Originally posted by NCommand:
Originally posted by Luckycharms:
Yeah I know many people here don't like Pears based off his PFF numbers, but one thing you have to give a lot of credit to Baalke and our scouting department is bringing in veteran FA's that fit our team. If you look at signings like Whitner, Carlos Rogers, Bethea, Goodman, Dorsey, Skuta, etc. These were all guys who weren't highly regarded FA's but became good players for our team. Baalke and our scouts have a really good eye for finding those mid to lower tier veterans who fit our team and become big contributors.
Pears is a much better OT than an OG, and Tomsula has mentioned he views Pears as a Tackle for us. He has never given up more than 4 sacks in a season, and fits better in a ZBS. It's been talked about how he isn't the strongest guy which might be why he grades poorly against the run. But in a Tomsula interview he mentioned that that has been a focus for him and Pears is the strongest he's ever been. This should help him become a decent run blocker, even when we run our power plays. I think Pears will pleastly surprise us and be a decent OT for us.
Now I think our starting lineup will be:
Staley, Boone, Kilgore, Martin, Pears
With B. Thomas first off the bench in jumbo packages and to fill in at LG or RG if one of our starters gets injured. The remaining 2 OL on our roster will be T. Brown, and Farrell. I think we have great versatility amongst most of our OL which is why I see us keeping only 8 OL on the roster instead of the usual 9 we have kept the past few years... We need every roster spot we can get.
I think Boone covers LT and RT if either staley or Pears gets hurt. Thomas would then fill in at LG or RG if Boone would need to play tackle or if he or Martin get hurt. T.Brown will be our emergency swing Tackle if Boone is hurt and not available to fill in. Martin can play C if Kilgore gets hurt and Farrell can play either OG spot or be our emergency C if Kilgore and Martin were to both be injured. Like I said, we have great versatility and this would give us plenty of contingency plans in case of injuries. Great job by Baalke for aquiring so many versatile lineman, and great job by our coaching staff for having guys practice and prepare at different positions during OTA's.
So you've got Staley, Boone, Kilgore, Martin, Pears making the team as well as Farrell and Thomas and Brown. Those are the 8 I have as well...even though we kept 9 last year. That said, I also go back and forth between Farrell and Looney as Looney played well at C for us at the end of the year and can play both G positions and he's a strong blocker on the move (pulling) which may translate to a quality ZB OL if he continues to slim down and hit the cardio. But Farrell may very well be the more natural fit there. So I go back and forth on that one and will have to analyze the OL again this year during pre season to figure it out (WRATH and I predicted Farrell last year to make the 53 as a result of that work).
Yeah I see Farrell over Looney, but that's simply my preference. Last year the FO seemed to protect this guy all season, letting guys like Bykowski and Snyder go while keeping him off the PS. This bodes well for his future.
I've done quite a few 53 man roster projections in my head and I think keeping 8 OL instead of the usual 9 will be the best play. Almost all 8 I listed are versatile and can play all over the line, we need every roster spot we can get with all the young talent we have at several spots (WR, CB, LB, RB). I also see Silberman on the PS for emergency OG work and Justin Renfrow or Gottschalk for emergency/developmental OT.
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