no TDs. He spent 4 more years in the league with the Bucs, who put him back at his natural position, RB. His career totals show 271 rushing attempts and 56 receptions. He was a RB, and 19 receptions in 30 games is hardly producing. He was a rare example of Walsh trying to put a square peg in a round hole. At the time, what lured him to Owens was his speed. Does that sound familar Raider fans? Based on his drafting record after that first year, Walsh learned his lesson! Draft football players. If they happen to be fast, so much the better, but being a player is by far the most important.

Well, CAT, looks like you're going to be for Davis what Oneniner is for Smith. So be it. Have fun. I couldn't agree more about McCloughan. Guys who think he's on the hot seat here make me laugh. Either they're not paying attention, or not very bright, or are just trolling. He and Jed are very tight and that's great for us because McC is gonna be a superstar GM here for a long time. That 6th Lombardi trophy is coming here soon.

I thought we might draft a CB in the later rounds, but looking at the list of available FA CBs, I can see why we didn't. We continually scout not just the incoming draft classes, but the players already in the NFL. Certainly no draftee was likely to be better than a Dre Bly in their 1st year.

I wasn't surprised by OLB at all. Most projected 3-4 OLBs are actually DEs in college, and have very limited experience in coverage. We've got several young, athletic guys who've had some time to work on that. They're not likely to be displaced this year by someone who's just learning to drop back.

For all the 'year of the OT' press, only 4 guys were highly touted, and 1 of those was a project. Last year, 8 OTs went in round 1. After Crabtree fell to us, there wasn't any OT left that was a value when we picked. We'd already signed Marvel Smith to replace JJ, and we have 2 or 3 potentially solid backup OTs in Snyder, Bender, and Toledo.

Skeebers | May 23, 2009 1:38 PM | Reply
Well, CAT, looks like you're going to be for Davis what Oneniner is for Smith. So be it. Have fun. I couldn't agree more about McCloughan. Guys who think he's on the hot seat here make me laugh. Either they're not paying attention, or not very bright, or are just trolling. He and Jed are very tight and that's great for us because McC is gonna be a superstar GM here for a long time. That 6th Lombardi trophy is coming here soon.
-------------------------------------

I completely agree with everything you said EXCEPT that to compare me in any way to Oneniner is very objectionable.lol.
If Davis looks as pathetic as Smith has looked after he gets some time on the field,I will quickly realize that how great Davis looked in college did not transfer over to the NFL. I will go by what my eyes tell me ,not what I want to believe in a fantasy world,like Oneniner lives in.
But as of right now,Davis is the best talent and best potential on the team and has a decent shot at being the steal of the entire NFL draft . If he is not a flop ,like smith,then Davis will make it so we can use those 2 #1 picks next year on a Corner and maybe a pass rusher etc. and NOT a QB. I think there is a goog shot that Davis is the real deal,we shall see.

T Cat -if your instincts are correct, great -i just don't think Davis will get much time on the field to validate your hunch(given the unforseen ofcourse!). Skeebers I'm with you on McC -unhampered this year I thought he did quite well-even though i was heart set on Connor Barwin and was rather crestfallen when we traded when he was in sight the prospect of having two number one's next year is exciting! I'm really looking forward to seeing Bear Pascoe play this year Matt-and if Marvel stays healthy a stout running game will be a joy to watch-Go Niners.

HighTop: There are no expectations that Davis will be the starter any time in the 2009 season. He will get some small time in preseason this year and will get some small time in practice (maybe acting as the QB of whatever team we play that week). But if he shows the talent that he has shown in the past,he will be brought along slowly and will be given his shot to be the QB of the future in SF. Even the most passionate Davis backers don't believe he will be THE starter before 2010 and most believe he will be the undisputed starter by the start of 2011.
But lets be CLEAR,it is NOT my hunch that Davis is thought to be the QB of the future. He was projected as a probable #1 draft pick only a couple of months ago,because his skill is THAT great. Because of him being sick in one game and having a poor game in his Bowl game and because teams learned that he was dyslexic,he fell a great deal in the draft. That was GREAT luck for the Niners,maybe better or at least as good as the Raiders passing up Crabtree.
If Davis shows the talent he showed in his college career,he WILL be the Niners starting QB in the near future and that is not a hunch but a fact. Now all he has to do is perform and learn and get ready. Only time will tell,like it did with Smith (only Davis has it all over smith in raw talent in every area of the game).

