good for jean-francois. he's played the part of the rookie like most as we saw from preseason, but I like his attitude and I wish him luck out there on the field in a real game.

also, interesting note about the d-line matt. it pleases me greatly that the unit we all thought was one of our weak points in the off/preseason is actually one of our strengths.

The cost for Balmer is his salary plus the cost of a draft pick, whereas the costs of the others (second contract) are just their salaries. Therefore, his production/cost ratio is probably below that of others.

good for jean-francois. he's played the part of the rookie like most as we saw from preseason, but I like his attitude and I wish him luck out there on the field in a real game.

also, interesting note about the d-line matt. it pleases me greatly that the unit we all thought was one of our weak points in the off/preseason is actually one of our strengths.

Name 5 DL who were drafted in the first round over the last 3 years that have performed like a first rounder.....I am curious...Cedrick Ellis maybe?

For everyone who keeps saying Balmer is a bust here are the stats of the top three DL drafted this year:

Tyson Jackson - 5 Tackles, 0 Sacks, 1 pass defensed
B.J. Raji - 6 Tackles, 0 Sacks
Aaron Maybin - 5 Tackles, 0 Sacks

So really, is Balmer a bigger bust than them?

Based on what they did in college, I'd expect RJF to have more early impact than KB. That's not to say one will turn out better than the other, but KB really only blossomed his senior season at NC. LSU fans I've talked to raved about RJF and said he was an absolute steal so late in the draft. Dude's got a bit of 'tude, but I'm ok with that so long as he channels it toward good results. Good to see the youngsters on the field...that's the best way for them to progress.

Credit is due to D-line coach Jim Tomsula.

Very interesting stats when added to Matt's. Maybe we should keep the book open on Balmer for another year or two. I have the feeling he is still a work in progress.

...but where's Cody Wallace??

I will be on the sidelines of the 49ers WIN over the Titans. I will give a first hand account of the game sunday night...
Stop Johnson and Young and this is a blowout.
But I say 27-20 49ers.. 27-7 at the end of 3rd.. Smith will have 3 TDs
2 to MC15 and one to the BEST Tight end in the NFC ( NFL??) Vernon Duke Davis..

"Justin Smith 39 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 38 QB pressures"

38 QB pressures??? .....that is insane

...this guy belongs in the pro-bowl

Wallace is probably wishing he was a OG or OT, rather than a C trying to unseat Heitmann, the one guy who's a rock on the Oline.

At least the Dline seems solid for now and the future. That project seems to finally be accomplished. A few years ago, you know Balmer would have been tossed in as a starter from the get go (a la Fields and Mervin Oliver). It's fun seeing a team being built from rock bottom and solidifying one piece after another. Dline, check. LBs, check. DBs, check. RBs, check. QB, check. WRs, check. Now about that pesky Oline....

One last piece of the puzzle to go. I'm jazzed about our chances to make the playoffs this year, but I'm really stoked about the team we will have next year. It will be the first time in seven years that we enter OTAs and TC with the same offensive system intact. The results next year could be very dramatic.

Aubrayo's production is phenomenal too, for a NT & who rotates out on 4-man fronts. The tackle number extrapolates out to 98(!) for 16 games.
Think Maiocco got the same 9er press release the NinerNation site got. The club is apparently promoting 6 players for Pro Bowl Watch: VD, Bam-Bam, Aubrayo, Andy Lee, M-Rob (15 ST tackles; '08 Pro Bowl alternate) & ... McKillop (19 ST tackles, plus a FR TD).

Nice article. Hope they both step up.

I'm giving up on the podcasts. I can't stand the static that mars the interviews.

Show me the Sacks and then I will start talking Pro Bowl! That is the measure of DE's in the NFL

Our top sacker is MacDonald at #38. I am not degrading Justin in anyway as he is playing really well in the defensive scheme, but he has 1 sack! We need to remember what an All-Pro is.

I said the same exact thing! My eyes bugged outta my head when I saw "38 QB pressures."

