Off-Season Workouts

[Crimsoncrew]

I think it's doubtful that Tolzien will clear waivers if the Niners cut him. He was picked up by the Niners last season when the Chargers cut him and hoping he would clear waivers. I think The Chargers are still high on Tolzien and I also read somewhere, can't recall where though, that there are other teams that might be interested in him as well.

Also, just a hunch on my part, I think that Tolzien will make the roster and Johnson will get cut. I know it sound far fetched knowing JJ played for Harbaugh in college but I think that that argument is overrated. It's true that beat writer for the Niners have said that JJ looks like the most polished throwers amongst the QB's but his accuracy often comes in to question. Another factor to consider is that Tolzien was coached by QB Geep Chryst's brother in college and as the QB coach, Geep would have a lot of input on which QB's will make the team. Plus history is somewhat in Tolzien's side. Last year, without a benefit of an offseason, the Niners opted to pick Tolzien off of waivers and release McCown making Tolzien their 3rd string QB -- keep in mind McCown was also good during last year's pre-season games. Never the less, the Niners still went with an undrafted Rookie taken off of waivers from another team using another system. That shows a lot of confidence in Tolzien's abilities.

Right now, I think it's about 60-40 in terms of Johnson vs. Tolzien, but I think it's real close between those guys and could go either way. As far as the PS, it's possible a team would make a move for him, but I do think he'd have to play well in the preseason. Nine teams added guys in the draft this year, and many others added UDFA who they are high on. Tolzien was an UDFA himself last year. I think there's a fair chance he clears waivers, but it would be silly to risk it if we think he's got a shot to either be a very good backup or even a potential starter.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

WR (6): Moss, Crabtree, Manningham, Jenkins, Williams, Ginn

I think Williams makes it too hard to cut him, and we need all the depth we can get at the position anyway. Ginn makes it because we can't trust Williams returning kicks right now. Gotta keep an eye out for some more size in the not-too-distant future.


no argument about Williams returning punts (from the fans view), but IF we keep him won't it be because of his versatility? if so, then the Coaches trust him on punt returns. if the Coaches trust him to return punts, does it matter if he starts doing it game 1 or game 8?

looked another way, if the Coaches didn't trust him to return punts, would he make the team as just a WR?

what i'm leading to is...........from the above i get the impression Ginn is very much for ST's, and Williams is very much a WR. for a team always looking for versatility, would we keep both?

btw - not saying if Ginn is cut, then Williams IS the primary returner. he might still be the back up to say Cox? but again, wondering if we'll keep both Ginn and Williams?

Keeping both Ginn and Williams is a tough call for me. Both bring something to the return game, but neither offers anything on the coverage units, where I feel we're a bit light right now in my current projection, largely because we don't have any WRs or RBs who profile as gunners. For now, I see Williams as a WR contributor and Ginn as a STs contributor. Williams will have to regain trust in the return game, and it will be hard for him to do that in practice. So he's going to have to earn his spot through his ability at the WR spot, at least initially. But based on reports, he very well may force that issue.

There's no doubt that Williams is clinging by his fingernails, but he has more quickness than any of our other experienced receivers (can't really speak to Jenkins, Owusu, Palmer, etc.). Ginn and Moss are both on one-year contracts, and the mental mistakes aside, I thought Williams looked good as a returner. I think there's a good chance we keep six, and he's the sixth. There's also a chance Ginn could get cut. This is how I think it goes down, but this was one of the tough calls in putting together the roster.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

RB (5): Gore, Hunter, James, Jacobs, Miller

Much as I'd love to see Dixon pull off the upset and win out over Jacobs, I just don't see it happening. He'd have to find a physicality that he's lacked in his career to date. Cartwright was my final cut, but we'll have to find STs help somewhere to justify replacing him.

how much do we intend to use Jacobs? after Gore and Hunter get their reps, how much is left for Jacobs and James? even if the REMAINING reps all go to Jacobs, is this enough to justify his spot?

as just RB's, is Jacobs that much better than Cartwright or Dixon? wouldn't they be the 3rd or even 4th stringer?

Cartwright comes in with a good reputation for ST's. Dixon was on our ST's and don't recall anything negative? i'm wondering if Cartwright or Dixon might be better served over Jacobs? by doing this we can save a roster spot for another promising YOUNG player.

I'd like to preface this by saying I was projecting what I think will happen, not what I want to see happen. That's why I've got Jacobs in over Dixon.

As said, I'd love nothing more than to see Dixon beat out Jacobs. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who was less excited about adding Jacobs than I was. But at the end of the day, the guy's got 15 red zone rushing TDs on 57 carries in the last two seasons, including eight in 32 last year. That's been a huge problem area for us, where Gore has 10 TDs in 72 attempts over the same span. I'm not about to claim that's all Jacobs, but he's certainly part of it. And the FO brought him in for a reason.

In today's NFL, it's a mistake to think of RBs in terms of first, second, third, or fourth string. RBs tend to play a specific role, and Jacobs' role is that of short-yardage back. We don't have another unless, as said, Dixon really steps up his game. Gore could fill the role if we use him less in other situations, but again, we brought in Jacobs for a reason. So he gets the nod for now. I can see us keeping six RBs, with Cartwright sticking for STs, but as of today I would be pretty surprised if we cut Jacobs.

 

[FourBeeDen]

Training Camp preview: QB's

 

[FourBeeDen]

Off Season Highlights: The Defense

 

[deep9er]

I think both Cartwright and Dixon will get cut even with their ST skills. The Niners' currently are heavy ob RB's and light on Safeties. I think Collin Jones makes it as a ST player and backup Safety

if we're heavy on RB's, why keep the older RB who can't help on ST's? why keep Jacobs who likely won't get much reps anyway?

