But finally its a pretty good problem. We have a recieving core that we seem pretty happy with and can’t figure out who to leave as the odd man out.

I love the young guys. Hill, Morgan, and Zeigler look to be a solid 1,2,3 core for years to come… though in this order: Morgan, Hill, Zeigler.

Bruce, Battle and Johnson are a solid group of veteran recievers and if I were to get rid of somebody it would be one of these. Obviously, Bruce has been solid and probably tremendous in developing the young talent and with one more year on his contract obviously isn’t going anywhere.

So that leaves Battle and Johnson and like you I am torn. I love Battle as he has toughed it out here for years and is a solid contributor. But I feel like out of the two, Johnson is the better WR. It’s hard to evaluate the two as they were both hampered by injury at different times of the year. I voted for resigning Johnson, and as such, this would mean, with a heavy heart, letting Battle go.

Unless the team decides to keep 6 WRs, but with Sing wanting a more smashmouth football offensive style, I see no need for 6 WRs.

Johnson was drafted in the first year by the Cardinals the year they drafted Anquan Boldin.

Boldin is one of the best receivers in the game. Johnson (based on past performace) will always underachieve. He’s capable of playing well at times but then disappears.

Boldin wants out of AZ. It would be great to work out a trade. He’s a freaking beast.
Trent Dilfer says he’s his favorite player in the league. He’s the most respected player on the Cards. he’s the kind of player that makes everybody around him better.

Wow, the general agreement is that B. Johnson needs to go here. I like that, he isn’t worth keeping and there are other needs than WR (haven’t said that in a while as a 49er fan). I am curios to the TE position, do the coaches draft a few later to let Davis go, or do we like him as a receiving TE.

First, thanks Gailikk for summing it up for me because I really didn’t want to go through all of these comments (my eyes really hurt right now). I too, like the majority, feel B. Johnson should be the one out. He was a HUGE disappointment. The word on this guy was he played in Arizona with two star wide outs in Anquan Bolden and Larry Fitzgerald, and all he needed was a chance. Well, he had his chance with the 49ers and didn’t capitalize on his opportunities. I think that says it all. Players like that who don’t capitalize on their first opportunity probably aren’t going to do it in the near future (see Kevan Barlow). You can go on about how he got injured and thus wasn’t able to perform at the highest level, but given the receivers we currently have on the team now, it would be a big mistake to keep him around, for a few reasons: 1) He would get in the way of the development of Jason Hill, Josh Morgan, and Dominique Zeigler (reminds me of Randy Moss, no? Tall, skinny, and shifty with break-away speed), and 2) Some have said Bryant is a better wide out than Arnaz. You can say that if both were competing for the #1 spot and we were desperate, but that’s not the case. I’d take Arnaz any day because we know what he brings to the table, and that’s a pair of solid hands on third down possessions, and some great down-field blocking, reminiscent of a Hines Ward, that can help Frank Gore (remember him) break loose for big runs.

Coach Sing is running this team, guys, and it has been mentioned time and time again—his offense is likely going to be conservative with short pass attacks, and a heavy dose of the ground attack. With that said, I would rather have Arnaz blocking for me. The year Frank had his best season was in 2006, and guess who was starting? Arnaz was the starting wide out along with Antonio Bryant (what a great season he had with the Bucs).

More on B. Johnson’s abilities (before anyone jumps on me): Bryant showed “flashes” of being a big play threat in Arizona only because Bolden and Fitzgerald demanded double teams and the best defensive players to be on them every time they took the field. What does that mean? It meant that when Bryant ran his routes, he was likely only covered by one defender, and likely a weak one at that. Anyone would be able to take advantage of that situation, and as a result show “flashes” and “potential”. Apparently, Coach Nolan and company failed to recognize that when they decided to bring him on board. This guy isn’t shifty, and DOES NOT have break away speed, despite what others have said. You wanna know who has break away speed? Dominique Zeigler. Please rewind to week 14 against the Jets when Z took a quick slant play for a nice 31 yard gainer. Here’s a link to that play: http://www.nfl.com/players/profile?id=00-0024687
That play reminds me a lot of Randy Moss in his younger days. If number 23 didn’t tackle him, Z would have taken it to the house.

