Maiocco ha intevistato Baalke sulla secondaria e il nostro GM ha attribuito lo scarsissimo livello a "mancanza di fiducia". Non commento questa frase, perchè quasi fa il paio con quella ridicola su Anthony Davis ("le sue difficoltà sulla passing protection sono state oscurate dalle "prodezze" in run blocking"), però lo stesso Maiocco si è preso la briga di sviscerare pezzo per pezzo l'annata della nostra secondaria.
In grassetto i punti salienti di ciascuna annotazione.
22 Nate Clements: There might not be a better tackler at the cornerback position in the game, and his move into the slot helped get him closer to the action in the 49ers' nickel defense. Clements generally played well in the first half of the season. But his best play was also his worst. His interception of Matt Ryan's late-fourth quarter pass against the Falcons was outstanding. But his subsequent fumble at the end of a long return gave the Falcons new life, which they used to pull off the victory in Week 4. Clements was a lot better in two-deep coverage when he had deep safety help (Udite udite, adesso finalmente si accorgono che Clements è un CB adatto soprattutto ad una Cover2). Toward the end of the season, he gave up the deep ball too often, including a 58-yard TD on the fourth play from scrimmage against the Chargers' Vincent Jackson. Clements was the 49ers' best cornerback. He had three interceptions, 15 passes broken up and three forced fumbles. But because of a contract in which he could make more than $15 million, Clements will have to agree to a reduced contract to return to the 49ers in 2011, sources told CSN Bay Area.
23 Taylor Mays: The rookie was given a trial run as a starter after Michael Lewis' abrupt departure from the 49ers. That lasted five full games. But the 49ers determined Mays was not ready, and he lost his starting job to Reggie Smith. Mays did a good job of tackling -- he forced a fumble with a big hit against the Raiders -- but it was a difficult transition to playing pass coverage in the NFL. At 6-3, 230 pounds, it might be that it's asking too much of him, at his size, to change direction and hang in coverage against NFL receivers. (Questa è stata la cagata di Baalke e ne dovrà rispondere lui. Credo che l’unica chance per Mays sia la conversion a LB). We'll see if the new coaching staff has ideas on how to best use his talents.
25 Tarell Brown: He spent most of the season as the 49ers' third cornerback after injuries to Will James. When he took over that role for good for the final eight games of the season, Brown played well. The 49ers should feel good about his ability to be a third cornerback. Nulla di più che un mediocre, a volte discreto Nickel Back.
26 Tramaine Brock: The undrafted rookie was inactive for three games, saw limited action in three games and was on the practice squad for the other two weeks during the course of the season. He got in on defense in the season finale, recording three tackles against the Cardinals. Materiale da taglio estivo.
27 C.J. Spillman: Claimed off waivers from the Chargers on Oct. 12, Spillman played in 12 games and quickly became one of the team's best special-teams players. He was credited with 21 tackles on special teams, ranking behind only NaVorro Bowman, but was also called for three penalties. Idem come sopra.
28 Curtis Taylor : He saw action in just five games, solely on special teams, before sustaining a season-ending torn quad muscle in October. Un discreto, forse buon backup in futuro, se rimane sano.
30 Reggie Smith : He got his first chance to get on the field as a starter with the 49ers after Lewis left the team and Mays failed to gain the trust of the coaching staff. Smith played all 16 games, including starts in the final seven games of the season. He has a lot of room to improve, but he generally did a good job of keeping the ball in front of him. Now, he has to get to the point where he makes it more difficult to complete passes in front of him, too. Smith recorded one interception and broke up five passes. Un giocatore che si è reso utile in questa secondaria disastrata, non un CB da Wide Out Coverage, ma un buon backup.
31 William James: He had a variety of injuries, beginning with a fractured pubic bone that kept him out of the team's offseason program. It was a bit of a surprise he made the 53-man roster after he sustained an ankle sprain that kept him out of the final three exhibition games. James then had a concussion that kept him off the field for the second half of the season. He saw action on defense in just four games. He is not signed for 2011. Materiale da taglio primaverile.