This D-Line has taken more than a step forward, they took a freakin' leap from last year.

I don't know much about Frenchy, but dude looks like he can do a lil sumthin sumthin. I'm excited to see what he can do out there.

Marco: 3-4 DE's will never have the sack numbers that 4-3 DE's get. They are almost always double teamed, larger and play a different role. The 3-4 DE's job is to collapse the pocket and occupy blockers to allow the LB's to flow freely to the ball. They must also be equally adept at playing the run (Smith is easily one of the best run stopping lineman in football). Most 4-3 DE's like Jared Allen who weigh in the 250-260 range move to OLB in 3-4 schemes... Just like Aaron Kampman in Green Bay. Our sacks are supposed to be coming from our OLB's mostly as well as from the safety's and Mike and Ted LB's, just like in other successful 3-4 schemes. That's the point of the 3-4 the 3 hogs up front occupy the line and you never know where the pressure is coming from. The play of the line, especially Smith and Franklin has been excellent. Just re-watch the Colts game and check out how much attention the Colts blocking scheme pays to J. Smith if you want to see how well thought of he is.

It's irrelevant anyway, as he is listed at DT by the NFL for Pro Bowl Voting, as they vote as if it's a 4-3 defense

Your idea of what constitutes great DE play is as outdated as Jimmy Raye's playbook

I won't repost the entire article here, but if you want to actually learn about the role of the 3-4 lineman, here is a good link.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/181404-49ers-defensive-line-an-underrated-product-of-the-3-4-defense

Also: these are the sack leaders from the 2008 season from teams playing 3-4. As you can see at the bottom, SF's DE's were twice as productive in sacks compared to the statistical average.

NFL Rankings (Sacks)

Defensive Ends:

1- Shaun Ellis (8)

2- Richard Seymour (8)

3- Justin Smith (7)

4- Aaron Smith (5.5)

5- Chris Canty (3)

NFL Average: 2.9

NFL Average Total (for both 49er DE): 5.8

NFL Average: 2.9

NFL Average Total (for both DE): 5.8

Nice article/interview. Hope to see these men take full advantage of their opportunity sunday. It will be imperative to contain Young within the pocket and ultimately collapsing it on top of him. Lets Roll 49ers!

38 QB Pressures = Pro Bowl

Marco, if you look at the sack count of the leading 3-4 defensive ends, it's zero except for Luis Castillo and Aaron Smith at two apiece.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/210822-the-top-five-best-3-4-defensive-ends-in-the-nfl
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/sortableStats?div=NFL&stable=tackle&stat=tacSack&stype=nfl-player-stats-defense&dir=descending
(Seymour's 4 sacks this yearr are in the Raider's 4-3 system).

dude...i think that nickname "frenchy" is gonna stick....funny...

Unfortunately pressures dont account for too much other than he is working hard. If he converted 10% of those pressurers into sacks than I'd say were onto something. I love the guy but he needs to start putting QB's on their back. I look at the Minnesota game, if he would have sacked Favre on that last play, maybe we are .500 right now and tied for the division lead. Too much money for a guy not putting up legitimate stats(sacks)

Dude are you kidding me??? Pressures don't mean much then working hard???

When a QB is pressured it disrupts the rhythm and the QB usually throws it before they want to, throw it away, tuck and run or check it down to their last read.

i believe it was M.Lawson that almost sacked favre....

I agree pressures don't account for too much....

But working hard is everything....

while the Niner's 3-4 down lineman arent' going to get the same preasure and sacks that 4-3 down linemen get; they do run a Defensive scheme that allows them to get to the QB and get more sacks and preassure than many 3-4 down linemen.

Many 3-4 defenses run a read and react 2 gap by the 3 down linemen scheme. This allows the rush linebackers to come in and make all the tackles.

The Niners run a One Gap 3-4 defense (Bum Phillips attacking 3-4 vs. Bullough-Fairbanks 2-gap/read and react). So the down linemen shoot assigned gaps along with the linebackers...so that most of the gaps are penetrated or are assigned to be manned. The down linemen aren't just tying up multiple blockers like some 3-4 linemen.

