Ulbrich etched into 49er history

shlecko — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:41:35 -0000

Ulbrich etched into 49er history

An interesting article about one of my favorite 49ers, Jeff Ulbrich, earning a spot on the 49ers 10-Year Wall - as this season will make it a full decade that he has spent with the team.

A look ahead at Coach Sing's 2009 NFL Draft

shlecko — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:59:18 -0000

After reading Singletary's end of season press conference, I've suddenly become a lot more interested to see how our next draft will unfold. His implications that he'll have heavy influence on the players selected really thickens the plot to a story that's already got our attention.

There are reasons for both optimism and skepticism in his latest release:

On the bright side, I think it's safe to say that we'll aquire a few players that will fit the system that we should have in place for the next couple years. Coach Sing has a pretty solid grasp on his "philosophy", so we're unlikely to get many players that we'll have to re-invent or develop into something that they aren't already. This is good. Expect tough, disciplined football players (see: Staley, Joe)...rather than physical specimens or superathletes (Davis, Vernon).

On the less bright-and-cheery side of things, we have to wonder just how good of a talent evaluator Singletary really is. I don't doubt his ability to lead men, and I'm positive that he's an excellent judge of character...but that doesn't necessarily mean that he can pick out quality football players out of a 250-man line-up.

Thanks to Sing's wonderful honesty, we see that not only did he not endorse our best draft selection in years (who else? Bamm Bamm himself) - but seemed to actually be in opposition to the choice until being heavily persuaded. Call me negative, but that worries me a bit. You would think that if anybody were in a position to spot Willis as a sure-thing, then it would have been Singletary...who coached him personally at the Senior Bowl. But we'll just have to wait and see.

Now...the positions that Singletary mentioned were points of interest, as far as possible areas of improvement, are as follows:

Quarterback: Despite being the guy that initially handed the ship over to Shaun Hill, Singletary seems to be one of Hill's biggest skeptics. Understandable. I think Hill was a good option this year, and can make a quality NFL quarterback...but I don't think any of us will realistically argue that he is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the long-term answer at this position. And I think that a long-term answer, going into a new regime and a new era of 49ers football, is exactly what we should be looking for right now.

Offensive Line: Right Tackle. Pretty much says it all. Barry Sims was a cheap patch that was put over the gaping hole left by oft-injured Jonas Jennings. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Jennings released before training camp next year. There's no excuse for paying that much money to a guy who spends as much time on IR as he does.

Also, David Baas and Tony Wraggae have performed...less than admirably as of late, and will definately be on the hot seat going into 2009. We've got a promising future with Staley, Snyder, Heitman and Rachal, but depth on the OL will be a must for this team if we are to commit to the kind of physical running game that Singletary hopes to instill.

Defensive End/Pass Rusher: Singletary didn't specifically mention DE as a point, but I assume that if we are to add a pass rushing specialist, then this is where it would fit. The 3-4 linebacker group of Haralson, Willis, Spikes (assuming we bring him back, and I expect that we will), and Lawson seems to be pretty solid. Justin Smith is a lock at LDE, and Franklin has been lauded with praise in the past few months, while we've got money already invested in Isaac Sopoaga.

This leaves Ray McDonald and... I guess... Kentwan Balmer to round out the big names on the defensive line. While Ray Mac had an impressive second half in 2007, he didn't seem to improve on it any this season. He still jumps too often, and has trouble with anyone more than sub-par on passing downs. Balmer? Well...he'll make a good up-man on next year's kick return unit. RDE may turn out to be our number one pick in this year's draft, should there be a worthy player in the first round come time for us to choose.

Saftey: Ugh. Mark Roman. I think it's pretty much unanimous across NN that we are in desperate need of an upgrade at free saftey. Singletary mentioned someone with "range" - which, I assume, means someone who can cover enough ground to allow Michael Lewis, who is at his best when he's playing like a deep linebacker, to do his thing. The ability to ballhawk would be wonderful plus as well, as FS is a position we haven't recieved many takeaways from in recent years.

I like Dashon Goldson, but I think he's better suited for dime and quarter packages than the 3-4 set that we will supposedly be carrying into next season. A 50/50 chance, in my mind, on whether this need will be addressed in free-agency or the draft.

In addition to these positions, there are some more that I, personally, would like to see addressed in the draft, or at some point this offseason:

Running Back: I'm not going to wager on Deshaun Foster returning in 2009, though I wouldn't be opposed to the idea. That leaves Michael Robinson - at his best on special teams, and... (shudder) Thomas Clayton. Yeah. I'm sorry to the enigmatic Clayton Fan Club, but there's a reason that the guy is still on the practice squad of a team with no depth at halfback.

The fact of the matter is that Gore is, and really always has been, a guy who shouldn't have to carry the load by himself. Even if he were to stay healthy for an entire season, he lacks the breakaway speed to be considered a home run threat in the running game. We've seen it for years in the NFL: the teams that have the most effective running games are the teams that employ a (somewhat cliche) thunder and lightning attack. Jacobs/Ward, Bush/McAllister, White/Johnson...the two-back system is what gets the job done. Gore is a proven back, and one of the best power runners in the game, but I think it would take someone with a little more speed and elusiveness to take our run game to the next level. Rolling the dice on a guy like that in the draft wouldn't be a bad idea.

Also, I know it's very rare to see fullbacks get drafted...but does anyone know if there's a guy in this year's draft that might be worth a look? We're going to need one for Singletary's system, and it's not going to be Zak Keasy.

Cornerback: Not a glaring need. Not yet, anyway. I like the way that Tarrell Brown and Donald Strickland have developed, but Walt Harris is getting up there in years, and I'm not sure that anyone else on the roster would make me feel safe as a starter. As I understand it, Shawntae Spencer's contract is up and he's coming off a pretty big injury. Reggie Smith, the corner we took out of Oklahoma in the 3rd round last year, didn't see very much playtime this season...and as thin as we were at DB for a while, that leads me to believe that the coaching staff doesn't have a lot of confidence in him.

I wouldn't expect to see us spend a first-day pick on another corner, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one taken in 2009.

Anyone else have any ideas as to where we might want to aim next April? I know it's still very early, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Besides - thinking ahead is one of the side-effects of missing the playoffs =)

SB Nation User Blog: shlecko

Ulbrich etched into 49er history

Ulbrich etched into 49er history

A look ahead at Coach Sing's 2009 NFL Draft