penguinpride

Who’s good on the San Francisco 49ers?

1. Frank Gore (HB)

2. Josh Morgan (WR)

3. Shaun Hill (QB)

4. Dominique Zeigler (WR)

5. Patrick Willis (LB)

6. Michael Lewis (SS)

7. Takeo Spikes (LB)

8. Joe Staley (OT)

…and that’s it.

So we have a 4.5-star RB, a 3-star QB with some upper-echelon-of-mediocrity receivers, an offensive tackle, and a few defensive backs. Sound like the 49ers have a long way to go? Not as long as you may think. Here’s how you can build a champion team from just a handful of good players (RB is required to be good, though).

YEAR 1

1. Start with your running game. It doesn’t take an amazing QB to hand the ball off to a guy. Any QB who can make it into the NFL is going to be able to do this. Instead of confusing the poor guy with pass plays, teach him tricks when handing it off, such as fakes, feigns and reverses.

Here, we see that even J. T. O’Sullivan can manage a handoff to Frank Gore.

2. Work on the offensive line. The best running back in the NFL (Willie Parker) cannot gain a single yard if he is brought down in the backfield. Therefore, we need to draft and sign players who can protect the QB and HB. This season, Andre Smith, who I am still a huge fan of, is up in the draft. The 49ers should go for him.

Andre Smith, already wearing red.

Smith could take the right tackle position, complementing Joe Staley on the left. This would work with the weight complement of the center, David Baas, who will hopefully start more games this season.

Second round: Draft Eric Wood from Louisville. 6′ 4″, 340 lbs, with big strong hands. Put him at guard. He can start as a rookie.

Third round: Duke Robinson from Oklahoma. He’s 6′ 4″ with 335 lbs. Put him at the other guard position. Have him play behind Eric Heitmann, but only for a little while. Maximum of one season.

With that draft, the O-line looks something like this:

LT – Joe Staley, 3rd season.

LG -Eric Heitmann, 8th season.  Backup = Duke Robinson, rookie.

C – David Baas, 5th season.

RG – Eric Wood, rookie.

RT – Andre Smith, rookie.

3. Train that FB to be a FB. Nobody uses fullbacks correctly anymore. Fullbacks are supposed to be big, huge men who can smash through D-lines for about 5 yards at a time or so. Too many teams rely on their smaller, faster halfbacks to make the big runs, as they should. But your small fast halfback doesn’t have as much chance on that 3rd and 4 as your fullback.

Currently, the 49ers’ FB is Moran Norris, who just came off a season of hell on the Detroit Lions. He got one carry all season for just one yard. Looking at his 2006 stats, he made 2 runs for 8 yards for an average of 4. And on both those runs, he scored touchdowns. THAT is how you are supposed to use a fullback.

However it seems since then he has been slipping. This is his 9th season, I’m guessing he’s almost done. He may have 3 more in him. I have faith that he can be coached back up to (and beyond) his old standards, especially with Coach Mike Singletary. This is the player to focus on this year.

Norris, back in the day.

YEAR 2

1. Defensive secondary. Now that you can move the ball on the ground, it’s time to stop the other team from moving the ball through the air. An effective passing offense is more potent than an effective rushing offense. The ball can cover a lot more ground. So, work on OLB’s, corners, and safeties this year… take on the D-line later.

Luckily, the 49ers have two decent corners: Nate Clements and Walt Harris. Both are former Pro Bowlers. But when you look for new corners, it’s best to pick insanely fast men who are either very tall or have a very good vertical jump.

Now, one of the few good people on the team was SS Michael Lewis. This year, the 49ers should use their undoubtedly high draft pick on USC’s Taylor Mays. Insert that beast at free safety and watch your offense start coming on the field at unexpected times.

Taylor Mays

No relation.

2. It might be a good time to look for a GOOD backup QB. Not a crappy guy you hope will stay on the sideline his whole career. Look for the next Ben Roethlisberger.

YEAR 3

1. Bribe the worst team in the league with a 1, 2, or 3 draft pick to give it to you, in exchange for their spot. For example, give the Raiders your first and third-round picks in exchange for their first. What you’re looking for is the top WR in the draft. Let’s say, Chris Tolliver from LSU.

Tolliver.

One of the nation’s top wide receivers … Has some of the best feet and acceleration of any receiver in his class… Plays excellent in space and has ability to be a dangerous returner… Shows tremendous toughness catching passes over the middle and has excellent body control … Rated 11th best wide receiver in the nation by ESPN.com and listed as the best deep threat prospect in high school football by Rivals.com … Listed as the No. 1 college prospect by Rivals.com … Named to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Super Southern 100, New Orleans Times Picayune’s Blue-Chip List, Mobile Press-Register’s Super Southeast 120 and the Baton Rouge Advocate’s Super Dozen… … Had 54 catches for 697 yards and seven touchdowns during his senior season… Also added 238 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 11 carries in 2007… As a junior, was named first-team all-state after he caught 76 passes for 1,521 yards and 17 touchdowns… Timed at 4.40 in the 40-yard dash… Coached by Bo Barton…Born on April 10, 1989.

- LSU Sports

2. Use the 2nd or 4th round to pick up a TE. Look for big guys. Jason Dosh (JMU) sounds like a winner at 6-5, 240 lb.

3. Seize another WR using a later-round pick. Just for the sake of argument, let’s say Hakeem Moore. But try to get a tall, fast receiver with big strong hands. 7 feet tall is good.

Moore, who is not seven feet tall.

4. Introduce your QB to some passing plays. The past years, Hill has been using almost exclusively running plays, with an occasional basic passing play. Now, we start opening up the passing playbook. Defenses around the league, particularly in the NFC West, will be thrown off balance, as they have come to expect the run constantly from San Francisco.

“OMG”      – the other team

Now that Hill has a variety of receivers to pass to, the depth chart may go something like this:

WR1 – Josh Morgan, 4th season.

WR2 – Dominique Zeigler, 4th season.

WR3 – Chris Tolliver, rookie.

WR4 – Hakeem Moore, rookie.

TE1 – Vernon Davis, 6th season.

TE2 – Jason Dosh, rookie.

YEAR 4

1. Draft defensive linemen. Now the only thing missing is your defensive line. The good players are getting old. But the worse problem is the fact that there are two gaping holes, at both tackle positions.

This is going to be the 2012 draft, so pick Marcus Forston in the first round and Omar Hunter in the second. Third – Lorenzo Edwards and fourth – Don’ta Hightower. Obviously these names are going to change by then, but the point is to fill those empty tackle positions, then go for the positions held by your oldest linemen first.

If (somehow) all those names match up (and you draft Adewale Ojomo in the 5th round) then your D-line will look like this:

LOLB – Patrick Willis, 6th season. Backup = Lorenzo Edwards, rookie.

LE – Aubrayo Franklin, 10th season. Backup = Adewale Ojomo, rookie.

LT – Omar Hunter, rookie.

MLB – Isaac Sopoaga, 9th season.

RT – Marcus Forston, rookie.

RE – Justin Smith, 12th season.

ROLB – Takeo Spikes, 15th season. Backup = Don’ta Hightower, rookie.

2. Super Bowl XLVII.

3 Responses to “How to build a Super Bowl Team from just a halfback, AKA How to make the 49ers good”

1. LeeGratz Says:
   March 21st, 2009 at 10:29 am

   The 49ers will never be good. The end.

2. TowsonGuy Says:
   March 22nd, 2009 at 12:52 pm

   Well they have already won 5 super bowls and were the first team to do so so its possible.

3. 87crosby87 Says:
   October 10th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

   good plan but they will not be bad enough this year to draft taylor mays.

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