49ers' off-season; Cap Space $8,346,186.00

[Ray_Dogg]

Appearing on Total Access, NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported the Chiefs are actively pursuing a long-term deal with free agent Dwayne Bowe.
The two sides have already met, and Rapoport expects talks to continue in the coming weeks. Coach Andy Reid was said to be very high on Bowe when he came out of LSU and ended up being the No. 23 overall pick in the 2007 draft. When the 2012 season was winding down, the Kansas City Star said the Chiefs were not expected to offer Bowe a long-term deal, but since then the regime has changed. There's no reason to think Bowe can't get Vincent Jackson money -- five years and $55 million with $26 million guaranteed. Bowe checks in as our own Evan Silva's No. 2 overall free agent behind Paul Kruger.

 

[NinerSickness]

So are we all in agreement the Niners need to trade about a 3rd rounder for Jared Odrick? I can't see how a 3rd round rookie DE is going to play better than Odrick should.

I don't see him as an heir apparent to Justin Smith, but he'd be able to spell the starters a lot.

Players I think could be an heir apparent to Justin Smith:

Sheldon Richardson (can't go wrong with another MizzU Tiger DE)
Ezekiel Ansah (maybe). He has the potential to be the next dominant RDE.
Margus Hunt. Probably not, but he's the kind of athlete who COULD develop into a great player down the road like Ansah.

...and tha's about it. I like Hankins as a DE too, but he's more like a DE / NT who would move around.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Datone Jones. Keep in mind Ray Mac hasn't been playing lights out either.

 

[ChrisPozz]

On the Steelers: Looking at restricted free agents - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

So start with the two running backs. Since Redman was not drafted, there would be no compensation required for the lower tender, which would only give the Steelers the right of first refusal if a team signed him. Dwyer was a sixth-round pick, so the Steelers would receive a sixth-round choice for him in return at the lower tender amount.

Do they want to tie up $2.646 million in two backup running backs? Do they give Redman a $2.023 million tender in order to pretty much guarantee that no team signs him?

It's a tough call, complicated by the fact the Steelers not only do not have a No. 1 back, but they also don't have many backs at all after cutting Chris Rainey and with Rashard Mendenhall expected to leave as an unrestricted free agent. They have Baron Batch, and that's pretty much it. The guess here is that they give both backs the low tender, although it's possible they would give a tender only to Redman.

If they don't tender Dwyer, I'd be interested in seeing the 49ers pursue him if they felt he could take Dixon's spot on STs. I still desperately want to see the 49ers get Lacy and I really, really hope Hunter can come back at some point next year, too. With that said, Dwyer could probably get more money and better playing time elsewhere so none of this is probably likely even if the 49ers somehow had interest.

 

[NinerSickness]

Datone Jones. Keep in mind Ray Mac hasn't been playing lights out either.

I don't look at Jones as (potentially) the kind of guy who is going to dominate at DE like Richardson, Ansah & Hunt could (and Hunt is a long shot; I'm not 100% sold on Ansah either).

I'd rank Datone Jones behind Jared Odrick too.

 

[threelittleturds]

Datone Jones. Keep in mind Ray Mac hasn't been playing lights out either.

Either I saw it in some video or read it somewhere, but someone reported that RayMac had the 2nd highest amount of QB pressures on the 49ers behind Aldon Smith, he just wasn't finishing with sacks.

 

[ChrisPozz]

Either I saw it in some video or read it somewhere, but someone reported that RayMac had the 2nd highest amount of QB pressures on the 49ers behind Aldon Smith, he just wasn't finishing with sacks.

PFF QB hurries (not sacks or QB hits)

Aldon Smith - 47
McDonald - 44
Brooks - 43
Justin Smith - 23
Willis - 9
Bowman - 6
Rogers - 5
Tukuafu - 3
Sopoaga - 2
Jean-Francois - 2
I. Williams - 1
Goldson - 1

McDonald finished with the 11th best PFF pass rushing productivity rating (measures pressure created on a per snap basis with weighting toward sacks) among 3-4 DEs who played in at least 50% of their team's snaps. Justin Smith finished 13th.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Either I saw it in some video or read it somewhere, but someone reported that RayMac had the 2nd highest amount of QB pressures on the 49ers behind Aldon Smith, he just wasn't finishing with sacks.

Which is the problem. He is Mr. Whiff. Take out the New England game and he had .5 sacks in 15 regular season games.

 

[NinersFan80]

Which is the problem. He is Mr. Whiff. Take out the New England game and he had .5 sacks in 15 regular season games.

Getting pressure is still important. Makes the QB hurry his throws and that leads to INT's or incompletions

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Getting pressure is still important. Makes the QB hurry his throws and that leads to INT's or incompletions

And where did I say it wasn't important??? It also leads to stepping up in the pocket and throwing TDs. The point is he's not bringing the QB down. We need more of that outside Aldon Smith. Justin Smith and Aldon Smith are the focal points of our opponents protection schemes so color me unimpressed with QB pressures by Ray Mac. We need more sacks from the supporting cast. 2.5 in 16 games with that many pressures is alarming and isn't going to cut it.

