John McClain @McClain_on_NFL Follow Some of those who have pursued Manning the hardest believe he's head to San Francisco. If so, congrats to the 49ers.
Alex Smith visiting the Dolphins today. Also, the McClain guy I quoted at the top of the page is apparently really plugged into the NFL. He used to cover the Titans going back to when they were the Oilers and has covered other teams, too.
I'm thinking hoping that as long as Peyton makes his decision by Tuesday that it won't fuck us with Alex.
Oh well, would've liked to have had Manning but we weren't going to spend 5y/95m. At least they tried.
Doubt the Niners do anything to change their 3/24 offer much. I think they were prepared to go with Keapernick in any other case.
Honestly not too worried if Kaep is the guy. We aren't dealing with Singletary here, Harbaugh is the QB guru and if he is fine with Kaep that should be good. Is he going to throw 5 or less picks all year? No he won't but we should be a better overall offense in terms of talent and his arm and physical tools are greater than Alex's. Will it be bumpy? Probably to start but I don't see him being worse off with Moss than Alex was. Granted Kaep is more of a fixture for the future than Alex as well.
You cannot assume Alex would again only have 5 INTs, so I think its foolish to hold kaep to that standard.
Whether it's next year or whenever (and now that Peyton is gone I'd like to see Alex with some continuity for once in his career), I'm pretty psyched to see what Kaep can do. Dude pretty much has identical vitals to Cam Newton, except Kaep has a much stronger arm. No telling how high his ceiling could be when you mix those vitals with Harbaugh. According to the beat writers, Kaep has a great work ethic and has been going hard all offseason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq1gL_Q-vO0
I know that sounds homerish, but he's supposed to be a freak. He was a 90+ mph fastball pitcher in high school who got drafted. The beat writers in SF said his reputation for arm strength was well deserved once they saw him. Some of them were talking like it was one of the best arms they'd ever seen. I'll try and find some shit from back then.
OK, apparently he was the best at the combine, but I probably overstated it when I said "much stronger" than Cam. He, Mallet, and Cam were all close. I'm guessing the use of the word "galactic" indicates that he's got some serious shit going on with that arm. ProFootballTalk reports that Colin Kaepernick’s top throw was clocked on the radar gun at a galactic 59 MPH, putting him ahead of Ryan Mallett’s 58 MPH and Cam Newton’s 56 MPH. Of course, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock already knew about Kaepernick’s “huge” arm. At the 2010 Manning Quarterback camp, Mayock recalled seeing Eli and Peyton so awed they were “giggling” about the 23-year-old’s howitzer. Said Mayock after watching one of Kaepernick’s Thursday throws, “Did you see the RPMs there?Man, I’d love to work with that kid.” According to FOX Sports’ Adam Caplan, Kaepernick was “great” on Monday and “by far” the best quarterback in practice on Wednesday. CBS’ Rob Rang noted Kaepernick’s “spectacular” arm strength.
Threw so many wobbly, Phillip Rivers type of throws at Nevada I'll need to see improvement there before I'm ever excited. Arm has never been his problem
there is something about his throwing motion i dont like, just doesnt seem like a natural "passer"...physically hes a freak
Jed is so gangsta now. Looks like Alex is losing leverage pretty quickly. Jed doesn't appear to be giving many fucks: 49ers CEO Jed York told CSNBayArea.com that the ball is still in Alex Smith's court when it comes to a new contract."We have a contract on the table and it's up to him," York said. "We'd like for him (Alex Smith) to be here, and we'll see where it goes."York was optimistic when asked if he expects Smith to be his quarterback."I hope he is," York said.Jim Harbaugh and Smith were believed to have spoken Monday, but York could not confirm that a conversation took place.After Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos Monday morning, reports surfaced Monday afternoon that David Garrard has agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins, which gives Smith limited leverage in negotiations with the 49ers.
Looks like we upped Smith's contract a bit from the initial offer, but still sounds like a very cap-friendly number. Probably have enough money to go after Wallace if we want to, or we could just restock through the draft. Ginn still hasn't gotten a contract, either, so maybe he settles back in like Goldson did last year. Alex Smith gave in and decided to re-sign with the 49ers. But the team gave in a little, too. The Associated Press reports that Smith's new, three-year deal will pay him $8 million a season but as much as $33 million overall and $16.5 million guaranteed. Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/#storylink=cpy
Have to imagine the 49ers brass wants Kaepernick to beat out Smith by year four, the last year of his contract.
any espn insiders in here? http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/stor...56&_slug_=nfl-how-good-alex-smith-next-season
Looks like we're negotiating a contract with RG Geoff Schwartz. Would be a pretty solid pickup, as he can also play RT if necessary. Seems like a good meat and potatoes type blocker who shouldn't cost too much. Man, I can't wait for the draft now.
yeah we need adam snyder type of OL who can play Guard or Tackle, b/c we know there will be injuries at some point and will need that versatility Snyder brought to the table
Damn, Schwarz took a one year deal with the Vikings. They must have overpaid like fuck compared to us for that one year. No idea how someone would choose them over us otherwise, especially since this dude apparently grew up in Cali as a Niners fan. Have fun in Frazier's swan song season, dude. Maybe he got dyslexic and thought they were the ones who went 13-3.
Whatever. This will be the first draft in probably over a decade the 49ers have no glaring positions that require a rookie starter. I see these positions as a position the team will likely draft a player at: OG/OT WR DL S
Agreed. Great position to be in now. If we don't go on Wallace, I'd like to see us come out of the draft with someone like Fleener/Hill/Jeffery in the first and then another WR who can also be a return guy in the third-fourth rounds. Some OL/DL/S depth will be nice to add, too.
So, Alex smith, eh? Quite the letdown. Wish the peyton flirtation would have never happened so we're not going "what if" should Alex struggle to come up big. Here's to him making a believer out of me!
Think Fleener may have tested out of our reach today at his pro day. 4.45 in the 40 and given the change of importance on the TE position, doubt he makes it to us.
So yeah, apparently Mike Wallace is looking for more money than Larry Fitzgerald. Fitz got 8 years and like 126 million. Dude definitely has taken himself off the Niners' radar with that shit.
Fuck yeah. Other than the pipedream of getting Manning, this has been just about a perfect offseason for Baalke. Jed York and his crew are crushing it right now. As an added bonus, my 5-wide sets in Madden next year will be Moss/Crabtree/Manningham/Ginn/Vernon Davis.
Harbaugh brought in his guy Josh Johnson with a 2 year contract. Guess Tolzien is hitting the pavement. Not a bad insurance policy in case Smith goes down and they don't want to rush Kaep into things.
Tough to really say. At that point in the draft it has to be about value. I think if either DeCastro or Fleener slips to the 20s, I think they make a move for either. If they stay put, the best value is probably either corner or WR. Maybe a guy like Stephen but suddenly we have too many receivers on the roster. Give the roster, I would imagine them being aggressive early and trying to lock down a high priority guy. My guess would be DeCastro.