Aubrayo Franklin Is Probably Leaving or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Ice

by James Brady on Jun 19, 2011 9:00 AM PDT in 49ers Roster

No, no ... this isn't Michael Irvin coming at you, the title is in reference to Isaac Sopoaga, of course! How could you even think such a thing? Anyway ... I don't actually think Franklin is "probably" leaving, but I do acknowledge that there is a chance he could be going elsewhere if the money is right. I'm not convinced that the money will be there to some huge extent, but if the new CBA (or whatever we end up with) allows the franchise tag to operate as it should, then that means Franklin will be the top nose tackle available, and that means the 49ers will likely have to get into a bidding war to retain him.

Or perhaps they'll just let him walk, leaving a hole in the middle of their defensive line. Would it be that big of a hole without Franklin? It's possible that Isaac Sopoaga could move over and play nose tackle, as many have indicated would happen in such a scenario. I don't recall how Sopoaga specifically performed when he played nose, but I do know that, aside from this past season, he'd never impressed in a 49ers uniform. It seemed like he's been "one offseason away" from being an impact player for awhile now. Make the jump.

So why move him now? That's the only caveat to the argument that Sopoaga could play nose tackle. That is to say, the fact that he had a good year in 2010 at defensive end should tell us that the team should ... leave him there! We don't want to mess with a good thing, especially with Jim Tomsula returning as the defensive line coach. In a battle of weighing the pros and cons of this situation, we can only do one thing ... see who else we got.

And by "we" I mean "potential free agents." Let's look at free agent nose tackles and free agent defensive ends and see how they stack up. If there's a top-flight defensive end that could be had for anything resembling "cheap," should we then let Franklin walk and move Sopoaga over? Probably.

Nose Tackles - The pool has run pretty dry here. It's a season where Haloti Ngata and Paul Soliai are both free agents, but they both had the franchise tag put on them. That makes Franklin the next best guy, and after him ... there really is not much. There's Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings and Ron Edwards of the Kansas City Chiefs. Edwards could be solid, and if he doesn't cost much, I wouldn't mind him coming in to compete with Sopoaga, provided we ended up with a good defensive end.

Defensie Ends - This is definitely not a bad class at all. There's quite a few young guys who could be cheap, and who could definitely pan out. Mathias Kiwanuka is the most intriguing option, he started 2010 on fire before a season-ending neck injury in week four. If he's healthy and good to go, I would love to get him on the team. Ray Edwards is also an intriguing option out of Minnesota. Charles Johnson from Carolina could be a solid option, though he's less of a Sopoaga kind of guy, and more of a Justin Smith kind of guy.

Some of these guys may not be the best fit for a 3-4 defense, but there are some solid names out there. If it was up to me and I have a chance at landing one of them, I let Franklin walk and move Sopoaga over to nose tackle without a second thought. Somehow, I don't have any faith in Ray McDonald to get things done as the starter.

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I are Mr. White

I make purest ice

49er fanhood up in the air with Kaepernick aboard and there not being an QB worth rooting for on the niner roster

by supraman on Jun 19, 2011 9:54 AM PDT reply actions

I like Soaps but I'm not convinced he's a NT

In a recent posting by Eric Branch, Sopoaga states he’s fine with moving back to Nose Tackle where he played his first 4 years.

Sopoaga was moved in and out of the Nose spot during the Nolan years. Nolan’s Defense, when it used the 3-4 called for the 3 down linemen to be classic 2-gappers. The Nose had to take on his blockers on the line, read and react and fill one of the two A Gaps. Nolan was unhappy with Soaps because he kept shooting a gap to get in the backfield but left a gaping hole at the line of scrimmage (which left the defensive line vulnerable if Soaps guessed wrong). Eventually Franklin took over at Nose. Franklin isn’t a pure 2 gaping Nose Tackle but he gets the job done. When Manusky took over the Defense, he moved away from a pure 2-gap system so that the D-lineman rotate on who has 2-gap and 1 gap responsibilities. So Franklin is at his best when he 1-gaps but is serviceable when he 2 gaps.

“Ice” has been happy at End where he can shoot in the backfield more often because he’s not in the middle of the line. If he were to move to NT he would have to curb his instincts to shoot gaps except when it’s called for. But I’m not sure he’s ready for it. Here’s a quote: "I want to chase plays, beat the guy in front of me before the quarterback can hand off the ball to the running back . I used to be that (big) guy my first four years when I played at 335 or 330. It was OK, but it was not fun. It’s fun making plays on the line of scrimmage, but it’s a greater feeling when you make plays in the backfield. That’s my thing."

I think Sopoaga could be an All Pro BEAST if he played as a 3-technique Defensive Tackle and allowed to shoot gaps. But that’s not the defense he’s in so he’s kind of a square peg of a player in a round hole of a defense.

by allforfunnplay on Jun 19, 2011 1:22 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

Ron Edwards would come your way cheap....

but the only way that I could see him leave is if we were able to pick up Aubrayo Franklin. I have been extremely surprised at how Edwards steps up and plays at the level that he has… he basically is a stop gap for us, and would be for any other team.

Another player that the 49ers might be interested that played for the Chiefs is Shaun Smith… he is a dynamic player that can play NT and DE. Though I think he probably will stay in KC… as he did go to Joplin to help out with the cleanup with the rest of the Chiefs.

Go Chiefs!!!!

by ravenhawk on Jun 25, 2011 10:35 AM PDT reply actions