Hidden Starter Already On Roster?
by 49er Down Under on Mar 1, 2011 12:07 AM PST
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PrintI love a good underdog story.
The experts all agreed that Wes Welker was "too slow" and "too short" to be a good WR in the NFL. However, he showed some ability in training and (here's the crucial part...) was given an opportunity on the big stage. The rest is history.
Brit Miller was "too unathletic" to be a FB in the NFL. Brit showed some ability in training, he blew up bigger LBs in the Nutcracker Drill and caught some TD passes in warm up games. However, the 49ers went with Moran Norris instead, who had an awful season. Brit Miller didn't make the roster and left for the Rams.
I'm not saying that Brit Miller is as good as Wes Welker, just that we never got to find out if Miller was better than Norris at FB, because he didn't get an opportunity to show his stuff on game day.
So, my question - are there any players on the 49ers roster who the experts, coaches and fans have called "too (insert negative term here)" to be a success, before they have actually been given a proper opportunity on game day?
Is there a future starter rotting away on the sidelines while the 49ers continue giving an overhyped, highly drafted, underperforming player chance, after chance?
What have you seen in them that the experts have dismissed?
I'm personally hoping that Lance Long gets a chance, if only because he sounds like he should be in the sort of movies Dirk Diggler made famous.
Seriously though, I hope Kevin Jurovich gets a shot.
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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write-in vote for Thaddeus Gibson.
i know almost nothing about him, but i’m going to vote for him anyway out of wishful thinking.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
Thaddeus Gibson
Woops, forgot about Thaddeus. I’ve now added him. Agreed, would be nice to see him in the OLB rotation. The Steelers very rarely waste a draft pick, so I think he has something.
by 49er Down Under on Mar 1, 2011 12:25 AM PST up reply actions
Kevin Jurovich
I voted for Kevin, it would be good to see him get a chance. I can’t see it happening though, behind Crabtree, Morgan, Ginn, Zeigler and Williams.
by 49er Down Under on Mar 1, 2011 12:30 AM PST reply actions
Jurovich
probably won’t even make the roster next year…
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work." - Thomas Edison
"I may be an idiot, but one thing I'm not sir, is an idiot." - Peter Griffin
i wouldn't be too surprised if he did.
he got some pretty good reviews from the beat writers during camp last year.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
Is this supposed to be strictly the practice squad guys? If so, no, I don’t see 1.
If it’s not strictly practice quad, I am going with Ahmad Brooks. I have a gut feeling he will start for us over Haralson next year and put up a 8+ sack year.
Ahmad Brooks
Nahhhh it’s not just restricted to practice squad members, just guys that have been written off before they’ve had a chance to show what they can do.
by 49er Down Under on Mar 1, 2011 12:34 AM PST up reply actions
Kevin Jurovich
a Danny Amendola Austin Collie Brandon Stokley type
nomoblckqbs
by DontForget on Mar 1, 2011 12:48 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
read:
white receiver.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
by shlecko on Mar 1, 2011 1:05 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
gets seperation well
“despite his lack of athleticism”.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
And.... white
haha
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
No Offense to this survey
But Thaddeus Gibson does not belong on this list. He is as high an upside guy as we have and was essentially an additional 4th round pick last year. The Steelers were pissed they couldn’t sneak him through to their PS, and they have an eye for talent at the LB positions. He is not viewed as an ugly duckling, and should see some good rotational time this year in Vic Fangio’s defense.
In addition to that, Demetric Evans is older than dirt and has about zero potential as anything other than a fill-in on the D-Line.
"God tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he's pretty sure you're fucked."-Braveheart
Thaddeus Gibson
No offense taken. I didn’t have Gibson on the list to start with. I guess I added him because there is a lot of talk about OLB being the biggest need in the draft, and not as much talk about how Gibson could be the answer. Completely agree about his upside.
by 49er Down Under on Mar 1, 2011 1:02 AM PST up reply actions
I would have loved to seen him more this past season
But I understand why he was riding the pine once we picked him up. We didn’t have an immediate need, and he could sit there and comfortably learn a new playbook without any pressure. He is essentially a 2011 draft pick with a year of experience. I’m excited to see what he brings to the table, if there is a table anytime soon
"God tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he's pretty sure you're fucked."-Braveheart
Definitely Boone
Dude was successful as a complete drunk. If he keeps his life turned around the sky is the limit.
Imagine Mickey Mantle if he wasn’t stepping to the plate with a 1/5th of rye in him every game.
Gimme 1 round!
Alex Boone
I really think he could emerge as a starter if given an opportunity to see some playing time. His situation really is unenviable though, buried behind Anthony Davis and Joe Staley among others. But with Staley’s injuries and the uncertain future of Barry Sims, I can see him at least moving into a backup role with the opportunity for some legitimate playing time.
by JSing on Mar 1, 2011 3:06 AM PST via mobile reply actions
Alex Boone
Completely agree. It would have been nice to see Boone come in for Anthony Davis or Barry Sims in the games when they were struggling, if only for one or two downs. Instead he only got an opportunity in the last (meaningless) game of the season. He is raw and talented like Davis, but didn’t get an opportunity.
by 49er Down Under on Mar 1, 2011 3:16 AM PST up reply actions
Philip Adams
Personally I think Boone could turn out to be better than Staley. However, I just don’t see him getting enough of a chance to prove it. He would have to be WILDLY better than Staley for the coaching staff to demote a trusted starter and respected locker room leader.
