2011 49ers Grades: Dashon Goldson
by Dylan DeSimone on Feb 15, 2012 8:00 AM PST
in 49ers Grades
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PrintWelcome back to Niners Nation, where we've decided to break down the performances of each starting player and relevant staff member on the 49ers. I was aggressive in that I wanted to analyze the performance of San Francisco's free safety, Dashon Goldson, who had his best season as a 49er.
I watched Goldson closely in every live coverage game, but rewound the tapes on him this week. With his contract up at the end of this league year, I thought it would be especially important to give his performance a good look. And what I saw of him for the most part, I really, really liked.
First off, Goldson might have established himself as one of the hardest hitting defensive backs in the league today. Just like Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, Goldson will take your head off. The word ‘physical' doesn't do him justice. As the season progressed, I noticed a few more receivers dropping balls as Goldson lurked nearby. His play this season couldn't help but bring to light the impact Ronnie Lott had here with San Francisco - he put fear into any receivers that took the field and it truly made a difference.
Goldson is also terrific in run support and a tremendous tackler, as the team's third leading tackler this season behind only Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. He is a fearless tackler that is always trying to get in on the action, staying with the play. A lot of times, safeties usually excel at either one or the other: pass coverage or run support, but Goldson is the total package.
Goldson tied fellow Pro Bowler Carlos Rogers for a team-high 6 interceptions this season; and also had one in the post-season against the Saints' Drew Brees. The Hawk has been doing all the little things to help that nickname stick, as well as get a fat new contract. And while I do think Goldson could potentially be the next best safety in the league if this kind of performance is year-to-year, I don't think the 49ers will pay him the big bucks just yet.
It is more than likely than Goldson will receive the teams franchise tag, which is relatively cheap when designated to a free safety. But the team wants him to stay, and I think the fans do too, but does Goldson? Hopefully yes, but this is a business. Fellow safety and first year Niner Donte Whitner voiced his opinion about the relationship he and Dashon have - he would love to have him stay.
But as good as a season Goldson had, there are some areas of improvement. This team is always about getting better and that means him too. I noticed that Goldson sometimes hesitates to make the first move with the ball carrier in front of him. A good example of this is the Doug Baldwin touchdown on a screen against Seattle in week 16. Also, I think he is a very good tackler but he prefers the knockout hit over wrapping up and sometimes guys bounce off.
However, overall, Goldson is what the 49ers want in a free safety. They went 13-3 in the regular season with him as the starter, and he just makes plays - always hungry for a turnover. Goldson gets takeaways and fits the philosophy of the new era Niners led by Jim Harbaugh and company.
Grade: A-
Follow me on Twitter: @DeSimone80
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giants game
If He would have caught the 2 picks in the giants game instead of taking his own players out i would have gave him a 10. It’s petty I know but it was for the Superbowl everything matters.
yeah that sucked
but i can’t blame two players going up to make plays
by forwardgunner49 on Feb 15, 2012 8:23 AM PST up reply actions
I'm with you
That was just two guys going hard for all the marbles, sometimes that’s just the way the ball bounces. I’m more concerned with plays like the Fitz TD against AZ, when he gambled for the pick and lost with no on behind him. Or like Dylan said, sometimes he goes for the big hit instead of wrapping up. I still voted 8 though, he’s one of the best safeties in the game IMO, he and Whitner make a beast of a tandem. I’d like to see them together for a while.
FYI
Brown took the pick away from Goldson, not the other way around. Brown getting banged up seems to alter people’s perception of reality.
shouldn't brown be playing the ball and goldson the man?
And goldson would have been able to see brown going for the ball better than brown could have seen goldson. They were both looking back at the ball and since goldson was behind, brown didn’t see him.
I'm not an Alex Smith appologist. I'm an Alex hater hater.
by Andrew9erfan on Feb 15, 2012 9:27 AM PST up reply actions
Not sure which point you're trying to make
But people need to stop trying to put it all on Goldson. It’s just a cop out / witch hunt type statement.
witch hunt?
both near interceptions we dropped because goldson was laying his shoulder into his team mate. What pisses me off most is that Goldson didn’t learn from his mistake when he hit brown and broke up Rogers’ interceptions. Mistakes happen, they just shouldn’t happen twice in one game.
Just stop.
People really need to stop blaming Goldson for those dropped interceptions.
I’m going to start with the second one. On that play the ball had already bounced off of Rogers’ hands before Goldson even touched him. So trying to put any blame at all on Dashon for that is just completely stupid.
