Daily Notes and Stuff...

"Thanks to the Internet, 93% of the American population now has a sports column, podcast or blog. All we do anymore is estimate things!" -- Bill Simmons, ESPN

I'll update this whenever I think of something worth posting...

April 3, 2009

• 1.49 seconds. That was the recorded time of Jason Williams' 10-yard split at his pro day which was ran on a slow track. Combine that with a 39" vertical, a 10'9" broad jump, and 26 bench reps, and you have yourself an amazing athletic specimen. The question: Can he rush the passer as the WILL of the 49ers' 3-4? He certainly has the athleticism needed for the role. His 8 sacks and 5 forced fumbles prove his productivity. For the Niners, Williams, who's currently projected as a 3rd-4th round pick, may be a risk worth taking.

April 1, 2009

• The big story of the week is the rift that has formed between QB Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos. Immediately, the news caught the attention of the 49ers fan base and media and with good reason. If the team was willing to go after Kurt Warner, why wouldn't they be interested in Jay Cutler? First, I'll just say that I don't expect Cutler to be in a 49ers uniform any time soon. We don't have the draft picks or the players to compensate for a trade. I'd be surprised if a deal went through. If/When he does get traded, it will probably for one of Detroit's 1st-round picks, another mid-round pick, possibly a future 1st, and maybe an additional player (Daunte Culpepper?). If the Lions pass on Matt Stafford with the 1st pick and go for OT Jason Smith (which they SHOULD do), there's a good chance that their 20th pick would be used on QB Josh Freeman, anyway. However, if they trade it for Cutler, Denver could grab their own QB of the future while the Lions get their franchise QB. It all makes perfect sense; at least more sense than the Niners creating a Mike Nolan/Alex Smith reunion in Denver.

February 18, 2009

• An anonymous source has released a list of four teams that Julius Peppers is demanding to be traded to if not released: Cowboys, two other NFC teams, and an AFC team. First, I'd hate to see Julius Peppers go to the Cowboys. I can't imagine how ugly it'd get with Julius Peppers and DeMarcus Ware on the same team. But the news also gives the 49ers something to be hopeful for. Looking at the NFC, there aren't a lot of teams running the 3-4 defense, which Peppers has publicly expressed his interest for. Those teams, in addition to the Cowboys, are the Cardinals, who run more of a hybrid defense, the Packers, who are in a transition to the 3-4, and the 49ers (I could've sworn there were more than those four teams). It's reasonable to believe that the Niners are one of those four teams on Peppers' radar. The Packers' defense is in rebuilding mode after their offseason overhaul. While they plan to run a more solid form of the 3-4 than the Cardinals, you can't expect them to see much success. The track record for teams converting from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in recent years has not been very favorable. Also, I don't think Peppers would like to move to cold ass Wisconsin after living in Carolina his whole life. On the other hand, the Cardinals run the 3-4 in some ways, as well. Their new D-coordinator, Billy Davis, last worked for the Niners, whom he failed to convert to the 3-4 successfully. I don't see much reason to believe that he'll find success in Arizona. Last but not least, other than the Cowboys, the Niners have the most stable form of the 3-4 defense in the NFC. Greg Manusky completed his conversion to the 3-4 last season and found some success. They're currently two big pieces away from becoming a dominant 3-4: a run-plugging nose tackle and a pass rushing outside linebacker, something in the mold of Julius Peppers. I'd go on more but I'm hungry as shit.

January 25, 2009

• I don't know why I've never thought of this. I mean, it's crossed my mind but I've never really considered it. Anyway, Matt Barrows was doing a Q&A and again, the idea of switching Nate Clements to free safety was brought up. I've always disregarded this idea because Nate has much more value as a CB. If we moved him, we'd have a gaping hole at an already shallow position. It sucks because Nate has all the makings to become a fantastic safety, but we just don't have the CB depth to do it. Enter Malcolm Jenkins, the top-rated CB in this year's draft. If we picked him up at #10, pairing him with Nate would give us one of the best CB duos in the league. Furthermore, we'd have a legit lock down CB capable of filling in for Nate if he were to ever make the switch. In doing so, we'd have a solid CB to match up with opponents' #1 WRs, and have Nate fill in at arguably our biggest need. I'm just saying this is a possible scenario that I wouldn't be against if it happened. In reality, I'd rather keep Nate at CB and instead, pick up another safety to replace Roman.