IMO.....despite his size, i've never felt Jacobs was a good short yardage back.

 

[FourBeeDen]

if we're heavy on RB's, why keep the older RB who can't help on ST's? why keep Jacobs who likely won't get much reps anyway?

IMO.....despite his size, i've never felt Jacobs was a good short yardage back.

Same could be said about Dixon. Cartwright may be a good ST guy but not much as a RB. Jacobs may or may not be a good short-yardage guy but he is a capable RB who could spell Gore on base package. Hunter and James are change of pace type of RB's

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I agree with you on Jacobs, which is why I would rather keep Dixon. But as I said, I'm projecting what the team is thinking, not what I'm thinking. We went out and got Jacobs this past season. The coaching staff clearly is not enamored with Dixon. And while Jacobs is not as good a short yardage back as he should be given his size, he's clearly superior to Dixon in this area, and probably Gore at this point, too. James in particular has some red zone versatility, but neither he nor Hunter are guys I want in there when I absolutely need one yard on a short field.

Jacobs only signed a one-year deal with $150K guaranteed, so he's definitely on the list of guys who can be cut fairly easily. But if it comes down to Jacobs and Dixon, until Dixon shows something with the pads on, I think they've got to be favoring Jacobs. Especially if he really is more explosive, as they've been saying. If you think they'll stick with Dixon, that's fine with me.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Same could be said about Dixon. Cartwright may be a good ST guy but not much as a RB. Jacobs may or may not be a good short-yardage guy but he is a capable RB who could spell Gore on base package. Hunter and James are change of pace type of RB's

Yeah, when they added Jacobs I thought it was kind of funny, cause he and Dixon are both big guys who don't run like big guys. But Jacobs is more decisive and harder to bring down than Dixon at this point. I still can't believe Dixon didn't pick up that 4th down in the championship game (granted Jacobs also came up short on a 4th and 1 in that game).

Re: Cartwright, STs is his only chance IMO. Curiously, NFL.com and 49ers.com lists him at 215, but NFLDraftScout's combine profile has him at almost 240. Anyone have any idea which is more accurate? 5'8", 240 would be awfully big.

 

[FourBeeDen]

At this point, I won't be surprised if the 49ers throws everyone another curve ball and cut Jacobs, Dixon, and Cartwright and keep Jewel Hampton instead...

 

[deep9er]

Same could be said about Dixon. Cartwright may be a good ST guy but not much as a RB. Jacobs may or may not be a good short-yardage guy but he is a capable RB who could spell Gore on base package. Hunter and James are change of pace type of RB's

i'm just tossing this out as my opinion, so sorry if its sounding like an "agenda"?

anyways, if Gore needs a breather or is injured, prefer using Hunter as the primary back-up. he provides more options inside and out....and on either side. but even if you want to focus just inside........prefer someone who hits the hole faster and might pull off bigger gains.

Jacobs might grind out an extra yard or two, due to his size and 'falling forward', but odds are he isn't going far unless the hole is large. but again, if the hole IS large, Hunter would go farther.

 

[deep9er]

I agree with you on Jacobs, which is why I would rather keep Dixon. But as I said, I'm projecting what the team is thinking, not what I'm thinking. We went out and got Jacobs this past season. The coaching staff clearly is not enamored with Dixon. And while Jacobs is not as good a short yardage back as he should be given his size, he's clearly superior to Dixon in this area, and probably Gore at this point, too. James in particular has some red zone versatility, but neither he nor Hunter are guys I want in there when I absolutely need one yard on a short field.

Jacobs only signed a one-year deal with $150K guaranteed, so he's definitely on the list of guys who can be cut fairly easily. But if it comes down to Jacobs and Dixon, until Dixon shows something with the pads on, I think they've got to be favoring Jacobs. Especially if he really is more explosive, as they've been saying. If you think they'll stick with Dixon, that's fine with me.

we are on the same page with this item.

recall they added Jacobs before the draft, so now that they got James its a different picture.

 

[deep9er]

At this point, I won't be surprised if the 49ers throws everyone another curve ball and cut Jacobs, Dixon, and Cartwright and keep Jewel Hampton instead...

yep, who knows? if Jewell Hampton turns out a good short yardage guy..........

 

[BINGO]

Camp Preview: Quarterbacks

 

[BINGO]

Five players the Niners can least afford to lose - Inside the 49ers

 

[MHSL82]

Alex Smith says 49ers’ interest in Peyton Manning is motivation | ProFootballTalk

http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archi...l-aaron-rodgers-in-golf-later-this-month.html

 

[BINGO]

Alex Smith says 49ers’ interest in Peyton Manning is motivation | ProFootballTalk

49ers Blog and Q&A: Alex Smith to duel Aaron Rodgers (in golf) later this month

Hopefully this type of motivation means that he will be able to make throws like this here:

Drew Brees Makes a Perfect Pass to Marques Colston - NFLRUSH

 

[Bemular]

Hopefully this type of motivation means that he will be able to make throws like this here:

Drew Brees Makes a Perfect Pass to Marques Colston - NFLRUSH

Smith can and has made that throw - he just can't make it all day long like Brees can. I think if we can get 20% improvement from Smith and 30% improvement from the receivers, then Smith (as well as the fans) will see a measurable improvement in his stats.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

That was a great pass. I felt like Culliver was in good position a few times this year, only to have great passes squeeze in there. This was one of those. He could have played the ball slightly better, but against a guy with Colston's size, there's not much more you can do.

 

[FourBeeDen]

Camp Preview : Wide Receivers