GDT: 49ERS VS DOLPHINS

[wco81]

I think they couldn't pay both Armstead and Buckner and they had to choose and they chose the one who was going to cost less.

We really can't judge the move until we see how Kinlaw turns out.

I'm not that high on paying big money to an interior DL anyways, except maybe in the case of Donald and even then, he couldn't prevent the Rams from having a down year last year.

Watt got huge money and then suffered a big injury. Even if he hadn't been injured, he couldn't lift that Texans defense to dominate and they had to just let Clowney pretty much go with very little return. Clowney may not have lived up to expectations but that's just brutal, just letting the #1 pick walk.

That is why the Texans defense is a mess and then they gave Watson a huge contract, which he may or may not deserve but they probably had to let Hopkins go. They also gave up Duane Brown too.

The point is, overpaying any position, especially interior DL, can't help your team unless the salary cap grows fast. That is why ARod hasn't won another Super Bowl. He got his money but the Packers could never surround him with a good enough roster.

So paying an edge rusher is better than interior DL.

[49er4life1979]

No. What they should have done is cut or traded Dee Ford and then used his money to pay Buckner. Instead, they trade Buckner who was a model of consistency and unlike Ford was durable in his 4 years thus far. I have high hopes for Kinlaw, but this decision was horrible.[/quote]

Ok, who was going to trade for Ford coming off an injury plagued unproductive year with 4 years $65 mil left on his contract?

Also, how would cutting Ford while creating over $20+ mil in dead cap help pay anybody? How do you justify cutting him only 1 year after giving up a 2nd rounder for him?

If we are going to enter Dee Ford into this discussion, not trading/cutting him isn't the problem. Trading for him was the problem, but that's with the benefit of hindsight.

At the time it was considered a solid move to acquire a top shelf pass rusher. It hasn't worked out even remotely as well as any of us had hoped, mostly because of injuries. That happens in the NFL. If he's right, you can make a case Ford is worth his contract. Armstead is healthy and has never shown he's worthy of his contract. Arik is a 1 (contract) year wonder, who benefitted from having elite talent on both sides of him during that year.[/quote]

It wasnt until THIS offseason when they restructured Ford that he became harder to move. They converted his salary into a bonus. I am just pissed that with Buckner's consistency and durability they didnt prioritize him. In that case then let Armstead walk and keep Buckner and DJ Jones inside with Bosa outside. Still a very formidable DL. But oh well. Lynch screwd the pooch on this one.

[CrimsonCrew]

The restructure of Ford's contract was a tremendous head-scratcher. Even fully healthy, there was a fair chance we would want to move on from him after this season, and I don't believe he was ever healthy this season. He was downright awful in week one. Just wasn't even trying to rush, nor was he playing any sort of contain. He basically just stayed at the OT's arm length and went wherever he was directed.

It's funny, but a lot of my complaints keep coming back to the training staff.

That said, keeping Buckner was probably never in the cards. He was too expensive, and we didn't have the cap flexibility this year to pay him. Not to mention that paying a premium for interior DL is usually a mistake, unless we're talking Aaron Donald.