USAToday grades Day One

[SourdoughTony]

NFC:
http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/column.asp?sport=NFL&column=174&articleid=30253

AFC:
http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/column.asp?sport=NFL&column=174&articleid=30254

We get a C. :bubble:

[NortyFiner]

I think that's a little harsh for us, but whatever.

[DraconisRex]

they went easy on us. when your a bad team with many needs and you draft guys who might not fill any of them because they have huge bust potential, your not going to get a high grade.

Some ***** in USA Today, WHO ROUTINELY GAVE TERRY DONAHUE A and A- DRAFTS isn't a guy to be calling in as an expert witness.

That you refuse to "get it" and understand the pick and are, consequently, having your second melt-down in as many years over missing a player you obsessed... I mean, really, two temper-tantrums in two years... And after Patrick Willis came on with all those honors despite your melt down over picking him instead of Carriker... Come on. Your track record is, to put it kindly, spotty at best; and, that you didn't learn to not melt-down and keep your mouth shut after your constant, embarrassing pummeling of the front office and Willis during and after the draft...

Dude. Learn. The. Lesson.

[bigbadred00]

Some ***** in USA Today, WHO ROUTINELY GAVE TERRY DONAHUE A and A- DRAFTS isn't a guy to be calling in as an expert witness.

That you refuse to "get it" and understand the pick and are, consequently, having your second melt-down in as many years over missing a player you obsessed... I mean, really, two temper-tantrums in two years... And after Patrick Willis came on with all those honors despite your melt down over picking him instead of Carriker... Come on. Your track record is, to put it kindly, spotty at best; and, that you didn't learn to not melt-down and keep your mouth shut after your constant, embarrassing pummeling of the front office and Willis during and after the draft...

Dude. Learn. The. Lesson.

Wait. All Willis did was get All-Pro Honors and not DPOY honors. While Carriker who plays an important defensive position that gets no love, lead his team to an awesome 3-13 record.

[49ersRus]

USA today was harsh on most of the teams. The draft did not go as the pundits expected. You could tell that from the start.

[ManCans]

they went easy on us. when your a bad team with many needs and you draft guys who might not fill any of them because they have huge bust potential, your not going to get a high grade.Still don't understand why no love for Balmer after all the pimping you did last year for Carriker. Balmer may not be as polished, but he has WAY more upside than Carriker.

[photomonkey]

1.) surprise surprise, Drac talking out of his rear. to start i was at a wedding in Clearwater 1200+ miles away form home during last years draft. so not once did i come in and rant or whine about the pick last year, especially since i wasn't even around a computer all weekend. :laugh:

Even IF he's not accurate, he sure posts a good read that makes YOU sound really funny. :hoppy:

[ManCans]

well apparently Balmer is going to play NT. i dont see how you sign a lazy player to play NT. plus he needs to gain 25+lbs at his height to do it.

Carriker had the intangibles you can't teach. he was a high character, high effort player. plus he wouldn't be learning a new position at 3-4 DE because thats what he did at Nebraska, so as a result the learning curve is low. Balmer is moving to a new spot and needs to change his body making this a situation that doesn't look too favorable.

plus last year we needed 2 starting DE's. this year we need 0. team needs change.That is a terrible evaluation of Balmer. During the games I watched, he didn't take one play off, and kept his intensity up every play, all game long.

[Iamavictory]

oh no usa today says it was a bad draft. Since their paper is the place every professional in the NFL goes by, I am really bummed...

[V LordofWar V]

C is generous.

[1ninerfaithful]

C is generous.

agreed, nolan just keeps showing how much of a defensive minded guy he is.....worst offense in the league but hey lets go grab some defensive players....?

[V LordofWar V]

nolan isnt controlling this draft.................and really thats the problem.

at least when Nolan was at the helm we picked starters.

[tumbleweed]

Some of you guys are funny. They were both good picks. Balmer was the third ranked DT and Chilo was the second ranked Guard in the entire draft.

[Ness]

USA Today gave A drafts to Terry Donahue? Hahahaha...

[1ninerfaithful]

nolan isnt controlling this draft.................and really thats the problem.

rrrriiiiggghhhhtttt :whistling:

[scotty_dogg]

1.)
2.) our picks are criticized for good reason. we drafted a NT who is lazy and will need to put on 30lbs at his height to play NT. Nolan's proved he doesn't know how to evaluate NT's. Fields, Cohen, Sopo anyone? and we drafted a RG in a terrible RG class when many need players were available.

i can see why the 49ers did what they did. the problem is this draft had a run on certain positions that made players available that should not have been. when a Flacco and Baker are drafted in the 1st round then you have an opportunity to land a better player then you would expect at your pick. instead we draft a project player who in all liklihood will never play NT and a solid RG who will start because we're thin at RG but won't become anything special.

