Niners make their roster cuts

[Zebulon Dak]

Why do they have to be on the field at the same time? With how much we run, Michael and Turbin will be getting lots of touches while Lynch is on the bench getting a breather. This also sets us up well for the fact that Lynch likely has only 2-3 more elite seasons before Father Time does to what it does to all RB's. We now have a much better shot at continuity there.

All of your explanations of 49er roster construction is fine and dandy, but wasn't my point at all. My point was that even IF we were targeting McDonald (which I agree with you there is no solid evidence for); our 'consolation prize' is likely to end up the more valuable player over the next 4-5 years.

Also, when your primary RB is on the wrong side of 30, I would be a little more hesitant to declare the position solid.

No they won't. Unless Lynch is hurt Turbin and Michael won't get that many touches. You don't know what you're talking about.

They'll get touches. Turbin before Michael, at least in the first half of the season. But they're gonna spread the ball around this year, guaranteed.

 

[Stoned Cold]

They'll get touches. Turbin before Michael, at least in the first half of the season. But they're gonna spread the ball around this year, guaranteed.

Thats so vague. What does that mean? 60/40, 70/30, 80/20?

Lynch gets 75%+ carries in my opinion when healthy and its not a blowout. Turbins the better pass blocking 3rd down guy for now but Lynch gets all the meaningful carries. I don't know, maybe you're thinking we'll blow some teams out and they get late game carries.

 

[Ninerguy]

I thought the 49ers kind of bombed rounds 1 and 2 this year. I thought all three of those prospects were grossly over-rated before the draft. If the 49ers did take McDonald away from us, then we should send Baalke a gift basket. McDonald is a project with stone hands, meanwhile Seattle got Christine Michael who has a very, very bright future and (if I heard correctly) is leading the NFL in rushing this preseason, even though he missed a game.

But after that, it got a lot better. Lemonier, Dial, Daniels, Marquardt, maybe Patton, those were all players I wanted for Seattle. I think Lattimore will look great behind SF's run blocking, but I didn't think much of him as a prospect as he is allergic to the big play and can't stay healthy, ever. Seattle's D is really strong against slow to average speed RBs but can get gouged by the Reggie Bushes and CJ Spillers of the league, so I was actually relieved when I saw SF invest in an average speed RB who decidedly lacks HR ability (I think Lattimore had just one run over 25 yards in his last season, something like that).

Michael aside, I wasn't thrilled with Seattle's draft either. It has gotten off to a fairly poor start, although Seattle did some very nice things in UDFA. Mayowa, Brooks, and Bailey have been better than most of our draft picks.

Wow, as much as I like the other Niner draft picks this yr, and I LOVE the Lemonier pick!, I think the 2 bolded picks will be 2 of our best. Tank is a beast and we have the dline depth to allow him to get 100% healthy, something he could not do on on most any other team. McDonald is looking great, is huge and fast and gives us that 2 TE set we love with an upgrade over Walker. McDonald led our team in rec yds, but that patton kid only played in 2 games and against the other teams starters and looked very impressive!!!

Time will tell

 

[Zebulon Dak]

They'll get touches. Turbin before Michael, at least in the first half of the season. But they're gonna spread the ball around this year, guaranteed.

Thats so vague. What does that mean? 60/40, 70/30, 80/20?

Lynch gets 75%+ carries in my opinion when healthy and its not a blowout. Turbins the better pass blocking 3rd down guy for now but Lynch gets all the meaningful carries. I don't know, maybe you're thinking we'll blow some teams out and they get late game carries.

He got about 75% of the runs last year (not including runs by RW or end around/trick/broken plays). I just think that in an effort to both keep him healthy and to take advantage of our deep talent pool that number's gonna go down some.

 

[Marvin49]

Why do they have to be on the field at the same time? With how much we run, Michael and Turbin will be getting lots of touches while Lynch is on the bench getting a breather. This also sets us up well for the fact that Lynch likely has only 2-3 more elite seasons before Father Time does to what it does to all RB's. We now have a much better shot at continuity there.

All of your explanations of 49er roster construction is fine and dandy, but wasn't my point at all. My point was that even IF we were targeting McDonald (which I agree with you there is no solid evidence for); our 'consolation prize' is likely to end up the more valuable player over the next 4-5 years.

Also, when your primary RB is on the wrong side of 30, I would be a little more hesitant to declare the position solid.

Right...its too bad they haven't been drafting a RB in every draft in the past 4 years looking for his replacement (Dixon, Hunter, James, and Lattimore).