Most of the TV experts (Jaworski, Young, et al)continually state that "raw talent" is probably the least important skill for an NFL qb. Of course there are minimum skill sets in terms of pure physical skills, but reading coverages, throwing on time, seeing the whole field, etc. are what separate the Montanas from the Rex Grossmans. Most of the all time great qbs weren't able to throw it through a wall. So, Davis seems to have the minimum physical ability, but it remains to be seen if he has the more important set of skills. And perfomance in college ball can be misleading. I hope he does have "it." It would be sweet to use all of our picks next year on needs outside the qb position. But if he doesn't show up, IMO we have to get in position to draft a top qb.

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

I was very impressed after kooking up Davis productivity from college. Will he bring it to this level? Theres a lot of questions and predictions but I dont think because you have him that you do not draft a QB next year. You always want to get better and if you get lucky and wind up with 2 studs how lucky is that. The nice thing is he has time to develop and that is key. I like what I am hearing of Glen Coffee and think our offense really has a chnce to be special with the talent at our skill positions.

Geo,
I am missing your points because I see you buidling arguments off flawed logic and I stop reading. I also believe you assume way too much.

Top Cat -again if Nate good is as you think- great- I couldn't be happier, he is a 49er and as so has my backing and best wishes...his fruition would make our team better and I'm all for it! My use of the term hunch is in not intended to be condescending but simply to remind that many variables occur in the jump from college to the NFL so until he plays it will be a "hunch" passed on previous actions...for the record ,I like the kid alot and hope whatever stumbling blocks are before him only serve to make him stronger... whether he can make enough progress the first year to circumvent the 49ers looking for QB's next year is a matter of speculation at this point...but as far as I"m concerned come on Nate come on S Hill come A Smith bring it!

You kill me. There's no 'flawed logic' with me. None at all. You just don't understand the concept of REACH as it applies to the draft, as in "Reaching to select a lower rated player for the main purpose of filling a need."

The Cardinals did JUST THAT when they REACHED to selected a lower rated player (Levi Brown) over a higher rated player (Adrian Peterson).

THEY LOST. Period.

They passed up the consensus best RB in the NFL (and to some, the best PLAYER in the NFL) for what is now a 'good' OT (Levi Brown).

I know that you are not stupid so I just can't figure out what part of this confuses you?

Holy septuplet post batman! Time to upgrade your 56k baud modem.

Hehe, baud is a funny word

i stand corrected, indeed owens was a rb in college. needed to look it up, good call oldgiantfan.

Nate Clements is going to have a huge year!

Oneniner-nice little article on your guy(A Smith) in the Mercury News -you'll enjoy.

Hightop: Yes,that was a very good article about Alex ! He sure seems to have his head on straight now ! I hope he can bring his play up to the standards he has his attitude at .
But one thing that the article was a little dishonest aout is the excuse of Alex having so many OC's over the years. Although that is true it is also true that Hill had just as many OC's (maybe more,counting his other teams?) over his first several years and had exactly the same OC's in SF that Alex had BUT Hill produced with the same OC's that alex failed with.It would be great if this new start and new chance for Alex turned out to be a success for the kid. If he turned it all around and became a "new" player. But with a new chance and a new start comes the realization that this is his LAST chance.
So,like you say about Nate Davis,it is also true about Smith,SHOW ME on the field of play, in the NFL ,or your potential means nothing at all.
Good luck Alex !

Just a slight quibble, CAT. Hill won 2 games with Hostler as the OC. So did Alex (against far better opponents) and he didn't play last year, so your statement about Hill's production vs Smith's is erroneous. We don't know how many Smith would have won last year had he not been injured, but were he not, most certainly it would have been him replacing JTO, not Hill, and we could have found out. Not to denigrate Hill, who has made the most of his opportunity for sure, but his starting status is largely due to Smith being injured. As you say, we shall see how it all turns out.

