End of Season Wrap-Up: John Harbaugh
Costa Contra Times
Since the Season has finally closed. We took the time to sit down with newly appointed Head Coach- John Harbaugh. We talked with him over a number of things, from being let go from Baltimore to taking over the 49ers to retooling a team that lost so much in the previous offseason.
Contra Costa Reporter: Well John we start off with your feeling of how your time with team has gone so far?
John Harbaugh: Well I want to start off by thanking Jim Tomsula on the job he did here, up to the point that I took over. This team is very optimistic about the quality of football we are playing, given the losses we had in the past offseason. We have to rebuild a little bit of the core structure of this team, but this is the NFL, so there will be no excuses made on us as a franchise rebounding for a good season.
CCR: How do you feel about finishing the season with a record of 3-3 with team since taking over?
JH: Honestly to me, I don`t like it because even though I took over and finished with a record of 3-3, the team as a whole still finished with a record of 7-9. That is not what we are striving for as an organization.
CCR: Well then I ask this, since you referenced things as an organization; How are you able to be committed to THIS knowing the process that led to your Brother`s departure from the team after last season?
JH: The process with how my brother departed is not something I’m at liberty to discuss or disclose. Of course with us now being under new ownership things, I believe, would be different from the atmosphere that my brother was originally in. I did however, think long and hard about if I could be committed to any team after Baltimore relieved me of my duties. But I`m a very competitive person so I was ready and willing for an opportunity at a new challenge.
CCR: Do you feel any Animosity towards Baltimore front Office?
JH: No; and I wish Baltimore all the best. Next Question.
CCR: What are you planning to do with the offense and more importantly Colin (Kaepernick)?
JH: First off, I have to make it known… Colin (Keapernick) is our starting QB… Period. As in what to do with Colin (Keapernick) I believe that we need to use arm strength and legs more. Need to incorporate an offense that gets the ball out of his hands quicker. More moving the pocket and lest sitting back and dissecting.
CCR: You emphasized that (Colin) Keapernick is your starting QB. What makes you say that with such conviction?
JH: I look at the QB position as Tiers or levels. And as such I consider it to be 3 Tiers or Levels if you will. In terms of ratings it`s as such. If you have a starting QB that is rated 77 or lower, then that QB is just a Stop-Gap QB and doesn`t have the Mental(Accuracy) or Physical makeup to take you deep into the playoffs and possible win a Super Bowl. If you have a starting QB that`s 78-88, then this QB has either a strong Physical trait, some Mental (Accuracy) makeup, or some mixture of both, that all you need is a strong supporting cast of players and anything can happen. Colin (Keapernick) is right in the middle of that 2nd Tier. Now if you have a starting QB over 88 then your QB is in an Elite Class and we all know what they can do.
CCR: How do you feel about your defense?
JH: I feel like the CORE is strong and is even getting better with what we think is a good mix of Veteran Leadership and Young Talent. We are looking into where we could infuse some more young talent but where go with that will have to wait til after the offseason for the picture to become more clear for you`ll.
CCR: Alright coach, I think that`ll do it. We appreciate you taking time out for us today.
JH: No Problem. You Bet!