So it's hard to judge the performance of the individual line positions in comparison to other down linemen. What you can judge is the collective efforts of the front 7 in terms of sacks, QB preassures, tackles and over all performace against the run and pass.

When you sack a QB you lose the down, you lose yards you change the playcalling, you justify your 68 million dollar contract. A pressure can mean you were close to the QB, you collapsed a pocket, the QB can still make a play, Hello Favre/Minnesota game? Sack=better result!

Fabulous: Of course sack= better result: It's not really the job of a 3-4 DE to sack the quarterback. It's just an added bonus if they do.

If you reed my earlier post, you will see the top 3-4 DE in the league last year had 8 sacks. Just Smith had 7. The sacks are supposed to be coming from the OLB's... in that regard, we are failing.

I agree working hard is everything but bottom line is if you were brought in as a free agent with that contract, you better get sacks. He is a presence but like Nate Clements, big money better result in big production, have not seen anything to justify either of those contracts. I think the Niners have spent poorly in free agency, Clements, Brandon Jones, Issac Bruce,maybe J. Smith, Marvel Smith, insted they should have signed Smiley, Harvey Dahl, Kyle Kosier, areas that are killing us now.

Hindsight is always the easy choice. If Smiley was here and not producing to your standards and Smith was somewhere else and dominating (He is very close to dominating here) you would be saying the same thing.

Of course sacks are better.... but give credit where it is due. 38 QB pressures is pretty damn good.

"Justin Smith ...have not seen anything to justify either of those contracts."

WHAT WHAT WAT!!!!

Dude...cmon men - without J.Smith our D-Line play would be way way worse.....

i think the guy deserves raise in my opinion....

and for clements the big money really comes next year.....

Maybe in running situations the DE in 3-4 scheme is "not really the job" to sack the QB but in passing situations I am pretty sure everyone on the d-line including the nose is to get to the QB. All I'm saying is that the Niners have spent poorly in free agency. They knew they were building a 3-4 defense, there plan was to have Smith play standing up in the OLB position. Up until last year they decided that Smith should play with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end. Has it worked, not sure, but for that amount of money they spent on him, do you think his salary justifies his production?

Very interesting discussion. QB pressures are not an official NFL stat so the coaches tabulate the numbers. I'm curious to know if a player simply has to be in the vicinity or actually has to hit the QB to get a pressure from the 9er coaches. Any way you go, there is no doubt JS is kicking A$$ on the d-line. In my opinion, Smith is the best FA pickup of McC's tenure. It's money well spent and I'll bet there's not a GM in the league who would say Smith is under-performing related to his contract.

Its not hindsight, Smiley was productive, he just got hurt and the Niners gave up on him. Kosier was a 7th round draft pick, solid, let him walk and now starting on one of the best o-lines in the league. Dahl, same thing. The Niners drafted so poorly that they had to go out and make a splash cause their fan base was up in arms and they spent all that money poorly when if they had some sort of structure of keeping your own draft picks that had potiential like the guys I mentioned, we would be better off.

Matt, this new format is a serious trainwreck... Ugly and buggy...

Here is a great chart showing strength of schedule for the NFC. At this mid way point, niners go from 3rd hardest to 3rd easiest in the NFC. No excuses this year boys:

week 1-8 strength: .588 (opp record 30-22)

week 9-17 strength: .391 (opp record 25-39)

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/8386/easy-paths-for-49ers-cardinals-seahawks

I'm not saying he is under performing or that he is not our best d-linemen, overall I think if the Niners would have spent that money they used on Smith/Clements and signed their own draft picks that walked (Dahl/Smiley/Kosier)we would be better off. You could say its hindsight but I say you draft these guys for a reason, spend the money to keep them and their potential, especially offensive linemen where as we are seeing has a tremendous impact on the entire team and the development of certain positions. Imagine Alex Smith coming into a situation in 2005 where he had a time to develop with a line combination of Heitman, Kosier,Smiley,Dahl,Gragg, Willig, Baas, Stone, Murphy, Snyder etc

