49ers Offensive Line

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
What else did you expect? The dude is Looney...

JK!

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
This x 1000

AND as of right now there isn't anyone on the team that can come in and play at a high level in both tackle positions if the need arises.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

Originally posted by elguapo:
Boone started out the season as a poor guard and the last part of the season I believe he was a top 3 guard per PFF. He kicks ass as a guard and is a very good tackle

This x 1000

AND as of right now there isn't anyone on the team that can come in and play at a high level in both tackle positions if the need arises.

Boone was a pretty decent tackle and an ok guard before he lost his desire to excel after the b***h fest. He wants out of here and we won't pay him what others will. Better get something for him now or we get a comp pick down the line.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by ModestoNiner33:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:
I think so. He's a good athlete, and he's a lot better than the general opinion of him. I think he got called out by some local writers who don't know enough to grade OL play. He didn't have many negative plays, but he had a handful of ugly ones that got a lot of attention. At least two of them were because he got hung out to dry by another OL (cough cough *JMart).

I like his nasty streak, too. Davis is the only other guy carrying some chippiness into the game. I watched Looney try to legally (ish) bust a dude's head on a PAT.

I was ashamed of what he did to Kevin Williams. But other than that I have always been pretty impressed with his athleticism considering he looks so busted and out of shape lol.

Yeah, that was messed up. Nasty doesn't have to be dirty. Don't know WTF he was thinking.

Never know if it was payback, which I hope it was...still not necessary or smart. Soured me on him for a while but one incident does not a career make.

what did he do? Any gifs of it?

Originally posted by InsertNameHere:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by ModestoNiner33:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:
I think so. He's a good athlete, and he's a lot better than the general opinion of him. I think he got called out by some local writers who don't know enough to grade OL play. He didn't have many negative plays, but he had a handful of ugly ones that got a lot of attention. At least two of them were because he got hung out to dry by another OL (cough cough *JMart).

I like his nasty streak, too. Davis is the only other guy carrying some chippiness into the game. I watched Looney try to legally (ish) bust a dude's head on a PAT.

I was ashamed of what he did to Kevin Williams. But other than that I have always been pretty impressed with his athleticism considering he looks so busted and out of shape lol.

Yeah, that was messed up. Nasty doesn't have to be dirty. Don't know WTF he was thinking.

Never know if it was payback, which I hope it was...still not necessary or smart. Soured me on him for a while but one incident does not a career make.

what did he do? Any gifs of it?

It's on youtube. He was well away from a play that was just about over, and he was standing next to K. Williams. He suddeny dropped to all fours and dove into Williams' knee. Totally cheap. Put Williams out of the game.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by ModestoNiner33:
Can Looney excell in a zbs?

I think so. He's a good athlete, and he's a lot better than the general opinion of him. I think he got called out by some local writers who don't know enough to grade OL play. He didn't have many negative plays, but he had a handful of ugly ones that got a lot of attention. At least two of them were because he got hung out to dry by another OL (cough cough *JMart).

I like his nasty streak, too. Davis is the only other guy carrying some chippiness into the game. I watched Looney try to legally (ish) bust a dude's head on a PAT.

Agreed. He is/was probably our second best pulling G too which is encouraging in a ZBS given you need to be able to block on the run. I was excited when we had Iupati at LG AND Looney at RG for a bit b/c for the first time ever, we could pull to both sides and avoid some of our predictability. The biggest "tell" in our running offense as stated by the opposition was that in order to get to the ball carrier, you just needed to follow the "move man" in our formations...Iupati, Miller, etc. and you can make the tackle. It's part of the reason we had so many negative yards on first downs and were stuck in 2nd and longs 2/3rd of the time for the entire season and over the entire HaRoman era. Simple schemes can change that here esp. if we move to a ZBS.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by ModestoNiner33:
Can Looney excell in a zbs?

I think so. He's a good athlete, and he's a lot better than the general opinion of him. I think he got called out by some local writers who don't know enough to grade OL play. He didn't have many negative plays, but he had a handful of ugly ones that got a lot of attention. At least two of them were because he got hung out to dry by another OL (cough cough *JMart).

