Worst Player On The 49ers? Worst Starter, Even?
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 7:00 AM PDT
in San Francisco 49ers News
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PrintSo yesterday I took a look at the ten best players on the 49ers roster. Not everyone agreed with me, but that was generally concerning the last couple spots on the list. In one of the comments though, I realized I had made a glaring ommision yesterday. Please see my amended top ten below.
1. Brian Jennings, LS
2. Andy Lee, P
3. Patrick Willis, LB
4-10. Other People, Various Positions
I'm mostly joking, of course, but it is worth noting that Jennings is the best in the league at what he does. A team with someone who is spotty at the long snapping position can be as bad as having Arnaz Battle returning punts - disasterous for special teams. Speaking of Arnaz Battle, I thought I'd take a quick look at who is the worst player on the 49ers.
I don't want to make a bottom ten list, because I think it will be insulting to some of the guys who are down there who have yet to get a chance, things of that nature. Also, the bit with the backups and all that is rough. So I thought I'd just open it up a little bit and include players who are really only starters, or who were starters last year.
I think we can all agree that Isaac Sopoaga is the worst starter on the 49ers right now. So voting on that would be a moot point - but what if we were to include some of the players from last season? What about starting punt returner Arnaz Battle? Right tackle Adam Snyder? Current right guard Chilo Rachal?
Personally, I would place Sopoaga below Snyder's play last season, as well as Rachal's play this past season and his projected play this season, but probably just a little above Arnaz Battle's abysmal 'skill' as a punt returner. What do you think?
For those of you who don't understand the Sopoaga bashing, you're not in the minority. He just seems like he's good, right? But really watch him. Watch him play - he gets manhandled, tossed around and just beaten consistently. He can't rush the passer, nor can he stop the run. Some would argue that he's good at occupying a block and manning his gap, but I'd argue that at least half of that time he he is just thrown to the ground. All of the strength in the world has not been enough to make him a great player. As Danny said, what has he done in a 49ers uniform save for always being one year away from breaking out?
Keep in mind, I love "Ice". He's a good guy and the rest of the players like him, but currently - he is the worst starter on the 49ers.
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Sims
Presumably Sims would at least have been part of the conversation this time last year? I guess his renaissance when Staley was injured kept him out of conversations like this, but didn’t stop the team drafting Anthony Davis!
LondonNiner - member of the legendary David Carr thread, 6 March 2010.
i have to go with battle.
every kick last year stressed me out. it was a 50-50 shot that we’d just turn it over.
If Isaac Sopoaga was as bad as you're saying....
Then I’m sure the media and the coaching staff would talk about how he needs to step up and how he is the weak link. His jod as a 3-4 end is to pick up the blockers and create lanes for Willis, it is not to be an all mighty pass rusher and have 15 sacks in a year. I don’t think he is great at his position, but I don’t think hands down that he is the worst starter on the team either….. I will just take it as your opinion….a respected one at that, but disagree.
Adam Snyder will probably start the season over Davis….I hope not, but…..so I would have Snyder as the projected worst starter at the begining of the season.
Isaac Sopoaga may struggle at times but we did field and awsome D regardless of his play. If Snyder struggles it can devastate the whole Offense, so I believe that the position should have some consideration and how it affects the team overall in the decision made on who is the worst.
Agree with you about Soap
He’s not quite up there as one of the worst. He wasn’t instrumental to any downfall of the team per se. He actually had one of his best seasons on paper. Snyder though was definitely one of the worst if not the worst. A turnstile might have been comprable to his performance. He might start the year while Davis gets comfortable enough with the role, but hopefully it won’t be long before he takes over. That or even Sims might be able to fill in reasonably well. Maybe even Boone, although we’ve yet to see him take extended reps in a game.
22 days to go. . .
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David Bass
wasn’t consistent all year and was the worst for jumping the count at all the wrong times.