Dixon is more of a special teamer, but Hunter and James have looked good (tho James had trouble in preseason this year thanks to backup OTs that were never gonna make the team).

We'll have to see on Lattimore, but to say they aren't set at RB just tells me you have no idea about the players on the team behind the starter.

 

[Marvin49]

Goldson was a hitter but had very little instinct for coverage.
I'm not sure what to think about Reid yet, just impossible to know until he is really tested, which he most definitely will be in the first month against the QB's coming his way. Defensive back play in particular is so hard to evaluate in the pre-season with the offensive playbooks all in lockdown mode and seemingly continuous blitzing by defenses in most of the preseason games I have watched.
But I would have much preferred they draft a cover type safety like Reggie Nelson or Rashad Jones in the later rounds, certainly with the way the league is set up these days. (or yes, Earl Thomas)

Back in 1992, Ninerland thought Dana Hall was going to be a stud based on the early returns.
I can remember reading the "next Ronnie Lott" articles. That was such a joke.
Definitely my biggest worry though is our safety play and covering the medium/underneath stuff. With Whitner's coverage skills seemingly in decline big time, if this Reid kid dosent pan out early, it is Burn City ala the playoffs all over again.

I haven't really gotten into the whole 49er/Seahawks trash talk but I'll give you my honest opinion as an SEC Fan. I thought Reid was kind of a reach. I was shocked you didn't go with Elam. Reid is a great athlete and has room to grow for sure so I won't discount him. But I think Elam was more game ready. Reid just seemed to be weaker in open field tackling, and seemed kind of stiff in route coverage/recognition and especially double moves. Elam is a bigger hitter for now, and I've seen him make some tremendous plays when the game was on the line.

I watch every SEC game I can watch. But hey, I'm not trying to be a dick and I think Reid has more potential then Elam. Reid could end up being phenomenal with some experience. Dudes hella young.

I think the issue with Elam is that he too closely resembled Donte Whitner. They weren't looking for a clone.

Also, Harbaugh had a personal relationship with Reid that extended back to Harbaugh trying to recruit him to Stanford. Reid appears to be a really smart kid with lots of potential.

It remains to be seen if he realizes it.

 

[300ZXNA]

Why do they have to be on the field at the same time? With how much we run, Michael and Turbin will be getting lots of touches while Lynch is on the bench getting a breather. This also sets us up well for the fact that Lynch likely has only 2-3 more elite seasons before Father Time does to what it does to all RB's. We now have a much better shot at continuity there.

All of your explanations of 49er roster construction is fine and dandy, but wasn't my point at all. My point was that even IF we were targeting McDonald (which I agree with you there is no solid evidence for); our 'consolation prize' is likely to end up the more valuable player over the next 4-5 years.

Also, when your primary RB is on the wrong side of 30, I would be a little more hesitant to declare the position solid.

Right...its too bad they haven't been drafting a RB in every draft in the past 4 years looking for his replacement (Dixon, Hunter, James, and Lattimore).

Dixon is more of a special teamer, but Hunter and James have looked good (tho James had trouble in preseason this year thanks to backup OTs that were never gonna make the team).

We'll have to see on Lattimore, but to say they aren't set at RB just tells me you have no idea about the players on the team behind the starter.

Boy, you just love twisting things into strawmen, don't you? I'm not saying that they haven't tried to plan for Gores inevitable departure, just that if Gore is ineffective/injured this year, do you honestly think that James or Hunter aren't a drop off? There is no getting around the fact that Gores age and mileage leave him at a much higher risk of falling off of a cliff than the Hawks RB situation. Thus, Michael would have more value to your team than you realize. Again, not taking anything away from McDonald. If the Hawks lose Lynch, the dropoff from Lynch to Michael would be much smaller.

At least make sure you are understanding my point before responding next time. That would be great.

 

[Marvin49]

Why do they have to be on the field at the same time? With how much we run, Michael and Turbin will be getting lots of touches while Lynch is on the bench getting a breather. This also sets us up well for the fact that Lynch likely has only 2-3 more elite seasons before Father Time does to what it does to all RB's. We now have a much better shot at continuity there.

All of your explanations of 49er roster construction is fine and dandy, but wasn't my point at all. My point was that even IF we were targeting McDonald (which I agree with you there is no solid evidence for); our 'consolation prize' is likely to end up the more valuable player over the next 4-5 years.

Also, when your primary RB is on the wrong side of 30, I would be a little more hesitant to declare the position solid.

Right...its too bad they haven't been drafting a RB in every draft in the past 4 years looking for his replacement (Dixon, Hunter, James, and Lattimore).