Blog #4
I decided to switch it up a bit, and do a Semi-Season Scouting Report with a final recap on any last day reports leading up to right before the DRAFT. As we start off this SCOUTS` Inc. Blog we pick up in Week 9 when get our first info on TE Travonnie Tull, out of “Da U” (Miami). It`s amazing to think that out of all the great offensive players to come out of “Da U”, that he would be the one to break the school`s single game receiving TD record, with 5 TD catches. Travonnie is listed at 6’7” 243 Lbs., and is graded as a fringe early 1st Rd Pick, mostly due to the past pedigree of “Da U” TEs in the NFL. Week 10 brought us the story about LSU CB- JT Grimes, whose Late Game Pick 6, saved LSU from a heartbreaking loss. That Win skyrocketed JT` s draft stock which currently has him listed as an early 1st Rd pick. He comes in at 6`1” 194 Lbs., and being only 21 yrs. old, makes him a prime young stud for any defense that likes to run a lot of man to man. Week 11 brings us an interesting story about Princeton`s Branton Miles. Originally on the defensive side of the ball, makes the switch to the Offensive side to play WR. For someone so academically gifted, this sure wasn`t a bright decision. And just like any other player who is so mentally gifted, his stock drops because teams are not sure how committed he could be to football with so many other options to do with his life. Week 12 is when TE Dave Godfrey busted on the scene with his dominant performance against Top ranked CB prospect from Tennessee, Dequarius Pittman. With Dave Godfrey spending most of his time at the Y-position in Auburn`s high powered offense, he was able to be a standout against top talent down in the SEC. Coming in listed at 6’4” 238 Lbs., he has the speed to get into the seam any team. Which is why his stock has him graded as a late 1st Rd Pick. Also here in week 12 we get some info from the Defensive Line about 3-4 DE, from Nebraska, Tad Bloom. It`s rare for a 3-4 DE to be so hard to stop, but that is exactly how Nebraska plays its attacking 3-4 Defense. Bloom is leading the conference in sacks, including having 1 sack in the last 5 games. Nebraska feels strongly that Tad Bloom could be the next J.J. Watt. Bloom is even comfortable with his late 1st Rd grade due to that`s where Watt went in the draft as well to the Texans. Coming in week 13, get reports about punting sensation Saul Anderson. Inspired by the guys down at Texas A&M the developed the YouTube sensation, “Dude-Perfect”, Saul has taken to doing trick shots punting the football. With averaging over 50+yards a punt on the gridiron for UCLA, Saul has shown the NFL Scouts that he does actually have the leg strength to be taken seriously as a NFL Prospect. Week 14 brought news that Florida Athlete- De `Anthony Tucker sustained a significant knee injury, which currently at this time has his draft stock up in the air. Let`s keep De `Anthony in our prayers as he ventures on the road to recovery. Lastly, coming in week 15 we have 2 final tidbits of info to close out the college regular season. First is reports that Colorado St., led by MLB Rocco Yount, has led NCAA this year run stopping defense. Matt Miller from Bleacher Report is even on record of saying that, “Teams that have played Colorado St. and Rocco Yount this year have never eclipsed 50 YARDS rushing in a game.” With Rocco Yount coming in listed at 6`2” 242 Lbs., he seems to be the perfect player to play in my Niners defense. Lastly, out a strange occurrence, for the 2nd year in a row in as many years, a defensive player has won the Heisman. Last year it was Rutgers FS Oscar Robertson, and this year it is Penn St. `s Devante Stewart. Stewart is in the mold of a young Ed Reed, with His ball Hawking and playmaking skills. Coming in at 6`2’ and 206 lbs., his stock of being an early 1st Rd pick, is warranted. This concludes the 2nd SCOUTS` Inc. blog of the season. I will do a special closing of scouting season blog to recap all colligate post-season activities right up to the draft.
Post# 3
Here we are with our first SCOUTS` INC of the second season. Going into this report we have 3 prospects to cover. Leading off we have the DE from Auburn, Shalon Joyner. He is coming in listed at 6`3” 269 Lbs. He has good size as a 4-3 Speed Rusher. Only issue with him is that he is not performing up to par, actually he has had a recent string of lackluster performance. Hopefully, he can turn it around and finish strong. Currently he`s graded as a Late 2nd Rd prospect. Next, we touch on Track Star, Djuan Hester, from Michigan State. He recently made the move to join the school`s football. Since he`s listed at 6`0” 244 Lbs., he was placed at OLB, and is projected to be able to fit into just about any type of defense if he can produce for the Spartan`s this year. Right now he is projected as a late 1st Rd prospect. Finally, we touch on Wisconsin TE Joey Cosby. His stock has taken a bit of a hit lately, due to recent struggles with getting into rhythm with his offense. Matt Miller from “Bleacher Report”, is record of saying it`s, “tough to get too down on Cosby. He`s a freakish athlete, and just needs to realize the importance of week to week focus.” Hopefully he can get his act together, before he takes too bad of a draft hit and fall into the later rounds of the draft. Right now, (Joey) Cosby is currently graded as an early 2nd Rd pick. More to come from SCOUTS` INC, as the season progresses.
Contra Costa Times
A Contra Costa Times Reporter caught up with Coach Davis to discuss the Niners off-season moves and how what he thought going into his first off-season as Head Coach and GM of the Niners.