I'm with you
I think he’s better suited to plat Center, with Snyder better suited for a Guard spot. Battle was a decent #3/4 reciever, but looked like he should be returning punts for a pop warner team.
by remembertheCATCH on Jul 24, 2010 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Does Kwame Harris still count?
"Dodger fans aren’t happy when foul balls get into their section, because it interferes with their playing with the beachball"- Mike Krukow
Yeah he does
He still owes us for several of the bonehead penalties he made per game!
22 days to go. . .
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Top Ten Worst 49ers
1. Patrick Willis – because he makes everyone else look bad.
2. Frank Gore – because he sometimes deceives us into thinking the OLine is blocking.
3. Justin Smith – because his motor doesn’t stop and I’m sure that increases the team’s cost in motor oil.
4. Takeo Spikes – because he’s old, and refuses to play like a fossil.
5. Vernon Davis/Michael Crabtree – because the 49ers have VD and Crabs.
6. Adam Snyder – ok, you found out this list is getting serious.
7. Arnaz Battle/Brandon Jones – speaking in relation to the worst PR unit in the history of PR units.
8. Isaac Soapoga – he hasn’t lived up the hype of being an angry Samoan, he’s more like a ticked off guy from Olosega.
9. Kwame Harris – because yes, he still counts.
10. JTO – just wanted to get some hate mail sent my way.
9.
I will gladly eat crow if Brandon Jones does well for the 49ers in 2010.
by Andrew Davidson on Jul 24, 2010 9:43 AM PDT reply actions
If JTO is up there
Can we put Mike Martz on there as an honorary member??
22 days to go. . .
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No
because Martz wasn’t the problem. He actually made Shaun Hill look like he could be an everday starter. Ok, maybe Martz should be up there, for using smoke and mirrors, but seriously, I like Martz and will always like Martz. Even though his stint with the 49ers was a miserable mess.
I will gladly eat crow if Brandon Jones does well for the 49ers in 2010.
by Andrew Davidson on Jul 24, 2010 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions
I don't know if it was his fault or not
But I still don’t quite understand what happened with that last second handoff to Robinson at the end of the Cards game in 2008.
22 days to go. . .
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yuck
I didn’t like that one bit either. If I ever get a chance to speak to Martz one on one, I’m going to ask him about that (after I’ve sent him a bunch of softballs ofcourse).
I will gladly eat crow if Brandon Jones does well for the 49ers in 2010.
by Andrew Davidson on Jul 24, 2010 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions
Martz is a brilliant Co-Ordinator
if you have the greatest show on Turf, the Colts or Texans offense or the early 90s Niner offense. With the early 2000s Niner offense its a joke to even install him.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jul 26, 2010 9:50 PM PDT up reply actions
No love ...
… for Andy Lee at the top or the bottom huh …!!
Gotta love a woman that wear's knee pad's to work ...!!
worst niner
I would pick kentwan as the worst niner…I know he hasn’t had much experience but y’all are talking lowly about soap and kentwan can’t even beat out soap…1st rounder should be producing by now
by texasniner06 on Jul 24, 2010 9:50 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Adam Snyder one of the worst?
Isn’t that a little unfair since-if I’m not mistaken-he was asked to play several line positions throughout the season?
by Giants Nutcase on Jul 24, 2010 10:23 AM PDT reply actions
That's why I specified right tackle.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions
balmer is the worse niner
chilo might be number one but he makes up for it by being from “the streets”
"Life is like a grapefruit. Well, it's sort of orangy-yellow and dimpled on the outside, wet and squidgy in the middle. It's got pips inside, too. Oh, and some people have a half a one for breakfast."
by operation carrot on Jul 24, 2010 10:34 AM PDT reply actions
Starters.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Balmer and Sopoaga..
are whom I first thought of when I read the title to this post. They just haven’t done anything, and they might be the reasons why the pass rush is so weak. Also, I think brandon jones returning punts might have been worse than battle
worst or "most disappointing?"
Our special teams were abysmal last year, so Jones and Battle deserve a lot of blame for just being…lousy.
