Pick any non-QB player in the NFL for the 49ers

[SY8goat]

I'd go with either Darrelle Revis or Ed Reed.

 

[Hangman]

Mathews to be on the other side from Aldon SMith

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

so that would basically put aldon smith on the bench

If I had to choose between the best pass rusher in the game and Aldon Smith, of course Smith would go to the bench.

 

[Hangman]

Rob Gronkowski

He is in the mold of the TEs used by Harbaugh at stanford and is so tall he can make easy TE catches near the endzone.

 

[freaak]

Revis.

I feel like there should be some sort of draft on this board of current NFL players. Maybe 8 to 10 teams, picking 1 player of each position including return man for a cool 25-man roster. Then we vote to see whose team kicks most ass. I know you guys want to do it!

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I go Revis, whether the question is this year or for the future. He's only 26 (for some reason I thought he was older) and is the best in the game at arguably the hardest position other than QB. With Revis and Rogers on the edges, we can manufacture pass rush the way the Jets often do.

It's tempting to take an offensive player since that is the side of the ball where we're weak, but I think the talent there is more than good enough to run our offense with the QB we have. That's not a knock on Smith, but if it comes down to a shoot out with Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, I take either of those guys. The only other spot I even consider is OLB, probably Ware. An elite safety would be a huge benefit, but I'll take OLB over S every time.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

It would be between Ware and Revis. A true #1 WR like Calvin Johnson would help the offense a lot, but would still be underutilized with our QB not wanting to throw into tight double/triple coverage.

I'll go with defense and Ware.

Our nickel becomes: Aldon Smith, McDonald, J. Smith, and Ware.

What edges it for me (for this year) is having Ware's impact on first and second down over what we're getting from Haralson. Aldon Smith should pick up subtle technical secrets from Ware too.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

I go Revis, whether the question is this year or for the future. He's only 26 (for some reason I thought he was older) and is the best in the game at arguably the hardest position other than QB. With Revis and Rogers on the edges, we can manufacture pass rush the way the Jets often do.

It's tempting to take an offensive player since that is the side of the ball where we're weak, but I think the talent there is more than good enough to run our offense with the QB we have. That's not a knock on Smith, but if it comes down to a shoot out with Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, I take either of those guys. The only other spot I even consider is OLB, probably Ware. An elite safety would be a huge benefit, but I'll take OLB over S every time.

If it's just for this year, I'd go with Ware.

If it's for this year and beyond, I'd probably lean towards Revis too like a lot of others. Age being the key factor.

 

[tallglassofwater007]

Rob Gronkowski

He is in the mold of the TEs used by Harbaugh at stanford and is so tall he can make easy TE catches near the endzone.

I don't think he's any better than Davis. He has Tom Brady throwing him the ball. I don't think you can go WR top choice or TE because even though Smith is playing pretty good this year, you are losing value to that player by Smith being somewhat limited. But a top pass rusher or corner and that puts a really good defense into the elite status.

 

[bvanthielriceyoung]

Rob Gronkowski

He is in the mold of the TEs used by Harbaugh at stanford and is so tall he can make easy TE catches near the endzone.

really? youre going to pick a TE?? And we already have two good TE's on our team...

 

[CitySushi]

It wouldn't be a priority, but wouldn't it be fun to watch Adrian Peterson run in Harbaugh/Roman's schemes?

That being said, I think Revis would be the clear cut choice. He's a guy who can shut down the elite receivers of the league. Even with Rogers have a good year, we're still suspect in our pass defense.

 

[deep9er]

It would be between Ware and Revis. A true #1 WR like Calvin Johnson would help the offense a lot, but would still be underutilized with our QB not wanting to throw into tight double/triple coverage.

I'll go with defense and Ware.

Our nickel becomes: Aldon Smith, McDonald, J. Smith, and Ware.

What edges it for me (for this year) is having Ware's impact on first and second down over what we're getting from Haralson. Aldon Smith should pick up subtle technical secrets from Ware too.

agree. while Reavis is obviously somebody we can use, i'd ramp up the pressure we're able to bring.

for example, if we played GB for the NFC, we'll need pressure before coverage. cause the good QB's can go to any of their receivers, including TE's.

 

[I_am_1z]

All Day Peterson

 

[Crimsoncrew]

The more I think about it, the more I agree with the Ware choice. We're already leading the league in takeaways. If we can bring Aldon off one edge, Ware off the other, with Justin and Ray coming up the middle, I'd bet we generate even more.

 

[tallglassofwater007]

The more I think about it, the more I agree with the Ware choice. We're already leading the league in takeaways. If we can bring Aldon off one edge, Ware off the other, with Justin and Ray coming up the middle, I'd bet we generate even more.

Imagine that pass rush. It would be pretty unstoppable. And with our MLB's we still stop the run. Rogers is having a probowl year but with the pass rush even better it makes our other corner look even better. And like deep said, you need pressure to beat elite QBs more than coverage.

If we are going pure fun to watch type guys I would go Hester. The guy makes it look way too easy. And just for USC homerage...Reggie Bush. He's still my favorite non Niner.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Imagine that pass rush. It would be pretty unstoppable. And with our MLB's we still stop the run. Rogers is having a probowl year but with the pass rush even better it makes our other corner look even better. And like deep said, you need pressure to beat elite QBs more than coverage.

If we are going pure fun to watch type guys I would go Hester. The guy makes it look way too easy. And just for USC homerage...Reggie Bush. He's still my favorite non Niner.

Fight On!

 

[EaseUrStorm]

Ware had more impact in the game we played against Dallas than I can remember any non-Qb ever having on a game. He does it all the time.

But the Revis upgrade is also huge. To replace someone like Culliver/Brown with someone like Revis could propel our defense even more than the upgrade from Brooks to Ware.

I guess visibly I'm biased because Ware would kill QB's in our defense. Aldon Smith would be an afterthought with Ware and Justin Smith creating havoc and Aldon's quick inside stunts would be devastating. It almost wouldn't be fair for a QB to have to deal with that amount of pressure.

Then again with Revis we could literally just blitz our inside LB's, other CB's, and safeties relentlessly and Rogers would have like 20 interceptions.

 

[threelittleturds]

The argument can go both ways, excellent coverage and ballhawks can outshine a pass rush. The 49ers only had 38 Team sacks with Deion in 1994 and 23 INTs... and that defense destroyed one of the best offenses in history (The Cowboys).
1994 49ers stats

Then the 1997 49ers had 53 sacks led by Stubby with 15, Doleman with 12, Kevin Greene with 10.5... and while they still had 22 INTs their coverage wasn't nearly as good with Woodson/Pope as the 1994 Squad was with Deion/Davis... and Favre and the Packers beat the monster rush by passing on the 49ers good, but not great coverage.
1997 49ers Team Stats

This is one of the reasons why I think coverage is the true difference maker for a top defense. Sacks and Interceptions are great, but it's also incredibly important to have those shut-down corners to slow down top offenses. We see it in our own history, the difference between 1994 and 1997 was Deion shutting down half the field. Woodson of course is a HOF'er, but by 1997 he wasn't the same after his knee injury... he was good but not great... and Pope was below Eric Davis too.

So to me, adding Revis is like adding Deion in 1994... and adding Ware or a pass rusher is like adding Greene in 1997

 

[sayheykid1]

Revis, Ware, Megatron

 

[NinerSickness]

It is, and has been for a very long time...

Julius Peppers.