49ers Offensive Line

Originally posted by NinerGM:

It's soooooo ridiculously early. I can understand if this was a LT we were trying to replace, but there will be cuts even before TC is done.

The players retiring are forcing our hand, we have no choice? Protect KAP at all costs. Someone has to step up. What other choice do we have at this point. Can't afford to let these rookies sit and learn.

Good DLs are going to give us trouble.

Which is like every team in the NFC West

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by Wu-5Rings:

Originally posted by NinerGM:

It's soooooo ridiculously early. I can understand if this was a LT we were trying to replace, but there will be cuts even before TC is done.

The players retiring are forcing our hand, we have no choice? Protect KAP at all costs. Someone has to step up. What other choice do we have at this point. Can't afford to let these rookies sit and learn.

Do you honestly think Baalke and Gamble are going to let this go unanswered? Do people really believe this? It's so much easier to replace a RT vs a LT. If this were Staley I'd honestly be concerned.

Our offensive line was horrible last year. There are a bunch of question marks instead of answers for KAP.

With Davis retiring, really I'm not all that concerned. With all the injuries he had the past two seasons, did anyone seriously expect any guarantees that he wouldn't get hurt again or might have lingering issues? He had MULTIPLE injuries he was battling and when that happens, there's cause for concern going forward. There was no guarantee Davis wouldn't have been out again, which would have screwed up the OL chemistry.

I'm glad this happened soon enough for us to get other guys more reps and eventually give the better players a chance to gel together. As I mentioned in another thread, we have a massive amount of interior depth, to go along with better-than-advertised OT depth as well. Just think about it. On the inside, we've got Thomas, Martin, Kilgore, Farrell, Pears, Looney, and Silberman competing. Well, and PS player Tiller. At OT, behind Boone we have Pears and Trenton Brown along with other developing guys or rookies in Chris Martin, Justin Renfrow, and Patrick Miller.

If everyone's healthy, I'm expecting a new starting group of Staley-Thomas-Kilgore-Martin-Boone. Although those inner three are anyone's guess right now.

Erik Pears is a good bet to start now, either at RG or RT. Depends if we keep Boone at RG, or slide him over. Brown is a wild-card.

Pears didn't have a good season last year in Buffalo. He was a bad fit for Doug Marrone's power-blocking scheme.

Good news is we're switching to zone-blocking, and he was much better playing in zone when Chan Gailey was there. Before that he played zone with the Raiders and Broncos.

NO1SCURRED

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
With Davis retiring, really I'm not all that concerned. With all the injuries he had the past two seasons, did anyone seriously expect any guarantees that he wouldn't get hurt again or might have lingering issues? He had MULTIPLE injuries he was battling and when that happens, there's cause for concern going forward. There was no guarantee Davis wouldn't have been out again, which would have screwed up the OL chemistry.

I'm glad this happened soon enough for us to get other guys more reps and eventually give the better players a chance to gel together. As I mentioned in another thread, we have a massive amount of interior depth, to go along with better-than-advertised OT depth as well. Just think about it. On the inside, we've got Thomas, Martin, Kilgore, Farrell, Pears, Looney, and Silberman competing. Well, and PS player Tiller. At OT, behind Boone we have Pears and Trenton Brown along with other developing guys or rookies in Chris Martin, Justin Renfrow, and Patrick Miller.

If everyone's healthy, I'm expecting a new starting group of Staley-Thomas-Kilgore-Martin-Boone. Although those inner three are anyone's guess right now.

Agree with your potential starting lineup. In the short run Boone is the logical RT and Martin is good enough to start. Thomas is a big question and interesting to watch. But by the middle of the year this lineup could be much better than last year if the OC can call a decent game. So much line success depends on putting the defense back on its heals with confusing play call sequences. I see it as very similar to judo...use the defenders strengths against them!