January 22, 2009

• The Niners just signed DB Jimmy Williams. Back in 2006, I was really pushing for the Niners to draft him with one of our first round picks [we ended up picking up Vernon Davis at #6 and Manny Lawson at #22] but he fell to the Falcons in the 2nd round. Before the draft, NFL Draft scout ranked him as the #1 CB in the draft. He was a 6'3", 220 lbs CORNERBACK with 4.4 speed. This guy was a beast in college. Back then, I thought he was the answer to our FS problems [which have yet to be solved]. He ended up getting released by the Falcons because of weight issues and maybe because he was suspended for mariuana possession. Anyway, despite how much I admired him back then, I'm gonna try to keep my hopes low for him next season. I think the team is making the right move in trying him out, but the chances of him making a significant impact, especially as a starting FS, are very low. He'll probably be nothing more than another Ahmad Brooks. I REALLY hope I'm wrong about this.

• FUCK SCOTT LINEHAN. The reports of him interviewing for the Raiders OC job is a fucking slap in the face to our team. I actually hope he does go to the Raiders and ends up ruining his career. Scott Linehan can eat shit and die. **Update: Scott Linehan took the job with the Lions. I guess all that talk about him interviewing with the Raiders was just that--talk. Sorry Scott Linehan for the harsh words.

• Dan Patrick brought up something interesting today canlled the "Gruden Effect." He basically described how John Gruden's Bucaneers went to the Super Bowl against his old team, the Raiders, and ended up destroying them because he knew about their whole gameplan from his history with the team. Next Sunday, Ken Whisenhunt will be leading the Cardinals against his old Steelers, whom he was the OC for. Will the "Gruden Effect" prevail and keep the Niners' hopes for reaching 6 championships first alive? We shall see next Sunday...

January 20, 2009

• With Linehan out, I'll need a new favorite to win the OC job. My new pick will be Chan Gailey, who may or may not be the Chiefs' OC. While the Chiefs' offense last year was abysmal, Gailey has a strong track record as an OC and a college head coach prior to last year. More importantly, he has run-first philosophy that has been successful in the past. As the Steelers' OC in the '90s, he led the team to a league leading 154.9 rushing yards per game. The problem is that the Niners have yet to interview him. Get on it Scotty!

January 18, 2009

• Linehan declined the 49ers' offer for the OC job for personal reasons concerning his family. That just sucks. Really. That really, REALLY sucks. I don't see the Niners going for Jon Gruden so I'm guessing they might go for Rob Chudzinksi which sucks, too because he'll get snatched away for a head coaching job after the season which will fuck up our continuity AGAIN. What I REALLY want: Linehan bitches and moans about not taking the job and his wife makes him change his mind. God, this whole mess could've been avoided if we had hired Cam Cameron instead of Mike Martz last year.

• Julius Peppers, who's played DE for the Panthers for 7 seasons, wants to leave Carolina to play for a 3-4 team. The news is very intriguing and sort of peculiar at the same time. First, the peculiar part. Before, I stated that Peppers was not a good fit for the 3-4 defense; he's too lanky to hold his ground as a base DE and he's way over the average size of a typical 3-4 outside linebacker, which is probably the position he wants to play. In fact, he's bigger than some of our own base linemen [including two starters], who are meant to be immovable run-stuffers whose primary job is to tie blockers. However, Peppers is an intriguing prospect. For a player of his size, he's a freakish athlete. While he possesses tremendous power, he is lightning quick, with top-notch speed and agility. Along with his proven hand skills, all these attributes have made Peppers the most versatile defensive lineman in the league. So, when I heard he wanted to play linebacker, I instantly became a believer. Imagine Julius Peppers and Justin Smith going after Kurt Warner next year. I'm getting cream jeans just thinking about it.