Good Morning, everyone. I'm thinking of getting a draft countdown timer for my wall here in Australia, so I can know, to the exact moment, when I can write about something other than draft prediction and speculation. Then we can finally move on to draft praise and criticism, which is at least founded in the real world. And I can read everyone's draft grades which, while I think are just as speculative and predictive as the mocks. I'd really like to see a database of the draft experts who grade drafts, what they graded the draft at the time and how the drafts grade now. I'm sure it exists if someone could point it out.
Enough of my ranting, I'll take you to the links.
Matt Barrows has a trio of stories about the draft. The first one details why Trent Baalke is so hard to predict. There's a few Baalke quotes alluding to filling needs and a few leaning to toward the idea of best player available. | Baalke hard to predict.
Barrows gives possible picks for each of three positions of need: WR, OL, and RB. He says they're most likely going to draft a running back, but I'm not so certain. I think if either Frank Gore or Brandon Jacobs gets banged up, Kendall Hunter and the surviving back should be able to carry the load. We run the ball so well and that's more than just Gore, it's everyone from play callers, to WRs, to the OL. | Barrows lists possible picks. (Barrows)
Barrows does a mock draft. 49ers draft Stephen Hill. He goes on to give picks for all 7 rounds, but I think they're guys he'd like to see us draft. | Barrows' mock draft. (Barrows)
Samuel Lam opens up his mailbag. There are a variety of draft related questions. Lam likes Coby Fleener over Stephen Hill if both are available. There's no telling who we'll take, but he thinks we'll address DB, DL, OL, and WR during the draft and that sounds about right to me. | Lam's mailbag. (Lam)
Bay Area Sports Guy makes the case for Fleener. I like what he's saying. Fleener is one of the new breeds of TE coming into the league and making a difference. We could be devastating with Vernon Davis and Fleener in two TE sets. He notes we definitely need a playmaker more than anything else. | Case for Coby Fleener. (Bay Area Sports Guy)
An anonymous scout claims that Coby Fleener is the most overrated guy in the draft. He cites his horrible blocking as one of many reasons. He claims he's "just a red-zone jump-ball player." Does anyone remember us kicking field goals last year. If there's one thing we need, it's a red-zone player. We broke the record for field goals, partly because always had great field position and partly because we were 30th in red-zone. | Fleener is overrated. (NBC Sports)
49 in 49: Central Florida CB Josh Robinson. (49ers.com)
A bizarre story coming out of New Jersey has our new signee Brandon Jacobs taking part in a a police escorted road race to Atlantic City. Luxury cars, illegal police participation, gambling...sounds like something out of a movie. May be bad for Jacobs. | Jacobs in a luxury car caravan. (NFL.com)
Here's a collection of e-mails written by season-ticket holders to the Chronicle in regards to the new stadium. Most people are unhappy with it, due to it's glitz and cost. | Season-ticket holders complain about new stadium. (SFGate)
Eric Branch gives a long list of positions of need for the team. He tells you who we have currently in that position and give some comments and possible selections in the draft. | Branch talking team needs. (Branch)
Back to this whole draft grading idea, what did the experts say about our draft last year. I seem to remember that, despite many of them being baffled by our selection of Aldon Smith, most graded us fairly well. It turned out pretty good after the first year. We can only hope this year's draft follows suit.
Being a Sheep
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