I forgot to mention above: Carolina goes from middle of the pack in the first half of the season to the 2nd HARDEST schedule from here on out. Their remaining opponents are 42-24. As a Niners fan you could not ask for two better scenarios.

actually this is where it gets even more complicated in judging performace of the D-Line. The Niners switch to a 4 man line in nickel and dime passing situations. Smith moves to Defensive Tackle. So I guess then you judge Smith's #'s to that of a 3 techinque Defensive Tackle? There is no "Nose" or Over Tackle in these lines because both are shooting the A Gaps. McDonald plays the other DT spot. Franklin comes out. Haralson is moved to Right Defensive End (rush end) and Lawson, Brooks and Evans were sometimes put in at LDE for Soaps on passing downs.

Fabulous: U were making a semi valid argument, but you lost me...

Just Smith who is 6-4 285, was not brought in here to play OLB. he has never in his life played OLB. He was a DT/DE at Missouri and was a DT/DE at Cincinnati. He was brought here as DT/DE. His sack totals were never mind blowing, but good for 3-4 DE who also plays the DT at times.. He's a pressure -high motor guy, who is relentless to the ball. not to mention a high character guy. Again, you need to read the lovely article that I linked to in an earlier post about the role the 3-4 DE performs in the context of the scheme. You simply cannot compare 4-3 DE's to 3-4 DE's. Also I wrote very clearly above that in 2008, the avg sack total of 3-4 DE's was 2.9 - DE's in the 3-4 for reasons that have been explained earlier in the post, simply aren't expected to be the place where a 3-4 team should find the majority of it's sack total.

Smiley wasn't productive. He was very weak in the run game and could not move DTs. He was not that good in pass-protection either since he couldn't handle the bull-rush. I remember some Seattle DT getting two sacks off him. That DOUBLED the guys six-year career total! In one game. His only multi-sack game of his entire 10-year-no-pass-rush career!

So that you're bashing the front office by SAYING he was productive is a load of monkey poop. He may have LATER became a good guard with the Dolphins, but he was not a good guard HERE. And the only reason he kept his job while he was here was because Baas got hurt two-years running.

As for Smith getting sacks as a measurement of him earning his paycheck... That's just stupid.

The bottom-line is that he wasn't a sack guy in Cincinatti. And 3-4 DEs are not expected to be sack guys. So your implict argument that he should magically become a sack-guy because he got a big contract is ludicrous. He was given a big contract because he is a COMPLETE defensive end, a rarity in these modern times.

In a game where 40% to 50% of the plays are runs, his ability to dominate his side of the LOS has been a major factor in our becoming the #2 run defense in the NFL. Plus his skills and standards have apparently rubbed off on Franklin who is now becoming one of the better NTs in the NFL.

I understand that most fans do not appreciate those qualities. Rather they want sacks, no matter how otherwise horrible the DE is at everything else. After all, if it's not important in Madden, it must not be important.

But in the NFL, the ability to own the LOS goes a long, long way in winning football games. And Justin Smith owns the LOS.

So what we paid for is a durable, elite defensive end who absolutely dominates the run-game and provides a very-good pass rush. Not a Dwight Freeny Elite pass-rush good for 10-sacks a year, but just a very-good-for 7-sacks-a-year.

OTOH, unlike Freeny, Smith can play the run. So, yeah, we lose 3 sacks a year. We get far, far better run defense and he puts a boat-load of pressures on the QB due to his relentless pursuit. Actually BETTER than Freeny at this.

So, in the end Freeny gets the publicity and people like you, with ZERO APPRECIATION for line play, WHINE. But Smith is the far better player. Even if, on average, he pulls in about three fewer sacks a year.

After all, 400-to-500 solid run defenses goes a lot further toward winning than three sacks, of which more-than-likely two will be over-come on the very next play from scrimmage.

