49ers Position Breakdown: Wide Receivers
Michael Crabtree
Even with a holdout that kept him out of training camp and the first five weeks of the season, the talented receiver was still able to catch 48 balls for 625 yards, and validate that he was worth the 11th overall pick the 49ers used on him. This time last year was all about getting paid for the young man, this year has been all about hard work. It was well before OTAs started that Crabs and Alex Smith were hard at work trying to build chemistry and develop a rhythm. Crabtree is dedicated to becoming an elite pass catcher, “I’m working hard to be a big part of this offense, and I even take my playbook to bed,” Crabtree said. “Me and Alex are really going to get it in this off-season. We’ve got a lot of things ahead of us.” If Crabtree is working as hard as it appears then the 49ers will have the weapon that they have been lacking since T.O left.
Josh Morgan
One reason for Crabtree’s success is the selflessness of Josh Morgan. Last year during the bye week Morgan sacrificed his off days to help Crabtree learn the offense. During his two seasons, Morgan has shown flashes that he could be a productive receiver in the NFL. Overall his receiving skills are lacking, he’s never the fastest player on the field and won’t physically dominate cornerbacks. Morgan has kept his strangle hold on the second receiver spot by doing all the right things. I don’t like when people talk about players wanting it more, but its clear that Morgan is more willing to do the things to win than most of the receivers in the league. A great way to see this would be to watch some Frank Gore highlights because almost anytime Gore breaks a 30+ run you will find Morgan driving a cornerback down the field. This is going to be Morgan’s third season and if his receiving skill progresses like they should, he will make the perfect Robin to Crabtree’s Batman.
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49ers: A Week in Review
Hey Everybody
From now on every Saturday on NinersCentral we will have a post called “A Week In Review”. This will be a place for the 49ers Faithful to find the best stories and articles that I could find all in one place. First I want to “Shout Out” my buddy Ninjames over at NinersNation, he does a post like this everyday. His post has really helped me get NinersCentral off the ground. So lets get to the links.
The first one is from Dan Brown at the Mercery News. Its called “49ers LB Patrick Willis makes dream come true for young cancer patient”
This is a must read for all P-Will fans.
Next up are Maiocco’s Offensive and Defensive breakdowns of the OTAs.
Samuel Lam got a chance to talk with Kyle Williams. It seem like we found a steal with this kid.
Tim Kawikami did a great job covering the news on Trent Baalke.
Heres a wrap up off the 49ers OTAs by Ninjames at Eureka 49ers.
Phil Barber takes a look at the 49ers Offensive line in this post.
Matt Barrows breaks down Navarro Bowman.
Be sure to check out my Position by Position dissection of the 49ers. Here are the Qbs Rbs Fbs.
Next week we will return with more break downs starting with the receivers.
So I want to leave you with a quote.
What could be more exciting than the savage ballet that is pro football- Lisa Simpson 1/23/1992
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Have a great week everybody.
Tony Cruz
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49ers Breakdown: Fullbacks
Next in the Position breakdown are the fullbacks. It seems like fullback are an endangered species in the NFL now a days. The last star fullback in the NFL was Mike Alstott of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, since his retirement we have seen more and more teams fade away from using a big back to block for their halfback. With that said the 49ers want to run the ball down people’s throats and to do that you need a great fullback.
Moran Norris
Norris is Frank Gores buddy. This helped him rejoin the team last year after he was a casualty of the 49ers attempts to run Mike Martz’s intense passing offense. Norris is a decent full back that hits the hole hard and occasionally will make a catch out of the backfield. There isn’t anything special about Norris, he does what he’s asked to do and that’s about it. You wont see him destroy anybody while blocking and he wont blow anybody away with his receiving ability.
Brit Miller
Miller could push Norris for the starting job this season. He had a good preseason last year and could be a better value for the 49ers because he’s younger and could play more special teams then Norris.
Trent Baalke Promoted and the 49ers Sign WR
Today the 49ers rewarded their incumbent GM by making him the Vice President of Player Personnel. That is just a really long way to say that Trent Baalke will be making the final decisions as far personnel. It’s what he has been doing this offseason but now it’s official. I really like this move and have been hoping that this is what the 49ers have been planning for awhile. Its undeniable that Baalke and Mike Singletary have good chemistry, we saw that during this years draft when Baalke went out and acquired players that fit Singletary’s system and personality. The move took longer than most expected because the 49ers had to follow the “Rooney Rule”.
The 49ers have also signed rookie receiver Kyle Williams. The speedster out of ASU is Ninerscentrals player to watch this offseason. All of our other draft picks come with certain expectations but not much has been made of our 6th round pick, but if this kid fits in the slot the 49ers offense will be dangerous.
49ers Breakdown: Running Backs
Next up in the position-by-position break down are the running backs.
Frank Gore
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Gore has been the most consistent player for the 49ers over the last few years. While the 49ers offense has not produced, Gore has been consistent. He has amassed over 1,000 yards and 40 receptions each year that he has been the starting running back. Gore lives up to his name by goring defenses into submission. He does this by bulling the front seven of the defense until they don’t want to tackle him, then he breaks a big one. Frank isn’t the fastest player on the field but in three of his five seasons, he has had one run over 70 yards. Gore’s contributions aren’t all on the field. He is clearly the leader of the offense; his leadership has also contributed to the 49ers’ buying into Mike Singletary’s blue-collar style. Gore is consistently the hardest worker on the team. We also have never heard Gore complain, even when the team switched to an offense that tends to stray away from the running back. If the 49ers had 22 Frank Gores they would never lose a game.
Glen Coffee
This kid looked like he was going to push Frank Gore for the starting job during the preseason last year, then during the regular season he disappeared. His best game was against the Rams, he got the start while Gore was injured. In that game he had 74 yards rushing and caught the ball for another 32 yards. Those would be decent numbers if he could consistently put those up. The next game he started in he only rushed for 45 yards. Coffee’s biggest problem is that he is a poor man’s version of Frank Gore. Coffee doesn’t have a way to change the game because he doesn’t do anything that Gore doesn’t, that leads to him never reaching the field. In games that Gore and Coffee were both available, Coffee only had 36 carries. This off-season Coffee has been trying to become more of a power back by adding weight. It is also rumored that he has improved his quickness. Look for Coffee to have another huge preseason but I highly doubt that he will see more playing time this year.
Anthony Dixon
I expect Dixon to replace Coffee as the teams number two back by midyear this season. Dixon brings size and nastiness to an offense that is looking to become bigger and nastier. What has impressed me the most about Dixon is his willingness to learn. During the 49ers’ rookie camp Dixon kept falling forward. When asked about what was going on, he said that the coaches told him he should get lower so he was just making sure he was doing that. Look for Dixon to get carries late in games after Gore has tired out the defense.
Michael Robinson
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Robinson is less a running back and more a wild card player. He does the things that every football team needs but nobody really notices. The special teams ace wont get many carries but will see some time as our Wild Cat QB.
Thomas Clayton
Clayton has consistently drawn interest from the 49ers’ fan base. He hasn’t made the 55-man roster and I doubt he will this year either. Look for Clayton if any of the other RBs get injured.
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