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Displaying 1 - 10 of 18 |
Next »Free Agency
David Carr - really?
Of all the players on all the teams in all the world, David Carr has to walk into yours, the 49ers facility on 4949 Centennial Boulevard in Santa Clara. David Carr! Really?
Reports from the New Jersey Star-Ledger say the eight-year veteran is getting a free plane ride and probably a nice dinner from the 49ers this weekend. With team needs at cornerback, offensive line, safety and punt returner, why would the 49ers entertain Carr?
As the Houston Texans first overall pick in 2002, Carr was immediately installed as their starter. He was sacked 76 times his rookie year, 49 times in 2004, 68 times in '05 and 41 times in ought six, his last year as a starter. With that history how would Carr be an upgrade over any of the current 49ers quarterbacks, particularly when the 49ers don't pass protect well? Carr's best year was 2004, his third year as a starter when he threw 16 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions and compiled an 83.5 passer rating.
Shaun Hill gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield.
In nine appearances in 2008, Shaun Hill threw 13 touchdowns with eight interceptions in his first extensive action as a starter. He also had a quarterback rating of 87.5. So how is Carr better than Hill? Last season Alex Smith threw 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with an 81.5 rating, so is Carr better than Smith?
The only reason a Carr visit makes sense is because someone in the organization believes Carr never got much of a chance in Houston because of the horrendous pressure he faced every play. It's also widely speculated that Carr will visit Arizona as well and maybe the 49ers want to get a good look at a guy they might face come fall.
But the fact the 49ers are bringing Carr in continues to confirm the team's aversion to Hills. They never seem to play wide receiver Jason Hill despite his obvious production and talent, and they always seem to want to replace Shaun Hill either as a starter or a backup. This despite Hill's impressive 2008 season and his knack for something pretty important for a quarterback - winning.
Say Alex Smith falters completely as a starter in 2010, Hill has proven he has the chops to be an NFL starter. In that case, Hill could serve as a bridge to Nate Davis or some other option.
I don't if know Carr could be that bridge, particularly when you consider that the usually successful Giants didn't re-sign him. The 49ers might be well served to keep Carr parked on some other team.
In the really old news department the 49ers re-signed Matt Wilhelm to be the new Jeff Ulbrich. Wilhelm plays a mean special teams and can back-up multiple linebacker positions.
| March 05 2010 at 12:32 PM
Moran Da Man
While the Redskins ($100 million, seven years, a whopping $41 million guaranteed) splurged for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, the 49ers were busy welcoming back former players. According to reports, they re-signed fullback Moran Norris to a two-year deal after the 49ers cut him this summer in training camp. They also apparently got linebacker Takeo Spikes to agree to a two-year deal according to several reports.
Spikes finally provided the 49ers with the "ted" linebacker they've been seeking when he signed a one-year deal during training camp. Spikes started slow but eventually finished second to Patrick Willis in tackles and had a string of three interceptions in three straight games. He also provided some leadership in the locker room.
Takeo Spikes in celebratory mode.
The Norris signing signals a vast departure from the Mike Martz regime and a sensitivity to the needs of halfback Frank Gore. New offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye likes fullbacks and when Gore set the 49ers single-season rushing mark in 2006, often it was through a path cleared by Norris. In 2007, Norris's play was gently curtailed as the season went on, partially because he wasn't playing well, and partially because the offense had other priorities.
Gore and Norris were inseparable in '06 having dinner together nightly. Norris was also one of the strongest players on the team. He was one of three players (guard Tony Wragge and defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga being the others) who could hoist the 100-pound dumbbells in the team's weight room. It will be interesting to see if new running backs coach Tom Rathman, not a bad fullback himself, can return Norris to his 2006 self. Norris spent last season slogging through a winless campaign in Detroit.
The 49ers are hoping to get a visit from Cowboys defensive lineman Chris Canty, a four-year player with 10-career sacks. At 6-7, Canty has the wingspan to be an effective two-gap defensive end, but the 49ers will have to compete with the Titans among other teams for Canty. Tennessee expects to make a strong bid after losing Haynesworth.
Canty, according to NFL Network, would have gotten $18 million guaranteed from the Redskins if they hadn't signed Haynesworth. Canty is expected to visit the Giants this weekend with other possible stops in Seattle, Green Bay, Nashville and, of course, the 49ers, if he gets that far. If Canty was going to get $18 million from Washington and he's this highly sought after, it could take $20 million to sign him. Are the 49ers willing to spend another $20 million for a free agent, after the $20 million they laid out for Justin Smith last year and the $22 million in secured cash for Nate Clements the year before? Doubtful.
