UPCOMING FREE AGENTS THIS YEAR AND NEXT

[purguy12]

You should talk to more people. Particularly knowledgeable hawks fans. That's not a knock on Sherman at all; he's a very, very good player. Probably the best CB in the league today. For that defense, though, I'll take Thomas. He makes the whole thing tick IMO.

And again, it doesn't change the fact that we lost to the Hawks in the recent past for a variety of reasons, arguably the least of which was the play at the CB position. Hell, the most significant play given up by a CB by far was the 4th down TD in the 2013 NFCCG where Aldon jumped offsides and Wilson squeezed in the TD to Kearse. Rogers was in about as tight coverage as he could have been on that play and Wilson just threw a great ball that he probably doesn't throw but for the offsides (even though it was 4th down so an INT wouldn't have mattered anyway; I think psychologically Wilson doesn't throw the ball without the free play), so I'm not sure Revis makes any difference on that particular play. Perhaps more to the point, that TD was to Kearse, and presumably Revis would have been on Tate.

Wilson has two TD passes to WRs in the Niners' past four losses to the Hawks. Those passes went to Kearse (see above) and Paul Richardson. Those guys were both the #3 WR in those games. It's also worth noting that the Richardson TD came only after they called that BS roughing penalty on Moody. In the past five games against the Hawks, the Hawks' #1 receiver has put up the following stat line (Niners' result follows):

11/27/14: Baldwin - 2 for 28 yards (L)
12/4/14: Baldwin - 3 for 53 (L)
9/15/13: Tate - 1 for 19 (L)
12/8/13: Tate - 6 for 65 (W)
1/19/14: Tate - 4 for 31 (L)

The best game their #1 guy had by far was the only game we won. So again, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not the shaky play of our #1 CB that has been hurting us against Seattle. I'm curious if you have any sort of concrete evidence to the contrary.

I have and most people that know football, know that a shut down CB is more valuable and harder to find then an All pro bowl Safety. Again thomas is great but the difference between him and Reid or another pro bowl safety isnt big

 

[Crimsoncrew]

U can have thomas i rather have sherman. U are the only person i ever heard say that. there is a bigger gap between sherman and revis type CB then thomas and the next safety.

Oh, and btw, it's cute what you did there including both of the top-two CBs before creating your "bigger gap." If Sherman is the best, aren't we only concerned with the gap between him and Revis? Though, for the record, Joe Haden might disagree with your assessment.

As far as the FS position, there isn't another guy I can think of who has anywhere near the impact Earl Thomas does. I'm not even sure who the second-best FS is. Gipson? Weddle? Either way, Thomas is head-and-shoulders above anyone else.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I have and most people that know football, know that a shut down CB is more valuable and harder to find then an All pro bowl Safety. Again thomas is great but the difference between him and Reid or another pro bowl safety isnt big

See, now you're talking in generalities. I'm not. I'm talking about Earl Thomas vs. Richard Sherman in Pete Carroll's defense.

 

[Pattersonca65]

U can have thomas i rather have sherman. U are the only person i ever heard say that. there is a bigger gap between sherman and revis type CB then thomas and the next safety.

Alot of people say that

Earl Thomas could be Seahawks D's most valuable piece

 

[Pattersonca65]

You should talk to more people. Particularly knowledgeable hawks fans. That's not a knock on Sherman at all; he's a very, very good player. Probably the best CB in the league today. For that defense, though, I'll take Thomas. He makes the whole thing tick IMO.

And again, it doesn't change the fact that we lost to the Hawks in the recent past for a variety of reasons, arguably the least of which was the play at the CB position. Hell, the most significant play given up by a CB by far was the 4th down TD in the 2013 NFCCG where Aldon jumped offsides and Wilson squeezed in the TD to Kearse. Rogers was in about as tight coverage as he could have been on that play and Wilson just threw a great ball that he probably doesn't throw but for the offsides (even though it was 4th down so an INT wouldn't have mattered anyway; I think psychologically Wilson doesn't throw the ball without the free play), so I'm not sure Revis makes any difference on that particular play. Perhaps more to the point, that TD was to Kearse, and presumably Revis would have been on Tate.

Wilson has two TD passes to WRs in the Niners' past four losses to the Hawks. Those passes went to Kearse (see above) and Paul Richardson. Those guys were both the #3 WR in those games. It's also worth noting that the Richardson TD came only after they called that BS roughing penalty on Moody. In the past five games against the Hawks, the Hawks' #1 receiver has put up the following stat line (Niners' result follows):

11/27/14: Baldwin - 2 for 28 yards (L)
12/4/14: Baldwin - 3 for 53 (L)
9/15/13: Tate - 1 for 19 (L)
12/8/13: Tate - 6 for 65 (W)
1/19/14: Tate - 4 for 31 (L)

The best game their #1 guy had by far was the only game we won. So again, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not the shaky play of our #1 CB that has been hurting us against Seattle. I'm curious if you have any sort of concrete evidence to the contrary.