Soap ain’t great, and neither is Snyder, but as someone mentioned, Snyder at least has the excuse of having been moved around too much to get fully comfortable in one spot.
That said: Guard is not a flashy position, and the Samoan Juggernaut aside, rarely drafted in the first round. The fact that we nabbed BOTH Rachal and Baas in the second round, and neither has established themselves as even above-average is ridiculous.
Baas I think is the bigger disappointment, because he’s had more time. Rachal is maddeningly inconsistent, but I think has a good chance to turn the corner this year, and actually demonstrate good value, which he flashed at times towards the end of last season. So they are both runners-up for the most disappointing award, but neither gets the prize, which actually goes to:
Kentwan Balmer. Soap isn’t great, but someone made the very good point that Balmer has not displaced him yet, and the fact that he’s a first round pick makes that hard to stomach.
This is the year for all three of these guys to show something if they want to remain players in this league, and I am guessing we will see it from Rachal, and HOPING we see it from Balmer. Baas was a hell of a lineman at Michigan; the guy with the same name who the 49ers employ, I don’t recognize.
"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will
by lottwasgangsta on Jul 24, 2010 10:48 AM PDT reply actions
Alex Smith
until his 37 td 43 int 30 fumbles 14 lost career turns around hes the worst and because of his position but kwame was horrible he shouldn’t even play football
by SFniner_Hitter on Jul 24, 2010 11:12 AM PDT reply actions
I think most would agree it’s already started to & there’s all the more reason to think it’s going to turn around a lot more this year.
22 days to go. . .
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by Mangoman on Jul 24, 2010 11:24 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Point
I don’t think this is a who has had the worst career post beacuse that would be our controversial QB.
I’m glad some other people have mentioned this already about Kentwan Balmer. I hated the pick when it happened and I hate that he hasn’t proven me wrong. Yes he was injured but he still can’t beat out the other crappy DE being bashed in this post.
If we're talking worst starter, these are my candidates:
WR: Josh Morgan
OL: Adam Snyder
DL: Isaac Sopoaga
LB: Parys Haralson
CB: Nate Clements
ST: Arnaz Battle (from all the starting specialists)
Not counting special teams, I go with Snyder first, Morgan second, then Clements
They're called RUNS for a reason.
Not even close.
Sopoaga literally does nothing.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions
Isn’t his job though is to clog the middle of the line and force running backs to their outside?
"Dodger fans aren’t happy when foul balls get into their section, because it interferes with their playing with the beachball"- Mike Krukow
Yes, his job is to do nothing...
He is to pick up blockers and make a lane for P Willie. That is why I don’t bang on him so much. He does what is asked, but not much extra.
by ericalancanty on Jul 24, 2010 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions
No, but he doesn't even do that well.
Again, this is a case of people just assuming he’s doing his job because our linebackers are so good. He’s sufficient, but that’s more of a credit to how good our linebackers and Smith/Franklin are. I’d like to see the team draft a 3-4 end in 2011.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Exactly
Sopoaga doesn’t even do a good job picking up blockers. He gets blown off the line easily and he doesn’t pass-rush.
It’s not as obvious how bad he sucks because we have a great NT, a great DE in Smith and the best MLB in the league in Patrick Willis.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
…aaaand a very good TED in Spikes.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions
He's also our biggest D-lineman
330 lbs and he still gets man-handled and pushed out of plays. I think if he fell down at the start of the play, he might do a better job clogging up the lane than he does already.
Smiley, if you weren’t already busy doing the Manny Lawson report card, I would say it would be good to do one of Sopoaga to show just what exactly happens to him in games.
by ZeroOneInfinity on Jul 24, 2010 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions
I might
it only takes about 45 min for each report. I fast forward everything that isn’t pure action and don’t watch the offense at all on these. The biggest pain is cropping and uploading the images.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
I've already said
It will be whoever falls. Ras-I Dowling or Adrian Clayborne. If we got Clayborne teams wouldn’t even hand the ball off against us. It would be like doing a QB sneak. Except you’d probably get more yards on the sneak.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jul 26, 2010 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Snyder is the worst starter on the worst unit.
