Dre Bly is an upgrade.

Wow. Awesome. I know we haven't signed the guy yet but I like how fast the Niners are reacting. Kind of reminds me of the days of old :)

Dre Bly? Step right up. He's got plenty left in the tank and from what I've seen of him over the last 5 years he is an upgrade over what we have on the roster at this time.

Matt, any idea on what kind of money he's demanding for his services? If he's one of the highest paid in the league, and the Niners sign him for big dough, him as the starter sounds like it would be a foregone conclusion. Which sucks b/c I wanted to see what T. Brown could do.

Although, Nate Clements and Dre Bly could be a pretty wicked tandem...hmmmm.

He's obviously on the decline of his career because he'd already be signed if he wasn't. When a player signs only because of an injury, that player isn't going to make multiple millions. He may sign for more than the veteran's minimum, but I he won't break the bank.

You would think the same about Champ Bailey and Dre Bly 1 year ago then, no? Check Denver's pass defense, though- they finished 26th in YPG even though they were in the bottom 10 in passes attempted against them. That's bad.

Dre Bly is horrible. I hope if he's signed its with the intent of sticking him at the #4 CB spot behind Brown and Spencer.

He would not be behind Spencer however I believe Mr. Brown could give him a run for his money. Glad to see we are proactive. Never can you have too many corners in the NFC west. I seriously doubt Spencer can cover Breaston.

Hopefully they'll call Hood. I still think we'd get a better player at cutdowns

DRE BLY STINKS!!!!!!! YOU COULD CALL HIM TOAST!!!!!! THANK GOD WALT HARRIS IS DONE!!!!!! HE IS BY FAR NO BETTER THAN CLEMENTS!!! YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR AGAINST T.O. WITH CLEMENTS COVERING HIM 224 YARDS AND 2 TD'S!!! WITH NO PASS RUSH, AND NO SHUT DOWN CORNERS OUR DEFENSE IS HORRIBLE!!!!!!! WILLIS, SPIKES AND JUSTIN SMITH, ARE THE BEST WE HAVE ON DEFENSE! OUR OFFENSE NEEDS TO PUT UP BIG NUMBERS AND WE WILL WIN 24-23, THATS IT!!!!!! CRABTREE IS A ROOKIE, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!!!!!! SHAWN HILL, GORE, MORGAN, BRUCE, JASON HILL, AND BRANDON JONES? BATTLE IS 5 TIMES BETTER THAN HIM!!!!! 6-10 THIS YEAR FELLAS AND LADIES THATS IT, BUT I AM HOPING FOR THE BEST AND WE MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, BUT IF ANY OF YOU DISAGREE WITH THIS POST !!!!!!

I have no doubt that Brown will start. The kid has potential. The veteran depth doesn't hurt though ;)

Cut Dom Ziegler immediately....!

Its all his fault....lol

Bly would make a great nickel back if he can't beat out the more athletic Tarell Brown for the starting corner job. I think it would be a good move for the right price.

I like T. Brown myself, but if they bring on Bly we add some depth and create some competition. I have thought for a while now that we needed a replacement for Spencer since he is always hurt. Would like to have seen Reggie Smith show something to justify him competing for this spot.

LOL @ BIG NICK. Thanks for making me laugh.

I don't mind the signing of Bly, but only if it doesn't cost SF a lot of money (low amount of guaranteed $). 17 forced fumbles - that's a lot for a CB in 10 years. I hope Brown starts opposite Nate!

If the Niners had any pass rush at all Nate Clements would be in the pro bowl.If manny, justin and parys have big years so will Nate!

No more Kool Aid for you bignick!

Ever heard of Prozac??

If Dre Bly was given the thumbs down by Nolan, what more proof do we need? The guy must be headed for the Pro Bowl this year! Anybody Nolan sees as a negative must be a winner!!

BIGNICK & others who are bocking at the possibility of signing Bly need to calm down. The siging first of all would be for depth at CB. Now if Bly proves he still has it & beats out TB & Spencer in TC then what's the problem? You guys are ignorant, unbelievable.

How about Mcalister? Though I think Dre Bly would be a good signing for depth

Bly is an upgrade? That is absurd,as is the notion we have CB depth.If either Brown or Clements goes down we are finished.In that scenario our season would hinge on Spencer making a full recovery.Everyone being healthy,I would take Spencer,and Harris,in a heartbeat over Bly.We should check out Hood.At least we can be grateful the brass realizes this is too important to pussyfoot around and wait for some pick-up off waivers.

Matt, does is seem odd that a 'team spokesman' deemed the injury mild only to flip to season threatening?