The 49ers are also expecting a physical and a visit from Titans wide receiver Brandon Jones tonight and tomorrow morning.
So far, the 49ers are once again ignoring their glaring need at right tackle, with no tackles scheduled to visit.
| February 27 2009 at 08:32 PM
No Sizzling Signings
Think the 49ers will pursue Albert Haynesworth in the free agency? Won't happen. Even though general manager Scot McCloughan in a conference call with the local media Thursday afternoon said the 49ers are about $25 million under the salary cap, they won't be making "a big splash" when the market opens at 9 p.m. tonight.
McCloughan estimated the team is in the top five or six teams in terms of salary cap room, but McCloughan wants the 49ers to be known as a team that builds through the draft. He also said he's concentrating his efforts on re-signing his own players and chief among them is quarterback Alex Smith.
"He's on his honeymoon right now, so that has slowed things down," McCloughan said. The team can carry Smith's 2009 salary until training camp, which denies Smith the opportunity to become a free agent. But McCloughan expects to come to agreement with Smith soon, even before next month's minicamp (the 49ers will have a pre-draft minicamp this year).
Other players the 49ers hope to sign are linebacker Parys Haralson, guard David Baas defensive lineman Ronald Fields and linebacker Takeo Spikes.
McCloughan did say he'd try to improve the team through free agency but wouldn't sign any players tonight. In fact, McCloughan said he wouldn't sign any players until they visited the facility first, and visits could come as soon as tomorrow.
McCloughan said he doesn't expect to release any players soon and that includes tackle Jonas Jennings, who's due to make $4.2 million in base salary in 2009. McCloughan intimated that Jennings's contract would need to be redone because of his lack of durability.
No timetable has been established for Isaac Bruce's decision on retiring, which McCloughan put at 50-50, the same odds he placed on re-signing Spikes.
Is the team hoarding cash? Not necessarily. They have some big ticket items coming up including extending the contracts of linebacker Patrick Willis and tackle Joe Staley. But don't expect that to happen right way.
| February 26 2009 at 12:54 PM
Green Must be Blue
Roderick Green getting slapped with multiple misdemeanors for reckless driving, unlawfully carrying a weapon, interfering with the duties of an officer and marijuana possession, won't help him make the team again. At least if Green is going to pack heat, he has a little weed to take the edge off any violent impulses. One can only hope that the law and the 49ers take that into consideration. Green was caught doing all these things outside his hometown of Brenham, Texas. Maybe he was on the way to talk to George Bush about bank policy.
The arrest ends a bad year for Green, he lost 20 to 30 pounds with a mysterious virus that kept him out of games and practices. After undergoing tests at Stanford, Green minimized the virus and regained weight with medication.
HOW ABOUT A FULLBACK?: The 49ers might very well put a fullback in their cart when free agency begins. Fullbacks come relatively cheap and there's a fine selection (if these players don't re-sign with their original teams). The first choice should be Seattle's Leonard Weaver, a crushing blocker and a decent runner and pass-receiver.
With Weaver, the 49ers would fulfill two needs with one move. General manager Scot McCloughan said he wants a big back that would fit with the running game's downhill philosophy. Weaver at 242 pounds could be that back, and for those reasons, new coach Seattle coach Jim Mora would want him back. Mora hired Greg Knapp as his offensive coordinator and both Mora and Knapp said they will emphasize the run more, but that doesn't mean Weaver will return to Seattle because the Seahawks have plenty of other priorities.
Others out there include Green Bay's John Kuhn, who's not much of an offensive threat, but he is a helmet-splitting blocker. Tony Richardson, who really likes Jimmy Raye and has led the way for Larry Johnson in Kansas City and Thomas Jones last year with the Jets, is available. Richardson is also 37 and McCloughan isn't a fan over older players.
RESPONSES: Quickkick wrote that he doesn't agree that defenses have caught up with Mike Martz. That's not my assessment, actually it's Kurt Warner's. He said when he was in St. Louis, receivers were always open when he hit his seventh step. But towards the end of his time with Martz, the first option was often covered.
| February 13 2009 at 11:48 AM
Responses to Responses
Spitblood isn't buying that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is out to hammer teams about tampering in light of Monday's decision to dock the 49ers a fifth-round pick for supposedly tampering with Bears linebacker Lance Briggs last October.
However, two NFL executives said off the record that the environment has changed and that Goodell, fearing a bad result in the on-going spygate drama, is tightening enforcement everywhere, and that's why the 49ers had to surrender their fifth-round pick and switch positions with the Bears in the third round (from number seven to number 12).
