The Forgotten...

by youALREADYknow on Aug 18, 2009 5:32 AM PDT

So now that the preseason is underway and we start to see who/what we have.... I thought I'd step back and look at those we may have lost. I'll simply refer to them from this point on as The Forgotten...

April 25th, 2009 - The San Francisco 49ers are on the clock..... *We have a trade*... the San Francisco 49ers have traded the 43rd overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers....

Members of The Forgotten:

DE Everette Brown - 1 GM, 1 Tkl, Sack

CB Sean Smith - 1 GM, 1 Tkl, Int

OLB Clint Sintim - 1 GM, 1.5 Tkl, Sack

OLB Connor Barwin - 1 GM, 1 Tkl, Sack, PD

Since there was such a huge split among 49ers fans about that trade, I think it will be interesting (hopefully not too controversial) to track the progress of these players throughout the season and see whether it was worth the risk to wait a year to get another prospect. Obviously we will erase the numbers once the season starts, but until then we will track The Forgotten....

(Please post if you feel someone has been left off this list, but this was the consensus "short list" that I remember from draft day)

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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I think it will be interesting

to track these players during the season, but I’m more interested in tracking Carolina’s success (since we get that draft choice).

by Andrew Davidson on Aug 18, 2009 10:26 AM PDT reply actions

My one issue

Was with Everett Brown still being on the clock. I really liked him for our team and think he will be a very very good player. Lets just hope the Panthers under achieve this season and we end up with a pick in the first half of the first round. It’s never a bad thing to acquire extra 1st rd picks. I guess the niners brass just wasn’t as high on these players as some of us might have been..

by nocal81(Vincent) on Aug 18, 2009 10:59 AM PDT reply actions

I really thought that Brown was going to be the pick in round 2

With him still on the board, I thought we were going to pick the pass rusher we needed. I was dissapointed when we traded the pick, and it was used to get the player I was hoping to get. I was even more dissapointed when we didn’t draft any pass rusher. The lack of a pass rush is going to be our defensive weakness again this year.

by illini49er on Aug 18, 2009 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions

Everette Brown should have been selected by Niner's brass

He managed more sacks than our whole team in his preseason debut!!

Optimist Prime, and your favorite adjitator
Is this what it's all about Manny?

by rlott#42 on Aug 18, 2009 11:02 AM PDT reply actions

Who was he up against? Did he start, or did he play against scrubs?

Once the regular season starts, these stats will become more meaningful. Right now, they’re really not.

YouALreadyKnow, please “reset” your stat counts once the regular season starts. Thanks! This will be interesting.

by Ronaldinho on Aug 18, 2009 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions

I Agree 100 percent

We should have used that pick on Everett Brown. If he was off the board then we entertain a trade but once he was still there i completely expected him to be the pick. He was exactly what we needed and has top 10 talent. Also we would have had another 4th round pick to help improve our team at the offensive or defensive line positions. I still don’t mind having two 1st rd picks next year!!

by nocal81(Vincent) on Aug 18, 2009 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions

I think this will be interesting, and fair.

I’m curious to see how they do, myself.

by Ronaldinho on Aug 18, 2009 11:29 AM PDT reply actions

NOOOOOO!!! A tackle and a SACK???

Seriously, shouldn’t the evaluation be saved until, I don’t know… Let’s pick some arbitrary dates here…

End of the preseason
After Week 5
After Week 11
After Week 17

(weeks for player progression in Madden 07)

Until then, I’d think any evaluation is going to suffer from small sample size.

I'm thinking but nothing's happening.

by JRPhillips on Aug 18, 2009 1:01 PM PDT reply actions

weekly

I planned on just updating the OP weekly, then resetting once the regular season starts.

You’re absolutely correct about the sample size and that’s why the data should be taken with a grain of salt at the moment. It’s still a great start for those prospects (actually some of the best preseason performances of any rookies in the draft) and most reports from those camps and from fans going to minicamps have been glowing about those guys.

Rays in '08.... Desmond Jennings - the breakout continues.....

by youALREADYknow on Aug 18, 2009 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions

I still think Brown would have been a fantastic pick.

Let’s face it, the Panthers haven’t done anything to get worse, and will likely be drafting no higher than the twenties. Everette Brown was considered a premier pass-rusher and top 10 talent. Hell, even if the 49ers drafted him with their first pick I would have thought it would be great. Falling to the second round was miraculous.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Aug 18, 2009 4:20 PM PDT reply actions

Aside from Brown

I maintain my sentiment pre-draft that Sean Smith will be the best cornerback from that draft class. He’s a flat out playmaker and is already heads and shoulders above Vontae Davis (who is the defensive version of his brother) over in Miami.

