SB Nation User Blog: Patrick J Smiles

Pregame Pump-Up

Patrick J Smiles — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:30:24 -0000

Nation,

Salutions. Again, I'm puting this post up because there is absolutely nothing to talk about. Don't jump down my throat with all this noise about, "why are we even discussing this?" or "this post is stupid." Just smile and play along.

This season, the 49ers and their success will be closely tied to the emotion we show on the field, for a couple of reasons. Singletary is an intense personality where as our Nolan coached team was very lackadaisy. We want to be an intimidating and physical presence on both sides of the ball. I think this would be a perfect chance for our team to start a pregame ritual to set the tone. Something in the vein of what Ray Lewis does in Baltimore, what Drew Brees does in New Orleans or even what Brian Dawkins used to do in Philipelphia.

So the question I'd like to pose to you, Nation, is who should be our pregame firestarter? After answering the poll question, maybe give us a little idea of what you think the pregame pump up should be.

Poll

Who should be the niners' fire starter?

Patrick Willis

35 votes

Nate Clements

10 votes

Frank Gore

8 votes

Shaun Hill

3 votes

Samuri Mike

15 votes

Other

9 votes

80 votes | Poll has closed

Picks or Trade?

Patrick J Smiles — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:25:59 -0000

Hello Nation,

This slow down in the niner news is killing my libido. Let's ratchett it up a notch with an "oh-so-sexy" hypothetical poll.

The 49ers still have some pressing needs. We have pass-rushers chalk full of potential, a thin secondary, and no long term answer at RT. We also are holding on to two 1st round picks for next year. If it comes down to it, would you rather see us hold on to both picks, or trade for an upgrade at one of those positions?

Poll

What should the niners do before the offseason ends?

Hold on to both 1st round picks

117 votes

Trade for a Cornerback

4 votes

Trade for a Nose Tackle

5 votes

Trade for an Outside Linebacker

7 votes

Trade for a Right Tackle

4 votes

137 votes | Poll has closed

What if We... Episode 3: Tradeville

Patrick J Smiles — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:51:48 -0000

Greetings country men,

May the morrow smile brightly apon thee. It is I, Patriclus of Oakland Towne. I'm fantastic, thanks for your concern. :)

In today's episode, I'd like to take a stab at a possible solution to our "dilemma" at wide out. Too much brooding talent for our conservative scheme. Let the creativity begin.

What if we: package together Jason Hill and a 2nd Round Pick for next season and put it on the trading block for a defensive playmaker?

A. Noone wants to part with Hill. He's starting to really come into his own, but as I see it, he's going to battle with Jones for our 4th best wideout. He's got a lot of potential and I think he could be quite enticing to a team lacking WR depth.

B. If we trade Hill, the drop off in talent is marginal. Brandon Jones seems to have a lot of the same tools as Hill.

C. What kind of talent do you think that trade proposal might attract? Is an up and coming NT a possiblity? Personally, that would be the only position worth upgrading with this type of trade, but what are your thoughts?

What If We... Episode 2: Attack of the Moans

Patrick J Smiles — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:05:06 -0000

Greetings Niners Nation,

Patrick J. Smiles back in action and it's time for another installment of my own version of "hypotheticals." In this episode I want to discuss the possibility of a big time trade target. Julius Peppers. Of course we've already been over this a billion times early this offseason, but I feel it's worth revisiting. And away we go.

What if we: Trade our first and our third to Carolina for "The Big Dirty", Julius Peppers. With our 2nd pick we take Brace from BC. With pick number 4, we select Jennings out of Liberty in round five we snag Barden. How nasty would the Niners be coming out the gates with Brace and Peppers in our front 7? Answer: Hecka nasty. That's right, I said it. "Hecka."

Now I know there are a lot of reasons why this may not work, and I'd love to hear them, but also, I'd like to hear some alternate senarios for the draft. I'm particularly interested in your 1st and 3rd choices. I wonder if they equal Peppers.

Do your thing Nation...

What if we... Episode 01: The Phantom Pick

Patrick J Smiles — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:51:48 -0000

Greetings and good tidings to all,

Patrick J. Smiles in the house, with my first post in a series I'd like to call "What if We..." Basically, this is where I want to voice some quick thoughts I have for the team. Some are going to be relatively feasable. Others will be a bit more far-fetched.

In any case, the point of these posts will to be to ignite discussions. If you must, you are more than welcome to rag on how terrible my suggestions are. I won't take it personal. So without further ado...

What if we...

1) Trade down into the late teens of the first round. We then select Ray Maualuga. We give him a shot to compete for the Outside Linebacker. (I'm aware he is a Middle Linebacker. Thanks :) If he doesn't pan out there, we will have a solid replacement for Spikes when he decides to depart.

Pros: He's a playmaker. He's a big hitter. There is no need to rush him on the field. We can let him compete and if he's not ready, we can let him develop behind our already solid Linebacker corp.

Cons: It's obviously not his natural position. His skillset may not lend itself to the transition.

Deuce) Snag Malcom Jenkins with the 10th overall. We are thin in the secondary and i'm all for stocking up on some potential-riddled young talent and letting them duke it out in training camp. Said talent includes Goldson (unproven and injury prone? but i like him), Brown (very unproven by shows a lot of promise), Spencer (I don't really see the potential in this cat that everyone else sees, maybe it's just me).

Alright, so that's it for now. Let the banter begin.

4 main topics, 1 addiction to Rockstar.

Patrick J Smiles — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:27:44 -0000

Salutations Nation,

I feel like there are a lot of things up for discussion these day on the Niners Nation. I'd like to touch on a few of them. Give some opinion and maybe start a conversation. Here we go.

