Originally posted by elguapo:
Wasnt looney the player that one of our own coaches bashed publically. Yes I know it was 1 bad game but it was a little more than that. He played horrendous and then improved. But the improvement went from horrendous to below average.
M Martin was a horrible center. Yes I understand he wasnt fully healthy but dam. Really?
There are plenty of rookie centers and guards that are good from day one. Look at Dallas' last two OL. look at the center from Pitt. There are many examples of good o lineman from the start that DO T HAVE TO TAKE THEIR LUMPS and as a result we lose games bc of the offense not functioning. Think about it, less holes in running game, bad pass pro lead to sacks, ints, fumbles, 3 and outs that put our d against a wall.
I am just sick and tired of people making excuses. Yes I know it takes time to gel however, you can still be a above average or solid o lineman while geling or learning and I do not believe Martin looney or Thomas qualify under that theory. I hope I'm wrong bc I think eventually Martin and Thomas will be solid but I don't want the niners losing games and a chance at the division or playoffs just bc we won't bring in a better proven OG or Tackle. Dam.
It was Greg Roman who said it. IMO, it was a scumbag scapegoating move. Greg Roman is no idiot, and his mentor was ex-CIA. I am absolutley sure he remembered the lumps Looney took in the media back in September, so he served him up on a platter for them after we lost to the Seahawks in Seattle. Here's my take: Looney started the year at RG and steadily improved (really). Of his two heavily criticized missed blocks, one of them was JMart's fault. Then, he was basically shelved from September to mid-December, when they gave him his first ever start at Center IN SEATTLE. PFF graded him at a -1.9 overall for the day, which is below average, but not awful. I graded him slightly bette, but I agree that he played hesitant, took some false steps, and and was inconsistent with his pad level. He also had to make the line calls for the 1st time in his career, in the loudest stadium we played in last year, and had no timing advantage, since we went silent count. None of the OL had a great game, but Looney got singled out. BS face-saving move by a widely-critisized coach in survival mode. Reminds my of Nolan questioning Alex's toughness.
IMO, Martin's bad play was also exaggerated. He was assignemnt sound, placed his hands well, and used his size in pass pro. He got beat occasionally by power and speed. As he caught up to the game, he got beat less by speed. He didn't improve against power, but he just simply wasn't NFL strong yet. I'm sure he's stronger now. If he's figuring out how to used that increased strength withing his technique, he should continue to improve.
The rookies you are listing as examples were all taken in the first round, IIRC (Marquice Pouncey, Zack Martin, Travis Frederick, Tyrone Smith). We got Martin in the 3rd and Looney in the 5th. You don't get as complete of a package when you draft later. Smart GMs, like Baalke, draft OL to develop who have great feet and a good frame, because strength is the easiest deficiency to develop in the NFL. It takes a little time to build the strength, then a little more time to coach them how to use that strength, since it is a new element of their game.
