49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Thread

trading for the top left tackle in the NFL is not prioritizing QB protection. on what planet?

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

I think Banks is a hit. Brendl was a good job of shopping from the clearance rack and finding a solid contributor. Burford can be a player depending on how he handles full time RG duty this season.

Hoping Foerster can develop day 3 picks in a similar way Kocurek develops DL draft busts.

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

That's fair...and a bit undetermined too with Banks and Burford. And we'll see with McKivitz.

Would you say they've prioritized it like the Championship teams did? Or like we do with the DL annually? I'd say it hasn't been overlooked but they clearly don't have a desire to buy-develop-trade for an elite unit.

That's been backed by Kyle and John's own comments about team building and actions to date after 7 years. I think it's pretty safe to say they believe they can work around it not being a top unit and prioritize other areas instead. That's more important to them.

Now let's see if it actually works in the end. Let's hope so. There are a lot of ways to build a team, even with the 1990's model they subscribe too.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

I think Banks is a hit. Brendl was a good job of shopping from the clearance rack and finding a solid contributor. Burford can be a player depending on how he handles full time RG duty this season.

Hoping Foerster can develop day 3 picks in a similar way Kocurek develops DL draft busts.

I guess I'm a little more pessimistic on our OL and Foerester.

Banks was high second round pick and didn't grade out as a top 32 G last season, he's not a bust but its frustrating seeing the Chiefs draft a pro bowl caliber player in the same draft... in the 5th round. I've just never been excited about the player/skillset and his fit in our scheme.

Brendel was nice on a low contract but personally, I was hoping we could upgrade at that position, and I thought we could have done so in the draft this year.

I'm more of a fan of Burford, I think he's exactly the kind of player we should value. IMO Trent and Burford are the only true values we've have had on the OL.

Mckivitz is an unkown at this point. If he plays well, that's another value pickup.

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

I think Banks is a hit. Brendl was a good job of shopping from the clearance rack and finding a solid contributor. Burford can be a player depending on how he handles full time RG duty this season.

Hoping Foerster can develop day 3 picks in a similar way Kocurek develops DL draft busts.

I guess I'm a little more pessimistic on our OL and Foerester.

Banks was high second round pick and didn't grade out as a top 32 G last season, he's not a bust but its frustrating seeing the Chiefs draft a pro bowl caliber player in the same draft... in the 5th round. I've just never been excited about the player/skillset and his fit in our scheme.

Brendel was nice on a low contract but personally, I was hoping we could upgrade at that position, and I thought we could have done so in the draft this year.

I'm more of a fan of Burford, I think he's exactly the kind of player we should value. IMO Trent and Burford are the only true values we've have had on the OL.

Mckivitz is an unkown at this point. If he plays well, that's another value pickup.

They haven't hit on OL the same way they've hit on WRs and LBs. With how so many college offenses operate, there are less OL prospects that get drafted and are ready to go, so most will need development. I don't know about Foerster's ability to coach the prospects up, but I guess we'll find out with Burford and McKovitz taking on large roles this season.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

That's fair...and a bit undetermined too with Banks and Burford. And we'll see with McKivitz.

Would you say they've prioritized it like the Championship teams did? Or like we do with the DL annually? I'd say it hasn't been overlooked but they clearly don't have a desire to buy-develop-trade for an elite unit.

That's been backed by Kyle and John's own comments about team building and actions to date after 7 years. I think it's pretty safe to say they believe they can work around it not being a top unit and prioritize other areas instead. That's more important to them.

Now let's see if it actually works in the end. Let's hope so. There are a lot of ways to build a team, even with the 1990's model they subscribe too.

Ranked top 5 in sack% as well as pressure rate last season after all these years of neglect must seem like a miracle to you.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

I think Banks is a hit. Brendl was a good job of shopping from the clearance rack and finding a solid contributor. Burford can be a player depending on how he handles full time RG duty this season.

Hoping Foerster can develop day 3 picks in a similar way Kocurek develops DL draft busts.

I guess I'm a little more pessimistic on our OL and Foerester.

Banks was high second round pick and didn't grade out as a top 32 G last season, he's not a bust but its frustrating seeing the Chiefs draft a pro bowl caliber player in the same draft... in the 5th round. I've just never been excited about the player/skillset and his fit in our scheme.