The ruling will certainly restrict trading franchise players. Even if Briggs wanted to be traded, and the 49ers wanted him, and the Bears wanted the first-round pick in exchange, how can a deal get done without allowing the 49ers to talk to Briggs about a new contract? No team is just going to pick up the rest of the one-year franchise tender have the player for eight to 10 games and then possibly lose the player in free agency a month after the Super Bowl ends.
The controversy also speaks to what the 49ers were thinking last Oct. 16. The team was coming out of a bye after two uninspired wins over Arizona and St. Louis, and then three straight defeats to Pittsburgh, Seattle and Baltimore. They had an injured starting quarterback in Alex Smith and a restive media and fan base beginning to ask probing questions. They might have thought signing Briggs could provide them with a spark.
Many of you believe the 49ers should go after the Dolphins for tampering after signing guard Justin Smiley an hour into free agency, which brings up an interesting point. What would happen if general managers started ratting on other teams? A general manager that does that might find it difficult to get along in their tight fraternity, where a certain etiquette exists. How will teams now view Bears GM Jerry Angelo for example.
Read More 'Responses to Responses' »| March 25 2008 at 08:49 PM
More On Tampering
Two NFL sources now say the team is mystified about being stripped of a fifth-round pick and a swap of third-round choices with the Chicago Bears for tampering.
The penalty arose after the Bears charged the 49ers with negotiating with linebacker Lance Briggs' agent Drew Rosenhaus before the trading deadline last October. Teams can not negotiate with players under contract with another team.
However, according to two league scources, the 49ers never tampered. The only evidence introduced in last week's hearing in New York was a phone record between Rosenhaus and the 49ers, in which the sources say the 49ers never made contact with the agent.
Even if the 49ers had talked to Rosenhaus, their plan was to discuss the availability of wide receiver Taylor Jacobs, another Rosenhaus client, and not Briggs. Jacobs eventually signed with Denver.
One source said the penalty grew out of the pressure on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for spygate and the need to punish teams for even preceived wrong-doing.
Another source said the 49ers contacted Chicago about a trade for Briggs at 9:30 a.m. pst on Oct. 16, three hours before the trade deadline. Since Briggs was the Bears' franchise player, the 49ers hoped Chicago would get back to them immediately, so they could make the deal and workout an extension for Briggs.
The Bears didn't return the call until 12:30 p.m., and by that time, the 49ers only had a half hour to workout an extension, so San Francisco called the deal off.
The Bears have been tight-lipped about the entire situation, which might be partly to do with their desire to trade Briggs at one time. Apparently news that Briggs was on the trading block got back to him through a fellow NFL player.
The Bears, who re-upped with Briggs on a six-year deal March 1, didn't want Briggs to know they wanted to trade him at one time, which may have motivated them to say the 49ers were so aggressive in trading for him, they contacted Rosenhaus without permission.
The loss of the fifth-round pick is the most damaging for San Francisco. In the Mike Nolan-McCloughan era, the fifth round has fetched linebacker Parys Haralson and defensive lineman Ronald Fields, who both contributed significant time last year.
| March 24 2008 at 07:02 PM
Spikes Not Spiked Yet
There's a wee bit of news on the Takeo Spikes front. The team is unconcerned about the middle linebacker's ability to recover from shoulder surgery and the 49ers believe he'd be ready by training camp. When Spikes did visit, the parameters of a deal were discussed and Spikes believes he might get a richer contract elsewhere.
Two teams have shown interest and one of them is New England. If no team steps up with a better offer, Spikes would likely sign with San Francisco and be the team's "ted" linebacker next season.
The 49ers also have their eye on a "ted" linebacker in the draft. The team has been bent on getting one since Patrick Willis pounced on the scene last year. Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton could probably be available to them in the second round. Lofton shares Willis's passion for the game. The Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year notched double-digit tackles in each of his games last year.
However, Lofton ran a 4.77 40-yard dash at the combine and a 4.67 40 at his pro day. He supposedly plays much faster on the field. Also, he doesn't pass the eyeball test in shorts and a tee-shirt.
Great catch by Marcos, noticing on NFLdraftscout.com that 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan attended Auburn defensive end/linebacker's Quinten Groves's pro day. Imagine if the 49ers plucked Groves in the first round and Lofton in the second and signed Takeo Spikes with Mike Nolan and the well-regarded Mike Manusky putting all the pieces together.
Renoberger could be right and Isaac Sopoaga could start as the left defensive end in the 3-4, but if they played a game tomorrow it would be Ronald Fields. Both are likely to get plenty of playing time.
By the way, Manny Lawson typically plays on the strong side, with Tully Banta-Cain rushing over the open side. That changed somewhat last year after Lawson tore a knee ligament in September.
