Howling for Howell

I like Joe. I know people have problems with him, but despite his homerism (or because of it) he just relays things well. Plus, I happen to agree with him in this.
 
Howell is outperforming a number of top 10 draft picks from previous years at the quarterback position and yet there are folks who act as if he is a mere sideshow until we sell out the future move up and draft Caleb Williams.

I really am starting to see the draft bias. If you are drafted in Round 1 the national media takes you seriously until you show you are a Jake Locker or Mark Sanchez level screw-up.

But if you are a middle round pick, all these ex-coaches and overweight ex-players talk about is how raw the player is or how much he has to learn.

Anyone look at Bryce Young, Justin Fields, Zack Wilson, etc. lately?

These guys don't consistently look like NFL players let alone future elite or high level starters.

Same goes for Jordan Love, who TV guys were gushing over after the Detroit game yesterday.

I guess they missed his pedestrian performances in losses to get the team to 4-6 before yesterday's play.
 
I 100% believe Sam is going to be our QB for years to come. Yesterday (as Kevin Sheehan pointed out) Sam Howell was almost literally the only thing keeping us in that game. He had us in it for 3 quarters until it fell apart. He is far from a finished product, but right now, today, the product he is is the best young QB we've had in longer than I can remember. I think he's got a higher ceiling than Kirk Cousins - in fact, I'm not sure he's not a better QB right now than Kirk Cousins is. He's got a lot to learn, but how anyone can see the plays he's making on top of the type of young man he is and not be wow-ed - I can't understand.
 
Unique to Howell perhaps vis a vis these other quarterbacks is that our offensive line doesn't have one quality starter you would place in the top 20 in the league at his position.

We have no tight ends that rate even a blip on the radar screen in an NFC where quality tight ends abound.

There really is no better security for a quarterback than a solid line and a tight end that gets off the line quickly and is ready to receive the ball in the time it takes for the quarterback to drop back.

I can't count the number of times I have seen Mahomes ALMOST get sacked but he is able to get the ball to Kelce over the middle for a 3-4 yard dink that Kelce then turns into a 15-20 yard reception.

How about George Kittle? He was running wide receiver routes for SF against the Seahawks down the field as the outside receiver on certain sets.

And of course he got yardage on that short TE screen he took down the field.

All of that made Brock Purdy look like a genius but it was set up by John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan getting the right players and putting them in the right scheme.

Hopefully in 2024 we will start to have SOME of that pass protection and TE production that teams that tend to win in the NFL have week in and week out.
 
Sam's doing this with an OC that doesn't do a whole lot to protect him.

Hearing guys like Joe Gibbs,John Madden,Hank Stram,Jimmy Johnson etc over the years, those guys always talked about when you start a young Qb that you had to help him with things like:
Good protection
A good running game
And some weapons at TE and WR.
He's got some wrs to work with but that's about it.

Hopefully, a new GM believes in those things too and begins the process of helping his young Qb out.
 
We need to grab the next 'Trent Williams' at #4 or #5 in the draft to play LT.

In Round 2 we need to find a pass receiving tight end with down the field speed.
 
Bulldog said:
We need to grab the next 'Trent Williams' at #4 or #5 in the draft to play LT.

In Round 2 we need to find a pass receiving tight end with down the field speed.
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Yep, we need our next Trent Williams, Chris Samuel, Jim Lachey, and Joe Jacoby.

This team has a long history of great left tackles. I wonder if we started taking that for granted.

Not sure about the tight end in the second, but we could use one. I could also see a guard or a pass rushing LB or DE. Frankly, we also need a scat back (though probably not in the second, but a running back who could take it to the house is useful. What a don't get is how we have all this speed at wide receiver, but so rarely break a big play. Maybe that's a o line thing, but where's our slant and go that goes?

On the flip side, we might just need a corner even though that should be a strength. Is St. Juste is just having a down year? What do we really have in Forbes? Fuller's solid, but on the wrong side of 30,
 
There are some very good tackles in free agency as well in 2024, but unfortunately as far as interior OL goes, it's one of the weakest groups of free agents available.
 
burgold said:
Yep, we need our next Trent Williams, Chris Samuel, Jim Lachey, and Joe Jacoby.

This team has a long history of great left tackles. I wonder if we started taking that for granted.

Not sure about the tight end in the second, but we could use one. I could also see a guard or a pass rushing LB or DE. Frankly, we also need a scat back (though probably not in the second, but a running back who could take it to the house is useful. What a don't get is how we have all this speed at wide receiver, but so rarely break a big play. Maybe that's a o line thing, but where's our slant and go that goes?

On the flip side, we might just need a corner even though that should be a strength. Is St. Juste is just having a down year? What do we really have in Forbes? Fuller's solid, but on the wrong side of 30,
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It'll be very interesting to see what new eyes see in our roster, who stays, who goes. #1 thing to remember for fans is that they can't rebuild the entire roster in a single offseason. I see it taking 2-3 years to get to where we want to be. In 2024, I want two things. Get Howell help as Bulldog has referenced, and get some studs for the interior of this defense.
 
Bulldog said:
We need to grab the next 'Trent Williams' at #4 or #5 in the draft to play LT.