When the Niners signed Smith Nolan talked about Smith as a "hybrid player" one that could play with his hand in the dirt or they would line him up at OLB. If were talikng about how great Smith is, I agree, If were talking about how pressurers are significant to production, I disagree. Its like horse shoes and sex, almost does not count. I want value for my money and spending that amount of money on a high motor guy does not make sense to me. My point is that money should have been spent on developing the offensive line.

Great stat Mike - reason for optimism.

I want to give props to Ronnie Lott and MosesZD!

You guys are always throwing out stats that are mindblowing. The difference from you 2 and other posters is that your stats are always relevant to the discussion at hand.

Keep up the good work gents. and thank you for eduacating others.

I do have an appreciation for defensive line play, but 45 million over six years with an average sack total of 3.3 the last three years I have a problem with. Run stuffers you can draft and not pay them 45 million. Sack guys that stop the run and get to the QB like Freeney, Peppers, Jared Allen, Mathis,get 45 million over 6 years with 32 million guaranteed. Those guys are defensive lineman who produce regardless of scheme, alignment, run pass whatever situation. If your going to compare defensive linemen and production then look at the top guys and see what they get paid and look at their total stats. Smith is not even in the top 10 in tackles this year, all those guys I mentioned are and have more sacks my friend!

Dude is that a pic of Andre the Giant?

You have to compare apples to apples, not apples to grapes! The players you listed do not play in a 3-4 scheme. Guess who does (J. Smith). Your comparison is like comparing T. Owens to Antonio Gates. They are both great players, but play a totally different position.

you need to understand defensive schemes. the 3-4 End isn't the primary pass rusher. if you want to complain about lack of sacks, look at Haralson and Lawson.

Fab, your argument is bogus, relying solely on how much he got paid. That's York's problem and FAs always get overpaid, anyway. Fans only need be concerned with production and Smith has been outstanding. A true warrior. You keep comparing him to 4-3 DEs, showing your argument relies on false data for its authenticity. You also come up short on Kosier (Moses handled your deficiencies on Smiley). Kosier was the Adam Snyder of his day, couldn't crack the line up, but was a very valuable reserve. He was allowed to leave when Detroit overpaid for him at the time the Niners were in the last vestiges of the great salary cap purge fo 2004-5. We kept Heitmann, instead. Kudos to Kosier and Dahl for settling in and doing well, but picking a couple of hindsight instances to build a critical evaluation of the Niners is pretty much a calculated stretch, and a bit of ancient history more than current news.

Who cares about scheme! 3-4, 4-3, if thats the case then dont pay your linemen big money. If their job is to shed blockers and create congestion then draft 400lb freaks and pay them nothing. Spend the money elsewhere. 45 million is way too much money for his totals from an objective viewpoint to his stats compared to other linemen in the league. Dummervil, 3-4 system, 24 tackles, 10 sacks. DeMarcus Ware, 3-4 system, 22 tackles, 5 sacks, JUSTIN SMITH: 20 tackles (not bad) 1 SACK, cmon man!

Who cares about the scheme?

Does a nurse have the same responsibilties a doctor has? cmon man!

You are cherry picking here bro. Give it a rest and move on. I am sure there is more important issues to gripe on than criticing our best D-lineman. I for one am happy we have J. Smith. You can keep you Freeney/Mathis. I will take J. Smith.

I believe DeMarcus Ware is an OLB

"Who cares about scheme! "

- It is all about scheme.....this is a losing argument..

..i get your point that we should have invested in the O-line.....

but the contribution of J.Smith to a young team re-building - is priceless

Fab - you still dont' get it.
Dumerville and Ware ARE OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS. they play Haralson's position. Smith is a 3-4 END.

