San Francisco 49ers Most Underrated Players
by David Fucillo on Jun 13, 2011 4:08 PM PDT
in San Francisco 49ers News
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PrintAs would be expected at this point in the NFL "offseason" media folks are looking for a variety of different angles to discuss the most popular sports league in America. While the NFL looks to shoot itself in the foot with this lockout, we can only hope the nonsense will end soon so we can move back to discussing the things that really matter: like how long until Andy Lee's jersey is retired!
ESPN and CBS Sports have both been putting together lists of underrated players. ESPN and Mike Sando decided that Isaac Sopoaga qualifies as the most underrated 49ers player. It's not surprising he's on this list as he quietly does his business. Last month we had some discussion on whether Sopoaga was overrated, underrated, or just plain rated. He's a guy that doesn't get a lot of chatter, but when he does it seems like people either think he's really overrated or really underrated and not much in the middle.
Rather than discuss that, I thought we'd look at Pete Prisco's rundown of underrated players (tip of the cap to Stampede Blue for pointing out this article). He posted Michael Crabtree as overrated but we can save that discussion for another day. His choice for the most underrated member of the 49ers as guard Mike Iupati:
He was a brutish force for the 49ers as a rookie last season. He could be on his way to Hawaii in 2011.
That's not exactly extensive analysis on why Iupati is underrated, but obviously he likes him heading into 2011. I'd imagine most 49ers fans enjoy watching Iupati handle his business. He's got areas to improve but is there anybody that isn't a fan of Iupati at this point? Can Iupati really be counted as underrated or would he mostly qualify as underrated for the national media? I could see why Sando wouldn't list him as most underrated given his close following of the NFC West, whereas Pete Prisco provides primarily national coverage.
So if Iupati underrated after only one season of football?
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If Maurkice Pouncey is a Pro Bowler and named to the 2nd Team All Pro than Mike Iupati is underrated.
sd377 wants to ban me for unleashing the Kaepernick Supernova Gamma Ray
by bignerd on Jun 13, 2011 5:24 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
Pouncey was incredibly overrated
statistically he was just middle of the pack. While Saffold was being snubbed Pouncey was being named to the Pro Bowl for no reason.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 14, 2011 9:03 AM PDT up reply actions
He plays for the Steelers
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
stealers or rapists you mean.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Jun 14, 2011 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Soap...
is average. He’s not terrible, he’s not excellent. He is merely rated. At some point, they should upgrade him, but as a contributor on the DL, he is decent.
The other big Samoan though, is gonna be excellent, if he can fix just a couple technique issues; he occasionally mauled guys last year through sheer sizer and strength…if Iupati gets good coaching, and makes a leap this year, he could be very similar to Larry Allen in his prime
"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will
Iupati barring injury will IMO end up in the Hall of Fame.
And I felt and said that before we ever drafted him. He is the best pick we’ve made in quite a while.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 14, 2011 9:05 AM PDT up reply actions
By a while you mean since 07
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
Hell yeah
Iupati and Willis; best players on the team in two years
"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will
by lottwasgangsta on Jun 14, 2011 9:55 PM PDT up reply actions
His strength and conditioning program in college was not exactly elite either.
Probably about the equivalent of an elite HS program.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 14, 2011 9:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Iupati is def underrated
dude is a beast.
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
joe nedney
He has been money since he became a niner. Would like to see him selected to a pro bowl.
by wtlichens on Jun 13, 2011 5:46 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
How was Iupati underrated?
I heard several people saying Iupati was a very promising rookie and making an immediate impact on a weak offensive line. I’d say he was rated highly, and deservedly so, and therefore was not underrated.
My vote is for Manny Lawson as most underrated, as people seem to be quicker to point out his flaws as a pass rusher than his strength as an all-around linebacker.
He is underrated because he should have made the pro bowl but didn't.
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
by manraj7 on Jun 13, 2011 6:11 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
The Pro Bowl is essentially a popularity contest.