And on the first one all I see is blame on Goldson. Well why isn’t there any blame on Brown? Everyone says “well, if Goldson didn’t get in the way of Brown then Tarell would’ve had the interception.” That’s probably true, but the converse of that statement is also true. It’s idiotic to blame him for that when Brown was at as much fault as Dashon. Actually, neither of them should get blamed for what happened.
Both were making a play on the ball and both got in the way of each other, unfortunately. What would you rather Dashon do? Just stand there and just watch the receiver(who by the way put 0% effort into trying to catch the ball and 100% effort in trying to not get hit by Goldson).
Dashon’s hit on Brown shows he was out of control, not aware of his own team mates. The receiver was no where near the ball, Goldson clearly mistook brown for the receiver.
I disagree that Rogers had dropped the interception before Goldson hit him, but there’s not much that can be said other than I disagree.
O " boy " ...
… Goldson clearly mistook brown for the receiver…!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's just my game ..( .AleX ) was asked , what do you think about all the game manager talk ... AleX i guess i just managed myself a VIctory ... Extend the Man ...!!
how is that even close to a witch hunt
it’s a comment on responsibilities. But I do like goldson and want him back
I'm not an Alex Smith appologist. I'm an Alex hater hater.
by Andrew9erfan on Feb 15, 2012 2:24 PM PST via Android app up reply actions
I'm not putting it all on you
But lots of people are spouting this nonsense as a prime example of why Goldson should be gone. Goldon made a play on the ball. Unfortunately, Brown put a play on the ball at the same time and they collided. Goldson has a much, much cleaner shot at the INT though, which is incredibly obvious to anyone that looks at the play objectively.
it was nice to see Goldson have a good season
He still made some of his same mistakes, which was pointed out about his tackling. The game that sticks out to me was the BAL game, if i remember correctly He missed alot on Boldin….. I look forward to see him play next year and back it up with an even better year……
by forwardgunner49 on Feb 15, 2012 8:22 AM PST reply actions
Don't see any scenario Goldson isn't back next season either with a 5yr deal or the franchise tag.
5yr/30million w/ like 10million guaranteed…
I voted an 8 for Goldson
Pros:
Hard Hitting
Ball Hawking
Closing Speed
Cons:
Whiffing Completely*
- - includes missed tackles or hits on teammates.
I’d like to see Goldson resign with the 49ers, but I have a feeling he’s going to pull an Antrel Rolle and get overpaid by someone else. I won’t get too attached to the idea of Goldson returning, because he could very well stain the mattress like he did in 2010 after a great 2009. Having said that, I’d still like to see him a 49er for a few more seasons.
by Andrew Davidson on Feb 15, 2012 8:50 AM PST reply actions
Injuries in 2010?
Wasn’t there word that he had some nagging injuries slowing him down in 2010?
"SHUT UP MEG!"
- Peter Griffin
by kailuakid9er on Feb 15, 2012 9:34 AM PST up reply actions
You're right
Thought So
A deep knee bruise and a wrist sprain would suck, but I think the partial tear of the plantar fascia would adequately explain his drop off in performance in 2010. A good friend of mine is “Not a real doctor” (Seinfeld reference for Podiatrist) and told me that plantar fascia injuries hurt like hell
"SHUT UP MEG!"
- Peter Griffin
by kailuakid9er on Feb 15, 2012 9:46 AM PST up reply actions
A telling comment about Goldson's backup at the time
Interestingly enough Tre9er had this comment
If the injury is affecting his play why is he playing? Usually injured players tough it out because they are still better than the backup…are we saying Reggie Smith isn’t capable of missing tackles and giving up plays in coverage too? I think he could do that and maybe perhaps make the occasional tackle or INT.
Troy Smith is the MVP………….of the 4th Q of the Denver game.
Nitwitter
by Tre9er on Nov 10, 2010 2:17 PM MST reply actions
"SHUT UP MEG!"
- Peter Griffin
by kailuakid9er on Feb 15, 2012 9:50 AM PST up reply actions
7
Other than the Brees INT, I’m not impressed, and I don’t believe he comes back to stay, He’s going to the highest bidder.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
If we lose him we lose a big piece of this defense
He recognizes routes quickly, breaks hard to the ball, and has pretty good range. It’s not Ed Reed range, but still pretty good.
We don’t have that on our team aside from Goldson, it doesn’t exist in FA, and unless a prospect shows something that they never showed at the college level, we aren’t going to find it in the draft.
Yes he needs to get smarter about going for the big play, he killed us against Arizona with his two whiffs on Fitzy — but quite frankly the way our offense was sucking we needed a big play on defense. It just didn’t work out for him.
