Random Commanders Thoughts

[Henry]

To be fair, it was the Raiders.

 

[Fear The Spear]

So here's your FundayFriday Question for the masses!

Considering that Alex Smith is only a stop gap solution at QB.... and considering that we're going to need a young QB to take over in the next couple of years...

Did anyone see the 49ers/Raiders game last night?

That Mullens kid lit the Raiders up!!

which begs the question... if they play him the rest of the season and this is a good example of his game... then I imagine the 49ers may end up dangling either him or Garropolo as trade bait in the off season.

I know it's VERY early to be talking about Mullens, this may have been an outlier, but would we have any interest in Garropolo?

Discuss!

Interesting possibility. Although at this point, a low possibility or probability. A few responses.

Well it won't be Jimmy G, due to his contract, and other variables.
It was against the Raiders, so take that for what it's worth, plus noone had film on him. Also, wasn't CJ Beathard playin real well too, at first, last year. Maybe not quite as good as Mullens last night, but he surprised a lot of people early on...before fading away.
Depends on what they ask for him.
IF he keeps this up and ends up like another Jimmy G, he's going to want to start somewhere next year, and he won't get that here.
I actually picture Smith lasting in Washington more than you forecast - about 4 years. Just my opinion.
And I don't think Kyle is interested in dealing with Washington.

 

[Knightingale]

Interesting possibility. Although at this point, a low possibility or probability. A few responses.

Well it won't be Jimmy G, due to his contract, and other variables.
It was against the Raiders, so take that for what it's worth, plus noone had film on him. Also, wasn't CJ Beathard playin real well too, at first, last year. Maybe not quite as good as Mullens last night, but he surprised a lot of people early on...before fading away.
Depends on what they ask for him.
IF he keeps this up and ends up like another Jimmy G, he's going to want to start somewhere next year, and he won't get that here.
I actually picture Smith lasting in Washington more than you forecast - about 4 years. Just my opinion.
And I don't think Kyle is interested in dealing with Washington.

All valid points

And yeah it was the Raiders who are a trainwreck!

I could easily see Smith's pattern repeating itself here in Washington. Especially if he continues to struggle with the pass game and it becomes clear he is the difference between us making a push and not.
(For the record I think he's too good a QB to have this kind of struggle for years to come. I suspect he'll get it sorted out, just as he did in SF and KC)

A starter who becomes victim of a young up and comer. (See Kapernick in San Fran and Mahomes in KC)

If we pick or trade for a bright young star in the next couple of years I can see the same happening to him here before his contracts up.

Watching Mullens last night just made me wonder what the 49ers do if he plays lights out for the rest of the season, considering they have Garropolo on the books for something like $130M.
Do they try and trade Garropolo and shed that contract cost and roll with Mullens? do they dangle Mullens as trade bait to improve the team? Or just roll with both and hope there's no QB controversy that will blow up in their faces.

I suspect a Garropolo trade would be too rich for our blood (though some one will take him. See: Brock Ostweiler) but if Mullens was to hit the trade market and played really well this year he'd be an intriguing option.

 

[Knightingale]

Oh and the question was purely from a QB point of view rather than a practicalities of the COntract/Cost.

Would we be better off with Garropolo (or Mullens if he turned out to be good) as a young QB going forwards than just a few years of an aging Alex Smith and nothing currently in the pipeline as a successor?

I know we're a couple of years away (hopefully) from concern, but it does worry me a little that we don't have a long term plan at QB. No youngster worth his salt on our roster and if we're actually a decent team at the moment we're not looking at high draft picks any time soon.

 

[Bulldog]

Smith's contract is really a 3 year deal in terms of the discounting of the guaranteed money, so it would appear that 2019 or 2020 drafts would be the time to invest in a young qb the team can have understudy and then be prepared to take over.

I would prefer to go the development route behind Smith as opposed to dipping into the free agent or trade market for a megabucks quarterback who is already nearing or over 30.

That is the best chance the club has to find a franchise qb and make hay while the sign shines on his rookie deal, much as Sean McVay has been able to do with Jared Goff in LA and what Pete Carroll was able to do with Russell Wilson in Seattle.

 

[Boone]

Thompson out for Sunday.

Sigh.


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[DieselPwr44]

Thompson out for Sunday.

Sigh.


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Since he's been here, what is it, one year he's been relatively healthy/able to contribute?

EDIT:

In five seasons he's played 16 games once('16), 13 games in 2015 and 10 games in 2017.

I remember when Gregg Williams was here and he said that the greatest attribute a player could have is availability.

Chris Thompson struggles with that.

 

[DixieFlatline]

Thompson out for Sunday.

Sigh.


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Think I saw Trent out too on NFL Network ticker.

Edit: Dang...just saw in Gruden's quote that Trent had surgery. What was the diagnosis? Feel like I've been under a rock this week.

 

[Boone]

Since he's been here, what is it, one year he's been relatively healthy/able to contribute?

EDIT:

In five seasons he's played 16 games once('16), 13 games in 2015 and 10 games in 2017.

I remember when Gregg Williams was here and he said that the greatest attribute a player could have is availability.

Chris Thompson struggles with that.

Of course that's true. But not every players ‘availability' is equally critical. CT was absolutely the center of our offense in 2017. So his continued injuries represent a major loss for us.