Nolan didn't draft Groves on character. Nolan seems to pick and choose when he wants to use this character argument. couple that with his inablility to evaluate certain positions on the field and its become pretty apparent why this team is stagnant.


First I would think twice about crticizing Nolan about the NT position. How many great NT's are in the league? Hampton, Williams, Wilfork? It's one of the ELITE positions in the NFL. More teams would play the 3-4 if there were more NT's availaible like those guys.

I personally like the draft. You win games in the Trenches. Balmer isnt being asked to get to the QB. He's being asked to play hard every snap and occupy linemen.

[42Lott]

I don't agree with the grade of 'C'. If the 49ers were a playoff team last year and were just trying to add some pieces for the future then projects are fine, boom or bust players are fine but when you weren't good last year you cannot afford those types of picks. Grade 'D'!

[SFdiehard]

I'd give the Niners a generous F....... I'm still steaming about how the first day turned out. Even worse was the second day. WHY IN THE WORLD DO WE TAKE A TWEENER AT DT WHEN NOLAN HAS BEEN COMPAINING ABOUT NOT HAVING A TRUE RUN STUFFER????? Balmer may have the height at 6'5 but at 293-308 he's no where near the plugger we needed so at best he'll be an unproductive DE and we passed on Merling who is amazing at sacking the QB.... News flash nolan we suck at getting to the QB. Then with three Wideouts left on the board in the second we take an O-Line man who thought the niners reached.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY NOT TAKE GROVES HE WAS STILL ON THE BOARD!
Goodbye nolan, Ive stuck around on the bandwagon far too long and this draft shows me why you deserve the key to the back door. Picking guys who wont make an impact for a few years gets your A S S fired!

[KingOfTheHill]

1.) surprise surprise, Drac talking out of his rear. to start i was at a wedding in Clearwater 1200+ miles away form home during last years draft. so not once did i come in and rant or whine about the pick last year, especially since i wasn't even around a computer all weekend. :laugh:

2.) our picks are criticized for good reason. we drafted a NT who is lazy and will need to put on 30lbs at his height to play NT. Nolan's proved he doesn't know how to evaluate NT's. Fields, Cohen, Sopo anyone? and we drafted a RG in a terrible RG class when many need players were available.

i can see why the 49ers did what they did. the problem is this draft had a run on certain positions that made players available that should not have been. when a Flacco and Baker are drafted in the 1st round then you have an opportunity to land a better player then you would expect at your pick. instead we draft a project player who in all liklihood will never play NT and a solid RG who will start because we're thin at RG but won't become anything special.

Nolan didn't draft Groves on character. Nolan seems to pick and choose when he wants to use this character argument. couple that with his inablility to evaluate certain positions on the field and its become pretty apparent why this team is stagnant.

as i recall you were one of the major contributors to the "patrick willis does not fit the 3-4 because he cant shed blocks" crowd... i believe that is what he is referring to

[CSRKing15]

they r wrong its a B

[SFdiehard]

First I would think twice about crticizing Nolan about the NT position. How many great NT's are in the league? Hampton, Williams, Wilfork? It's one of the ELITE positions in the NFL. More teams would play the 3-4 if there were more NT's availaible like those guys.

I personally like the draft. You win games in the Trenches. Balmer isnt being asked to get to the QB. He's being asked to play hard every snap and occupy linemen.

So he can plug a hole at 292-308 pounds??? We have guys already like that. They didnt work we needed a horse around the 330 like frank Okam in the 5th round..

[SFdiehard]

[QUOTE=CSRKing15;1516506]who cares what USA Today says[/QUOTE
Wow someone lives in fairytale land... Tell me what is it like there????
Are the Kansas City Royals winner world series too?????

[KingOfTheHill]

I'd give the Niners a generous F....... I'm still steaming about how the first day turned out. Even worse was the second day. WHY IN THE WORLD DO WE TAKE A TWEENER AT DT WHEN NOLAN HAS BEEN COMPAINING ABOUT NOT HAVING A TRUE RUN STUFFER????? Balmer may have the height at 6'5 but at 293-308 he's no where near the plugger we needed so at best he'll be an unproductive DE and we passed on Merling who is amazing at sacking the QB.... News flash nolan we suck at getting to the QB. Then with three Wideouts left on the board in the second we take an O-Line man who thought the niners reached.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY NOT TAKE GROVES HE WAS STILL ON THE BOARD!
Goodbye nolan, Ive stuck around on the bandwagon far too long and this draft shows me why you deserve the key to the back door. Picking guys who wont make an impact for a few years gets your A S S fired!