...and what YOU don't understand is that the 49ers don't have space on their roster for a RB this year. They like Hunter (averaged over 5 yards per carry before he got hurt). They like James. They know Gore only has a few years left and that was a factor in taking a RB who they KNEW wouldn't play this year. It isn't a coincidence that they took a runner whom they wouldn't have to worry about in terms of a roster spot. NEXT year is when it gets interesting...and my guess is Dixon will be gone to make room for Lattimore.

Will Hunter be as good as Gore? Probably not, but he's better than you think he is. They also obviously don't expect the next RB to be as good as the teams all time leading rusher. To expect that would be lunacy.

Lets put this another way....in the second round NEXT year, would you expect RB to be a position of need even though Lynch is getting older and you already have Turbin and Michael? Lynch is the type of runner who might fall off quickly because he just takes (and gives) so many hits.



Dixon is more of a special teamer, but Hunter and James have looked good (tho James had trouble in preseason this year thanks to backup OTs that were never gonna make the team).

We'll have to see on Lattimore, but to say they aren't set at RB just tells me you have no idea about the players on the team behind the starter.

Boy, you just love twisting things into strawmen, don't you? I'm not saying that they haven't tried to plan for Gores inevitable departure, just that if Gore is ineffective/injured this year, do you honestly think that James or Hunter aren't a drop off? There is no getting around the fact that Gores age and mileage leave him at a much higher risk of falling off of a cliff than the Hawks RB situation. Thus, Michael would have more value to your team than you realize. Again, not taking anything away from McDonald. If the Hawks lose Lynch, the dropoff from Lynch to Michael would be much smaller.

At least make sure you are understanding my point before responding next time. That would be great.

Woah...lost my post when I hit submit....

Anyway,

Do I think Hunter and James would be a drop off? Sure....Gore is the teams all time leading rusher. Expecting almost ANYONE to fill those shoes completely would be lunacy.

What I AM saying tho is that they like Hunter (averaged over 5 yards per carry last year) and James. They Drafted Lattimore knowing full well he wouldn't play this year so they wouldn't have to worry about that roster spot till next year.

Put another way, Would you view RB as a "need" with Lynch, Turbin and Michael? Would it be a need just because you don't view Turbin or Michael as backs that could easily replace Lynch? It seems to me that if you were in that position come draft day next year then TE would be a bigger need for you as well.

RB wasn't a need because they have 3 that they like. They took another that will sit for a year.

When I said they weren't interested in Michael, I wasn't trying to insult him. I was saying that a #2 TE in an offense that plays with 2 TEs was far more valuable to them then yet another RB to add to a crowded backfield.

 

[chris98251]

Micheal and Lattimore are real close to the same type of back if you ask me. Turbin is a more north and south guy,and Ware is a future Lynch in my opinion. You should add Lattimore to the PS at some point though so he can start getting reps at NFL speed, from all I have read he's abot ready for that and the 49ers are more playing safe then anything with him, thats understandable.

 

[Marvin49]

Micheal and Lattimore are real close to the same type of back if you ask me. Turbin is a more north and south guy,and Ware is a future Lynch in my opinion. You should add Lattimore to the PS at some point though so he can start getting reps at NFL speed, from all I have read he's abot ready for that and the 49ers are more playing safe then anything with him, thats understandable.

Signing him to the PS would require his release. Not happening.

He will sit for at least the first 6 weeks of the season. They will then have 3 weeks to decide. If they activate him (I don't think they will...taking it easy with him in a big way and they don't really have a spot for another RB) then they can do so. Otherwise he'll go to IR.

It is interesting tho that they didn't simply put him on IR to start. If someone gets hurt and they think he's healthy enough, he may play this year. I don't think so tho...I think they want him to be 100% before ever putting him on the practice field.

 

[chris98251]

Well just the quotes from him I have seen he granted not the doctors thinks he could start going for it in practice, I do expect some slight of hand with him on the roster somehow, if he's sound by mid season or shortly after teams will be looking at PS and roster shuffles and PS for emergency players that are in shape.

The PS thing was a joke btw......

 

[Marvin49]

Well just the quotes from him I have seen he granted not the doctors thinks he could start going for it in practice, I do expect some slight of hand with him on the roster somehow, if he's sound by mid season or shortly after teams will be looking at PS and roster shuffles and PS for emergency players that are in shape.

The PS thing was a joke btw......

It'll be interesting how they handle him. They are in a similar but less serious situation with Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial. Both those guys tho are expected back this year.