Morgan is the worst starter on the second worst unit.
Clements is the worst starter on the third worst unit.
That is my logic. You have yours.
They're called RUNS for a reason.
Testy testy. I just disagreed is all, don’t gotta get all defensive.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Nope
Clements is a pretty good CB. I wouldn’t say that Spencer is a better CB than Clements. Definitely wouldn’t say that Paymah or any of our other CBs are better.
At worst Clements is tied with Spencer in that they both have different strengths and weaknesses.
It’s like calling TKO the worst starter because he’s the worst starting ILB. Makes no sense.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
I'm not sure why Clements is not liked in these parts
when the only thing not to like about him is his contract, which isn’t even really his fault (just about any player would have taken that contract if offered).
While some might not care about these guys, both ProFootballFocus and Football Outsiders rank Clements as our best CB. ProFootballFocus has Spencer doing better in coverage, while Clements is better against the run, but the thing that hurt Spencer was penalties (at least in ProFootballFocus’ ranking).
I think you put it best that Spencer and Clements have different strengths and weaknesses.
by ZeroOneInfinity on Jul 24, 2010 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions
People don't seem to understand there are 2 types of corners... and you actually WANT 2 different types of corners
You want 1 guy to sit on the opponents best WR and just mentally discourage him all game and make him a non factor.
And you want the other to be able to support the run well enough that the team doesn’t feel it has an advantage running outside to the #2 side. If you have a strong run stopping corner that can lock down a #2 WR, (this is Clements to a T), then your LB’s can shade to the #1 side and not worry as much about the pass and your FS can shade to the #2 side and focus on the pass while the run stuffing corner discourages running to that side.
This is the setup we had with Deion and Eric Davis. We were dominant in the secondary that year. Nobody would even look at Deion’s side to pass and nobody wanted to run at Eric Davis. Our safeties, (Merton Hanks and Tim McDonald) were both good but the corners basically allowed Merton to play centerfield and McDonald to act like a 4th LB.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jul 26, 2010 10:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Tarell Brown, anyone?
He started for part of last year, and most of what I remember about that is toast and yellow flags…
No Mark Roman?
Dashon, Mays, and Bamm Bamm will get the record for most decapitations in one season
by MichaelClutchtree on Jul 24, 2010 11:59 AM PDT reply actions
Holy mother of God how did I forget that?
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah definitely..
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
My five worst starters
1.) Adam Snyder
2.) Isaac Sopoaga
3.) Moran Norris (he’d be higher but he’s just not in often enough)
4.) Josh Morgan
5.) Manny Lawson
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
Forgetting Mark Roman
It’s totally understandable: I try to forget about him every time I even think about football.
Sopoaga is pretty bad at an unglamorous position, and I think we’d have noticed that even more last season if Franklin hadn’t been out there embarrassing opposing offensive lineman. Willis has been vocal about the need to resign Franklin, and I would assume that dude knows what he’s talking about.
I still want to believe in Josh “it came down like a punt” Morgan…thinks he turns the corner this year too.
"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will
by lottwasgangsta on Jul 24, 2010 12:24 PM PDT reply actions
He's still the worst starter amongst the WRs
But that’s mostly because we had a pretty crappy WR group last year
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
I agree about Norris
Now if we’re talking Worst on the roster (lets just say 53 man roster at the end of last year) my candidates are:
Cody Wallace
Tony Wragge
Brandon Jones
Isaac Bruce
Arnaz Battle
Nate Davis
Moran Norris
Keith Smith
Demetric Evans
Kentwan Balmer
They're called RUNS for a reason.
Why Norris?
I don’t get it. He plays well.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
I don't think we're getting much out of Norris
I know we had big OL problems last year, but my understanding is that Norris didn’t contribute much.
