Free Agency

[Dalbi]

With free agency starting soon, I wanted to post my thoughts on what the 49ers should do and see what everyone thinks.

I think this year is a re-building year. We are not in bad shape and can still win the division but we need to recognize with a new coach and all the change, we need to focus on the future. This means we can experiment a bit with some younger players. So here are some of my suggestions for the key positions

1. Quarterback: Re-sign Alex Smith - He is the best option as a stop-gap. If he fails half-way through the season we can put in CK. Also CK needs as many reps as possible this season to determine if he can succeed. We do not want to go another six years of asking whether this will be the year.

2. Offensive Line: Re-sign David Baas. Stability on the line is key which is why we need Baas. As for the rest of the O-line the starting lineup will be fine for the start of the season. Chilo Rachal needs to step up otherwise he should be replaced quickly. Also need to watch for Anthony Davis to make sure he is making the necessary strides.

3. Wide Receiver: Our receivers are not good enough. We have talent at skill positions because of tight ends and running backs who can catch passes. Our receivers by themselves though are not good. We need Crabtree to improve this year. Unfortunately I do not see any wide receivers in free agency who are young, elite, and worth the money. Next year's draft class should have tons of receivers though so we will probably just have to hope Crabtree steps up.

4. Defensive Line: I am worried about this spot because we are letting Franklin leave most likely and moving Sopoaga to nose tackle and Ray Mcdonald to defensive end. We will see if this works out. Ricky Jean Francois needs to get into the lineup more. No big free agents will be signed but if it doesn't work out next year could mean we need some D-Line help.

5. Linebackers: We need to re-sign Takeo Spikes while at the same time ensure we have his replacement. Bowman looks like he could be ready when Spikes is done. Aldon Smith needs to be signed quickly and thrust into the lineup as soon as possible. As for our other linebackers we will most likely let Manny Lawson go. I was all for this move but then was listening to a podcast talking about how Lawson through some websites metrics is actually a good pass rusher but just doesn't register sacks. If that is the case and he comes at a decent price (probably won't) we should re-sign him. We can also re-sign Travis LaBoy as he will be cheap. The key for this group is for Aldon Smith to become the player we thought he was when drafting him. If he does become elite then we could have the best linebacking group in the nation.

6. Secondary: This is where I see us spending our money. We should re-sign Dashon Goldson since we don't have much talent. Nate Clements needs to be cut or have his contract restructured. I hate Nate Clements as a Cornerback. He gives up the big play way too often. The 49ers should sign undrafted free agents in the secondary and let them all compete. We should ignore Nnamdi bidding war but possibly go after Joseph from the Bengals. He would be our one big free agent sign. If not their are lots of options at safety and cornerback who would help our team. My one requirement for a semi-large signing is it won't hurt us money wise in future years and the player is still young enough to contribute for a long time.

These are some of my thoughts about the team. It is not doing much but for this year it is fine. We will work on implementing our new schemes and see which players step up. A better offensive minded coach and another year of our rookie offensive linemen should improve our offense. With a more pass rushing oriented scheme and the addition of Aldon Smith and possibly one big free agent our defense should improve. This formula can win us the weak division and help set us up in the future to go beyond just making the playoffs.

[Sandlot]

I agree with everything. I think Alex will scare people but he is the best option at the moment. CK is not ready to start.

Cromartie might be an option if the Jets get Nnamdi.

I haven't really looked too far into the free agent class so I can't say who I like at the other positions. I'm pretty sure Aldon needs a year as a backup to adjust and I really hope we resign Manny.

[Sandlot]

Oh and I'm really hoping the coach will make a huge difference. We clearly have a lot of very talented players on our roster we just need them to play at their best every week. We could still easily win the division with the current roster but we have a lot of room to grow for the future.

[Nicky Nix Nook]

Great post Dalbi.

[Sandlot]

What about Reggie Bush if he's cut? If he is willing to go for a good cost then he could be a dangerous compliment to Gore. Alex did play with him in high school.

[Sandlot]

So at this point we have lost Takeo, signed Alex and also Jeremiah Masoli. Takeo is obviously a BIG hit, especially since Bowman hasn't had time to develop with the coaching staff this year.
Smith makes the best sense. I like Masoli. Hasselbeck is an option for the season, and would be good competition. I think Masoli is a nice option for camp.

[Sandlot]

We have also signed Ian Williams from Notre Dame (DL) and Donovan Edwards from Cal.

[thesack12]

Absolutely terrible start to the "real" offseason thus far.