How does that work exactly?

Does a contract get protected by insurance or is the salary of said player still a factor when attempting to replace him on the roster?
Is IR money waived/exempt from the active roster?
Curious, thanks.

Whoever said Bly is an upgrade over what we have doesn't know the niners and these are the type of fans that make real niner fans that follow the team look bad with their ignorance. Tarell Brown is not only an upgrade over Dry Bly he is an upgrade over Walt Harris... This kid is gonna ball this year and niner fans should be excited just watch Brown will be a serious upgrade this year!

I feel you V, I was initially thinking the same thing. Although I didn't check the stats. Good call. I got a bad feeling about what he may be looking for money-wise too. The Niners should start Brown.

I would prefer Bly over Hood in free agency. I know Bly is 32 and Hood is only 27 but, look at the INT's and tackles. We need PLAYMAKERS in all facets of our game. Our youngsters would benefit more from Bly's proven playmaking experience. However, I would not turn down a chance to sign Hood if things didn't work out with Bly. I like Hood and think he is a decent NFL corner but with limited playmaking ability (just steady). Just MHO

I think the bigger question is whether Shawntae can survive a newcomer challenge, not Tarrel?

Have you seen something to substantiate your thinking or is this just your humble opinion? I think Brown was above average at the collegiate level but, have seen very little evidence he can dominate at the NFL level (if only simply due to lack of playing time,even).

Question: How about Mcalister?

My response: Chris McAlister has missed 18 games the past two seasons due to knee injuries. He underwent a major knee surgery in November, and I'm not sure he could pass a physical. --Matt M.

How about Mike McKenzie isnt he still out there?

Bly would be a good p/u...as it was, Brown was competing w/Harris for the starting job. That wouldn't change if Bly comes on board...may the best man win. Singletary will give Tarel every chance to win the position. What it does is improve our depth...and that's the most important factor. I hope Spencer's healthy enough to contribute...if so, it's not as dire a situation. Still need another CB or two...maybe Hudson sticks. There's always options...at least this happened early...so there's time to sign some guys.

Thats too bad what happened to Walt, he is totally underrated but someone now has to step in his place. But whats with the 49ers dealing with that same type of injury again and again the past few years? Dre would be a good add on but someone else has to cover the tall WRs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc2QGdrecTo

Question: How about Mcalister?

My response: Chris McAlister has missed 18 games the past two seasons due to knee injuries. He underwent a major knee surgery in November, and I'm not sure he could pass a physical. --Matt M.

Can we place Harris on PUP at the start of training camp instead of IR?

"THANK GOD WALT HARRIS IS DONE!!!!!!"

Wow. Now that is class......I hate that a root for the same team as a guy who could write this about a player tearing his ACL.

I thik Dre Bly would be an adequate alternative for Harris. It's a sad ending of Harris Career, but Bly could take his place for the next 4 years. Look at Harris stats in Washington, they were not so good. He came to the 49ers into the right sheme and made it to the Pro Bowl. Bly had a good carrer so far too, with 2 not so great seasons. But he could become as good as Harris was in 2006. So give hin a chance to form a great tandem with Clements. And spent the mpney because there is enough room on the cap!

Roderik Hood is younger than Dre Bly, but not so accomplished. Bly has the better stats too. I think Bly gives the team more veteran leadership. Both players know the NFC West which is good too. At least Sing an Manusky will take the right player!

Hey Matt--

If you get a chance to talk to Singletary, McCloughan or Manusky...how about asking them why they really cut Jimmy Williams on the first day of OTAs, before there were any roster limitations.

Surely they didn't save any money with the move and for them to make the move as a courtesy to Williams, based upon the naive notion that there'd be no injuries in all of the preseason, would be ludicrous.

I know they won't want to admit a mistake like this, but if you put the idea in their head that they should be thinking about the team and all variables, and not worrying about sending messages or giving a guy a chance to latch on with another team...we'll be better off in the long run.

I don't know what J. Williams' deal was, but the cut, paired with Singletary's comment to the extent of "we're happy with the guys we have" is looking like a horrible and shortsighted move right about now.

Williams isn't a cornerback, he's a safety. Harris is a corner. So there's nothing "horrible and shortsighted" that has occurred. Just an injury to an aging corner that we can address by signing another corner like Bly. What do you expect Sing to say? "Williams was a lazy, fat punk who was taking up a third string safety spot that we'd prefer go to the safety (C. Taylor) that we just drafted." No offense, but the only mistake I can see here is your post.