I prefer a fullback that is a legit receiving threat, 2 to 4 rushes per game, and great blocker. this creates offensive versatility, Norris is a good blocker, although it seemed like he had a down year last year, but he doesn’t really bring anything else to the table.
When you add in the fact that he doesn’t play special teams, and factor in how many snaps the niners went with 2 tight ends, one RB, it starts to seem that he isn’t pulling his weight as a starter. I’d even be willing to bet that of the 22 starters, Norris saw the fewest total snaps last season, averaged out per game.
They're called RUNS for a reason.
He does play special teams, and last year was a good year for him blocking. The line was just that bad. Have you seen him catch a ball? I don’t recall him dropping a pass, and when he gets the ball in his hand he’s hard to bring down. Either way, the 49ers don’t use a fullback that way. For a dual threat, they use Delanie Walker. The 49ers fullback is almost exclusively a rusher/blocker.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
He missed 2
One of them on a crucial down. He was thrown at 9 times last year and caught 7, which isn’t too bad a percentage for a full back, all things considered.
I think he’s horrible blocker and PFF agrees with me. Out of the 29 fullbacks that they’ve ranked he’s the 22nd overall in blocking.
I’d like a more athletic fullback in the Tom Rathman mold simply because of the options it gives you as an offense. If you’ve got a guy who can catch really well in addition to blocking really well defenses can’t key in on you based on what your fullback is doing.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
I'll agree with PFF's stats.
But never, ever on their rankings.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
They rank Patrick Willis as the best 3/4 ILB in the league
They rank Justin Smith as the best 3/4 DE in the league
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
You know what I mean.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
by James Brady on Jul 24, 2010 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I think we should have given the kid from Truman state a 7th rounder
And put him on the Practice Squad. His build and explosiveness are the things pancake blocks are made of.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jul 26, 2010 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm with ya Mack ...
…it’s not i don’ like Norris, i’m think’n we could get a more viable option there ( Rathman ) type and that might give us a better one two punch … Seem’s ( IMO ) that is , follow Norris and find Gore …!!
Gotta love a woman that wear's knee pad's to work ...!!
I like Brit Miller
but of course that’s based on a two TD pre-season game. I’d like to see him get more action in pre-season this year to see if he can push Norris.
Regardless I think Norris is no longer a 49er in 2011 since his contract is up this year and he’s on the wrong side of 30.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
I think a guy like Tom Rathman
would have been a full two first downs a game better than Morris last season, in the passing game alone.
Let me explain, over the course of the game, back in the day, if the pass wasn’t there downfield, the team used to just dump off to Rathman on the sideline for a quick little screen. Lots of times the result was just three yards, but sometimes it would turn into 6 or 7 or 15.
The beauty of these plays was that they were something out of nothing results. Instead of that, Alex Smith would feel pressure and run to his right and throw the ball out of bounds. So the result was nothing out of nothing.
Over the course of the game, instead of 5 or 6 2nd and 10’s, we would end up with 2nd and 8, 2nd and 6, 2nd and 10, 2nd and 2, 2nd and 3. We are gonna convert two or three of those opportunities to first downs, while we didn’t convert enough of them last year.
Our offense simply didn’t convert enough 1st Downs last year.
I realize Norris didn’t drop a lot of balls last year in the games. But if he had proven himself a truly viable target in practices, the QB wouldn’t have had any hesitation throwing to him as the broken play bailout.
When you factor in his age, it just seems like the time is now to make the switch, especially for a good pass blocking fullback. I don’t know if we have one on our roster, but I’m rooting for Brit Miller.
They're called RUNS for a reason.
ICE
I agree ICE needs to be dominent . He has to for the 49ers to be a top 10 or so defense. And the same goes for Manny Lawson.
I agree
ICE needs to round up as many illegals as they can and deport them, so in a way you could call that “dominent”.
by mr. instigator on Jul 24, 2010 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions
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