Still, we can’t overpay the man just because there isn’t an equal replacement. If he’s not worth the money he’s asking we have to move on and find a way to get results without him.
Every time Jamie Dukes says something enlightening and informative about football Jerry Rice and I mount up on our flying grizzly bears and claim pirate treasure from the moon. That's how often it happens.
I refused to participate
Based on my 21st amendment rights.
Every time Jamie Dukes says something enlightening and informative about football Jerry Rice and I mount up on our flying grizzly bears and claim pirate treasure from the moon. That's how often it happens.
22nd amendment rights?
Every time Jamie Dukes says something enlightening and informative about football Jerry Rice and I mount up on our flying grizzly bears and claim pirate treasure from the moon. That's how often it happens.
Very few have ed reed range..
by Dylan DeSimone on Feb 15, 2012 9:41 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Landry, Branch, and Griffin are set to hit FA.
I’d take any of those three over him.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
im too big a fan, my opinion wont change. aside from ronnie lott, i see him as the greatest safety to ever play the game, certainly my favorite. unfortunately time does catch up with everyone, but his instincts are irrefutable.
by Dylan DeSimone on Feb 15, 2012 2:41 PM PST up reply actions
7
Some good, ball dislodging hits.
Hard to rate the INTs…right place/right time on some bad balls, but he gets some credit.
He gave up some big plays, but people shouldn’t act like secondary players shouldn’t give up a TD all year. Pipedreams…
8
Pretty darn good at opening cans of Whoop-@$$ in the defensive backfield.
He got some good picks. The one against the Saints comes to mind.
I may be mistaken, but I recall that he was possibly suffering from some nagging injuries last year. That being said, I’d like to see him repeat what he did this year before signing him to a long-term contract, unless he’s giving a home team discount. Otherwise I think they should Tag him.
"SHUT UP MEG!"
- Peter Griffin
I voted five but immediately regretted it. I'm thinking a six. Too many mistakes, too much time out of position, too much poor tackling.
Went for the big play often, which is usually good, but far too immature to realize that it wasn’t going to work and hurt us a lot. Not crazy about bringing him back at anything above what he’s making now, but he’s a priority because there’s nobody else at the position.
And then God created Saturn ... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it. ... Always a ninja
Out of Treble | Twitter
I agree
I don’t think he was as good as he thinks he is but he is still our best option for the position. I gave him a 7 and hope his compensation demands comport a little better with reality this year.
by asmithisaverage on Feb 15, 2012 11:33 AM PST up reply actions
I wouldnt call him the best option until we see which FAs are available.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
i'd be ok with what he was offered last year
I think it was close to ray mcdonalds deal
I'm not an Alex Smith appologist. I'm an Alex hater hater.
by Andrew9erfan on Feb 15, 2012 10:15 AM PST up reply actions
He wont, and someone will offer him more. I dont think hes worth the franchise tag.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
why can’t we just go back a couple of years and draft Earl Thomas instead of Davis. we would not be having this conversation if we did
by texasniner06 on Feb 15, 2012 12:31 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Then we would go back further and take Brady and a nest of other oversights.
Gonna make the WR position relevant again? When?
I gave a solid 8
New to the sight..long time reader… I would’ve given him a ten had he not been so hell bent on making the big play EVERYTIME, instead of the right play everytime… There were occassions where he should’ve made the tackle instead of going after an interception… The Arizona game comes to mind. I also blame him for the lack of turnovers in the Giants game becausehe’s the safety.. It’s his job to see the field and it should never be a situation where he crashes into his own teammates TWICE…
by Last of a dying breed49 on Feb 15, 2012 1:28 PM PST via mobile reply actions
6 At best
Goldson creates the illusion he is a top-safety in the league with exciting plays, when actually more often than not he is out of position and makes bad decisions. Sometimes his gambling pays off, but mostly it doesn’t.
Would not want to bring him back for more than what he is making now. The draft and FA are pretty safety empty but I wouldn’t mind drafting a safety early, as I feel confident our pass rush could make our rookie safety more comfortable in his first year.
Seems to me if we loose goldson
We should draft an other cb and let culliver return to his old position at fs or check out what collin jones or spillman got to offer. Besides that I heard reggie smith was supposed to start this year but his injury set him back. But if we go speed then jones is our guy.
by Zintzun22niner on Feb 16, 2012 5:54 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Voted 9
over all extremly solid and the madden gods should consider re rating him to something closer to 90 but no less then 87.
by Zintzun22niner on Feb 16, 2012 6:55 PM PST via mobile reply actions
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