First of all, Skeebers, Williams WAS a cornerback in college and Atlanta. And this taking of spots thing is the sort of bullsh*t that I was referring to. There are 80 spots available at this point. If Goldson or Roman or Taylor get hurt, then what?

If you've paid a guy through the season or the preseason, get your money's worth. Make him show up and work and be there to fill in if needed.

And the problem isn't that he was taking Taylor's spot, it's that he was supposedly taking Reggie Smith's spot. Reggie Smith, as I'm sure you're aware, can play...and has been playing CORNERBACK.

Moving Reggie to safety is now a luxury the 49ers don't really have. So the point of my post was that they should've let Williams have an honest tryout at safety and at least wait until camp to cut him.

If the fact was that Williams was still looking fat and lazy (he'd supposedly been losing weight as requested), then yes-- Singletary should've said that he wasn't living up to his potential or doing what was asked and make an example out of him.

Instead we got a Nolanesque "we're happy with the guys we have." Well, you know what, skeebs? One of the guys we have might have to go back to cornerback.

So no offense, but suck it.

Dre Bly is not that good anymore. Denver thought pairing him with Woodson was going to be great and they were around the 20th in pass defense that year, if I recall.

Hopefully the 49ers envision Brown as the new #2 and Bly as the #3.

We need to be careful not to forget a few things:

1. Denver's entire defense was terrible; so let's not pin the team stats on Bly. I'm sure we'd be happy to get Bailey and he is subject to the same team stats.

2. The Niners can't count on Spencer; he is always hurt and, even when he wasn't, he was a cover guy who was physically soft on the edge - not fhysical with an "f";

3. Behind Brown and Spencer this is no real depth; Hudson who hasn't been able to move up the pecking order in a couple of years and some UDFA's;

4. Signing a veteran FA like Bly allows the Niners to have both Bly and Brown on the field in the nickel while grooming a rookie or two to replace Spencer, Hudson etc.

For the right price I understand and support this move.

Cal, sorry about the tone of my previous post. A little cranky this morning. Got up and stepped in some dog poo, tripped over my kid's tricycle which he'd thoughtfully parked in the middle of the room sometime during the night, lurched into the door frame putting a knot on my skull, and then found out we were out of coffee. I went to get some, but on the way home the cops pulled me over and towed my car away because I hadn't registered it for the last three years (picky-picky), and then I got mugged and pantsed while walking home. Sure enough, some lady called the cops when I jogged up the street in my underwear and I had to elude the cops by trespassing through a few backyards and getting gnawed by a howling chihuahua before I finally got home and made a cup of coffee. I'm okay now. Please forgive my shortness. What I should have said is I respectfully disagree with your assessment and I think it's a bit hysterical. But, now that I see your response, I'm not sorry any more. You were mean to me, too, so we're all squares - except you're still full of bull.

Don't assume Bly is bad because of Denver's defensive stats. Pass defense starts with rushing the QB. If the QB has 8 or 10 seconds back there, any CB is going to get beat.

If we get Bly, I expect to see him inside on the slot receiver in the nickel, with Tarell playing outside and being the starter.

But we'll still have lots of problems on third down, regardless, unless Manny Lawson comes up big. Did I mention it all starts with pass rush?

Here are the numbers for team sacks, 2008:

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=OPP&offensiveStatisticCategory=null&defensiveStatisticCategory=SACKS&season=2008&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=true&Submit=Go

We were mediocre. Denver was absolutely terrible.

Unfortunatly, I agree with you. Our pass rush is just as bad as Denvers. Look at our corners. They get ripped all the time.

I asked Matt a couple days ago whether he thought Williams and RSmith were switched to S because we had less proven depth there, or that they weren't cutting it as CBs. He suggested the latter.

Of course, the depth issue was arguable even then. Now, it no longer makes sense. The fact that they called up Dre instead of immediately putting RSmith back at CB speaks volumes. I would not be surprised if we end up grabbing 2 FA CBs, perhaps 1 now, and 1 at final cut-downs. Ideally, 1 would be 'seasoned', and 1 would be a younger player.

It's possible that we pick up a safety, and move Reggie back to CB. I don't expect that to happen, though.

Matt,

Barrows says that one of the best free agent CB's left on the market is Roderick Hood.

Are the 49ers showing any interest in Hood and do you think he might be a better fit than Bly?

Just play the "UTES", Brown will be just fine. Losing Harris is NO LOSS whatsoever, hopefully it gets the youngsters on the field, kind of like McKyer and Griffin in 1986.