#1. The 10th Overall Pick: So I have a dream pick at this spot. Michael Jenkins at FS. This kid is an animal. Look, I understand the need at right tackle, but if Andre Smith is our only option at that pick I'll pass. Besides, there are plenty of vets out there with a proven record. Runyan maybe? Next up, the pass rushers. Know I would love to see us pick up someone who can make an impact right away, but not everyone is Patrick Willis. So I don't really see the value here. I could see maybe taking Orakpo, maybe. Dude's a specimen. But Harrelson looks like he's developing into a force to be reckoned with coming off the edge. Michael Jenkins would sure up the weakest position on our defense over the last few years. Imagine having a ball hawk killing drives in the middle of the field. Glorious! So get on the "Jenkins at 10" band wagon.

#2. Holt. Sign him if Bruce kicks rocks. Otherwise, invest that money somewhere else. I like the idea of picking up a veteran corner with a little more tread his tires than Walt "Disney" Harris. (I kid. Harris is alright, but you hardly ever see the Niner's secondary doing much of anything.) Which brings me to...

#3 I hear Sumari Rolle's on the market. I'm just saying... ;)

#4 I am behind Shawn Hill 100%. The guy finds a way to win. He's gutsy. You want to know who he reminds me of. Steve Young, that's who. I may be the first to make such an audacious comparison but I watched the Cardinal game where he dove hatless across the first down marker. Dude's down. Let's give him a shot.

What do you think?

Derrick Dockery

Patrick J Smiles — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:46:06 -0000

A big, strong, run-blocking guard might be exactly what we need in free agency. He was just cut by the Bills due to salary cap reasons.

I know we have other, more urgent needs, but personally, I'm not thrilled to be running behind Baas or Snyder next season. They are solid back-ups, but who are we kidding, if you want to be a smash mouth offense, you need to strike fear in the hearts of D-Linemen and linebackers.

I'm not saying he's a must have, but I think he makes a lot of sense. Especially for the right price. Thoughts?

VISION.

Patrick J Smiles — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:01:20 -0000

So I've been reading a lot about Mike Singletary talking about his "Vision" for this team. Frankly, it get's me pumped. For far too long the 49ers have seemed to embody the word "reactionary" in every way.

Whether it be our offseason signings, where we seem to sign the biggest free agent available to bolster our defense (i.e. Nate Clements, Justin Smith)(to be fair, I don't reall have an issue with this, other than it seemed to mask our philosophical short-comings year in, year out), or our defensive philosophy under Mike Nolan, where we seemed to employ the "wait and see" approach. This gameplan is similar to the "read and react" stratagy, sans reacting in a timely enough manner to stop the reciever from getting the 1st down. No one was accountable. No one said "We WILL be smackin' fools next season." Ownership.

But that has all changed. And even if it's still to early to judge Mike Sing for his performance, one thing he has definitely improved already is that facet of our team personality. We have a "Vision." We WILL be a physical team on both defense AND offense. We WILL run the ball. We WILL rush the passer. This is a vast improvement over the Nolan era in my opinion.

Am I nuts, or will the Niners, under this new philosphy and our dynamic new commander, take the division comfortably and play well into the playoffs next year?

Let the banter begin...

Did Someone Say Madden '09?

Patrick J Smiles — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:55:45 -0000

Obviously, any Madden gamer worth his salt can load a team full of FA talent and take the title year in and year out. I'm interested in people that set there team up realistically. For example...

I usually sign Spikes. Trade away Banta-Cain, Harris and Roman, along with some draft picks. I usually come out with Sheppard opposite Clements, and upgrades to the offensive line. Deihl and Dielman. I throw Goldston into my FS spot. My own little flare to an otherwise semi-realistic team occurs when i trade Alex Smith and a 4th Rounder for Colt Brennan. :)

So if you do work on Madden 09, if you have a patented strat, let us know.

Free Agent Targets for the '09 Offseason

Patrick J Smiles — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:06:45 -0000

Greetings.

So i'm posting this thread to get an idea of who's going to be out there this offseason as it pertains to our position needs. I don't know who's contract is running out next season, so my suggestions are to point out the caliber player I'd like to see us go after, not the specific player.

Free Safety: After watching Mini Mark Roman come humming in on Redskins QB Jason Campbell in week 17, hit him square in the chest, and go spinning off, clearly, the most glaring need this offseason in my opinion is a physical free safety. I'd like to see us go after someone in the vein of Ed Reed or a younger Brian Dawkins.

Nose Tackle: Patrick Willis had solid season, but without a big, nasty Nose Tackle to draw double teams and put pressure on the opposition's QB, I don't believe we'll see his full potential. Balmer was a bust. Mediocre at best. Did someone say Tommy Harris? I did.

Wide Reciever: I've heard some tasty titles like Ocho and Housh. Personally, I think we're pretty healthy in the WR departmant. Bruce can still produce on a very high level.Our young guys, Morgan and Hill have so much potential it's scares me. Josh Morgan looks like the second coming of Anquan Boldin. And speaking of Anquan. He had contract issues early in the year. Now he's injured and they are in the playoffs. Their situation reminds me of Shockey and the Giants last season. If someone like that comes around, I say we should jump on him.

Offensive LG, RT: This is right up the 49er's alley. They have had great success with veteran free agent linemen in the past. I.E. Larry Allen, Jonas Jennings and Ron Stone. In my humble opinion, this is our biggest need outside of a boss free safety. Imagine the running game if we picked up someone like Faneca last season. And the pass portection? It's a double whammy!

Other thoughts:

Corner to replace Walt Harris: Lito Sheppard? Yes please.