Let's Talk Niners

The Trent Baalke-Mike Singletary campaign is officially under way. The 2010 NFL draft is complete and the official countdown to the season starts now.

There is zero question that Scot McCloughan was not leading this draft. The 49ers drafted positions of need several times, and Mike Singletary put his stamp on every player drafted. Every time, without exception, the Niners selected the most physical player available at that position. Upon the completion of the draft, Singletary posted a new 5 point slogan in the locker room. The first two points – Physical, and Tough. Something has to be said for a coach who sticks to what he wants to do, even if at first he doesn’t succeed. Singletary is quickly building this club around his image of a hard nosed, hard hitting, battering ram of a team. This draft may have been the exclamation point on his plan. Lets recap the picks…

#11 – Anthony Davis, OT. Davis could have been considered a top 3 pick if it weren’t for some off-the field concerns. He has had weight issues in the past and some have questioned his love of the game. Singletary is known for conducting extensive research on all of his players, and Davis was no exception. If Singletary believes neither of those things are going to be an issue, then I’m keen to back him up on it. I expect Davis to be an opening day starter, and a great contributor for years to come.

#17 – Mike Iupati, G. Iupati is a very good player and a natural guard. The 49ers starters at his position last year were Chilo Rachal on the right side and a steady stream of under-performers on the left side. Iupati may be the best guard on the team before training camp is over. I expect him to start opening day, and he may be the first player on this list to make a Pro Bowl.

#49 – Taylor Mays, S. Despite drafting two O-linemen in the first 17 picks, Mays just might be the most watched rookie in camp. Known for being a hard hitter, Mays is going to contend for the starting SS spot with inconsistent veteran Michael Lewis. Mays was of position more than once a game last year, and he will need to be coached up extensively if he is going to play every game in the box.

#91 – Navorro Bowman, ILB. Bowman played on the outside in college, and because of his size and lack of speed he is being moved to the inside. Bowman has good instincts, but his execution is sometimes lacking. This was not a need position for the 49ers, so Bowman will be fighting for a backup spot with 2 promising young players in Matt Wilhelm and Scott McKillop.

#173 – Anthony Dixon, RB. Dixon is an exciting player who would have gone much higher if he hadn’t run a terribly slow 4.67 dash at the combine. Dixon isn’t a run away from you type of player, he’s a run through you player. He’s the kind of back that Glen Coffee wishes he could be but can’t because of his size. Dixon will almost certainly see playing time this year when Frank Gore needs a spell. Gore also has gone 3 years now without missing games due to injury, so all things considered this was potentially a very strong pick for the 49ers.

#182 – Nate Byham, TE. Byham is a true blocking TE. He was quoted as saying “I like to bloody noses” and “I like to inflict pain when I’m in there”. If he’s able to beat out Joe John Finley for the 3rd spot on the depth chart, he will get plenty of opportunities to do both. I expect to see him playing on goal line / short yardage plays, and making around 5 or 6 total catches this year on play action passes.

#206 – Kyle Williams, WR. Williams is an undersized slot receiver with slightly better than average speed. In college he would return punts and kicks, and if Ted Ginn Jr. doesn’t work out, Williams will have a chance to prove himself this year. That is, if he’s able to earn a roster spot. The receiver position is the 49ers deepest spot, and as it stands they already carry 5 established players. Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan, Brandon Jones, Jason Hill and Ted Ginn Jr. Considering Singletary’s insistence of running a bruising style of offense, I don’t expect the Niners to carry 6 wideouts on the roster.

#224 – Phillip Adams, DB. Adams is too slow to play CB, and too small to play Safety. At best he’ll be a nickel back, fighting for playing time with the likes of Mike Adams, Terrell Brown, Reggie Smith, Karl Paymah, and Curtis Taylor. I expect him to play primarily on special teams, if at all.

As a whole I would consider this years draft a success. The Niners solidified their shaky offensive line, added a potential game-breaking safety, and gave the team someone to lean on when Frank Gore needs to take a play or two off. There were a few questionable picks, but all in all I would consider any draft successful if you’re able to pick up 3 long-time quality starters and one or two regular contributors. Well done Trent Baalke and coach Singletary, well done.

Sports With M

It’ll be a while before the San Francisco 49ers can truly say “mission accomplished.” But their 2010 draft gives every indication of being a bountiful one.

Coach Mike Singletary’s efforts to make San Francisco an irresistible smash-mouth football team appear to have been greatly enhanced. The 49ers added muscle in a number of areas — on the offensive line, at linebacker, at tight end, and even at defensive back and running back.

Their needs at the cornerback went mostly unfilled, but the 49ers still look like a considerably tougher team after the draft than they did before it.

San Francisco acquired arguably two of the draft’s top five offensive line prospects by selecting tackle Anthony Davis of Rutgers and guard Mike Iupati of Idaho in the first round. Second-round pick Taylor Mays of Southern Cal might be the best pure athlete in the 2010 class.
Also, the 49ers drafted a talented linebacker in Penn State’s Navorro Bowman, and one of more durable and powerful backs in Mississippi State’s Anthony Dixon.

Later picks were used on Pittsburgh tight end Nate Byham, Arizona State receiver Kyle Williams and South Carolina State cornerback Phillip Adams. All three could also provide valuable help if they manage to stick around.

Jon Matsune is a free-lance writer based in Northern California. He has 25 years of experience in newspaper journalism, mostly as a sports editor and a sports reporter, and has had articles published in USA Today. While sports is one of his great passions, he has been a lifelong history buff, with a special interest in military history; as well as an aficionado of music, film and television.