With all of that being said, I think the 49ers are pretty much set at the wide out positions. Bring Bruce back for another year because he still has it, and the trio (Hill, Morgan, and Z) can learn from the master on how to run routes. Arnaz will be 29 in February, and I say keep him over Bryant (only one year younger than Arnaz). Going into the offseason, the biggest concern should be on the line, both defensive and offensive. After all, one of the aspects of Coach Sing’s formula for success was First, thanks Gailikk for summing it up for me because I really didn’t want to go through all of these comments (my eyes really hurt right now). I too, like the majority, feel B. Johnson should be the one out. He was a HUGE disappointment. The word on this guy was he played in Arizona with two star wide outs in Anquan Bolden and Larry Fitzgerald, and all he needed was a chance. Well, he had his chance with the 49ers and didn’t capitalize on his opportunities. I think that says it all. Players like that who don’t capitalize on their first opportunity probably aren’t going to do it in the near future (see Kevan Barlow). You can go on about how he got injured and thus wasn’t able to perform at the highest level, but given the receivers we currently have on the team now, it would be a big mistake to keep him around, for a few reasons: 1) He would get in the way of the development of Jason Hill, Josh Morgan, and Dominique Zeigler (reminds me of Randy Moss, no? Tall, skinny, and shifty with break-away speed), and 2) Some have said Bryant is a better wide out than Arnaz. You can say that if both were competing for the #1 spot and we were desperate, but that’s not the case. I’d take Arnaz any day because we know what he brings to the table, and that’s a pair of solid hands on third down possessions, and some great down-field blocking, reminiscent of a Hines Ward, that can help Frank Gore (remember him) break loose for big runs.

Coach Sing is running this team, guys, and it has been mentioned time and time again—his offense is likely going to be conservative with short pass attacks, and a heavy dose of the ground attack. With that said, I would rather have Arnaz blocking for me. The year Frank had his best season was in 2006, and guess who was starting? Arnaz was the starting wide out along with Antonio Bryant (what a great season he had with the Bucs).

More on B. Johnson’s abilities (before anyone jumps on me): Bryant showed “flashes” of being a big play threat in Arizona only because Bolden and Fitzgerald demanded double teams and the best defensive players to be on them every time they took the field. What does that mean? It meant that when Bryant ran his routes, he was likely only covered by one defender, and likely a weak one at that. Anyone would be able to take advantage of that situation, and as a result show “flashes” and “potential”. Apparently, Coach Nolan and company failed to recognize that when they decided to bring him on board. This guy isn’t shifty, and DOES NOT have break away speed, despite what others have said. You wanna know who has break away speed? Dominique Zeigler. Please rewind to week 14 against the Jets when Z took a quick slant play for a nice 31 yard gainer. Here’s a link to that play: http://www.nfl.com/players/profile?id=00-0024687
That play reminds me a lot of Randy Moss in his younger days. If number 23 didn’t tackle him, Z would have taken it to the house.

With all of that being said, I think the 49ers are pretty much set at the wide out positions. Bring Bruce back for another year because he still has it, and the trio (Hill, Morgan, and Z) can learn from the master on how to run routes. Arnaz will be 29 in February, and I say keep him over Bryant, who is only one year younger than Arnaz. Going into the offseason, the biggest concern should be on the line, both defensive and offensive. After all, one of the aspects of Coach Sing’s formula for success was “dominating the trenches”.

Oh yeah, I think we’re set at the tight end position. VD should be given a chance to develop a connection with Shaun Hill during the offseason, and if that doesn’t work out, we can always use him as a blocking tight end with Delanie as the receiver. Yes, that would suck if VD doesn’t work out, but he’s still a great blocker (see what he did to Joey Porter).