FanPost

Attempt at a Baalke analysis

Before and after this year's draft, there is always a fair share of Baalke-bashing and whatever the other side is called. I've always fared on the side that Baalke is an excellent GM but things are consistently cherry-picked from both sides of the argument to answer the unknowable. Is it the drafter or the one training up the draftee, the coaches?

Trent Baalke is terrible, he missed on AJ Jenkins, a first round pick.

Trent Baalke isn't terrible, he hit on Trent Brown, a seventh round pick.

Regardless of what many of us think, I've always thought it'd be interesting to find a comparative analysis on our GM and the rest of the league's. While I may not be the best guy for that job, I thought it'd be good to potentially get a dialogue going about the reality of drafting in the league instead of isolating this team and analyzing it as such. So far, the recent cuts of former first rounders in the league this year have been the Colts' Bjoern Werner, the Pats' Dominique Easley, then there's the Packers' Datone Jones who looks to be on thin ice as well as the Eagles Marcus Smith. If you go back a few years, I'm sure we can remember some QBs that haven't worked, pretty much every QB taken after Cam Newton in the first round of the 2011 draft. Everyone fails from time to time.

So what exactly constitutes success for the GM? Is it when the team wins? That falls more on the coach than anything. Is it when the first round pick becomes an all pro after their first season? Maybe. I'll try to break down why I perceive Baalke to be good at what he does.

Despite NN perception, Baalke is by no means the face of this organization despite 2 different coaching staffs in the span of 2 years. Chip Kelly is already the face. That is important to recognize. Jerry and Elway are the faces of their respective teams and I believe that to be highly detrimental. Ego gets you in trouble, it's why Jerry wanted Manziel in the first round and why the Broncos had such a terrible offseason. Elway got too big for his own britches when he managed to re-sign Wolfe for less than his true value. I think he perceived that he could retain all his guys on the cheap because of course they'd want to stay on his SB winning team. Hope he learned a lesson through all this, although I doubt it.

I think that Baalke also excels at not panicking. After one of the worst seasons in NFL history behind us, how easy would it have been to offer Malik Jackson 400 billion dollars and Kelechi Osemele 200 bazingo dollares? He could've easily pulled a NY Giants and gathered the highest priced FA just to satiate the fanbase. Instead, he went with what he felt was right. Got to give him credit for not folding under that kind of pressure, whether you agree with it or not.

Another good quality is that he understands that building towards the future is the way this game is now being done. He maintains fiscal responsibility well and makes very solid contracts for the core players on this team. Think Ian Williams prior to the ankle surgery. The only contract I've ever had any issue with has been Kaepernick's, but that's still a solid track record.

Lastly, the scouting process and drafting portion. I am aware that Baalke whiffed on 2012 (I also put some of that on Harbaugh though), but this is a what have you done for me lately league, and his last 3 drafts have been excellent. We are deep at safety, and the DLine. Have young corners and receivers hungry to prove themselves. There are still question marks, but I see a ton of promise in our boyz. People argue that the Harbaugh run was a roster built by McCloughan. Even if you firmly believe that Baalke's draft in 2010, and 2011 drafts and free agency didn't have much to do with it, then you are by definition looking at a team devoid of Baalke. Today, we are seeing a team that will soon be all Baalke. How many years did McCloughan have to make the roster his own? How many years does Baalke need/get? I guess we'll see. Either way, I'm loving the direction of this team (especially if Kap starts and does well).

That about does it, I think Baalke has exactly the right temperament to be a successful GM. Time will only tell if that will be true.

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.