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Fooch's Update: Cam Inman tweeted me a link to an Eric Branch article from late 2012. Interesting to note Goldson began working with Hosea long ago.
Dashon Goldson has never been a fundamentally sound player. Many San Francisco 49ers liked his playing style, which included big hits and big plays, but many also disliked him due to reckless play and blown coverage. Goldson was penalized a lot, fined a lot and he injured more than a couple of his own teammates going for big hits or big interceptions.
That's why I personally was not too sad to see him go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- he's always been a bit overrated, and they gave him many times over more than he was worth and more than he had shown on the field. That isn't to say it was all bad ... Goldson did a lot of great things for the 49ers. He was a significant part of some of the strongest defenses this franchise has seen.
At this point, I have no feelings of ill will for Goldson. He followed the money, which is what I'd do if I were a football player, and he never said anything that upset me. But I still cracked a smile when I heard the news yesterday that Goldson was hiring a tackling coach to help him "adjust to the NFL's new rules."
First off, let's go ahead and scrap the bit in quotes there. Goldson is not like Donte Whitner, who gets penalized due to the fact that referees are horrible but doesn't get fined. Goldson makes straight-up, black-and-white, 100 percent illegal plays that haven't only been illegal for a few years. Some of them have been unacceptable for long before he entered the league, so I think that part of the news is particularly hilarious.
Anyway, Goldson is hiring the help of Bobby Hosea of Train 'Em Up Academy, which sounds like a place high school students go. Goldson said that he has to "figure something out," and work on his tackling. I have a couple tips for him -- some very obvious tips, actually, so I'll keep them to myself.
I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, but I'm intending for it to tread the line of cynical rather than outright mean. Goldson is a good player and should play well for the Buccaneers, but given that the guy put up almost $500,000 in fines from the NFL last season, him hiring a tackling coach is more in the "well, duh" camp than the "huh?" camp.
Goldson himself is surprised that the NFL is singling him out and identifying him as someone who might be on watch for potential penalties ... he's the only one who's surprised.
Ah, I'm rambling at this point but hey ... 49ers fans, isn't it great that we have Eric Reid now? I know he's got a long way to go and all, and could go either way at this point, but he had an excellent rookie season and I'm excited for the direction he's heading. I'm glad losing Goldson, to this point, hasn't hurt the 49ers.