49ers Offensive Line: David Baas, Eric Heitmann and the center position

and push Chilo. I think Heitmann is a great Center and very smart, he has to know the protections pretty darn well after starting several seasons at the position for us. But if Alex is really comfortable with Baas and they dont’ want to mess with that…I say let EH bring some experience to the RG position and at least light a fire under Chilo’s rear.

will tell us here. Last year, when Staley got hurt, Sims played solid in his stead. And yet, when all the healing was said and done, Staley went right back into the fold. I have got to believe that this is a similar situation. Unless Baas proves beyond a doubt that he is the better player, I think he gets pulled.

Cody Wallace, the center, the 3rd draft pick from a few years ago.

He seemed like the logical replacement. He has been in the system a couple years and should’ve been the replacement.

Why isn’t he the replacement?

What is his value if he can’t even take the back up spot behind the starting center?

Does he deserve to be on the team at all?

Is he another example of another wasted draft pick?

More like power vs reliability.

As far as rhythm and cohesion are concerned, I guess there might be a case in the Baas\Iupati case more than the Bass\Chilo Case. I say this because Heitmann had nothing to do with Chilo’s mental lapses last year.

With regard to oline, seems like we have been mostly focused on the performances of Davis, Iupati and Bass, and that makes sense. I would be interested to hear how people think Rachal is doing? Of course i want him to do well, and i understand that he is young and still developing.
     Does anything we have seen so far this preseason and in practice give us a sense of whether he is progressing well? Does he seemed improved over last year? etc

is all I had a chance to watch. Here’s my take:

As seems to be the primary strength of most of the 49ers’ OL’s, Chilo is good once engaged. He hangs on and can occupy his man in place, or drive him back sometimes. In close quarters Chilo looks best.

In space, that’s where Chilo suffers. He isn’t great at hitting a moving target, or finding a target to hit while running. When he sees his target he’s not much in control of his body to engage the guy while moving his feet. The Dixon stuff on the first drive was a case of Henderson basically diving at knee level, where Chilo should have just pushed him straight down to the dirt, but he whiffed and Henderson made a shoestring tackle.

Other times he ran towards the guy but only got a flailing hand on him or a punch then couldn’t engage him. Rachal also struggled when releasing to the second level, again, often unable to find and engage the LB effectively.

What this means is two things. First, when Rachal pulls to the left…it’s about 30/70 he’ll make an effective block to spring the play. That means we have to run trap plays to the right more often, making us a little more predictable.

Second, I think this means that our suspicions will probably be correct in that Baas may get a shot to challenge for the RG spot. Baas is VERY good in space, pulling, second level, etc. He’s also probably a better mentor for Davis.