35 Phillip Adams: Started the season as the team's punt returner and had a costly muff against the Saints. He became the No. 4 cornerback in the middle of the season after James' concussion, but still did not see a lot of playing time. He finished the season with just seven tackles and one pass defensed. He whiffed on a jam attempt of the Packers' Greg Jennings to leave Aaron Rodgers with an easy toss for a TD. Adams season ended with a fractured ankle against the Rams that required surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for the 2011 season. Un giocatore da special team con un futuro nebuloso ma neanche troppo fosco. Da rivedere e da sviluppare nel tempo.
36 Shawntae Spencer: He started all 16 games, and his production slipped from a year ago. The seven-year veteran had a difficult time in coverage this season, and the coaching staff saw way too many missed tackles. He surrendered critical deep passes in key late-season losses to the Packers and Rams. Spencer had three interceptions to tie with Clements and Spikes for the team lead. Un giocatore che è sempre stato un backup ma che nei 49ers ha sempre trovato molto più spazio di quel che meritasse e se ne sono visti gli effetti. Quest’anno disastroso, come del resto molti degli anni precedenti. Assolutamente non un CB da copertura a uomo e in una difesa decente troverebbe spazio solo da DB interno a coprire uno slot receiver (nemmeno troppo veloce ed elusivo).
38 Dashon Goldson: It was Goldson's first year calling the defensive signals, and it's difficult to say if that might have affected his comfort level. He was playing with several injuries, too. Goldson's output dropped from four interceptions to one in 2010. Also, he forced three fumbles and was the team's second-leading tackler in 2009. In '10, he did not force a fumble and dropped to fourth on the team in tackles. He was not involved in many key plays throughout the season. Yet, in speaking with the coaches, Goldson got high marks for fulfilling his defensive assignments and keeping the ball in front of him. Still, it was a disappointing season because he did not make the kind of impact one would've expected from him in his second season as a starter. . Una Strong Safety spacciata spudoratamente per Free safety… Null’altro che un modesto e limitato giocatore che è stato gasato dai ridicoli elogi fattigli dai suoi coordinator in tutto questo tempo… Un altro dei colpi di McCloughan andati a male… e dire che questo era il suo contract-year… Da lasciare andare assolutamente se chiede cifre appena anche solo un pò superiori rispetto a quelle che guadagna la media dei discreti DB’s. He is unsigned for 2011, but -- depending on the new CBA -- might be a restricted free agent as a four-year veteran.
40 Chris Maragos: The undrafted rookie bounced a couple times from the practice squad to the active roster. He saw action in just three games, and was credited with five special-teams tackles. Materiale da taglio immediato.
Insomma, il quadro che ne esce (ma del resto chi, quest’anno, aveva visto le partite non poteva che già saperlo da sè) è di una secondaria totalmente da rifondare. La difesa di Fangio non corrisponde affatto ai CB’s che abbiamo… dovremo trovare assolutamente una FS affidabilissima nelle coperture e, se Goldson chiede cifre spropositate, si dovrà lasciar andar via anche lui (io lo lascerei andar via comunque visto il suo livello assolutamente mediocre).
Baalke ha già fatto un’enorme cazzata a draftare Taylor Mays (ora pare che se ne accorgano anche loro) e spero vivamente per lui che a volerlo fortemente siano stati Singletary e Manusky… ma credo invece che il nostro GM lo abbia voluto fortemente anche lui.
Io non vorrei che tutte le attenzioni si spostassero sull’attacco di Harbaugh, quando invece è chiaro che la difesa deve mettere dentro dei tasselli FONDAMENTALI per l’anno prossimo (ai tasselli in secondaria vanno aggiunti un grosso pass rusher , qualcosa in linea difensiva specialmente nel ruolo di NT se Franklin va via e un MLB e un OLB che siano in grado di coprire il Flat, se Bowman non sarà in grado di farlo ancora e Lawson andrà via, cosa che non mi auguro per quest’anno vista la sua adattabilità perfetta alla difesa di Fangio come Sam LB).