49ers Links

Golden Nuggets: Blowing up the defense

San Francisco 49ers links for Friday January 25, 2019

By Joe the Wizard Jan 25, 2019, 2:00am PST

Before I start blowing up the 49ers defense I would like to take a moment to plug a Niners Nation article posted by Patrick Holloway yesterday called Senior Bowl Nuggets. He did an amazing job of finding all kinds of links. I must have spent almost an hour yesterday morning going through them. I am not sure but I think he may be posting another one this morning and it is definitely worth checking out.

I have been told that blowing up the defense would cost us continuity and I think quite a few people on Niners Nation would agree but let’s look at this a little more closely. Most people on NN also think we are going to bring in at least one new edge player and probably two. One edge will most likely be starting at LEO and I would not be surprised if the other one started at SAM. Quite a few other people think Armstead will not be with us next season. Earl Mitchell is already gone and Saleh is talking about increasing the competition at that position. I personally feel that both Malcolm Smith and Brock Coyle won’t be on the roster in September either. Add in upgrades at both cornerback and free safety and you have seven changes to the starting roster. Where is the continuity in that?

What happens if Kris Kocurek decides we should part ways with Solomon Thomas? Do we keep Armstead, do we go with the rookies we drafted last year or do we bring in another player?

I am not saying I know what is going to happen. I feel like it could go either way or somewhere in between. A lot of people thought we should have fired Robert Saleh after the season but I think Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch got it right. Saleh knows this defense and he has a lot of experience going back to his time as a defensive quality control coach under Pete Carrol in Seattle. Supplying him with some better coaches, upgrading the players on the roster and reevaluating how the players we already have on the team fit into what we are trying to accomplish on defense is a much better way of trying to improve the team at this point.

Now that I have everybody’s attention, perhaps after reevaluating our defense the 49ers decide to keep Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead and just add a couple of edges through free agency and the draft. Lynch doesn’t seem like Thomas is going anywhere soon in the video below. What if they decide that Akkello Witherpoon and Adrian Colbert are still salvageable as starters? What if they decide to keep both Coyle and Smith? How many changes can we make through free agency and the draft anyway? On the other hand we wouldn’t be blowing up the defense and can Lynch, Shanahan, and Saleh afford to take a chance on our defense being at the bottom of the league another year?

Now onto the sizzling hot links:

49ers tapped Warriors for advice on revamping medical and training staffs Kyle Madson

Who’s the GOAT according to Montana? Him, or Tom Brady? Jessica Kleinschmidt

NFL great Montana getting into legal pot market Associated Press

Kyle Shanahan can’t figure out whistle situation at Senior Bowl Kyle Madson

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan discusses his speech to Senior Bowl players this week and the language he used David Bonilla

49ers mailbag: Surveying the options at pick No. 2 in the NFL draft Chris Biderman

NFL says concussions down by 23.8% this season Eric Branch

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh discusses the 49ers draft needs at Senior Bowl practice Video

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch breaks down the advantage of coaching Reese’s Senior Bowl ahead of draft Video

Tweet Recap: Standouts from Day 3 of the 2019 Senior Bowl Matthew Asher

49ers promote Martin Mayhew to vice president of player personnel Jennifer Lee Chan