Your dismisal of scheme isn't releveant. Down Linemen that tie up blockers and control the line of scrimage AND can disrupt things in the backfield are highly valuable. With out them the pass rushers wouldn't be able to get to the QB. With out them stuffing the run you're not put into obvious passing situations which makes it easier for the rush backers to use various pass rush techniques against the pass blockers instead of worry about gap and edge control

in the 3-4 scheme, if you ask around about which position is the most important. many will say the rush/weak OLB. the knowledgable respones will say Nose Tackle. Without the NT tieing up 2 or more blockers and clogging the run; you're not going to pass rush anything. (in reality the NT and rush OLB are probably 1 & 2 in importance).

fab - you're concerned about money for some reason. here's a little secret: the salary cap hasn't really been an issue for most teams for the last few years. in fact most teams are about $10M UNDER THE SALARY CAP. so it's not as if the money going to Smith is taken away from another neccesary area of the team like O-line.

Freeney and Mathis made two huge plays in the 4th quarter sacking Alex Smith, where was Justin, I'm pretty sure you would take those two crtical sacks right about now?

I am going off topic here a little. Have you guys seen the devastation the 9ers put upon the Colt's? Those guys are hurting after their game with us. They were lucky Manning kept he ball the last 6 minutes. They might have had guys from the Offense playing defense.

Ooooooh Fabulous - Bring a knife to a gun fight is not the best idea you have had....

Yeah Surrrre! Some devastation! Manning only threw for 347 Yards.

I guess if Manning had thrown for 500 yards you would have said the 49er defense held him to a draw.

All kidding aside, I do agree that the D played its best game of the season, too bad we only managedn 14 points on offense.

Bottom line is we lost. To paraphrase Coach Singletary, I am not a moral victories kind of guy. I want winners.

Fabulous: If we ran a 4-3, I would love to have both guys. But Freeney at 6'1 260 would almost certainly be moved to ROLB in a 3-4. He would simply get engulfed. Also, Freeney's sack actually had nothing to do with Sims (who had a pretty good game), as he stunted inside around the guard. Gore came up to protect, but he kinda got blown up into Alex.

All the players you listed in your earlier post, Ware, Dumervil, are either 3-4 OLB's or Like Allen, Freeney, Peppers are 4-3 DE's

All 3 of those guys would be moved to ROLB in a 3-4 system. In fact, Peppers has already gone public stating he'd like to leave Carolina and play OLB in a 3-4. Some guys can make the transition, some guys have a real hard time with it, like Aaron Kampman, who said publicly that he is finding the switch difficult.

The point I think we are all trying to make is that Justin Smith is among the leagues best 3-4 linemen. and while I agree we need more sacks, you are just looking in the wrong place. Aim your attention at Harylson and Lawson. Those are our edge pass rushers. Now feel free to question what they are bringing to the table all you want, as I am sure most of us will be in complete agreement with you. Although I think Manny's overall game has improved

FYI to everyone... Bob Sanders is out for the season. Unfortunately 1 game too late.

Thank you Ronnie. Could'nt agree more. Lawson and Harrelson are the culprits when it comes to out anemic sack numbers, not Justin Smith.

I still think you are being overly kind to Lawson. His overall game may be improved, but to me it does not matter. Lawson is on this team as an edge rusher. If he wants to play the Patrick Willis position, he can compete for it, and let the Niners get someone else to be the edge rusher. The fact that he has enough speed to drop back into coverage, or run down running plays is nice, but its not what he is being paid for on this team.

Fab, Time to move on. You lost this argument about 2hrs ago. And as an indication that the team is moving in the right direction, we are arguing whether J.Smith is great or just very good!

Rick, I was just pointing out the 49ers beat the hell out of them....my reference wasn't about the game. it was about how many are walking wounded and going on IR after there victory. No moral wins here just that we kick there ass physically. That's all.

Cool guys, I get what your saying about the system in comparison to player and scheme. I love J. Smith, and more importantly our whole entire defense. I would take our defense over alot of other teams. I would just like to have seen money spent in other areas like offensive line and regardless of cap situation, Smith's money might have been better spent elsewhere, but by no means would I not want him on our team.

Niners are 18th in total defense and the offense is 3 and out over 40% of the time, worst in the league. I'd say the D is doing quite well, even with a mediocre pass rush. If the O could hold the ball just a little more, I'd think the team would be in the top 10 defensively.