But Skeebers,Hill looked much better and had much better numbers than alex ever had,with the same problems that alex had to face. Many OC's and bad OC's and bad O line and bad receivers etc etc.
Hill just outperformed Alex in every way (when Alex was healthy and compared to Hill with a broiken finger on his throwing hand. ).
I am pulling for alex to do well but he has shown almost nothing in the way of NFL caliber QB play ,ever. imho.(unless you count a few plays here and there,mixed in with his usual bad play).

Tebow? Tebow is just a younger Vick with more annoying look at me, boyscoutness about him. He doesn't read defenses particularly well and he was protected by a dominant Gator O-line. And I think we already have a QB/RB on our roster in Robinson. Bradford had a higher completion percentage the last 2 seasons with more TD passes, while not bailing out of the pocket to run at the first sense of pressure. Bradford had the poise to stay in the pocket, make his check-downs and deliver the ball accurately. I think it's a no-brainer if he's available when the team picks--GET HIM!!!

Indeed,fortunately Alex doesn't seem to play the OC turnstile as an excuse in his latest interviews...a sign of the maturity you intimate. Bottom line -don't tell me Show ME is the unifying principle (and a darn good call to arms!).Whoever takes the reigns has my full support and with a little longevity maybe Nate gets to develop a year or two before he challenges. I'm sooo ready to watch the coming season!

Then we can agree to disagree and watch and see who is the dragon warrior leader and who is the impostor.

Point of interest -Draft Guys.com's -(a sight worth checking out if you haven't yet) Josh Buchanon rating for our UDFA pickup's this year :A!

Bradford is a David Klingler clone. So many more variables to Tebow than Bradford. So much more up side to Tebow than Bradford. Now if we talk about Colt McCoy, that kid looks like he has the stones to be an NFL QB.

The rumor is that Florida is going to "unleash" Tebow as a passer this year. I hope so. Then we will have a better idea of what kind of NFL qb he might be. There is little doubt that he is at least in the conversation as the greatest college qb ever. Unfortunatly, that doesn't always translate to the pro game.

I have no idea whether Bradford will succeed in the NFL either, but I wouldn't compare him to Klinger. Take a close look at Klinger's college record and most of the "good" numbers he put up were a result of volume. And while the Oklahoma spread O is not NFL preparation, Klinger played in the run-and-shoot, a really off the wall O. Bradford and McCoy both are extremely accurate throwers. That was one of Klinger's main problems, and, I hate to admit it, our own A.Smith's main problem also.

In terms of Tebow's strong Christian beliefs and extremely public showing thereof, I would prefer my team leader to tone it down. IMO Steve Young is an equally devote Christian, but keeps his religious enthusiasm to himself.

Wait a minute!! You could go as far as to say the run and shoot is something that evolved into the spread. Couldn't you? And it was so off the wall that teams had huge success with it. But once they hit the playoffs and couldn't run the ball...Well now the spread has eliminated that by running traps out of the shot gun. Strange but true. Keeps the D line honest.

Klingler could throw the rock all over the field. You don't set records by having Bobby Douglas accuracy. You got to get the ball in the strike zone 60% of the time.

the only thing I ever see about Tebow and his faith is driven by the media. There is nothing wrong with wearing you religion on your sleeve a lot of athletes do.
As a man with very strong Christian beliefs. I would prefer not seeing Christianity brought up as an excuse for any reason.

Remember our fallen today Ladies and Gents. Even if you are not a believer. We don't have what we have with out them. From the very first days of our revolution, people have given the ultimate for you and me.

I hope by Christian you mean Mormon. Steve Young is the great-great- great-grandson of Mormon leader Brigham Young.

I understand having preferences in public display and share in that inclination-parallelly I support freedom of religion and speech so I'll withold my objections -(whether it be a cross,star of david,haji cap,turban ,OM symbol,etc.).My blessings to all our brothers and sisters who sacrifice for the public good.