Well Coach (Davis) here we are, through the first quarter of your 2nd season, and just wanted to take the time to look back on the moves that you made in the off-season and pre-season to put you team at your current record of 3-2.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES – We noticed that you no longer have KEY names on the roster anymore; Tell me what lead to the departures of : F. Gore, M. Crabtree, S. Johnson, D. Kilgore, T. Carridine, J. Smith, C. Culliver, P. Cox, and P. Dawson?
Coach Davis – Well I’ll start with Frank Gore. We had Frank (Gore) under contract for one more year, but once the season ended (Frank) Gore couldn`t pass his off-season conditioning test; so in turn it voided his contract. When it came to Michael (Crabtree), we wanted to have contract talks, but he valued himself as a Top 5 WR, and we didn`t agree based on his production over his past 4yrs in the LG. We made an offer, and his team of reps declined out the gate, and he was off to test FA that fast. Stevie (Johnson) was simply a cap move. He was on the hook for $5 Mil a season with no guaranteed money, and felt that we could get more players from Free Agency to match his production for the same amount of money. Once players started getting replaced and leaving in Free Agency, that`s when Daniel (Kilgore) became disgruntled. So he ended up being moved in a trade to the patriots for depth at the HB and D-line positions. Tank (Carridine) was moved to the Giants for (3) 4th Rd picks, which in turn lead to us moving on from Justin Smith in Training Camp due to him not passing his off-season conditioning test. Cully (Chris Culliver) was moved in a trade to the Lions for Nickel back Chris Houston and a 2015 1st Rd Pick. Perrish Cox was our Nickel back, but decided not to resign once the trade that brought Chris Houston to the team. And lastly Mr. (Phil) Dawson, retired from the LG.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES – We also saw that you brought in some veteran leadership. Care to elaborate on that for us Coach?
Coach Davis – Well we were able to replace some of the veteran leadership in the off-season by acquiring Future H.O.F. TE: Jason Witten. There has been many great football players that have crossed over from Dallas, and we are glad to have him as well as getting RB Chris Johnson from the Jets. We feel that they will be great team leaders for a couple of years to come.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES – How do you feel your draft went?
Coach Davis – Well we were able to get 5 starters out of 7 draft picks, so I feel that our draft well pretty damn well. We still have some spots that we can upgrade, but that should be ever position, every team, every year. There should always be competition at this level!!!!
Post #2:
It`s time for our second installment of Scout`s Inc., brought to you by @Los_Niners. If some of you’ll are like me and missed the playoffs, you have been in retooling mode since week 13. So since I last posted we have closed off the end of the season finishing with a great super Bowl win by, Jags (@Los_JagsDynasty). Those of us who have been out of the running from the jump, should`ve been keeping our finger on the pulse of scouting in hopes of make that great addition through the draft and putting ourselves in position to make a playoff run next season. Now since the season has closed, we`ve had a couple of interesting prospect stories to touch on…
Coming through the wire on the last few weeks of the season, we get reports on a few defensive prospects, Florida State`s DE Convert- Dwight Parks, Rutgers` Heisman Trophy Winning FS- Oscar Robinson, and Michigan State`s WR Rashard Brady. Leading off with Florida State`s Dwight Parks, he decided to make a late season switch to the defensive side of the ball in the thinking that it would help his draft stock; surprisingly, even with the lack of a skill set on defense, he is still graded as a 3rd Rd Pick. Ross Tucker has reported that the move from OL was due to D. Parks`, “…lack of agility and lateral quickness.” I honestly feel that his stock may fall even further, due to lack of skill set that will afford him to be nothing more than a body on defense. Capping off the end of the collegiate season we get the news that Rutgers` FS- Oscar Robinson has joined Charles Woodson as being the only 2 primarily defensive players to win the Heisman trophy. What is even more surprising is that (Oscar) Robinson, is only listed at being 5`10” and 212 Lbs. He rivals the skill set of Tyrann “Honeybadger” Mathieu, but is graded out as a late 3rd Rd Pick, due to his projection to the NFL level. Also closing out the season, Michigan State`s Rashard Brady set the collegiate record for receiving yards with 1,895 yards. Matt Miller was noted as saying, “Brady`s receptions and yards alone accounted for the majority of his team`s offense this year.” Coming in at 6`2” 202 Lbs., and the production (Rashard) Brady put up this year, has him coming in graded as a late 1st Rd Pick, but I’m sure he will go a lot higher as the need a for a No.1 Receiver is in great demand this offseason.
