Justin Smith, one of the all-time best 49er defensive linemen appreciation thread.

He was such a force......gonna miss him this year. I guess on the bright side, the 49ers average age likely has gone down this year. with all of the departures.....that's a good thing. (More speed and less injuries and more cap space). We might be average for a year or two but I believe we will be serious SB contenders before too long. There is still a LOT of talent on this team and once the newbie's get some experience, we will rock!!! Realistically this is Seattle's last serious run for the SB and then they will need to re-load, so here is hoping they falter this year. I think in a few years it will be the Niner's and Ram's fighting for top spot in the NFC West. Go Niners!!!

Reading thru this thread makes me feel like s**t. One of the best 49ers ever. Gone.

Originally posted by niners94:

Originally posted by LayTheWoodall:
Not too surprising, but still a sad day nonetheless.

This era in Niners history will unfortunately be looked back upon as a series of blown opportunities, but it was a fun ride.

I remember being stoked when we signed him away from the Bengals in the 2008 offseason.

Thanks for the memories Cowboy aka Country.

Feels like a Sacramento Kings fan from the early 2000s.

and the Seahawks are the Lakers. ouch

Originally posted by REB4:
The most telling quotes from Justin Smith's retirement: 'For four years there, to walk into camp thinking you can win a Super Bowl was pretty cool'.
He no longer thinks it can happen anymore, hence yet another reason to retire. Go spin that sh*te!!

No need you already did

Originally posted by REB4:
The most telling quotes from Justin Smith's retirement: 'For four years there, to walk into camp thinking you can win a Super Bowl was pretty cool'.
He no longer thinks it can happen anymore, hence yet another reason to retire. Go spin that sh*te!!

You have spun his words exactly the way that you want.

But, Justin Smith did not say what you want to see when you read between the lines.

.

Originally posted by REB4:
The most telling quotes from Justin Smith's retirement: 'For four years there, to walk into camp thinking you can win a Super Bowl was pretty cool'.
He no longer thinks it can happen anymore, hence yet another reason to retire. Go spin that sh*te!!

LOL. no what it means is that for the last 4 years he was a member of a team that was a SB contender each year. He is now retired and no longer a member of that team and is reflecting back on his last 4 years here.

Really going to miss watching this guy play. One of my all time favorite 49ers. Just a humble hard working high motor beast of a player.

Pretty sure had Baalke not destroyed the coaching staff and the roster that Justin would have come back to finish out his contract.

Well, my child hood era has just died

Why walk away with a year remaining on your contract?:

Where I play on the right side, all my contact comes on my left shoulder and left side. And it doesn t respond the way I want it to respond anymore. If you don t have the tools, you can t do the job. So it s just time to go.

How different the past couple years with that injury?

It s no fun. Obviously ou want everything to work the way you want it. But you crap in one hand and wish in another, and see what fills up first. It ain t always going to be how you want it. That was definitely my case the past couple years. I ve had conversations with Trent, Jimmy T, even (Jim) Harbaugh and Vic (Fangio). They all want you to keep playing, and I want to keep playing as well, but when you get on the bald tires, you re on the bald tires.

Any thoughts on moving to the left side?

"I actually talked to (former 49ers running back and current assistant coach Tom) Rathman a little bit, and you know when it s time. There s a certain emotional ... you have to go into games with the right mindset. It s a young man s game, and you ve got to be full of piss and vinegar when you step on the field. As you get older, it s harder to get that same intensity going, week in and week out. It s just time to go. It was just time for me to move on."

Do you know what your plan is for your future?

Not yet. I m sure I ll be doing something football related down the road. That s all we know. I don t think I ll be getting into whatever else other guys do all the time. I don t know if that s coaching. Maybe Jed wants me to give advice on the 49ers. No, I m just kidding. What up Jed!

Will you stay here or move back to Missouri?

I ll go back to Missouri.

What did that mean to close your career with a shot at the Super Bowl the last few years?

Oh it was great. There s a lot of going into training camp this year and everybody is going to show up wanting to win a Super Bowl. I was no different. Every year there s less than a 10 percent chance you ll really win it. Deep down you know if you re team has a shot to do it. For four years there, to walk into camp thinking you can win a Super Bowl was pretty cool.