Brendel was nice on a low contract but personally, I was hoping we could upgrade at that position, and I thought we could have done so in the draft this year.

I'm more of a fan of Burford, I think he's exactly the kind of player we should value. IMO Trent and Burford are the only true values we've have had on the OL.

Mckivitz is an unkown at this point. If he plays well, that's another value pickup.

They haven't hit on OL the same way they've hit on WRs and LBs. With how so many college offenses operate, there are less OL prospects that get drafted and are ready to go, so most will need development. I don't know about Foerster's ability to coach the prospects up, but I guess we'll find out with Burford and McKovitz taking on large roles this season.

What O-lineman have they hit on via the draft?

Originally posted by glorydayz:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

I think Banks is a hit. Brendl was a good job of shopping from the clearance rack and finding a solid contributor. Burford can be a player depending on how he handles full time RG duty this season.

Hoping Foerster can develop day 3 picks in a similar way Kocurek develops DL draft busts.

I guess I'm a little more pessimistic on our OL and Foerester.

Banks was high second round pick and didn't grade out as a top 32 G last season, he's not a bust but its frustrating seeing the Chiefs draft a pro bowl caliber player in the same draft... in the 5th round. I've just never been excited about the player/skillset and his fit in our scheme.

Brendel was nice on a low contract but personally, I was hoping we could upgrade at that position, and I thought we could have done so in the draft this year.

I'm more of a fan of Burford, I think he's exactly the kind of player we should value. IMO Trent and Burford are the only true values we've have had on the OL.

Mckivitz is an unkown at this point. If he plays well, that's another value pickup.

They haven't hit on OL the same way they've hit on WRs and LBs. With how so many college offenses operate, there are less OL prospects that get drafted and are ready to go, so most will need development. I don't know about Foerster's ability to coach the prospects up, but I guess we'll find out with Burford and McKovitz taking on large roles this season.

What O-lineman have they hit on via the draft?

McGlinchey may not have lived up to his top10 draft status but he did go on to sign a lucrative second contract. Banks I am putting into the hit category. Your definition of 'hit' may vary. Day 3 picks are a total crapshoot.

Originally posted by YACBros85:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

That's fair...and a bit undetermined too with Banks and Burford. And we'll see with McKivitz.

Would you say they've prioritized it like the Championship teams did? Or like we do with the DL annually? I'd say it hasn't been overlooked but they clearly don't have a desire to buy-develop-trade for an elite unit.

That's been backed by Kyle and John's own comments about team building and actions to date after 7 years. I think it's pretty safe to say they believe they can work around it not being a top unit and prioritize other areas instead. That's more important to them.

Now let's see if it actually works in the end. Let's hope so. There are a lot of ways to build a team, even with the 1990's model they subscribe too.

Ranked top 5 in sack% as well as pressure rate last season after all these years of neglect must seem like a miracle to you.

You know I was very happy with their baseline last year. So yes, most definitely. Did that translate to the playoffs? Absolutely not. Unit pass protection was still a big issue so we're not there yet. That's OK to admit.

Do you think this is an elite OL that gives Kyle, Brock and the playmakers the best shot to help win #6?

Because if you're being honest, that may not match up with PFF. Not yet anyhow.

Originally posted by NCommand:
You know I was very happy with their baseline last year. So yes, most definitely. Did that translate to the playoffs? Absolutely not. Unit pass protection was still a big issue so we're not there yet. That's OK to admit.

Do you think this is an elite OL that gives Kyle, Brock and the playmakers the best shot to help win #6?

Because if you're being honest, that may not match up with PFF. Not yet anyhow.

If McKiviitz can show he belongs (jury is absolutely out) I don't think the OL will be the most responsible for a loss. As has been pointed out KC gave up a crap ton of pressures in the SB and still won? Why? The guy playing QB.

Do you think Brock is an elite enough qb to get is #6? Is the secondary gonna be good enough?

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by glorydayz:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

I think Banks is a hit. Brendl was a good job of shopping from the clearance rack and finding a solid contributor. Burford can be a player depending on how he handles full time RG duty this season.