As we get to, and get past the Super Bowl, we have a few notes on a couple prospects preparing for the combine, pro-days, and All-Star Games. We start off the offseason with reports that HB- DeMarcus Hart had been putting in hard work preparing for the combine and his Pro-Day, and suffered a Grade 2 (High Ankle) sprain. This type of injury has a typical recovery time of 4-8 weeks. I`m sure this will put a halt to his workout regime. Hopefully this doesn`t cause him to fall out of the draft. In the NFLPA All-Star Game, LSU Kicker- Johnathon Narcisse was consistently clutch in hitting, long range, against the wind, field goals in NFLPA All-Star game. He even nailed the game winning 53-yd Field Goal as Time Expired in the NFLPA All-Star Game.
Capping off the combine, we get a look at a couple of “The” Ohio State University offensive linemen and a stud USC Center. Leading off with “The” Ohio State University Center Lou Benjamin. He comes in listed at 6`2” 292 Lbs. He is best known for being a Physical Zone Blocker, but he showed fantastic footwork and awareness at the combine that proves he could excel in any offense. He has put in a lot of work up to this point and I do believe it will be enough to solidify his 1st Rd status. ESPN Personality- Mark Schlereth is quoted as saying he,” …liked Lou Benjamin`s attitude…liking him more after what he did at the Combine.” The other “The” Ohio State University Offensive Lineman that we heard about was LG- Harris Shaw. He checked out at the combine listed as 6`2” 319 Lbs. His drills were solid, but he did raise a few eyebrows with the debacle that took place when he ran his 40.His 1st attempt was solid, average 40 time expected out of a lineman his size; but things really got weird when he tried to psych himself up on 2nd 40 attempt. He decided that it was a great idea to take his shirt off, and release the beast when he ran his 2nd 40 attempt. He ended up looking like butter-ball, instead. It was even being reported that the sight of him with No shirt on might have dropped him to the 4th Rd or later. The last prospect to report on from the combine, is USC- Center: Richard Jose. (Richard) Jose checks in listed at 6`1” 309 Lbs., and preformed outstandingly at the combine. (Richard) Jose displayed that he was Pro-Ready with his showing of excellent footwork in Combine Drills. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, is on record of saying,”… Richard Jose… prove (d) he is worth taking a high pick on for any team in need of a C.”
Contra Costa Times
New LOS LG Coach (@ChefScoopa / Cody_86570 / @Los_Niners) Cody Davis, took over the 49ers in Week 12 after the previous coach quit the team for unknown reasons. Coach Davis took over a 4-5-1 team that has a good mix of seasoned vets and young talented guys. We sat down with Coach Davis and discussed his brief tenure so far, as the regular season comes to a close; this is what he had to say...
Q: What was your first thoughts after taking over a 4-5-1 San Francisco 49ers squad?
A: I thought we had a lot of talent at key positions. I have always considered myself an evenly minded coach and I thought that we had the pieces in place to become a strong defensive presence in the league. On the offensive side of the ball I saw a lot of room for improvement, but key veteran pieces were still in place so it was a very intriguing team to me.
Q: How would you describe your first season in LOS Madden LG?
A: I thought it went real well from a new coach standpoint. Obviously I would've liked to finish a little better than sitting at 6-8-1 with one week left to go, but I thought we really picked up towards the end of the season and started playing much better. On offense we definitely struggled at times to close out games, but that is what happens when you take over a new team with a new system so late in the season. We had Colin (Kaepernick) close out the season with 70% pass completion on offense, on defense we had Patrick (Willis) finish with over 100 tackles and tied in the Top 10 for that mark, and also had (Chris) Culliver finish tied in the Top 10 for INTs with 7; And all of these are stats going into the final week of the season. I feel that the offseason will be great for us as we will get to finally start to form a better representation of what I want this team to resemble. All in all I felt really welcomed into the league and am looking forward to the future.
Q: There has been recent speculation about M. Crabtree and his future with the team. Do you care to weigh in on where he stands in relation to his future with the club?