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[Henry]

Dunbar and Richardson come back. Shall we call it a push?

 

[DieselPwr44]

Of course that's true. But not every players ‘availability' is equally critical. CT was absolutely the center of our offense in 2017. So his continued injuries represent a major loss for us.


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Maybe it's time to find his replacement and move on?

You can't depend on the guy.

 

[Win4us]

Agree on cutting ties with Thompson, too valuable of a roster spot to mess around with. Same with Perine

With Guice's future health status questionable as well I believe taking another rb fairly early next draft is warranted. This kid from Michigan State could be our backup for a few years. I'd hope the team also makes a fair offer to A.P. as well. He's too valuable in knowledge alone to let go.

RB committee next year would be Guice, Peterson, Scott (3rd rd)


L.J. Scott, RB, Michigan State
Height: 6-0. Weight: 225.
Projected 40 Time: 4.60.
Projected Round (2019): 2-3.
10/6/18: Scott has been banged up this year with a total of 103 yards on 30 carries. He has missed two games thus far.

8/28/18 According to NFL teams' preseason data provided by team sources, Scott checks in at 6-foot, 225 pounds. He has 32.13-inch arms and 9.5-inch hands. He is said to run the 40 in 4.60 seconds.

Scott averaged 4.5 yards per carry in 2017 for 898 yards and eight touchdowns. He totaled 20 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown as well. Sources think that Scott is more than just a power back. They like Scott's surprising speed and believe he has the athletic ability to be more than a North-South runner. He is patient and has feet that can make tacklers miss. He needs to work on his ball security though.

Scouts think that Scott could be even more athletic and quicker if he drops some weight. They talk about how Le'Veon Bell was too heavy at Michigan State and became a different player after losing weight at the direction of the Steelers. Scott may not get a lot of notice, but teams are eyeing him as a value pick. Scott ran for 994 yards on 184 carries - a 5.4-yard average - with six touchdowns as a sophomore.

Read more at http://walterfootball.com/draft2019RB.php#YDMdQ7Wdu6opKP00.99

 

[Boone]

I couldn't disagree more. Thompson is 28, hardly 'over the hill' - and is one of the best dual threat RBs in the league when healthy. He broke his right fibula less than a year ago. Hey - it's only his effing leg - surely he should be able to get over that little injury?

As fans, we lack patience. It's understandable. We don't owe players anything. But impatience isn't always our best virtue. Chris Thompson isn't a problem that needs to be fixed. He just needs to heal up.

I'm not really open to other arguments, but that's just me.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Football is a very violent sport. It shouldn't be considered as an unusual flaw or inferior quality, and definitely not an indicator of a future pattern, if the same player gets injured more than once. It's not like getting struck by lightning. Chances are actually pretty high for an NFL player to get hurt multiple times.

 

[Knightingale]

I think I'd worry about CT more if this was something... muscular, like a recurring hamstring or ligament or whatever.

But it was a broken leg, and now it's ribs (though I'm not sure exactly what the rib injury is. Do we know? Is it a fracture? Bruise?)

Broken legs take a while to not only heal from, but to trust. When I did mine even when the doc said it was all clear, I was still careful with it for ages as psychologically I still worried about it. That feeling wears off in time, but I imagine it's worse for an athlete who needs to rely on that bone for their day to day. Every cut and every hit must be scary.

Of course they would never admit to that, but you see it in the NBA all the time. It takes a while for a player to trust the limb again.

I worry more about Reed that CT. Reed's injuries always seem to be more nebulous somehow.

And then there's Trent... LOL Even though they've already ruled him out this week, I'm still kind of expecting to see him on the field somehow.

 

[Fear The Spear]

And then there's Trent... LOL Even though they've already ruled him out this week, I'm still kind of expecting to see him on the field somehow.

Hey, why not ?
Who needs a thumb to play LT ? You only need it to wipe your ass and to hitch-hike.
We had 2 Tackles prove that.

 

[McD5]

No Trent, CT or Crowder.

If we can somehow pull this one off it will be huge.

I hope the other players are ready to bring their best effort of the season.

 

[Henry]

Sorry guys. I love Thompson but he's injury prone. He's dynamic when he's on the field but when he misses time, which is a lot, it screws up the game plan.

For a guy who will count $4 million against the cap next year, it would be cool if he were a little more reliable.

 

[Henry]

No Trent, CT or Crowder.

If we can somehow pull this one off it will be huge.

I hope the other players are ready to bring their best effort of the season.

We are playing one of the worst defenses in the league, and an offense that hasn't scored more than 17 points on a grass field.

If the Redskins are the team we'd like to think they are this game shouldn't be such a chore, even with the injuries.

 

[Boone]

Matt Ryan doesn't play well when pressured. He's honestly one of the most erratic QBs in the league - and by that, I don't mean that he can't look like an All-Pro, because he can. But he looks great one game, and God-awful in others. And those 'others' tend to be when he gets his jersey dirtied and is pressured a lot.

I know our defensive strategy this year has largely focused, not on getting to the QB, but on containing the opponents RBs. I think this is the week where we need to put max pressure on the QB.

I'm a little surprised Trent is sitting this one out. I'd argue that a one-handed Trent is still better than anything else we've got. This is a huge game. At some point, the offense has to take some steps forward. I'm hoping it's this week.