We feel that moving up to pick Bowman was the right move. During the scouting combine, the team used their 15 mnutes to meet wth Navorro to address off field issues from the past. Coach Sngletary came away convinced that Bowman has the character and drive required for his no nonsense approach. Several teams had their eyes on Bowman and many draft experts had him rated as the best avalable pick when the 49ers snatched him up.

Scouting Reports

Bowman is a gifted athlete who’s comfortable in space and does a nice job of cleanly redirecting out of his breaks. He showcases good balance in his drop and looks natural keeping his feet under him and quickly changing directions. He reads and reacts quickly to the play and possesses the burst to instantly close on the ball. He’s a tackling machine who wraps up well on contact and takes proper angles toward the play. Bowman showcases better than anticipated base strength but lacks the length and/or upper body strength to quickly disengage from blocks on contact. He can be washed from plays coming right at him. He isn’t the most physical tackler. He’s more of a wrap-up guy who will struggle to get into the frame of ball carriers in pursuit. But he possesses the straight-line speed to make plays sideline to sideline and does a nice job sifting his way through traffic and finding the ball. He’s elusive in space and does a nice job reading his run/pass keys, diagnosing the play and slipping blocks in pursuit. Bowman is a gifted athlete who quickly finds the ball and can track plays all over the field. He still needs to continue to add more power/girth to his frame but looks like an eventual starting weak-side linebacker at the next level.

By GREGG BELL, AP Sports Writer
Renton, Wash. (AP)—Friends and fans in Seattle weren’t the only ones to notice Pete Carroll didn’t draft hometown hero and USC star Taylor Mays for the Seahawks.
Mays was picked in the second round Friday by the San Francisco 49ers and passed over by his old college coach.
“I definitely thought from the relationship that we have—from the things that he had told me about what I needed to be, what the draft process is, things that I needed to do—I felt he told me the complete opposite of the actions that he took, which was definitely alarming,” Mays said during a conference call.
Not only was the former star at Seattle’s O’Dea High School miffed Carroll didn’t draft him, Mays was further frustrated that the Seahawks instead drafted Texas safety Earl Thomas(notes). Thomas is younger, less experienced and less familiar to Carroll.
“There were things he told me I needed to do as a football player versus the actions he took and who he took as a safety,” Mays said. “I understand it’s a business, but with it being a business, honesty is all I’m asking for.”
The 49ers took the speedy, 6-foot-3, 230-pounder with the 49th overall pick. The 22-year-old Mays started all but two games in his career for the Trojans and Carroll. He was an All-American at USC, though his 2009 season fell short of lofty expectations.
He was a 2005 high school All-American and All-State star at O’Dea. He was also a two-time state sprint champion in track for the Fighting Irish.
His dad, Stafford Mays, was a defensive lineman at Washington in 1978 and ’79, who then played in the NFL for St. Louis and Minnesota from 1980 to ’88.
Carroll says he doesn’t blame Mays for being mad at him, that his “heart sunk when he didn’t get picked earlier.” He said he hasn’t talked to his former Trojan, but that one of the members of his Seahawks coaching staff did on Friday.
“First off, I love Taylor. I love the player that he is,” Carroll said Friday night. “We were thinking we had a terrific chance to get him somewhere. We didn’t think Earl was going to get to us. So we jumped to that opportunity there. Earl is an incredible player.
“I’d like to pick all my guys, but it just didn’t work out. And unfortunately for Taylor, it was a hard day for him. His expectations were very, very high. And mine, too. So I feel for him.”
Carroll laughed and said he knows Mays will carry a chip on his shoulder, especially into the two NFC West games each season between San Francisco and Seattle.
“He’s a remarkably competitive guy, and prideful … (but) he might want to wait a couple days before he talks to me,” Carroll said with a wry smile.
“Nah, I love him to death. I know how competitive he is. And actually I don’t blame him for being (angry). I would probably be surprised if it was something other than that.”

We really like Mays. He has exceptional speed and agility for his size at 6’3″ 230 pounds. Although he was upset that his former coach Pete Carroll passed on him with Seattle, ths could be something for him to prove when the 49ers face the Seachickens…for more details, see out other post on Mays

Scouting Reports
Mays has a massive upper body for the position with a leaner lower half. He displays good awareness when the ball is in the air and showcases the coordination to go up and knock the pass away at its highest point. He exhibits better footwork than he’s given credit for, but it’s the body control he displays for a man his size that makes him so effective. He possesses impressive closing speed in pursuit, generating big time power on contact as a tackler. Mays displays a good first step and looks like an absolute missile when closing on the ball. He showcases a willingness to go for the knockout hit on defenseless receivers but isn’t nearly as powerful or effective when asked to attack downhill as a run blocker. He has a tendency to overrun ball carriers and struggles to break down at full speed. He doesn’t showcase the type of stack-and-shed ability you would expect from a man his size. He gets too high and leggy when asked to change directions, and it takes him a couple of steps to get back up to speed when asked to redirect. Mays lacks ideal instincts in the pass game, struggles to anticipate throws and always seems a step or two too slow when reacting to the play. He has the range to make up for it at the college level, but it will be a definite concern in the NFL. Overall, he has a rare physical skill set with good ball skills and closing speed, but his lack of instincts could keep him from ever reaching his potential in the NFL.