LT: Joe Staley
LG: Brandon Thomas
C: Daniel Kilgore
RG: Marcus Martin
RT: Alex Boone

Like a lot of people, I have been concerned about the offensive tackle situation. A. Davis has struggled with injuries (it's probably a good idea for him to take a year off and get healthy) and Boone hasn't shown himself to be particularly reliable lately, so though he may do well if he is kicked out to RT - lots of incentive for him to do so because he can cash in on it - I wish I could feel more confident that he would do well. Please excuse me for tooting my own horn a bit, but that's why I posted this back in May (in the "Bold Predictions" thread, post #10):

http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/niners/182591-bold-predictions/

Baalke is going to wish he had acquired a much better back-up offensive tackle in FA or the draft.

Originally posted by Trav49:

LT: Joe Staley
LG: Brandon Thomas
C: Daniel Kilgore
RG: Marcus Martin
RT: Alex Boone

This is the ol most likely
Depth...pears as a swing tackle and maybe even guard.
Brown as a backup RT
Looney siberman and a few others as backup guards.
Martin can play center
B Thomas can play LT
Boone can play both tackle spots and rg for sure

Originally posted by 49erphan:
Like a lot of people, I have been concerned about the offensive tackle situation. A. Davis has struggled with injuries (it's probably a good idea for him to take a year off and get healthy) and Boone hasn't shown himself to be particularly reliable lately, so though he may do well if he is kicked out to RT - lots of incentive for him to do so because he can cash in on it - I wish I could feel more confident that he would do well. Please excuse me for tooting my own horn a bit, but that's why I posted this back in May (in the "Bold Predictions" thread, post #10):

http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/niners/182591-bold-predictions/

Baalke is going to wish he had acquired a much better back-up offensive tackle in FA or the draft.

Well he did grab Pears in FA (has to be better than Synder and J.Martin was) plus two developmental T's in Silberman and Brown (who is already getting nice reports). Obviously, had Baalke known about Davis, he would have taken additional measures to secure a viable and more assured replacement. But that's on Davis. Not Baalke.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49erphan:
Like a lot of people, I have been concerned about the offensive tackle situation. A. Davis has struggled with injuries (it's probably a good idea for him to take a year off and get healthy) and Boone hasn't shown himself to be particularly reliable lately, so though he may do well if he is kicked out to RT - lots of incentive for him to do so because he can cash in on it - I wish I could feel more confident that he would do well. Please excuse me for tooting my own horn a bit, but that's why I posted this back in May (in the "Bold Predictions" thread, post #10):

http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/niners/182591-bold-predictions/

Baalke is going to wish he had acquired a much better back-up offensive tackle in FA or the draft.

Well he did grab Pears in FA (has to be better than Synder and J.Martin was) plus two developmental T's in Silberman and Brown (who is already getting nice reports). Obviously, had Baalke known about Davis, he would have taken additional measures to secure a viable and more assured replacement. But that's on Davis. Not Baalke.

Yes, Davis should have figured out that he was going to bow out before the draft, but with his injury situation, Baalke should have assumed there was a pretty fair chance that Davis would not be available for at least a big chunk of the season. I certainly hope Pears turns out to be better with a different scheme and coaches but I think it's fair to say he is at least a big question mark. And Silberman and/or Brown may turn out to be good OTs, but, again, they are least big question marks for this year. I think Baalke would have improved the likelihood of getting a good spare tackle if he had chosen one in the first or second rounds (or at least 3rd) of the draft. If not that, he should have aimed for an experienced vet with more proven recent play than Pears.

I really hope Pears does not start he is horrendous

Originally posted by elguapo:

Originally posted by Trav49:
LT: Joe Staley
LG: Brandon Thomas
C: Daniel Kilgore
RG: Marcus Martin
RT: Alex Boone

This is the ol most likely
Depth...pears as a swing tackle and maybe even guard.
Brown as a backup RT
Looney siberman and a few others as backup guards.
Martin can play center
B Thomas can play LT
Boone can play both tackle spots and rg for sure

Moving Boone to LT looks like the best scenario to me also. Except for what it does to his head now wanting starting tackle money