"they did not draft the player i wanted" isnt a valid reason to give an F grade

and what can you possibly mean by "at best he will be an unproductive DE"..that's hogwash

at best he will bulk up and learn how to occupy two blockers, which is what we would want from an NT. consider for a moment some facts...

in the 3-4 the edge rushers can easily be neutralized if the defensive line does not tie up the blockers and give the favorable one-on-one to the edge rusher. so whether balmer plays at the nose or at the end, if his large frame can draw the attention of offensive linemen, then he will invariably improve our pass rush.

[Captain_Jack]

The USA Today experts predicted that we would take Brian Brohm with our 1st round pick...enough said.

[SFdiehard]

"they did not draft the player i wanted" isnt a valid reason to give an F grade

and what can you possibly mean by "at best he will be an unproductive DE"..that's hogwash

at best he will bulk up and learn how to occupy two blockers, which is what we would want from an NT. consider for a moment some facts...

in the 3-4 the edge rushers can easily be neutralized if the defensive line does not tie up the blockers and give the favorable one-on-one to the edge rusher. so whether balmer plays at the nose or at the end, if his large frame can draw the attention of offensive linemen, then he will invariably improve our pass rush.

I didnt even want Merling, but when he slid all the way down to 29 I wanted the niners to take him. The guy was a potential high pick next year but had to come out to provide for his family and his sick daughter. The guy gets to the quarterback. He's not lazy and a one year wonder like Balmer. So he wasnt my guy. BUt he woulda been better value for the niners!

[49ERSFAN$LIFE]

How do the bears get a B- and we get a C... thats BS

[aryall]

Nolan didn't draft Groves on character. Nolan seems to pick and choose when he wants to use this character argument.
Did he tell you that himself? Maybe Nolan and McCloughan just doesn't think Groves is as good as his MB fan club does?

[Zhero06]

Lol, another press writer who hates cause we didn't pick the flashy players. This guy needs to go learn his football again, before continuing to write about football.

[General Peters]

Some ***** in USA Today, WHO ROUTINELY GAVE TERRY DONAHUE A and A- DRAFTS isn't a guy to be calling in as an expert witness.

That you refuse to "get it" and understand the pick and are, consequently, having your second melt-down in as many years over missing a player you obsessed... I mean, really, two temper-tantrums in two years... And after Patrick Willis came on with all those honors despite your melt down over picking him instead of Carriker... Come on. Your track record is, to put it kindly, spotty at best; and, that you didn't learn to not melt-down and keep your mouth shut after your constant, embarrassing pummeling of the front office and Willis during and after the draft...

Dude. Learn. The. Lesson.

Look, Lactatous is teaching us the Art of a Meltdown.

He is an expert at it after all.

[42Lott]

they r wrong its a B

Based on what? Drafting two projects? Reasoning please!

[KingOfTheHill]

I didnt even want Merling, but when he slid all the way down to 29 I wanted the niners to take him. The guy was a potential high pick next year but had to come out to provide for his family and his sick daughter. The guy gets to the quarterback. He's not lazy and a one year wonder like Balmer. So he wasnt my guy. BUt he woulda been better value for the niners!

merling wasnt on the top of our board at the time our pick came up. that isnt such a travesty. maybe we feel we have guys who can get to the QB, but what was stopping them was the fact that we had so few good players on the defensive line.

id venture to say our scouting and management put a little more effort into it than average message board fan.

the lazy/one year wonder thing also jumps out at me. from what ive gathered balmer was moved around a lot during his college career, playing 3 different DL positions, and played for a team without much top-shelf talent... its not unusual for players in those situations to fly under the radar. one year with legitimate coaching and his play was on the rise. thats a good sign to expect a turnaround in the NFL i think.

[KingOfTheHill]

i was also a Braylon Edwards guy whereas he was an Alex Smith guy and said Derek Smith lead the league in backfield penetrations...whatever that means. so take Drac's crazy texas instruments stats with a grain of salt, especially since he refuses to show us where he gets those stats form to begin with.

i couldnt care less about knobs vs drac... im not choosing a side

but i DO remember you being a vocal proponent of the "drafting willis is a mistake/he cant shed blocks" movement during last years draft.

i think the point drac was making by pointing that out was that you are no supreme guru when it comes to the draft, so maybe you should adopt a "wait and see" attitude regarding these day one picks.