Being popular doesn’t mean you’re good.
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Revenge is ice cream.
But if he doesn't make the probowl then the people who vote for him don't think he is as good as he is.
Which means he is underrated.
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
Just because he wasn't in the pro bowl doesnt mean he was underrated.
Iupati was a good player, great for a rookie, but its totally understandable that he wouldnt make the pro bowl. He wasn’t considered the best in the league, but he was still considered good.
No its the fact that people don't think he is good and as evidence I showed that they didn't even bother giving him a nomination for the probowl.
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
Or maybe they figured that
Outside of the SF area and maybe some hardcore NFL fans, most people wouldn’t even know who Iupati is. It wasn’t like he wasn’t playing for a pretender during the season.
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Revenge is ice cream.
Unfortunate TBH
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
He didn't play good enough to make the pro bowl last year...homerism.
by ericalancanty on Jun 13, 2011 11:25 PM PDT up reply actions
He played pretty darn welll
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
I agree that he played very well, just not Pro Bowl well, but close.
Besides, I’m a homer too : )
by ericalancanty on Jun 14, 2011 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Definitely agree on Lawson
He was drafted as a pass rusher, but he does everything else so well that I think he can be forgiven, particularly since he wasn’t used much as a pass rusher early in his career.
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Revenge is ice cream.
He was the fifth highest rated Guard by some statistical evaluations
and he didn’t make a pro bowl. That makes him underrated.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 14, 2011 9:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Why is nobody saying Delanie Walker?
I would take Delanie Walker over any other supposed to rated tight end; except for vernon davis.
Walker is Vernon Davis’s John Taylor.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
I like Nate Byham over Walker.
With Walker, you never really hear about his blocking, whereas with Byham, you know he can block, and he’s a pretty decent receiver to boot.
---
Revenge is ice cream.
blocking is all that byham does, he is more of an extra lineman than tight end.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Jun 13, 2011 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Just because he's not used as a receiver doesn't mean he can't.
He used to be a receiving TE in high school, and it hasn’t left him.
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Revenge is ice cream.
he is no where near what delanie walker can do catching the ball and he is also much slower than walker.
I was a catching tight end in high school also, does not mean I can be a pass catching tight end in the nfl.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Jun 13, 2011 6:59 PM PDT up reply actions
agree davis and walker are a good 1-2
Not sure Bynam is any better than Bear Pascoe that we drafted a year prior.
by wtlichens on Jun 13, 2011 7:07 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Definitely disagree on Byham over Walker
Walker’s a guy that can start for some of the teams in the league. Whereas Byham wouldn’t.
"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
TKO
Is the most underrated player, in my opinion. He should’ve at least been a probowl alternate
The perfect draft...
Round 1: Von Miller
Round 2: Jimmy Smith
Round 3: Colin Kaepernick
I also realized I need to update my sig
The perfect draft...
Round 1: Von Miller
Round 2: Jimmy Smith
Round 3: Colin Kaepernick
Did you really think Smith would fall to round 2?
And Kaepernick to the third?
"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
At the time it was feasible
I haven’t been on this site in quite awhile
The perfect draft...
Round 1: Von Miller
Round 2: Jimmy Smith
Round 3: Colin Kaepernick
Ya it was possible
but none of that happened :(
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
There is always a chance
just not a high one
"Hi my name is Cliff Harris and I am here to lock [site decorum] down" - Cliff Harris introduction at his Freshman Orientation
Reporter : "What do you remember about the BCS title game"
Cliff Harris: "That we lost"
yes!!
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Jun 13, 2011 7:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I never hear Josh Morgan getting a lot of credit
It seems like everytime I turn on a Niners game, there he goes racing through the middle of the field, YAC. I swear that guy never drops anything. He did fumble once or twice though.
jacobtaylor2002
by jacobtaylor2002 on Jun 13, 2011 11:19 PM PDT reply actions
Never drops anything?