I like his nasty streak, too. Davis is the only other guy carrying some chippiness into the game. I watched Looney try to legally (ish) bust a dude's head on a PAT.

Agreed. He is/was probably our second best pulling G too which is encouraging in a ZBS given you need to be able to block on the run. I was excited when we had Iupati at LG AND Looney at RG for a bit b/c for the first time ever, we could pull to both sides and avoid some of our predictability. The biggest "tell" in our running offense as stated by the opposition was that in order to get to the ball carrier, you just needed to follow the "move man" in our formations...Iupati, Miller, etc. and you can make the tackle. It's part of the reason we had so many negative yards on first downs and were stuck in 2nd and longs 2/3rd of the time for the entire season and over the entire HaRoman era. Simple schemes can change that here esp. if we move to a ZBS.

They used some misdirection at times, and it worked, but too often they just ran straight into the power of the defense and assumed Iupati and company could overpower the D. I think they could have used Hyde and Gore as decoys more often and had Kaepernick roll behind them for both passing and running plays.

One play I like, and I can't recall who ran it--maybe Denver?--fake to the RB who runs over LT, QB rolls behind him with a run disquised rolling pocket for a deep pass...perhaps a post route, which T Smith could excel in running. I thought of that when I read your comment, NC, about the D following the "move man." Just one of many plays that can be run to punish the defense for making assumptions. I believe Kaepernick ran a similar play a number of times but the 9ers didn't have a receiver who could get deep enough dependably. So Boldin across the middle, VD running a deep route on the opposite side. With Smith's speed three receivers could be more dangerous than four were last year.

Another reason I hate the power run game Harbaugh/Roman ran! Other than the interesting blocks, like the wham, very little subtlety.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
They used some misdirection at times, and it worked, but too often they just ran straight into the power of the defense and assumed Iupati and company could overpower the D. I think they could have used Hyde and Gore as decoys more often and had Kaepernick roll behind them for both passing and running plays.

One play I like, and I can't recall who ran it--maybe Denver?--fake to the RB who runs over LT, QB rolls behind him with a run disquised rolling pocket for a deep pass...perhaps a post route, which T Smith could excel in running. I thought of that when I read your comment, NC, about the D following the "move man." Just one of many plays that can be run to punish the defense for making assumptions. I believe Kaepernick ran a similar play a number of times but the 9ers didn't have a receiver who could get deep enough dependably. So Boldin across the middle, VD running a deep route on the opposite side. With Smith's speed three receivers could be more dangerous than four were last year.

Another reason I hate the power run game Harbaugh/Roman ran! Other than the interesting blocks, like the wham, very little subtlety.

Completely Agree!

Everyone knew it was coming.

Imposing our will Bulls-it!

IMO, beat them w/brain power like Bill Walsh did.

All the other coaches like Parcells though Walsh's short pass game was crap. Then low & behold we win Super Bowls.

Then - everyone was trying to copy it.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Completely Agree!

Everyone knew it was coming.

Imposing our will Bulls-it!

IMO, beat them w/brain power like Bill Walsh did.

All the other coaches like Parcells though Walsh's short pass game was crap. Then low & behold we win Super Bowls.

Then - everyone was trying to copy it.

Walsh used to say that the problem with depending on power is that in the NFL, you're going to run up against someone who is stronger than you. You've got to fool NFL defenses. You just can't beat them if they know what you're going to do anymore.

Originally posted by crake49:
Walsh used to say that the problem with depending on power is that in the NFL, you're going to run up against someone who is stronger than you. You've got to fool NFL defenses. You just can't beat them if they know what you're going to do anymore.

Exactly my problem with going Power Run Offense. It is so difficult to morph into other styles from the Power Run, but you can power run once in a while in any scheme. The 9ers of the 80s ran the ball down teams throats in the second half of many games because they had set it up through the pass. Having guys like Roger Craig and Tom Rathman, who could catch or run was extremely important...and I see Hyde, Bush, Hunter as capable in either! So excited with this change! If it is a change...