Hoping Foerster can develop day 3 picks in a similar way Kocurek develops DL draft busts.

I guess I'm a little more pessimistic on our OL and Foerester.

Banks was high second round pick and didn't grade out as a top 32 G last season, he's not a bust but its frustrating seeing the Chiefs draft a pro bowl caliber player in the same draft... in the 5th round. I've just never been excited about the player/skillset and his fit in our scheme.

Brendel was nice on a low contract but personally, I was hoping we could upgrade at that position, and I thought we could have done so in the draft this year.

I'm more of a fan of Burford, I think he's exactly the kind of player we should value. IMO Trent and Burford are the only true values we've have had on the OL.

Mckivitz is an unkown at this point. If he plays well, that's another value pickup.

They haven't hit on OL the same way they've hit on WRs and LBs. With how so many college offenses operate, there are less OL prospects that get drafted and are ready to go, so most will need development. I don't know about Foerster's ability to coach the prospects up, but I guess we'll find out with Burford and McKovitz taking on large roles this season.

What O-lineman have they hit on via the draft?

McGlinchey may not have lived up to his top10 draft status but he did go on to sign a lucrative second contract. Banks I am putting into the hit category. Your definition of 'hit' may vary. Day 3 picks are a total crapshoot.

I don't agree that he was good, but even if what you say is true one decent drafted o-linemen in 7 years?

So our offensive genius can't choose o-line or QB's?

Walsh new exactly what he wanted from each position in regards to physical and mental attributes. Right now we seem to be throwing paint at the wall.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by YACBros85:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JoseCortez:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by captveg:
Most of the QB injuries to Jimmy and Lance have been little to do with the OL, too. Even Purdy's arm injury was on the TE not the OL.

Agree, but still its a bit unusual to have four QBs go down in a single season. Hopefully Kyle adjusts his QB protections and offensive schemes, the way he's adjusted his approach from being an offensive coordinator to head coach. He's much more cognizant of QB injuries now, versus when he was just an OC. An example of Kyle changing or tweaking his offensive scheme is his running backs have gotten bigger since he lost the Superbowl in 2019.

Most teams that win superbowls prioritize protecting their qb and keeping their qb healthy. Shanahan does not.

Facts.

You obviously don't know what the word fact means

I mean, I just talked about it. Idk how you can argue we don't prioritize OL. We've just sucked in our scouting in that area.

That's fair...and a bit undetermined too with Banks and Burford. And we'll see with McKivitz.

Would you say they've prioritized it like the Championship teams did? Or like we do with the DL annually? I'd say it hasn't been overlooked but they clearly don't have a desire to buy-develop-trade for an elite unit.

That's been backed by Kyle and John's own comments about team building and actions to date after 7 years. I think it's pretty safe to say they believe they can work around it not being a top unit and prioritize other areas instead. That's more important to them.

Now let's see if it actually works in the end. Let's hope so. There are a lot of ways to build a team, even with the 1990's model they subscribe too.

Ranked top 5 in sack% as well as pressure rate last season after all these years of neglect must seem like a miracle to you.

You know I was very happy with their baseline last year. So yes, most definitely. Did that translate to the playoffs? Absolutely not. Unit pass protection was still a big issue so we're not there yet. That's OK to admit.

Do you think this is an elite OL that gives Kyle, Brock and the playmakers the best shot to help win #6?

Because if you're being honest, that may not match up with PFF. Not yet anyhow.

Theres been two teams in the past decade that heavily prioritized OL (that I can think of). By that I mean spending multiple 1st round picks on OL within a short time span (several years) and that was th Cowboys and Eagles.

One team won a SB out of it the other team is still struggling to win a playoff game.

So besides the Eagles, there just hasn't been barely any data that backs up your point of needing to overspend and overdraft on OL.

Patriots didn't build a dynasty with their OL. 49ers didn't build a dynasty with their OL.

And this has been explained to you idk how many times lol and the annoying part is that you will literally make posts agreeing with it and the the next day you go back to your same shtick. Seems like you have a personality where you want everyone to like you lol, just make up your mind already and stick with it.