[Lono1331]

your right, i'll trust this regime with evaluation of NT's because they've already been spot on with guys like Fields, Sopoaga, Cohen, and Anthony Adams.

Fields was a solid player last year, Sopoaga was a beast last year, Cohen got hurt, and Nolan didn't draft Anthony Adams and ending up cutting him.

I'm sure you're right though...we should have kept Terry Donahue and Dennis Erickson....then maybe we'd have a shot at the BCS title....

[Guest49er]

NFC:
http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/column.asp?sport=NFL&column=174&articleid=30253

AFC:
http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/column.asp?sport=NFL&column=174&articleid=30254

We get a C. :bubble:

:falldownlaugh:

And I said an F. Wow, good to see people agreeing with me. Yeah, we did nothing impressive did we? Too bad it'll= 5 and 11 and Nolan out the door.:shoot:

[pepe]

Did he tell you that himself? Maybe Nolan and McCloughan just doesn't think Groves is as good as his MB fan club does?

Quentin Groves also had "minor" heart surgery recently. Niner brass said Grove's heart issue didn't concern them ...but it may have. Especially, since the Niners lost a player due to a heart ailment a couple of years back in Denver.

[KingOfTheHill]

i love how the Willis thing keeps coming up and people such as yourself conveniently leave out a couple things:

1. i was a fan of Willis. just not in a 3-4. i predicted he would go 1 pick after us to the Bills. and i have admitted he's played better then i thought he would and the 49ers playing a 4-3 60% of the time aided in that.

we started the year playing more 3-4 than 4-3 and willis was still very effective. just admit you took an opinion and used to to try and pick apart what was a solid draft pick.



2. the people here that didn't want Willis in the first still had the 49ers drafting an ILB with their 2nd pick. ILB's are a dime a dozen in the NFL. so lets not act like the people that wanted us to go in another direction then Willis in the first were saying they liked what we had in Derek Smith or Jeff Ulbrich.

elite ILBs are not dime-a-dozen players. plenty of teams struggle to find effective MLB/ILBs. how long did we latch onto derek smith because we had no one better to fill his spot? surely if it were so easy to fill that spot with top grade talent we would have done it...


and the bottomline is it doesn't take a guru to see the teams needs. and it doesn't take a guru to see we drafted depth when we had starting positions on the team that needed to be upgraded. most drafts dont allow you to add impact guys when they fall into your lap. usually you have to be active and go get them. well we did neither.

a good 3-4 needs more than 3 good defensive linemen. DL was a huge need.

the sad thing about the niners is we had about 5 glaring needs to fill and only a few quality picks to choose from to make that happen. WR and OLB fell to the backburner in favor of shoring up the trenches and giving help to the DB corps.

[Lono1331]

you can make excuses all you want, but every guy i named this coaching staff had plans for them to play NT and they all sucked.

So they recognized their mistakes and made good players out of them then tried to draft a guy who can play for them.
Tell me, wouldn't you be pissing and moaning even if you got the players you wanted? I don't think I've seen you say anything positive about the team you supposedly root for. There's a lot of people who do that but you are the only one I've seen who backs up his arguments by talking like you are a talent evaluator for the NFL....guess what hotshot....you're not. You're a sad little man who spends too much time whining about why the niners suck rather than holding out a little hope that maybe you aren't the smartest man in the world and someone who gets paid to do what you wish you could do might just know more than you.

Why are you even here? We know the niners suck....move on....

[Lono1331]

your job as a fan is to root for your team, which we all do, but it doesn't mean you accept a crappy product on the field.

I have not seen Balmer on the field for the niners....so why would I just assume he is a crappy player....we needed a DT...we got the 3rd best in the draft.... sometimes the job of the fan is to hope for the best...

I've sat through years of crappy football (and now baseball, I'm a Giants fan too) and when the season ends I have the capacity to look forward to next year...because I feel like we signed good free agents, and drafted well and to our needs.

Talk to me in November about where Balmer is....and from someone who I believe just said that Willis didn't affect games....I don't know that I value your opinion that much.

[eden922]

i wouldve given us a D at least

[Guest49er]

Thanks buddy. :wub:

[V LordofWar V]

Great, now we get to read what some loser thinks about Day 2 and do this all over again.