Rick: No argument here about Lawson needing to get to the quarterback more. Unlike Harylson, though- I am beginning to see signs of life from him on the pass rushing front. And he is developing into a pretty nice 3 down OLB.

Also Remember... The Team seems to be pretty high on Ahmad Brooks as a 3rd down pass rush specialist. Maybe he becomes that edge rusher we need so desperately?

We will find out soon enough as it looks like Parylson or Lawson will be coming off on some passing downs for Brooks.

Give Lawson a break....he just came of an injury.....He looks solid on the line against the run...

..Merriman who also is coming off an injury with his steroid and tequila isn't playing that well either

You Heard it here first, Frenchy going to be a Beast!! Balmer a Bust!!

Fabulous: I am almost positive the 9ers were planning on taking E. Monroe or M. Oher (whichever was available) with the 10th pick and address tackle position.

But.. as we all know now, the Cryptkeeper over in Oakland went batsh*t crazy and decided DHB was the best receiver in the draft. Then a certain guy named Crabtree fell right into our laps and was just too good to pass up. Then Carolina offered their #1 for our #2 and the 9ers felt there wasn't a lineman of value at that pick.

Then we thought Marvel Smith could tide us over, but he never made it out camp... then the injuries. just bad luck.

I expect at least one of our two first round picks will go to address the offensive line. Besides... no matter how we did this, we were always 2-3 players away this year. either we took a top tackle and passed on Crabs or vice versa. I'm glad we got the guy who I thought was the best player in the draft at #10. That's a value pick in my book.

One question for you: who's getting double-teamed more Justin Smith or Haralson and Lawson???? Don't have the official stats but I'd probably put my money on Smith so # of sacks doesn't tell the whole story. Anybody around the league watching the Niners on defense can't help but notice J.Smith so he's definitely got a chance.

We should of taken a tackle in the first round of 2008, instead of throwing it down the toilet for a played who had 1 decent season for a barely bowl eligible team in college.

GilroyAl: if you can, re-watch the Colts game It's abundantly clear who the OL schemed their protection towards.. I'll give you a hint: it wasn't Harylson or Lawson

BTW, The Colts players and staff absolutely raved about our front 7. Manning said we were awesome.

I agree with you about the D. Other than the Atlanta game the D has been solid. Even the first half at Houston was not all that bad.

I have no complaints about the D (except for the lack of pass rush). That is why I am still optimistic about the season. I still see us at no worse than 9-7 at the end of the year.

The Titans are pretty bad against the pass. This should be the week that Raye opens up the offense and let Alex air it out to Crabtree and Vernon. I hope they don't ask Vernon to stay and help out Sims block against Vanden Bosch. let Moran Norris help Sims if necessary. Vernon is our best downfield weapon, and he needs to be part of the passing game.

I hope Singletary gives Raye a tape of the Patriots / Titans game of October 18, locks him in the video room, and tells him to watch it over and over again until he figures out how New England thrashed the Titans 59-0.

Pierre99: If you are referring to Balmer, you will get no argument from me..

The problem was, 8 OT's went off the board before we picked at #29. I cannot recall so many OT's going in the first round. and the cupboard was unfortunately dry.

Ironically the next OL to go after the Balmer pick was Chilo Rachal at #39

"But.. as we all know now, the Cryptkeeper over in Oakland went batsh*t crazy and decided DHB was the best receiver in the draft."

Once in a while I still ask myself is Crabtree really on the team......

Its freaking unbelievable......how we got him....

Pierre99: To stick it in the wound a little deeper, we had traded our #7 pick that year to NE. I believe to move up and take Stayley the year before.

We got the #29th pick from Indy. Had we stayed stayed where we were, Ryan Clady whom Denver got at #12 would have been available. He's for my money the best young tackle in football

Me too oneniner.Crabtree and Obama.We should have taken Nicks instesd of Wallace,which was obvious at the time.Need and value should trump a minor character concern on a 2nd day pick.