I also think Thaddeus Gibson could be good, mainly because of what people have said about Steelers draft picks and because he has a great name. We have a need at OLB, and he could definitely supplant one of our current starters.
BUT, our biggest need is at CB. Our OLBs were solid, but not great. Our CBs were mostly just awful. I can still vividly remember Clements getting roasted and biting on pump-fakes and fumbling that INT. Those guys played badly enough that there won’t be any hesitation in replacing them for a guy even a little bit better. Philip Adams was an interesting find and is a definite wild-card. There is so little known about him that he could very well turn out to be a diamond in the rough. The fact that such a late round pick made the 53 man roster and even snuck into some game day duty speaks volumes about the coaching staff’s opinion of him. It also speaks volumes that they chose to trust in the depth he provided, even though he was raw, over signing a veteran. He stood out in some great ways in pre-season and only made one mental error in game day duty. I personally think he could be a stud.
(Re the conflicting Harbaugh reports:) If you were to pass Harbaugh's $50,000 bathroom this week, you'd hear raucous laghter. The source? The man himself laughing his face off as he fires off "anonymous" tweets and texts from "sources" to the prominent beat writers and media folk.
by Riding The F Train on Mar 1, 2011 8:42 AM PST reply actions
(Adams could easily have snuck onto the practice squad, but the coaching staff liked him enough to put him on the 53)
(Re the conflicting Harbaugh reports:) If you were to pass Harbaugh's $50,000 bathroom this week, you'd hear raucous laghter. The source? The man himself laughing his face off as he fires off "anonymous" tweets and texts from "sources" to the prominent beat writers and media folk.
by Riding The F Train on Mar 1, 2011 8:45 AM PST up reply actions
I like P. Adams too he is fast and tough enough to play CB for us.
Also I still remember Clements getting jumped over by V-Jax and it pissed me off so much cuz I thought he had a chance to make a play on the ball but went up very weakly for it
"We are not a charity, we cannot GIVE them the game." -Mike Singletary
Doubt it.
Most of our starters wouldn’t be starters on a good team.
I doubt the guys that are 2-3 spots below them on the depth chart are going to turn into completely different players.
DE Tukuafu is a powerful option opposite Justin Smith
But Will Tukuafu is a big strong guy who can give Smith a breather, at least when on those rare plays when Justin gets off the field but I think we really do need a speed guy at the other DEnd spot, to push on the TE side of the line while Justin takes on the weakside/blindside OT.
Tukuafu showed a lot last preseason as I remember..
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
Boone
He can replace Staley who I feel is an underacheiving 1st round draft choice. If not for being a drunk and destroying a cop car, Boone was slated as a high round pick and had the potential to be a franchise-caliber LT. I’m all for him challenging for a starting gig, especially since Harbs likes to run the ball, and Staley underacheives as a run-blocker as well as pass blocker.
Agreed on Staley.
The guy is absolutely below average. OT isn’t talked about too much but it’s a bigger need than most realize.
by BustaTheRippa on Mar 1, 2011 7:32 PM PST up reply actions
49er fans have overrated Boone quite a bit
I like the guy, he’s been working hard, but he is still slow off the ball and doesn’t move his feet very well.
Just don’t see him stepping in at LT. If anything he needs Davis to take large steps forward, if they were to bump Staley, Davis would be at LT, Boone at RT.
by whistlingmountain on Mar 2, 2011 4:40 AM PST up reply actions
I have no problems with that if Davis proves to be a legit LT....
or at least better than Staley in both run and pass blocking. Bottom line is, Staley is not as good as some believe he is. People on this board have said he’s a top 10 LT in the league, which I beleive to be complete BS.
he's not a top 10 LT, but nor he is paid like one
the question is whether you need a top 10 LT, and I think based on the past few super bowl champions, you don’t. You need a few solid linemen that stay together for a while. Long term success is more about being able to cover for the bad lineman and not have egregious mistakes where guys go unblocked ( against the run or pass ). The consistency is what gets those regular season teams to 10/11/12 wins every year ( of course in the playoffs it still comes back down to the QB )
Davis is a long way off from being better than Staley. I’m really interested to see if just the sheer use of an offense designed to keep defenses guessing will make them all look better in the run game. Other than that, I hope Davis and Rachal stop with the whiffs off the snap in pass protection.
by whistlingmountain on Mar 2, 2011 7:59 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
rec'd.
totally agree. i don’t think having a top LT is really that big a deal, as long as your LT isn’t a major liability.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
I think LT is pretty important or more so than other positions on the line
The fact that Staley has been injured the last two years makes me more sketchy than I was in the past. He should be challenged to win the job and prove he’s good. Being outplayed by Sims in ’09 was pretty pathetic.