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by crake49:
Walsh used to say that the problem with depending on power is that in the NFL, you're going to run up against someone who is stronger than you. You've got to fool NFL defenses. You just can't beat them if they know what you're going to do anymore.

Exactly my problem with going Power Run Offense. It is so difficult to morph into other styles from the Power Run, but you can power run once in a while in any scheme. The 9ers of the 80s ran the ball down teams throats in the second half of many games because they had set it up through the pass. Having guys like Roger Craig and Tom Rathman, who could catch or run was extremely important...and I see Hyde, Bush, Hunter as capable in either! So excited with this change! If it is a change...

Agree.

We need that healthy mix that just keeps teams off balance.

Do you guys see a need to draft an oline in the first three rounds?

Originally posted by InsertNameHere:
Do you guys see a need to draft an oline in the first three rounds?

Much will be up to how the new coaches evaluate the current players. They released J Martin and picked up Pears, a veteran who can backup most spots on the line. Boone is a very good backup at either tackle and they have four guys who can play center adequately. So if either Thomas or M Martin can replace Iupati and the other is a backup, they may be set. That would allow them to take a later round, developmental lineman.

But if they take someone like Scherff early it will lock down the interior spots for years to come. Then next year they could go after a replacement at backup tackle to replace Boone if they let him leave.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Much will be up to how the new coaches evaluate the current players. They released J Martin and picked up Pears, a veteran who can backup most spots on the line. Boone is a very good backup at either tackle and they have four guys who can play center adequately. So if either Thomas or M Martin can replace Iupati and the other is a backup, they may be set. That would allow them to take a later round, developmental lineman.

But if they take someone like Scherff early it will lock down the interior spots for years to come. Then next year they could go after a replacement at backup tackle to replace Boone if they let him leave.

Maybe I am mistaken but I don't think the 49ers have any say if Boone wants to leave. Didn't they made an agreement that they could not tag him during his hold out last year?

Originally posted by kezar49er:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Much will be up to how the new coaches evaluate the current players. They released J Martin and picked up Pears, a veteran who can backup most spots on the line. Boone is a very good backup at either tackle and they have four guys who can play center adequately. So if either Thomas or M Martin can replace Iupati and the other is a backup, they may be set. That would allow them to take a later round, developmental lineman.

But if they take someone like Scherff early it will lock down the interior spots for years to come. Then next year they could go after a replacement at backup tackle to replace Boone if they let him leave.

Maybe I am mistaken but I don't think the 49ers have any say if Boone wants to leave. Didn't they made an agreement that they could not tag him during his hold out last year?

I'd like to see the 49ers fortify the Oline depth with a mid round rookie. I also don't want them to rule out OT in the 1st, even though the rookie could ride pine. If there's a good prospect that slips to #15, I wouldn't be upset.

The loser of the interior Oline battle will be a solid backup. I have Kilgore penciled in as C. So between BThomas, Martin, and Boone, someone is a backup. This puts Looney in a bad position since he is purely an interior guy. I'm not as high on Looney as others here, but he's young so I'll keep an open mind coming into this season. Pears will be the swing tackle. This leaves room for a development Tackle prospect, or if it's a high round pick that was good value, this rookie can push Pears for first sub at OT.

The whole reason I am open to a high pick for tackle is that I am scared Staley's down year was not an anomaly. I hope he rebounds, but if last season was a sign of things to come, then it's best to be prepared with a good prospect waiting in the wings. A down year for Staley is still good, but let's strive for excellence at the LT spot and be ready in case Staley declines upon his 2014 performance. I know it's very boring to pick OL in the first, but I do not want to relive the days when JMart was the first OT off the bench, or when Snyder was the first OG off the bench.

So I'm happy with a good value pick at #15 for OT. But I'd really prefer for an OL pick in the middle rounds if the situation on draft day presents itself.