We should also consider that Brown playing up in the 3-4 at OLB would yield different results than him playing down in the 4-3 where he’s played his entire career. Still, if he’s manhandling anyone on the OL or blowing by guys off the edge then that would obviously translate to 3-4 OLB.

Rays in '08.... Desmond Jennings - the breakout continues.....

by youALREADYknow on Aug 18, 2009 5:21 PM PDT reply actions

Problem with Sean Smith

Is guys his size don’t stay at the CB position very long. He will probably be a safety in 2-3 years when age lets the physics catch up with his body. Explains why he slipped to the 3rd round.

by bignerd on Aug 19, 2009 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions

2-3 years?

Age 25-26 isn’t exactly when cornerbacks fall apart. Most good cornerbacks don’t lose any agility until their late 20’s.

Rays in '08.... Desmond Jennings - the breakout continues.....

by youALREADYknow on Aug 19, 2009 7:48 PM PDT up reply actions

The larger ones do but it’s not as though they fall apart. Most just loss half a step do to NFL wear and go to the safety position where they play several more years at a high level. Most teams probably evaluated Sean Smith as a safety, hence a 3rd round pick.

It’s also a classic Bill Parcell’s draft move. He will draft a guy with a small shelf life if he believes the player can play at a high level during the short amount of time. In 3 years I bet Vontae is starting at corner and Smith is starting at safety.

by bignerd on Aug 19, 2009 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions

I thought Smith was a late 2nd rounder.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Aug 20, 2009 9:20 PM PDT up reply actions

I Googled, first result said he was a 3rd round pick.

by bignerd on Aug 21, 2009 12:56 AM PDT up reply actions

According to..

… Wikipedia, you’re right.

by sfgfan on Aug 21, 2009 9:04 AM PDT up reply actions

Harrison isn't as agile as Freeney but he's an exceptional OLB and didn't come around until 29 to 30 years old

Pass coverage skills are easier to gain than pure pass rushing, who’s ever heard of a pure coverage linebacker? Of course Brown would have been a good pick in the 2nd round, I thought it was a no brainer. And as far as cornerbacks go Darius Butler will be the pick of the litter. Let’s not get beside ourselves here, the two draft picks in the first are for next year and don’t put any pts in the 2009 pt column or slashes in the win column, but you can see that the decission to make that trade will result in L’s in the loss column simply because our pure pass rusher’s suck, and Haralson may have been a fluke himself.

Optimist Prime, and your favorite adjitator
Is this what it's all about Manny?

by rlott#42 on Aug 18, 2009 8:28 PM PDT reply actions

"who’s ever heard of a pure coverage linebacker?"

Lance Briggs. What I feel Aaron Curry will be, at best.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Aug 18, 2009 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Lance Briggs is not a pure cover LB! He might be good in coverage but his Pro Bowl talent is in his instinct for finding the offense’s running lane.

by bignerd on Aug 19, 2009 6:58 PM PDT up reply actions

When I look at Lance Briggs I see a guy who's always holding down great coverage and a steady tackler.

Not a bad player, and probably a very good one in a 4-3, but definitely not someone I would even remotely consider worthy of a top 5 pick.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Aug 20, 2009 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions

A multiple Pro Bowler and you don’t think he’d be worthy of a high pick if given a chance to do over? He cracked the starting lineup his rookie year because he was tackling machine in preseason. He can probably play middle linebacker position but he is tad small for that amount of banging and think Urlacher is already at the position.

Also, do the Bears run a 3-4 or 4-3? I know the coverage is Tampa 2. I believe they do run a 4-3 defense. It’s something to ask a Bear fan about.

by bignerd on Aug 21, 2009 1:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Wow

If that is the case you guys (site decorum)ed up. I need to watch more espn and pay mpre attention to college fotball, the pure coverage linebacker term seemed to miss me.

Optimist Prime, and your favorite adjitator
Is this what it's all about Manny?

by rlott#42 on Aug 19, 2009 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions

I guess it did

Seattle runs a 4-3 so they could really benefit from Curry becoming a good coverage LB.

by SportsChicken on Aug 20, 2009 12:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Curry

I’m not sure what else he has shown he could be on a consistent basis. It’s not like the guy has racked up ridiculous sack totals or anything during his college career. It seems like people see “physical beast” and immediately think that he can get to the QB. I think Seattle should be very happy if they end up with a very good coverage LB out of Curry.

by sfgfan on Aug 20, 2009 8:58 AM PDT up reply actions

I hate the fact that people think he's some speed demon because he ran a fast 40 time.

And I suppose I won’t mind if Curry becomes a great coverage LB, but in the top 5, I wanted a franchise-cornerstone, not another ****ing linebacker on a team with an elite and great one.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Aug 20, 2009 9:23 PM PDT up reply actions