by 9thevolution on Mar 4, 2011 10:48 AM PST up reply actions
Question isn't is Boone better than Staley or Davis at OT in my mind
but can he be a good backup to the OL position. I don’t picture any of the current batch overtaking anyone currently starting. Boone can be a good backup (nothing more and nothing less expected of him) the question in my mind is, does he have good skills as a backup. We have a guy that is 26 playing LT and a guy that is 21 playing RT. Along with that we have a player that is 23 at LG and guys at 24 and 29 at RG. (with Baas being able to back up at RG if needed) But looking it over we don’t have an atrocious OL anymore. Do we have it as good as everyone would like it? No. Do we have it pretty well laid out? I feel so.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Mar 2, 2011 9:52 PM PST up reply actions
for the unlisted non starting players
Kyle Williams gets my vote for WR
"Nate Davis is gonna be our starter moving forward "- Pete Carroll
does Delanie Walker have trade value
"Nate Davis is gonna be our starter moving forward "- Pete Carroll
i don't think so.
he was drafted in the late rounds in 2006. that means his rookie contract would have expired last year. he must have signed an extension at some point.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
ATTN Staley haters
LT not talked about much because OL don’t get attention unless they are sucking. Kinda like the right side of the line. Staley isn’t all world but he’s solid.
QUESTION: When is our QB going to answer questions like "You only threw 4 TD's today. What's wrong with the offense?"
ANSWER: When Andrew Luck ditches the draft and we sign him as an undrafted free agent!!!
In addition to that
His contract is ridiculously team-friendly. At that price I think we can deal with an average to slightly above average LT (When Healthy and on his game). That will become increasingly important in another 3 or so years when both Iupati and Davis start getting to the large numbers at the back of their contracts. It allows us the ability to have cohesiveness for several years
"God tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he's pretty sure you're fucked."-Braveheart
I'm so tired of the contract being the reason he sticks around
If Staley, a former 1st rounder, would take a “team friendly” contract, what makes you think Boone is going to request D’Brickashaw Ferguson money? It’s an absolute joke and you do not field a Super Bowl team by keeping around players just because they’ll take less money. If that’s the case, the Niners could have the lowest payroll in the league, as I’m sure plenty of people on this board will strap on pads and go play for a fraction of the cost they play top players. You spend money to make your team better.
Staley was outplayed by a 35 year old tackle who was projected to the right side in 2009...
That should tell you something. That tackle also hadn’t taken any snaps that year prior to that.
I picked None, but the two I think have the best chance are Adams and Brock
they’re both really athletic guys that could step in once they have developed and be like Tramain Brock.
by whistlingmountain on Mar 2, 2011 4:38 AM PST reply actions
ugh, I meant Tramon Williams*
too early
by whistlingmountain on Mar 2, 2011 4:41 AM PST up reply actions
I was angry about Brit Miller leaving...especially to a division rival.
I went with “other”… I think all the regulars know how I feel about Kyle Williams. If he gets a shot, lookout.
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HzSB804F_Q
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
Williams' highlights are impressive
any WR that can save an interception on pass thrown behind him on a route accross the middle has a future as a slot receiver in the NFL.
he should’ve been on the poll
Yeah, I cant wait to see him healthy this year.
I am pumped up for him… his hands are ten times better than Ginn, and he may be faster.
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
He ran a 4.2 somethin' at his pro day last yaer
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
Williams ran a 4.4 at the combine with a 4.32 unofficial time
Ginn was consistently in the 4.3s, so I think Ginn is a little quicker. But Williams has the hands of a WCO receiver.
Kyle destroyed his Combine’s 40 time by posting a 4.3 at his Pro Day. He dropped his short shuttle to 4.01 and jumped four inches higher on his vertical.
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
So you're saying that we should only start Williams for home games?
since Williams can’t perform after flying? Ginn as proven on the field speed and was faster at the combine. I’m always open to changing my opinion of a player once I’ve seen them perform during the regular season. I hope Williams gets that chance because I think he will be an awesome slot receiver. But for now, I still think Ginn is faster and I still think that Williams hands, not his speed, are what will make him a better receiver than Ginn.
I would like to see them race.
I think I’ll put in a request to have Scott Kegley from 49ers.com arrange that.
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
May as well throw VD in to the mix too.
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
wait til after the draft
and maybe we could throw a rookie in the mix as well, assuming there’s a CBA
would a foot race count as football related activity?
Yup , on the Miller thing on all account's , he's what you call a Football player , nothing fancy , just play's the game ...!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's just my game ...Jimmy Raye your no daisy ...!!
eh when fans were freaking out over Miller and Robinson
I just kept thinking penny wise and pound foolish.
They’re minor role players who are easily replaced over the long-term.
All in all, the season was a nightmare to watch, but it would have been even worse had they say, defeated Seattle in week 1 and ended up winning the division and losing out on Harbaugh.
I do like Williams, and really, he is the only hope from the 49ers receivers right now to challenge Morgan. So I hope he is able to stay healthy and impress!
by whistlingmountain on Mar 2, 2011 9:28 AM PST up reply actions
I could give two turds about Robinson
but Miller was a stud for us, and in the short time he played for the Rams there too. Miller could have been THEE starting fullback. Exceptional hands and a decent lead blocker.
Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi
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