 

[supreme_clientele81]

Datone Jones. Keep in mind Ray Mac hasn't been playing lights out either.

PFF QB hurries (not sacks or QB hits)

Aldon Smith - 47
McDonald - 44
Brooks - 43
Justin Smith - 23

Which is the problem. He is Mr. Whiff. Take out the New England game and he had .5 sacks in 15 regular season games.

Isn't the point of a 3-4 alinement is for the LB's to make the plays? I think RayMac had another great year every 3-4 DE can't be like JJ Watt and get 20 sacks now I wouldn't mind having one but I wouldn't say RayMac isn't playing lights out either.

Personally I think he played better than J. Smith this year before the injury.

 

[CalamityX11]

Ray Mac is an anchor is his own right in our defense... leave him alone!!! dude is solid for us....

 

[Bemular]

This kid just continues to impress!!

49ers' QB a hot commodity, but Kaepernick shuns limelight to hit the gym

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Appearing on SportsCenter Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter said the Chiefs may wind up franchise tagging Dwayne Bowe for a second straight year.
"The Chiefs are gonna figure out a way to keep him," said Schefter. The Chiefs prefer a long-term deal, but they may not want to commit Vincent Jackson money to Bowe for fear of "decreased effort" once he gets paid. Keeping Bowe hungry and in another contract year could prevent against that. If tagged consecutively, Bowe would command over $11 million guaranteed for the 2013 season.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Isn't the point of a 3-4 alinement is for the LB's to make the plays? I think RayMac had another great year every 3-4 DE can't be like JJ Watt and get 20 sacks now I wouldn't mind having one but I wouldn't say RayMac isn't playing lights out either.

Personally I think he played better than J. Smith this year before the injury.

First of all I never said Ray Mac needed to get 20 sacks like JJ Watt so why go there?
Secondly we play A LOT of downs with 4 linemen. You know where Ray Mac plays on those downs? DT
Getting 2.5 sacks is not playing lights out. 2012 was not a great year for Ray. 2011 was a much better year for him and the type of year I expect every season.
If your idea of a 34 defense is one where the LBs make all the plays then you must have a seriously bad idea of run defense for example.

 

[threelittleturds]

Which is the problem. He is Mr. Whiff. Take out the New England game and he had .5 sacks in 15 regular season games.

Ya, it did seem like he was the guy who whiffed on Flacco the most in the Super Bowl, which is obviously unfortunate. Hopefully he resolves that next season, him and Brooks both... they are right there with Aldon Smith on pressures and not even close with sack count. I'm not saying they should all have 20, but those two should have been around 8-10 with that many pressures.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Ya, it did seem like he was the guy who whiffed on Flacco the most in the Super Bowl, which is obviously unfortunate. Hopefully he resolves that next season, him and Brooks both... they are right there with Aldon Smith on pressures and not even close with sack count. I'm not saying they should all have 20, but those two should have been around 8-10 with that many pressures.

8-10 for Justin should be the target. Donno how much age will play a factor in that now though. 8 is spot on for what I expect from Ray. That is how many he had in 2011 and I can't recall how much he played in the Saints playoff game coming off the hamstring injury. He was a frigging beast against the Giants though.

 

[deep9er]

And where did I say it wasn't important??? It also leads to stepping up in the pocket and throwing TDs. The point is he's not bringing the QB down. We need more of that outside Aldon Smith. Justin Smith and Aldon Smith are the focal points of our opponents protection schemes so color me unimpressed with QB pressures by Ray Mac. We need more sacks from the supporting cast. 2.5 in 16 games with that many pressures is alarming and isn't going to cut it.

yes, pressure is a Unit effort, not Aldon and Justin Smith. also, Fangio didn't have to call much blitzes, but he'll likely need to now? not a lot but add a few more each game?

 

[Ray_Dogg]

yes, pressure is a Unit effort, not Aldon and Justin Smith. also, Fangio didn't have to call much blitzes, but he'll likely need to now? not a lot but add a few more each game?

He had a few for Willis that were very effective. I think a bigger problem is depth. We need to be able to rotate our guys so they aren't gassed come playoff time. It would be nice to have a productive guy who can play 34DE and 43DT to spell Justin and Ray. A third pass rushing OLB to spell Brooks and Aldon is a need as well. Any of those four get hurt and we are up shit creek without a paddle.

 

[SRPnVA]

8-10 for Justin should be the target. Donno how much age will play a factor in that now though. 8 is spot on for what I expect from Ray. That is how many he had in 2011 and I can't recall how much he played in the Saints playoff game coming off the hamstring injury. He was a frigging beast against the Giants though.

How much is Carlos Rogers and the secondary to blame? 2011 I recall a lot more coverage sacks than 2012. But yeah I'm expecting a better year out of Ray Mac in 2013.