Darryl Morris (2013 UDFA CB)

Good to see Morris progressing nicely this off-season.

What if he beats out Jimmie Ward in camp for the NB spot???

If Morris beats Ward it means that the 49ers have a good young corner in Morris and Ward is still learning. Any time a youngster wins a starting job over a vet (Cox/Cook) it's good news for the team. Young guys tend to be cheaper and healthier and continue to improve with experience while older guys are more expensive, more likely to get hurt and stay hurt longer, and are likely getting worse rather than better. That said it's not like Cox and Cook are old at all.

I'm glad the staff looked at who they had at CB and decided that Brown and Rogers were not needed, then they went and added 4 new DBs anyway.

Originally posted by Giedi:
Darryl and the improvement of some of our DB's - I got to give some credit to Ed Donatelle. He's a good DB coach and if we win the big one this year, he's one of the coaches I expect to become a HC if not a DC somewhere.

I felt we were very lucky to retain him this year. I've been crossing my fingers every year hoping our assistants (the best in the game IMO) don't get snatched, but you have to figure our guys, especially on the defensive side of the football are going to get DC coordinator positions.

I'm looking forward to Morris making some serious noise this year.

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
What if he beats out Jimmie Ward in camp for the NB spot???

It's not bad news at all. Morris has a year in the system and has great speed. We all know Trent Baalke has a great eye for DB talent. Just because Morris was an UDFA doesn't mean he can't win the job. Tramaine Brock was an UDFA and he basically helped to push Carlos Rogers and Tarrell Brown off the roster.

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
What if he beats out Jimmie Ward in camp for the NB spot???

What if Ward then beats out Bethea? TC should be interesting. While there is a lot of unproven talent in the secondary, there is also a lot of potential for playmakers in this secondary. I am nervous, but pretty excited about the potential

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:

What if he beats out Jimmie Ward in camp for the NB spot???

What if Ward then beats out Bethea? TC should be interesting. While there is a lot of unproven talent in the secondary, there is also a lot of potential for playmakers in this secondary. I am nervous, but pretty excited about the potential

Hell yeah! I'd love for that to happen. I'm not going to bet my house on that happening, but that would be great! A young and talented secondary with a monster pass rush, and elite passing teams in the NFL will suffocate against a defense like that.

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
What if Ward then beats out Bethea? TC should be interesting. While there is a lot of unproven talent in the secondary, there is also a lot of potential for playmakers in this secondary. I am nervous, but pretty excited about the potential

Don't think there's any real way for Ward to beat out Bethea this year since he's got $10mil guaranteed.

Originally posted by Disp:

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
What if Ward then beats out Bethea? TC should be interesting. While there is a lot of unproven talent in the secondary, there is also a lot of potential for playmakers in this secondary. I am nervous, but pretty excited about the potential

Don't think there's any real way for Ward to beat out Bethea this year since he's got $10mil guaranteed.

10mil? That is not right, is it? That would be one of the highest paid players on the team.

He's not making that much this year, but he has $9.25 mil. guaranteed over the contract. Basically saying they're not going to pay him $10mil. over 2 seasons to be a backup.

Originally posted by Disp:
He's not making that much this year, but he has $9.25 mil. guaranteed over the contract. Basically saying they're not going to pay him $10mil. over 2 seasons to be a backup.

I hope the coaching staff doesnt think like that, hopefully they want the best players on the field regardless of the pay.

Originally posted by Disp:

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

What if Ward then beats out Bethea? TC should be interesting. While there is a lot of unproven talent in the secondary, there is also a lot of potential for playmakers in this secondary. I am nervous, but pretty excited about the potential

Don't think there's any real way for Ward to beat out Bethea this year since he's got $10mil guaranteed.

Not sure about that $ figure. But let's say it is, if Ward is the better player, the Niners will start him.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:

Originally posted by Giedi:
Darryl and the improvement of some of our DB's - I got to give some credit to Ed Donatelle. He's a good DB coach and if we win the big one this year, he's one of the coaches I expect to become a HC if not a DC somewhere.

I felt we were very lucky to retain him this year. I've been crossing my fingers every year hoping our assistants (the best in the game IMO) don't get snatched, but you have to figure our guys, especially on the defensive side of the football are going to get DC coordinator positions.

I'm looking forward to Morris making some serious noise this year.

Well cmon now. I would agree with you on the defensive side of the ball, but there is a sizable drop off in the over all quality of our offensive coaches imo.

I like Rathman, and I like Solari and that's about it on the offensive coaching staff. Now defense? I love Tomsula and a guy I really really want to remain a Niner. Donatell as previously mentioned is a stud db coach, has been a DC and is likely to be again imo. I like Leavitt a lot as well.

And don't count out Cox as well. Like Brock prior to his rise, he wasn't on many's radar...then he got cut and a light came on and he came back with a vengence and was probably our best DB throughout the playoffs. Maybe he is also like Brock and just needed quite a bit of developmental time...when that light comes on, it comes on and usually stays on! So between Cox, Ward and Morris, the slot/nickle job should be a pretty epic battle...as will the outside #2 CB job with Culliver, Cook and Johnson/Acker.

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

Originally posted by Disp:

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
What if Ward then beats out Bethea? TC should be interesting. While there is a lot of unproven talent in the secondary, there is also a lot of potential for playmakers in this secondary. I am nervous, but pretty excited about the potential

Don't think there's any real way for Ward to beat out Bethea this year since he's got $10mil guaranteed.

Not sure about that $ figure. But let's say it is, if Ward is the better player, the Niners will start him.

I just don't think they're going to give the dude enough reps in practice to unseat a proven vet that they just signed for pretty big bucks. Sure if Bethea bombs there's a chance, but it sounds like maybe (making these numbers up) 75% of Ward's reps are going to be at CB and 25% at safety. Next year maybe, but it doesn't make sense this year.