Many bloggers seem impressed with 40-yard dash times and wonderlic numbers. Both metrics are unreliable predictors of NFL success. Frank Gore and Julian Peterson all had low wonderlics and have become terrific players.
The highest wonderlic scores for recent 49ers include Alex Smith and converted tight end to tackle Patrick Estes. Smith hasn't reached stardom for a variety of reasons, and Estes is clinging to the NFL with all his might.
I recently did an running back analysis for another publication and many of the combine studs fizzled in the NFL. Derrick Blaylock, Tatum Bell and particularly Michael Bennett should be amassing Hall of Fame credentials by now. Bennett even clocked a 4.13 at his pro day in Wisconsin, supposedly the fastest time ever for an NFL player. He went over 1,200 yards as a rookie and has bounced around the league since.
| March 21 2008 at 11:06 PM
Johnson and Spikes
If what Michael Smith of ESPN writes is true (and it probably is), and Cardinals wide receiver Bryant Johnson has agreed to a 49ers' contract, that won't impact Darrell Jackson. General manager Scot McCloughan said last week that Jackson would be a starter along side Isaac Bruce. Smith reported that Johnson agreed to a one-year deal and would compete with Ashley Lelie, Arnaz Battle and Jason Hill.
Also, McCloughan said he was looking to sign a backup interior offensive linemen, not a tackle. As far as visits for linebacker Takeo Spikes, a 49ers' official said Spikes didn't have more visits to other teams scheduled, but we'll see.
| March 14 2008 at 02:01 PM
McCloughan Interview
The deeply-muffled voice of Scott McCloughan was just loud enough to hear today on a conference call and that was fortunate because McCloughan made a number of interesting comments (McCloughan was a home, hence the muffled voice). Among them:
-As far as major free agents, the 49ers are done. They might pick up a few street free agents throughout the rest of free agency, which ends in July.
-McCloughan said he isn't worried about the team's ability to get pressure on the quarterback.
"You got Manny (Lawson), you got Parys (Haralson), you got Tulley (Banta-Cain) - that's a pretty good group right there. If we can add a guy through the draft we'll do it. .... (Banta-Cain) has got a natural pass rush, and that's hard to find. Hopefully (injured 4th round choice) Jay Moore will show up there bigger than life, and hopefully we can draft one or two guys. That's not a position we are worried about whatsoever. ... Do we have a superstar as far as pass rush? No. But we have enough guys who are good football players."
-McCloughan said he anticipates the offense being twice as good as last year, which will rest the defense. "I think if you go back and look at what we did play for play, and the amount we were on the field, it looks bad. But when it's all said and done and you break down the defense, it played pretty darn good. We are going to be twice as good, in my opinion, on offense from the standpoint of keeping the ball in our hands, and that's going to make the defense that much better."
It's an interesting comment and it seems to mean the 49ers will continue to try to install a ball-control offense even with the pass-crazed Mike Martz as the coordinator. Martz, in earlier public comments, has said he wanted to increase the 49ers' time of possession.
Read More 'McCloughan Interview' »| March 05 2008 at 05:16 PM
Trio Signs: Foster Speaks - Softly
The 49ers announced that linebacker Dontarrious Thomas, quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan and running back DeShaun Foster had signed their contracts.
Foster was then on a conference call with Bay Area reporters and his answers were short and low key. In fact, Foster had to get closer to the speaker phone so he could be heard.
"You don't sound excited at all to be with a new team." colleague John Crumpacker said at one point.
"No, I'm kind of quiet, that's me." Foster responded with a short chuckle.
Here are the highlights of the interview:
-He did say that he's had a brief conversation with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, and he believes Martz will install a balanced offense. "I don't think it will be pass-happy or anything like that," Foster said.
-He said a couple teams were interested in him, but wouldn't name them. He wanted to remain a starter but apparently the other teams weren't offering a starting job.
-When asked what he knew of the 49ers' offense the last few years he said, "I know they ran the ball. That was a big key for me."-Foster missed only three games in the last three seasons. He said putting on weight and being lucky has kept him healthy.
-Foster said he caught more passes early in his career and is looking forward to doing more of it. "They really use the running backs here, it's kind of exciting," he said.
-Foster said he was more of a Rams fan than a 49ers follower growing up in the Orange County hamlet of Tustin. "I'm more of a Rams fan because they were closer. But I was a 49ers' fan, because you have to go with whoever is winning."
| March 03 2008 at 03:29 PM
Veteran 49ers writers Kevin Lynch and David White analyze the stats with an insider's insight.
By Kevin Lynch, David White, Read Bios
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