Was this a hard decision?

There s always been open talk between me, Jimmy, Trent every season. When I signed my extension I did with Trent and Paraag, we went into it knowing more than likely I wouldn t play it out. It was rolling cap money over my 13th year so we could get a piece or two here or there to make a Super Bowl run. They did that with a lot of guys, Bo and Pat. We were gearing up for a Super Bowl run. I probably gave it a 20-percent chance I d play a 15th year anyway, and after that I tore my triceps and shoulder up.

How long did you play with that shoulder injury?

I want to say at least two. I did it in training camp against Mike (Iupati) and it just never bounced back. It s just one of those things. I m just lucky and fortunate it happened Year 13 and 14, not Year 2. I m not going to complain about it.



Did the triceps/elbow issue crop up after 2012?

All of a sudden my elbow through my shoulders. Some guys get ankles, some get knees. You re going to get hurt. Nobody is going to b***h or moan about playing football. It s about how long you are going to keep going after the injury. Everybody is different, I guess.

Do you have a favorite play?

Oh, there s like three or four years there. The thing that really sticks out to me - on the football field, everything runs together, everything happens so fast because you re doing- but what sticks out in my mind were the plane rides back after big wins. We just had fun. I played a lot of football here and other places, where it felt like a job, because you re losing or this and that and something wasn t right. Everything was just rolling together and we were having fun. That s what sticks out in my mind.

Would you consider a career in the media?

You know how much I love this. (Laughter.) Would be something if I went on talk shows after this, wouldn t it? No, I don t see that happening.

Does that forced fumble on Jeremy Maclin in 2011 hold a special memory because it showed your motor?


The thing about that was we just got a big win on the road and we just got on a roll after there. We kind of went on a three-year roll. We had a hell of a team and we had a hell of a lot of fun playing together. That s what it s all about. Professional football is cut throat, a business with guys fighting for jobs. To come together and have fun winning, you start feeling like you own part of the team when you re having so much fun and winning like that. That s unique and doesn t happen very often. I was around a long time. That s what is so cool to me.

What happened to your shoulder in camp?

There was a piece of bone that detached and lodged in the back of it. I didn t know until they went in and did surgery. But I just knew it hurt like hell. It s just one of those things, arthritis build up, wear and tear, yada yada yada, it s time.
Transcript Justin Smith

Any thought for a formal retirement press conference in a suit and tie?

No not at all. You come in, you go out, everything moves on. It s just no different. It was a good ride. You guys ain t going to get me in a room to make me cry. It was a pretty cut-and-dry decision the whole time.



http://www.montereyherald.com/sports/20150518/justin-smith-transcript-for-four-years-there-to-walk-into-camp-thinking-you-can-win-a-super-bowl-was-pretty-cool

jed should give this man a job with the team.

Still had some speed:


Still had the power:

Originally posted by susweel:
jed should give this man a job with the team.

He and Aubrayo coaching would be terrific! I'm sure they asked him. Who wouldnt?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by susweel:
jed should give this man a job with the team.

He and Aubrayo coaching would be terrific! I'm sure they asked him. Who wouldnt?

It sounds like he wants to stay around the game, hopefully they can work something out. Guys like this you want to keep around.

Bright side of this is now if Smith plays this year Carradine likely doesn't get much time and he then has 1 year left on his rookie deal and it might have killed off his career. Could have discouraged him and gave him 1 year to prove himself. Now we get to see him for 2 years hopefully before deciding if he is worthy of being re-signed. It allows him to show us what he has got and he wont be hindered by Smith anymore although Smith was obviously the better player. It also will get Armstead more reps early so he can be ready after this year or next when Dockett retires. Maybe we cut Dockett after this year (to save money) if Armstead looks good enough in his limited reps. Hopefully Armstead and Carradine are the future and guys like Dial, Williams, Dorsey are here long term filling out the rest of the order. So sad to see him go especially with so much turnover this year but in a way glad for the young guys especially Carradine.

As far as him being a coach I bet he wants a year or two off to relax and get healthy and then when he gets bored or is ready to coach we should offer him an assistant DL coaching job. Like we gave Franklin.