rideaducati":mn81vozj said:
Marvin49":mn81vozj said:
RB GORE (31) - Have Hyde, Lattimore, Hunter, and James waiting in the wings
WR BOLDIN (33) - Patton and Ellington being groomed for that spot. Also traded for Stevie Johnson
WR LLOYD (32) - Initially didn't think he'd have much of a shot at making the team, but has looked good.
WR OSGOOD (34) - Special Teams player. He or Lloyd make it...not both.
TE DAVIS (30) - This is one spot where they need to groom someone. Can McDonald be that guy?
G SNYDER (32) - Probably won't make the team with influx of draftees and Jonathan Martin
DT SMITH (34) - Drafted Tank Carradine to take that spot and a few other later rounders with upside (Dial, Ramsey, Lynch). We'll see.
LB BROOKS (30) - Corey Lemonier being groomed behind him. Again, we'll see.
LB COSTANZO (30) - Just resigned...Special teamer.
S VENTRONE (31) - Special Teamer.
PK DAWSON (39) - Not sure how many more years he has
P LEE (31) - 31 isn't really old for a punter.
Bottom line...certainly some age there and some concern, but 49ers are certainly aware of it and have been addressing those positions for 2 years now. We'll see how good those players end up being.
Two years eh? It only took a decade of top 11 picks to get where they are now...
That's really the thing I see and don't understand how no 49ers fans seem to understand. The previous regime with the benefits of picking in the beginning of the first round for years brought in some unbelievable talent. Then add in some very smart GMing by McCloughan and Harbaugh walked into a team with Aldon Smith, Michael Crabtree, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Ahmad Brooks, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore and Navaro Bowman. Imagine what Pete Carroll could have done with that group.
They also had guys like Goldson, Whitner and Delanie Walker who are now gone. Those guys weren't super stars but they are proving hard to replace. Reid has been technically as good as Goldson but has already had two concussions and is obviously not built for the smash mouth style of play Goldson brought and Vance McDonald has been a huge step back from Walker. They are hoping to replace Whitner but it is very likely their next strong safety will be another downgrade.
Justin Smith is probably their most important defensive player as we seen in 2012 when he was injured in the NE game and the entire defense went to crap and he turned 35 in April. Gore has been the heart and sole of that offense and turns 31 before the first preseason game. Boldin is 34 and very important to that offense and Goodwin their center is being replaced by Kilgore (IIRC), their secondary is being held together with bubble gum and happy thoughts, on and on.
I know they have their rose colored glasses on but that is a ton of talent to replace and those replacements will be the future of the Niners organization. They pretty much need to hit on every pick as if they were still picking 7th overall but the problem is they are not and age is creeping up on them at a fairly rapid rate.
If you listen to a Niner fan he will point out that the age difference is only about 2.5 years on average but he is ignoring the talent that is carrying that team is what is dragging that age barrier down and the guys who are helping it have yet to replace any of the starters at a similar level.
Since they have been picking late in the draft they have found one starter in Reid and they had to package multiple picks to move up in the draft to get him and he is still not yet an upgrade over Goldson and will never have the physical presence Goldson did. Sure they have guys waiting in the wings just like every team in the NFL but if you believe any Niner fan theirs are by far the best and it's not even debatable.
