Center

[NinerSickness]

Probably the easiers position to replace on the OL...

I'm not saying the Niners need to get a new C now, but if Goodwin is a 49er next year, I'll be pissed.

I really hope the Niners are working Kilgore or Looney out at C in practice because they need a new one badlly.

 

[clyde_carbon]

He's definitely the weakest link on the OL. Makes Barrett Jones an option in the late twenties for us.

 

[NinerSickness]

Makes Barrett Jones an option in the late twenties for us.

I'd be pretty happy with him at 32!

Speaking of weak links, I'd be pretty happy to see Delanie Walker dropping passes in another uniform next season, so I'm hoping the Niners keep an eye on Tyler Eifert.

 

[Smalls]

He's definitely the weakest link on the OL. Makes Barrett Jones an option in the late twenties for us.

Not sure how I'd feel spending another 1st rounder on an OL, but who knows? I would like to bolster depth on both lines, and I like what I've seen from Jones.

 

[threelittleturds]

I have no idea how good Goodwin is at calling out protection, which is a pretty big thing for Centers I guess... that might be hard to replace if he is really good there, but it should be pretty easy to replace his less than impressive play.

But what do I know, I thought it would be tough for CK to make reads this early... and he proved me wrong.

 

[TobyTyler]

I'd be pretty happy with him at 32!

Speaking of weak links, I'd be pretty happy to see Delanie Walker dropping passes in another uniform next season, so I'm hoping the Niners keep an eye on Tyler Eifert.

Yep, I think Walker has knocked down more passes than any DB on the team.

 

[imac_21]

I'd be pretty happy with him at 32!

Speaking of weak links, I'd be pretty happy to see Delanie Walker dropping passes in another uniform next season, so I'm hoping the Niners keep an eye on Tyler Eifert.

Sorry, but Walker does too much outside of catching passes. It would take awhile for anyone else to learn that position. "Catching passes" is pretty low on the list of priorities for his job description.

And not just on offense, James said that his thought process before the big KR yesterday was something along the lines of

"I need to make a play to give the team a boost."

"I'll just follow Delanie."

Here's another post game quote from James on the same play.

“Ask Delanie (Walker), he can tell you better than me because he was the one that was blocking. They kicked me the ball and I followed Delanie. I trust Delanie, he always gets his block and he took me to the promised land. I did as much as I could to help the team win and that is pretty much it. One play doesn’t win a game though, but I think it put us in good position to get the score. It was a game changing play and it helped us win. We have to go back out to work and stay motivated and stay humble.”

 

[Flyingiguana]

we might be able to grab someone in the 3rd round

 

[threelittleturds]

I'm with imac, delanie's dropsies annoy me for sure... but he does so much more behind the scenes stuff. He is the guy that makes almost all of the wham-block runs happen. I feel like the good far outweighs the dropsies.

I'm not mad at him for that "fumble" last night either, I still feel like the replays showed that it should have been an incomplete pass. They had to slow it down to half speed just to make it look like he had possession... in reality he caught it, got hit and stripped, all within a second.

 

[NinerSickness]

Sorry, but Walker does too much outside of catching passes. It would take awhile for anyone else to learn that position. "Catching passes" is pretty low on the list of priorities for his job description.

And not just on offense, James said that his thought process before the big KR yesterday was something along the lines of

"I need to make a play to give the team a boost."

"I'll just follow Delanie."

Here's another post game quote from James on the same play.

“Ask Delanie (Walker), he can tell you better than me because he was the one that was blocking. They kicked me the ball and I followed Delanie. I trust Delanie, he always gets his block and he took me to the promised land. I did as much as I could to help the team win and that is pretty much it. One play doesn’t win a game though, but I think it put us in good position to get the score. It was a game changing play and it helped us win. We have to go back out to work and stay motivated and stay humble.”

The problem is that in a copy-cat league, teams are going to be copying the Pats & Niners and will want a guy like Walker. And his unreliable hands are enough for me to want him to walk. Sure, he's a great team-guy, and he plays his ass off. However, so was Michael Robinson; that doesn't mean it's all that hard to replace guys like that. He's already making 2 million. Is it worth that much or more to bring him back? I wouldn't say so.

Walker's also not a great blocker. He's a great blocker for a guy his size, but he's not a great blocker. I'd rather the Niners get a bigger TE with longer arms to be the #2 guy. That's why Eifert is really high on my wish-list.

 

[Flyingiguana]

no way does eifert last until the 32nd pick

 

[NinerSickness]

Back to the C topic...

The Jets seriously need to re-build. Maybe they'd be willing to trade Nick Mangold for a 1st rounder. Just a random unrealistic though.

:typing:

 

[threelittleturds]

Back to the C topic...

The Jets seriously need to re-build. Maybe they'd be willing to trade Nick Mangold for a 1st rounder. Just a random unrealistic though.

:typing:

Their new head coach might want to keep Mangold

 

[NinerSickness]

Their new head coach might want to keep Mangold

True. I'd happily take Ryan as the DC if someone steals Fangio away though.

 

[threelittleturds]

True. I'd happily take Ryan as the DC if someone steals Fangio away though.

I dunno, I'm not sure Rex could handle living in california... so many people wearing flipflops and what-not... he might not be able to focus.

 

[ChrisPozz]

True. I'd happily take Ryan as the DC if someone steals Fangio away though.

I'd be stunned if Harbaugh would be a big advocate for bringing Rex on board. Unfortunately.

 

[NinerSickness]

I dunno, I'm not sure Rex could handle living in california... so many people wearing flipflops and what-not... he might not be able to focus.

HA!!!

Nice.

 

[imac_21]

The problem is that in a copy-cat league, teams are going to be copying the Pats & Niners and will want a guy like Walker. And his unreliable hands are enough for me to want him to walk. Sure, he's a great team-guy, and he plays his ass off. However, so was Michael Robinson; that doesn't mean it's all that hard to replace guys like that. He's already making 2 million. Is it worth that much or more to bring him back? I wouldn't say so.

Walker's also not a great blocker. He's a great blocker for a guy his size, but he's not a great blocker. I'd rather the Niners get a bigger TE with longer arms to be the #2 guy. That's why Eifert is really high on my wish-list.

I'm not talking about leadership and hustle. I'm talking about things he does on the field. I think a fairly decent case could be made that he is one of the 3 or 4 most important people to our offense. Possibly top 2. He does too much stuff on the field.

 

[NinerSickness]

I'm not talking about leadership and hustle. I'm talking about things he does on the field. I think a fairly decent case could be made that he is one of the 3 or 4 most important people to our offense. Possibly top 2. He does too much stuff on the field.

What does he do that makes up for the drops?

Run-blocking? He's not very good at it.
Pass-blocking? He's not very good at it; short arms & weak core.
Catching the ball? See above.

Acts as a decoy?

And would it really be that hard to teach a rook to fill his role?

 

[imac_21]

What does he do that makes up for the drops?

Run-blocking? He's not very good at it.
Pass-blocking? He's not very good at it; short arms & weak core.
Catching the ball? See above.

Acts as a decoy?

He's done a fantastic job of run blocking this year. He can't square up on a DT one on one, but he's handled Suh two years in a row with the wham block, he does a great job getting out blocks at the second and third levels in the run game. . .

Walker's presence is what allows the offense to be so multi-dimensional. He is a threat in the passing game, despite the drops (he brings a degree of explosion from the TE position), he can seal the edge as a traditional TE, he can lead block out of the backfield, he can line up in the slot and he can split out wide.

With the complexities of this offense, I would really rather not turn that role over to a rookie.

He's also one of the options when we run triple option, which we've done a couple times.