Takeo Spikes and David Bass are gone, and Frisco brought back Alex. Alex returning was all but a foregone conclusion, but that doesn't make it a good move. Wish the brass would have at least seen how the market was going to play out before committing to a proven loser months ago. Minnesota apparently is getting McNabb for 2 conditional 6th round picks. Getting McNabb, especially for that cheap, would have been immeasurably better.

On the bright side, it looks like Frisco is heavily in on the Nnamdi sweepstakes. I'm pretty skeptical that they can actually pull that off, but if they can it immediately changes my perception of this offseason and more importantly helps the team immensely. Frisco's secondary situation was extremely bleak prior to the draft and they didnt really do anything of note to address it in the draft. If they don't get Nnamdi, they need to go really hard after Jonathan Joseph. If both those guys are out, they need to look at Cromartie, or at the very least Richard Marshall. Safety is also an posiition that needs to be improved, and theres a chance the half way decent Dashon Goldson is gonna leave. Weddle prolly isn't an option. Roman Harper and Atari Bigby are two guys that interest me. The secondary is a straight up mess at the moment.

Frisco also needs to address the WR situation. Holmes is off the market, not that he was a realistic target anyways. I don't see Sidney Rice as a realistic option either, I think Steve Smith is definitely going back to NY, and IMO Braylon Edwards is pretty overrated. Malcolm Floyd, Lance Moore, Steve Breaston, and James Jones are guys I would take a look at. All these guys will probably be cost effective.

[Dalbi]

Absolutely terrible start to the "real" offseason thus far.


On the bright side, it looks like Frisco is heavily in on the Nnamdi sweepstakes. I'm pretty skeptical that they can actually pull that off, but if they can it immediately changes my perception of this offseason and more importantly helps the team immensely. Frisco's secondary situation was extremely bleak prior to the draft and they didnt really do anything of note to address it in the draft. If they don't get Nnamdi, they need to go really hard after Jonathan Joseph. If both those guys are out, they need to look at Cromartie, or at the very least Richard Marshall. Safety is also an posiition that needs to be improved, and theres a chance the half way decent Dashon Goldson is gonna leave. Weddle prolly isn't an option. Roman Harper and Atari Bigby are two guys that interest me. The secondary is a straight up mess at the moment.

Frisco also needs to address the WR situation. Holmes is off the market, not that he was a realistic target anyways. I don't see Sidney Rice as a realistic option either, I think Steve Smith is definitely going back to NY, and IMO Braylon Edwards is pretty overrated. Malcolm Floyd, Lance Moore, Steve Breaston, and James Jones are guys I would take a look at. All these guys will probably be cost effective.

Nnamdi will probably go to the Jets. The advantages we have are more money and stay close to home. But we do need to get Joseph if we don't land Nnamdi. If we are willing to pay Nnamdi we can win a Joseph bidding war. I don't really want Cromartie. He is too mistake-friendly. Most realistic receiver is James Jones since most are already off the market. Signing tons of undrafted free agent receivers probably means we aren't looking too hard at that position.

[Dalbi]

Here are some of my thoughts so far on the free agency...

1. It really sucks that we did not keep Baas. I have no idea who is going to start at center. Baas probably wouldn't have even cost that much so why didn't we re-sign him.

2. Takeo Spikes leaving also sucks, but not as much. Here is why. Yes he was a great player for us but he is getting old. We already have potential stars at the position. It would have been nice for Bowman to have another year learning but I do not feel it is terrible for the idea that we are working more towards the future than this season.

3. We cut Nate Clements apparently, which was great. He was overrated even when he was being criticized. He let so many big plays that the rest of his play did not matter. I do not think we should re-sign him and should move on but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

4. We re-signed Alex Smith which was obvious and fine for our circumstance this year. I hope he excels but am expecting CK to get some playing time in 2011. Also we signed Jeremiah Masoli. I would have thought we got a veteran instead of another project. I heard a rumor we might use him for a different role than QB.

5. We need to land Nnamdi or Joseph. I was fine with us not landing them until reports came out that we are pursuing Nnamdi. Now I want him (although I still have hesitations about the money). If we don't get him why not pursue Joseph with everything.

6. We re-signed Ray Mcdonald. I think we plan to start him at left defensive end and move Soap to NT. This means we will probably let Franklin go. It is a really risky move but I am willing to see how it plays out. I think we might be able to still stop the run which is all Franklin did. At the very least we will have a better pass defense and slightly worse run defense which will at least be a nice change of pace.

7. Frank Gore is holding out. He is good but his injuries make it hard to give him a long contract. I love Frank but don't know what we should do. I am willing to give him a long term deal but not sure about how much more money.

[RIPskaterdude]

I'm not so sure what is going on right now with us losing some of our important FAs, but if we can get Nnamdi or Joseph, I'll be happy.