Not going into specifics, but it seems for many of those contests the 49ers offense put alot of pressure on the 49ers D by too many 3 and outs. The defense was on the field too long and wore down

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Not going into specifics, but it seems for many of those contests the 49ers offense put alot of pressure on the 49ers D by too many 3 and outs. The defense was on the field too long and wore down

Yeah, the Niners' primary issues lately have clearly been on offense. And short of making a change at QB, which isn't happening this year, I don't see any single piece changing that. The hope is that the new coaching staff can get more out of the offense, though given how the OC search shook out, I'm not holding my breath. I think we'll need to see pretty significant improvement from Kap to really challenge Seattle.

Having said that, our offense was a bit of a mystery last year - and really for most of Harbaugh's tenure. We certainly weren't a big-play offense (we were at times in 2011 and 2012 with Vernon running the seam, but not regularly), but we also didn't have the consistency to put together long drives. The Hawks probably have had a less consistent offense than we have over the past few years, but they are a big-play offense, and the distinction is clear. I'm not anticipating a major shift into a big-play offense this year. This is where I think even very small changes - getting the snap off on time, for instance - could pay relatively large dividends. Our offense needs to put together long drives, but due to setbacks like with the delayed playcalling, we were rarely able to do that. We'll see what next year brings, but in that regard at least it realistically can't get worse. Being able to run to the right behind Anthony Davis should help, at least.

 

[purguy12]

See, now you're talking in generalities. I'm not. I'm talking about Earl Thomas vs. Richard Sherman in Pete Carroll's defense.

Yes and Sherman is more important. We agree to disagree. Most of the Football world would agree with me and that is ok. Every one has a right to their opinion. I wont argue with you on this. I just feel its easy to see.

I honestly never heard anyone say Thomas over Sherman or they would take Thomas over Sherman to start their Defense. I mean I know a couple Seattle fans and Most even say they wouldn't have won the super bowl with out Sherman and he is the best player on the team. When you can shut down one side of the field that is a big advantage for the Defense. Sherman allows the Defense to do so much more and allows the D to be more aggressive.

Again we agree to disagree. No big deal. Also this is not a knock on Thomas or Sherman. Both are great players.

 

[purguy12]

Alot of people say that

Earl Thomas could be Seahawks D's most valuable piece

This article has Thomas talking about himself. It doesn't mention anyone saying he is. It just mentions that he could be. This is actually a pointless article.

 

[Pattersonca65]

Interesting Free Agent Spending Statistic from ESPN


Does FA spending lead to wins?

February, 10, 2015
Feb 10

3:44

PM ET

By Tom Carpenter | ESPN Insider

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NFL free agency kicks off one month from today. During the process, teams will have to cram as much talent into their rosters as possible while still dealing with the short- and long-term impact the contracts will have on their salary caps.

Of course, spending money doesn't always result in improvements on the field. In fact, per ESPN Stats & Information, six of the 12 teams that have ranked in the top three in free-agent spending since 2011 did not improve their win total. That includes all three of last year’s top spending teams.

That's not to say that spending big doesn't always pay off, but the key is to spend wisely on the right impact players.

To wit, none of the major free-agent acquisitions added by teams that won the last four Super Bowls underperformed. All of those players met -- and in most cases exceeded -- the cap value of their contracts.

This is something to keep in mind when your team is considering which players they want to target and which players they think they can actually afford.

Then there are teams like the Packers, which rarely pony up for big-time free agents. Instead, they focus on developing talent through the draft, which has helped keep their salary cap manageable:

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Yes and Sherman is more important. We agree to disagree. Most of the Football world would agree with me and that is ok. Every one has a right to their opinion. I wont argue with you on this. I just feel its easy to see.

I honestly never heard anyone say Thomas over Sherman or they would take Thomas over Sherman to start their Defense. I mean I know a couple Seattle fans and Most even say they wouldn't have won the super bowl with out Sherman and he is the best player on the team. When you can shut down one side of the field that is a big advantage for the Defense. Sherman allows the Defense to do so much more and allows the D to be more aggressive.

Again we agree to disagree. No big deal. Also this is not a knock on Thomas or Sherman. Both are great players.

I lived in Seattle for almost six years, know more Hawks fans than fans of any NFL team other than the Niners - and possibly more truly passionate Hawks fans than Niner fans - and a number of the more knowledgeable fans, including season ticket holders, believe Thomas is more important.

The whole "shutting down one side of the field" doesn't really hold in today's NFL. Sherman shuts down one receiver. Again, against GB in week one, that receiver was Jarrett Boykin. GB just put him on that side all game and ignored him. Cobb and Nelson were covered by other players, and GB still did nothing through the air. Sherman is great. I think Seattle's FO knows that Thomas is the more unique player in terms of what they want to do.