Morgan is about as far from a possession receiver as can be. For every time he jumps up 10 feet in the air to snag a would-be incompletion, he drops, short-arms or mis-reads two balls over the middle or in tight coverage. I’m not saying that he’s got bricks for hands or anything, but I wouldn’t rate his catching ability at anything higher than “average”.
I love Josh as a person – he’s a competitor, and a true professional. He’s just not a good starting NFL wide receiver.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
Josh Morgan
2010: 698 yards, 15.9 avg.
2008 (Rookie year): 16.0 avg.
Has 2 fumbles in his 3-year career (1 lost), both were in 2010.
He had 9 big catches (25+ yards) last year, tied for 16th most in the NFL.
Morgan dropped only 2 passes in 2010.
And he had the best catch percentage of our WR’s.
"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
that sounds great.
but
what about the plays that he did not make much effort to catch a catchable ball?
what about plays he made feeble attempts to block.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Jun 14, 2011 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions
not sure where you're getting your stats
Dropped balls are a horrendous stat – even less accurate than tackles. They don’t take into account bad/wrong routes, poor timing or non-efforts. They’re recorded pretty much only by in-and-out of your hands plays, without defensive involvement. And even then, at the whim of whoever happens to consider himself the “official scorekeeper” of completely un-official NFL stat.
Also, going by my count of player targets, Morgan caught 44% of the balls thrown to him in 2010, while Crabtree (who we all know displayed poor route-running and often times was at a complete disconnect with his QB last season) caught 55% of the balls sent his way last year.
At least three plays from last season stick out immediately in my mind in which Morgan ducked, T-rex-armed, or gave up on balls that were very catchable by NFL standards – and it’s not like I watch film.
Basically it comes down to opinions, and I’m not looking for an internet-shouting match. I respectfully, but whole-heartedly, disagree with your assessment that Morgan “never drops anything”.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
Also, forgot to mention
target and utilization stats are from KFFL.com – hardly an official source by any means, but it’s the first that came up on a google search, and I’m lazy.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
I miss the days when Shawnte Spencer was underrated.
jacobtaylor2002
by jacobtaylor2002 on Jun 13, 2011 11:20 PM PDT reply actions
Anthony Davis......Played better than most expected and played a much harder position than Iupati....
Davis did make mistakes as a rookie, but he started to blossom at the end of the season. He also didn’t have any of the problem with character as what was said about him before he was drafted. RT is harder to play than G and Davys would have excelled at a G position if he played one. Iupati would not have been as good if he played the RT position last year.
Anthony Davis is underrated and also lost some fat and replaced it with muscle after hiring a personal trainer in the offseason. Look for Davis to turn it up and show why they traded up for him.
Nothing really underrated about A. Davis.
He didn’t really play all that well, and it seemed every time I looked, he was blowing an assignment or another.
---
Revenge is ice cream.
i would agree with that
If I hadn’t watched the second half of the season when he started dominating
by Andrew9erfan on Jun 14, 2011 8:58 AM PDT up reply actions
Name which good teams we played in the last 6 games
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 14, 2011 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions
No he's pretty much rated where he's supposed to be
Him and Staley both were horrible last year in allowing pressure to get to the QB.
There is a reason we have one of the four worst pass protecting lines in the NFL.
We played easy teams at the end of the schedule last year
And Davis wasn’t very impressive last year by any stretch. I’m happy he has shown up in better shape than last year… But he’s still apparently the least in shape of our offensive line as he’s the last guy crossing the line in drills.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 14, 2011 9:25 AM PDT up reply actions
can't win for trying?
Maybe it’s possible we have a really athletic offensive line? He showed some signs last season although he definitely struggled with consistency. But given that and his apparent devotion to getting in even better shape counts for something in my book. Something pretty big at this point in his career.
by David Fucillo on Jun 14, 2011 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions
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