The explanation once again is that OL talent is much harder to find. Go looks at every draft for the past 10 years and you will see a major drop off in OL talent compared to DL talent. So stop for the love of god trying to compare OL to DL.

We've done a good enough job addressing the OL and looking for replacements if players are not up to par. Trent, McG, Banks, Richburg, and then sprinkle in a bunch of 2nd day picks. Problem is 2nd/3rd day picks has a major drop off in talent. If we focused everything on OL in the first two rounds we wouldn't have this overall great roster. I live in Charlotte now and the amount of slobbering that the local media gives the 49ers here says a lot, same with the national media. We have the best all around roster bc of Lynch and Kyle, and people like you still b***h and then agree with s**t posts from a troll.

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:
Theres been two teams in the past decade that heavily prioritized OL (that I can think of). By that I mean spending multiple 1st round picks on OL within a short time span (several years) and that was th Cowboys and Eagles.

One team won a SB out of it the other team is still struggling to win a playoff game.

So besides the Eagles, there just hasn't been barely any data that backs up your point of needing to overspend and overdraft on OL.

Patriots didn't build a dynasty with their OL. 49ers didn't build a dynasty with their OL.

And this has been explained to you idk how many times lol and the annoying part is that you will literally make posts agreeing with it and the the next day you go back to your same shtick. Seems like you have a personality where you want everyone to like you lol, just make up your mind already and stick with it.

The explanation once again is that OL talent is much harder to find. Go looks at every draft for the past 10 years and you will see a major drop off in OL talent compared to DL talent. So stop for the love of god trying to compare OL to DL.

We've done a good enough job addressing the OL and looking for replacements if players are not up to par. Trent, McG, Banks, Richburg, and then sprinkle in a bunch of 2nd day picks. Problem is 2nd/3rd day picks has a major drop off in talent. If we focused everything on OL in the first two rounds we wouldn't have this overall great roster. I live in Charlotte now and the amount of slobbering that the local media gives the 49ers here says a lot, same with the national media. We have the best all around roster bc of Lynch and Kyle, and people like you still b***h and then agree with s**t posts from a troll.

Colts have spent heavily on OL and have nothing to show for it because their QBs have lacked. Having OL talent has done nothing to increase their ability to win games because they lack at the one spot that matters most.

Originally posted by NCommand:
You know I was very happy with their baseline last year. So yes, most definitely. Did that translate to the playoffs? Absolutely not. Unit pass protection was still a big issue so we're not there yet. That's OK to admit.

Do you think this is an elite OL that gives Kyle, Brock and the playmakers the best shot to help win #6?

Because if you're being honest, that may not match up with PFF. Not yet anyhow.

I think NC's reference to the playoffs is the issue. Years ago, Coach Mariucci consistently got the Niners in the playoffs but couldn't get past the top playoff teams. It seems to me that he shared Shanahan's stubbornness. In Mariucci's case, it was an overly conservative approach to game plans. It didn't prepare his team to play the top four or so teams. Meanwhile, Shanahan seems to give himself an unnecessary handicap by allowing the offense to go into this season with question marks on the OL. Can McKivitiz at least play as well as McGlinchey? Can Burford play fulltime as well as he and Brunskill played last year? Is anybody ready to take over for Brunskill as the first reserve who is also good enough to start?

Go Niners.

Originally posted by Paul_Hofer:
I think NC's reference to the playoffs is the issue. Years ago, Coach Mariucci consistently got the Niners in the playoffs but couldn't get past the top playoff teams. It seems to me that he shared Shanahan's stubbornness. In Mariucci's case, it was an overly conservative approach to game plans. It didn't prepare his team to play the top four or so teams. Meanwhile, Shanahan seems to give himself an unnecessary handicap by allowing the offense to go into this season with question marks on the OL. Can McKivitiz at least play as well as McGlinchey? Can Burford play fulltime as well as he and Brunskill played last year? Is anybody ready to take over for Brunskill as the first reserve who is also good enough to start?

Go Niners.

What about the unnecessary handicap of being the only team in the entire NFL that hasn't used a 1st or 2nd on a DB the last 7 years?

Whereas with the OL the 9ers aren't doing anything drastically different than any of the other teams. As Waterbear said it's more the players than the investment.