But this entire topic is a distraction from the original conversation about spending big on a CB. Which, again, is not even close to why we lost to Seattle.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Interesting Free Agent Spending Statistic from ESPN


Does FA spending lead to wins?

February, 10, 2015
Feb 10

3:44

PM ET

By Tom Carpenter | ESPN Insider

0
0
Comments(0)
Email
Print



NFL free agency kicks off one month from today. During the process, teams will have to cram as much talent into their rosters as possible while still dealing with the short- and long-term impact the contracts will have on their salary caps.

Of course, spending money doesn't always result in improvements on the field. In fact, per ESPN Stats & Information, six of the 12 teams that have ranked in the top three in free-agent spending since 2011 did not improve their win total. That includes all three of last year’s top spending teams.

That's not to say that spending big doesn't always pay off, but the key is to spend wisely on the right impact players.

To wit, none of the major free-agent acquisitions added by teams that won the last four Super Bowls underperformed. All of those players met -- and in most cases exceeded -- the cap value of their contracts.

This is something to keep in mind when your team is considering which players they want to target and which players they think they can actually afford.

Then there are teams like the Packers, which rarely pony up for big-time free agents. Instead, they focus on developing talent through the draft, which has helped keep their salary cap manageable:

Yep. Adding one or two guys with a clear vision in mind makes sense. Going on big spending sprees does not. Fortunately Baalke gets FA. Look for lower-priced guys who may be undervalued for some reason (e.g., Carlos Rogers coming relatively cheaply because of his poor ball skills) and fill a particular role. Better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed when it comes to FAs. A lot of players flourish because they fit on their team. Put them somewhere else and it can fall apart. Not to mention that a huge payday can drastically affect players' approach.

 

[Pattersonca65]

Yep. Adding one or two guys with a clear vision in mind makes sense. Going on big spending sprees does not. Fortunately Baalke gets FA. Look for lower-priced guys who may be undervalued for some reason (e.g., Carlos Rogers coming relatively cheaply because of his poor ball skills) and fill a particular role. Better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed when it comes to FAs. A lot of players flourish because they fit on their team. Put them somewhere else and it can fall apart. Not to mention that a huge payday can drastically affect players' approach.

Just the opposite of what Dan Snyder has done over the years

 

[purguy12]

Yep. Adding one or two guys with a clear vision in mind makes sense. Going on big spending sprees does not. Fortunately Baalke gets FA. Look for lower-priced guys who may be undervalued for some reason (e.g., Carlos Rogers coming relatively cheaply because of his poor ball skills) and fill a particular role. Better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed when it comes to FAs. A lot of players flourish because they fit on their team. Put them somewhere else and it can fall apart. Not to mention that a huge payday can drastically affect players' approach.

I agree baalke will do what he ususlly does. I hope we can find that #1 CB soon, either through draft or FA. If we can draft a guy like sherman we would be set on D. need that shut down CB.

 

[purguy12]

Sherman is easliy most important player on D but overall they have talent all over that D. seattle O faces same problem as us. they need to get a wespon especially if Lynch is gone. they need to get him a WR.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I agree baalke will do what he ususlly does. I hope we can find that #1 CB soon, either through draft or FA. If we can draft a guy like sherman we would be set on D. need that shut down CB.

You know, just because. There's no tangible evidence to support this position. In fact, our passing D ranked top-5 in yards and #1 in INTs despite starting a mid-round pick coming off serious injury and a re-tread we had cut the year before (replacing the injured former UDFA who was supposed to be our #1), and backing them up with a couple rookies, a bust, and some guys I couldn't even name until the last game of the season. The #1 receivers on the division rival that we haven't been able to beat lately haven't done anything against us whatsoever. But #1 CB is definitely the position we need to address above all others.

 

[purguy12]

i just want to improve. the right way is to build through the draft but sometimes u need that 1 big FA. we did it for justin smith and we might need it again.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

i just want to improve. the right way is to build through the draft but sometimes u need that 1 big FA. we did it for justin smith and we might need it again.

Is now really the time to do that? With a new coaching staff, roster potentially in flux. We can compete for a SB this year if things fall into place, but it's tough to say we're so competitive that we're one piece away. I'd work on adding young talent to the roster and consider a bigger-name FA next year if we are competitive this year.

 

[purguy12]

do not like this rumor. 49ers going after WR T Smith from the ravens. not a fan of this move if it happens.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

It would depend on the price tag. I don't love Torrey Smith, he's not close to being a complete receiver. That said, he's a legit deep threat, which is precisely what we need. I'd rather draft a guy, though.

 

[purguy12]

It would depend on the price tag. I don't love Torrey Smith, he's not close to being a complete receiver. That said, he's a legit deep threat, which is precisely what we need. I'd rather draft a guy, though.

i agree, rather draft and save money for something else