All in all, I really like Walt and he held the position down well for us the last few years but I really believe this was a blessing in disguise. I was real leery on how Walt was going to perform this year I believe he has lost a step to where he was starting to be a weak link(God bless him). Now I'm very excited about the addition of Bly here, Ive always enjoyed the way he plays the game and I really feel he is exactly what this team needs mentally and athletically, he should become a very nice addition opposite Nate and will have no problem in my opinion winning that job. I do like T.Brown though but hes just not ready to be the man. (Maybe Next season)

The run and shoot is really very different from the spread, except the emphasis on the pass. In the run and shoot both the receivers and the qb read the defense and run routes accordingly. Spread receivers run pre-determined routes, albeit mostly short, possession patterns. As someone mentioned several weeks ago when this discussion came up, the spread floods the field with wide receivers and most college defenses do not have enough DBs to cover effectively. This is not nearly as effective in the NFL where most teams have 6-7 capable DBs. You are correct about the spread having more of a running threat, but probably not enough of a threat to get NFL teams out of their nickel and dime defenses.

The key word is "evolved" OC's have always are tweaking. Just like DC's "evolved" into the zone blitz to cope with Mr Walsh's 49er offense
The key as always to to get to the QB effectively before he can make his reads or Decoy him into making mistakes.

We will see about Mr Tebow and Klingler...I mean Bradford.

In addition to the # of quality DB's, most NFL teams would blitz or have enough rushers to get to the QB. It only takes a couple of times having a 300+ dude smash you before your shoulder breaks. The other thing with the spread/option is that the QB reads what the QB gives him and usually gets hit quite frequently. Not a good idea when there are 50-100Mil riding on the guy. That is one reason why Tebow is so darn big, it helps him absorb the hits.

Mr. Tebow has what cannot be taught and is the #1 priority with respect to the QB position. True "John Wayne" leadership. This is a guy who you want in the foxhole with you. The mechanics, reads, etc. all can be taught and to his credit he realizes his weaknesses and is being proactive in devoting countless hours working on them. He'll be ready in 2010 for some lucky team.

......that incredible intangible that so few have. Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Ronnie Lott, Lawrance Taylor...an incredible power to make your teammates play beyond what they thought they ever could....

If the mechanics, reads, etc. were so easy to be taught, there would be more than just a handful of top tier qbs in the league. I hate to keep dumping on Rex Grossman, but he is considered a fiery leader. Of course if you can't produce, no one is going to follow even the most passionate leader. I don't think Tom Brady is a particularly "John Wayne" type of leader, but he is supremely confident and produces, just like Montana did. So he's a "leader."

Also Jon in SoCal, you're right on the money about the spread putting your qb in harm's way. We had enough of that last year in Martz's offense.

Of course, Tebow seems to be one of a kind. It is going to be really interesting to see where he is drafted and by whom, and then if his game translates to the NFL. IMO he will not be allowed to run between the tackles like a FB, even if he can. Too dangerous. Also he won't be attempting to run over 215-230 lb. LBs. In the NFL most of the LBs, and even some of the safeties are bigger, stronger and faster than he is. However, I will enjoy watching him play his senior year.

...an incredible power to make your teammates play beyond what they thought they ever could....

I doubt that many of Tebow's teammates at Florida, where he was surrounded by a bevy of 5-star recruits, played beyond their own expectations.

Here's the 'flip side' on Rex Grossman. He's a big reason that the Bears went to the SB in 2006.

The Bears started out 7-0 that season. When a team starts out 7-0 they are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Grossman was named NFC offensive player of the month in September. They don't hand that out for nothing.

Grossman's first 7 games in 2006 break down like this:

5 very good games (12 TD's, 1 INT) in those 5 games.
1 OK game (1 TD, 2 INT's).
1 HORRENDOUS game against the Arizona Cardinals.

I'll take that breakdown from my QB all day long. (5-1-1).
That's basically a 70% clip of 'very good games.'

The second half of the season he was of course inconsistent. Had some good and not so good games.

Played very well in the two playoff games (basically outplayed Brees and Hasselback).

The SB loss?. That was due more to Danieal Manning's busted play that gave Indy an easy TD and the Bears giving up 191 yards of rushing in that game.

Teams that give up 191 yards rushing rarely win.

The tale of Rex Grossman is a little more complicated than what it appears to be, from the outside looking in.

Rex Grossman = choker= not someone I would want in my foxhole

I didn't look it up (guess I'm getting lazy in my old age), but I think Orton's W-L as a Bear starter is comparable to Rex's. And of course the Bears thought that they had a better chance of winning with Orton after they had an extended look at Grossman. Anyone out there want Orton for their "franchise" QB? By the way, where is Rex the Wonderdog? I think he is still unemployed.