In Round 2 we need to find a pass receiving tight end with down the field speed.
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While I don’t want the front office to lock in on a position in the draft, I do agree that a stud left tackle with that high of a draft pick is the way to go.
 
Boone said:
It'll be very interesting to see what new eyes see in our roster, who stays, who goes. #1 thing to remember for fans is that they can't rebuild the entire roster in a single offseason. I see it taking 2-3 years to get to where we want to be. In 2024, I want two things. Get Howell help as Bulldog has referenced, and get some studs for the interior of this defense.
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I hear that and would be excited it if it worked out that with our 1st we snagged a left tackle and with our two seconds we grabbed at least one more lineman. Maybe the top guard in the draft. Maybe a high potential right tackle. With the other, if we found a tight end that'd be fine, but I also wouldn't hate it if we filled other needs. First priority is protecting Sam. Second priority is filling this team with top end talent. We need blue chippers. As many as we can get at practically every position.
 
It's so hard to try and determine what we're going to do at the position, because we don't even know who is making the decisions yet. Even when you do know, you can only go by tendencies and history. Howell is under contract for 2 more seasons, and has shown enough IMO that the new GM / HC doesn't need to panic at the position. It can be an evolution. Building a roster in an offseason where you have A TON of resources while not 'needing' to address the QB position could be absolutely huge. 5 picks in the top 100, 3rd most cap space, and currently only $6M in dead cap hits in 2024 means there is a lot of room to do a lot of things. Looking at how the most successful teams have gone about their business, it's a template that can be easily identified.

Kansas City - Had Alex Smith, built a roster with weapons and ended up finding Mahomes
Philadelphia - Had Carson Wentz, built a roster with weapons, ended up finding Hurts
Detroit - Traded for Jared Goff, have built a stud roster with weapons... if Goff is the guy, so be it...
San Francisco - Had Jimmy G. built a roster with weapons - Traded up for Lance - Still took a QB late - appears to have found their guy


I'm starting to adjust my mentality a little bit on how things need to be built. I think there's a swing happening where roster building is going to take a step forward, and 'find a QB at all costs' is going to be reduced. While yes i agree the QB is the most important position in sport, if you look at the the examples above, QBs were not taken out of desperation, they were taken as an act of opportunity. I guess what I'm hoping is that we don't pass up on a guy like Fashanu, Latu, or Alt unless the new GM is truly sold that Maye or Williams IS the guy... not just 'can be'.
 
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I think Howell has shown enough to build around, don't you guys? The plays he makes, in spite of poor protection, lead me to believe this.

If you can get a LT in the first...see if Stromberg is a legit starting C and either look later in the draft for a RT or get one in FA...you are well on your way to improving the Oline for next year as long as the new staff brings in a good OL coach.

It's a shame to see the disdain Howell gets from this fanbase ( social media wise ) just because he has 5th round pick in his bio. Guarantee you 49ers fans don't do that to Purdy....
 
DieselPwr44 said:
I think Howell has shown enough to build around, don't you guys? The plays he makes, in spite of poor protection, lead me to believe this.

If you can get a LT in the first...see if Stromberg is a legit starting C and either look later in the draft for a RT or get one in FA...you are well on your way to improving the Oline for next year as long as the new staff brings in a good OL coach.

It's a shame to see the disdain Howell gets from this fanbase ( social media wise ) just because he has 5th round pick in his bio. Guarantee you 49ers fans don't do that to Purdy....
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The X-factor is the new regime. All bets are off. I HOPE they see enough to work with and we get a jumpstart on the 'rebuild' with a QB already in place that they have confidence in.

I will say that my mind isn't totally made up on Sam YET, but that goes both ways. He's absolutely shown enough to sit back and realize to this point he's not a failure, and he's got a lot of the right things in the right places to do the job. Development matters, and also understanding that Sam Howell on 11-25-2023 is likely going to be a lot different than Sam Howell on 11-25-2024 if he's the starter for the entirety of the games between those two dates. I also understand that it's dependent on what happens with the roster around him over that same period of time.... Is he the answer? Don't know yet, but so far, with an inferior roster / coaching staff he hasn't been a complete liability either.
 
I don't know how anyone looks at what the young man has done in his first season under center and doesn't walk away impressed. He's accurate. He's mobile. He's athletic. He can make any throw asked of him. He's tough. He's resilient. He's unselfish. He's coachable.

I mean, he's not close to a finished product - but how could he be?

It's a no-brainer. I think a lot of fans are hesitant to believe. We thought we had a lot of that in RG3. But this kid isn't RG3.

I'm there. I believe.
 
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As losses potentially pile up this season, if we're on the clock and Marvin Harrison Jr is still on the board, it's going to have be a real conversation... especially if the top OTs are gone.

I know this sounds absolutely asinine, and i'm not even necessarily advocating it... but man this could get really interesting if things break certain ways.
 
I keep hearing how great Marvin Harrison Jr. is, but is he? I don't catch every game. The ones I have he hasn't seemed to dominate.
 
I'm always wary of *legacy* players. That said, I know nothing about MHJr.
 
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