This might be a good pickup. It looks like he really only had one bad season in Denver, and because of his cap $$ they dumped him. Like grumpy mentions above, he may have looked worse due to a serious lack of a pass rush. This article spells out where he is at,

http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/17/broncos-release-cb-bly/

My big question is how much $$?? I don't think you can have too much depth at CB. It seems they rarely make it through all 16 games so we are going to need some bodies. But he may ask for too much$$.

I don't like to wish injury on anyone but the Harris thing may turn out to be a blessing. It ws clear watching him last year that he has lost a lot of speed and can no longer cover. To compensate for his lack of speed, he was lining up 10+ yards off the WR's on almost every play regardless of down and distance. If a CB lines up 10 yards deep on Third and 8, it is an almost certain first down pickup.

Dre Bly is a bit long in the tooth, but he would still be an upgrade over Harris.

Sorry to hear about your morning, Skeeb. Sorry I was so "mean" to you in response to your "tone."

I still say that Singletary should be honest with everyone.

If the once heralded first round pick didn't pan out because he's fat, lazy and has off field issues, fine. Say it. Call him out. Set an example for the rest of the team.

We have Ahmad Brooks on our team too. If overweight, lazy and off-field issues were disqualifiers, he wouldn't be there. If Coach Singletary had called out Williams and cut him that day, it would've sent a message that you need to try hard and live up to your potential.

I took Singletary at his word, because (unlike Nolan) he's supposed to be a motivational straight-talker.

Saying Williams was cut because we're all set in the backfield certainly doesn't send any motivating message to the other lazy miscreants on the team.

Furthermore, if that was indeed the case, that Williams was cut because we have our guys...it was a shortsighted decision, because it didn't account for injury.

I was thinking the same...a Nolan reject? He can't be any good! Sign him, too much depth at DB is a good thing.

All good points D. But don't you thhink that if Bly comes in on big money, he'll automatically be the starter? I.e., Bly will demand more $$$ based on his exp. and such and such, and will probably want a starting job (not to compete for one), and won't settle for a 3rd down/nickel corner job.

Its not so much the $$$ I'm trippin about, ain't my wallet so I could care less who's dippin in it. But, we have T. Brown, young and up and coming, who's progress could be hindered by this kind of a signing.

So you want Singletary to "call out" a player in the press whom he has just cut. Now that really sounds classy. I would imagine that on the inside, away from the press, the "other lazy miscreants on the team" have gotten the message. If they haven't, then they don't possess the mental capabililties to be successful anyway.

Isn't it obvious that Williams can't play? There were many teams in the NFL last year who had injuries and were desperate for a DB, yet J.Williams spent the entire year unemployed. The Niners took a look, didn't like what they saw, and quickly decided that he wasn't going to come close to making the team. Time to go in a different direction. Looking at the list of available FA, he probably would be at the very bottom. There are obviously much better alternatives.

This wouldn't have happened if Smith was getting the reps. Hill's bad pass caused the injury. Time to bench Hill for good and let the ALEX SMITH ERA begin!!!

go 9ers!

Stampede, I agree. I don't want to give Bly or any veteran FA CB the starting job directly or indirectly through a big salary. But, I don't think that is what the 49ers have in mind and I especially feel that way after seeing Matt's further post on Brian Kelly and Sing's comments about competition. If Sing wasn't going to commit to either Shaun Hill or Alex Smith, before or after Smith re-negotiated his contract, the Niners are not going to panic now and commit to a verteran FA CB because of Harris' injury. This is about veteran depth and competition for the starting and nickel corner spots. In a perfect world, from what I have seen Brown steps up and wins Harris' job; Spencer reclaims the nickel spot and the veteran signee is insurance or gets beat out by Word-Daniels

Yeah again you make a good point about competition. I hope it plays out that way. I would hate to see a FA get deference just on the strength of his track record. Let em compete. And Spence back at the nickel corner spot would be nails. I still remember the smack he put on Kitna in that 06 Lions game. Whooo!

Skeebers | May 21, 2009 7:19 AM | Reply
Williams isn't a cornerback, he's a safety. Harris is a corner. So there's nothing "horrible and shortsighted" that has occurred. Just an injury to an aging corner that we can address by signing another corner like Bly. What do you expect Sing to say? "Williams was a lazy, fat punk who was taking up a third string safety spot that we'd prefer go to the safety (C. Taylor) that we just drafted." No offense, but the only mistake I can see here is your post.

--------------------------------------
Don't apologize for your comments above,that are right on the money,as usual.
Scotty and Sing know what they are doing and we all knew when Williams was released that there was more to the story than a class guy like Sing would tell the media.