A: I have had a long discussion with Michael (Crabtree) and with his agent and we have all come to a mutual understanding that the bay Area is not where he wants to finish his career. That being said, we`ll wish him all the best on his future endeavors. At one point, we had agreed to try compromise and pound out a deal on a new contract at the end of the season, but it all was thrown out after the first couple offers. As of now we have full intentions of going into the offseason to re-tool our WR core and even looking in the draft for future prospect who might be able to contribute early on.
Q: The Seahawks will take division crown and get a first round bye out of your division this year. With a tough NFC West Division, do you think you can compete for a Division Title and playoff spot next season?
A: Absolutely!!! For both; I think we got to see our toughest completion right at the end of the season, and we took them to the wire BOTH games. We have a lot of situations to address in the offseason as far as shaping this team up, and I feel that the pieces we bring in during the offseason will only make us that much better. We lost a game to the Raiders in week 14 that was a turnover on the goal line to send it into OT; we lost one game to the Seahawks by 1 point on a last second FG to end the game, and lost our second against Seahawks by them scoring a TD in OT. All of these matchups that we lost, were tight hard fought games; a couple of plays go our way and it may have been a different story. I fully expect a much tighter division race next season as the NFC West looks to add another contender to the mix.
Q: What players on your team are you most excited about heading into the offseason and then on into the next season?
A: There are the obvious choices in my linebackers Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman, as well as Hybrid Aldon Smith, but I am very interested to see how Starting QB Colin (Kaepernick) matures in the offense we will run. We didn`t implement any part of the offenses` core principles due to the timing and way we took over as a staff this season. Rest assured though, He will get as much work this offseason as the collective bargaining agreement will allow for an NFL player. Other than that we`re just looking forward to Free Agency and the Draft, after that, we may have to move a few guys around but we`ll see how we fair.
Q: Who was your toughest opponent this past season?
A: The Seahawks for sure. They held us to under 21 points in both games and my defense had a hard time closing them out on each of their last drives. Nick (Saban) is a really good coach and he has continued the tradition of Seattle being a powerhouse. It`s hard to beat a team, with as much confident as his team has had, coming down the stretch. He played a really good game and I look forward to the rivalry that has developed.
Q: One final question. What are your hopes for next season?
A: I am hoping to find out who wants a place on this team and who doesn't. We have a lot of big name guys coming up on contract years and I think this season will go a long way in telling who will be here for the future. I think that we have a team that can easily go 10-6 and hopefully compete for the division crown. I am looking forward to my first official full season and will be looking to come out of the gate strong.
Los Madden League
Week 14
A Contra Costa Times (Reporter), was able to get an interview with 49ers Quarterback- Colin Kaepernick, after the game at his locker. Here is the transcript from the brief interview.
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CONTRA COSTA TIMES - Coming off another tough last minute loss this one at the hands of cross-bay rivals: Oakland Raiders, where do you see the team main areas of improvement need to be?
KAEPERNICK – “We aren`t going to make excuses, we have NOT been playing Niner-Nation Football here as of late; and we know that, that (sic) isn`t going to fly here Long term. We`re NOT going to make excuses about the changes that have been made by the front office, because we are professionals. Yea it stings to invest as much time as a player can to end up, coming up short, but we just gotta (sic) keep working hard and moving forward.”
CONTRA COSTA TIMES - You threw 3 TDs, but also threw 3 Ints, what do you feel you can do to be more productive for your team moving forward, as the season comes to a close?
KAEPERNICK – “As I stated last week, I have to play more within the offense, as it`s game planned moving forward to close out the season. When the off-season comes we can get more time to fine tune the dynamics of the offense and hopefully get more chemistry in the offensive philosophies as a whole.”
CONTRA COSTA TIMES - You guys are 5-7-1, at this point late in the season. Do you feel like there could be a possibility of a major roster shake up coming in the off-season, due to Coach Davis coming in?
KAEPERNICK – “ Honestly I can`t speak on anything regarding roster changes; I`m just trying to make sure I go and do my job, so I can show Coach Davis he has the right guy pulling the trigger. Other than, I let the chips fall where they may.”
Post#1
This has been a lil something I have been thinking about doing for a while, and I have the platform now, thanks to our great community and the folks over at @MaddenFiesta facilities. I haven`t quite figured out the patterns or routine I will use for posting my blog on storyline prospects for the upcoming draft. I will however give a lil insight into how it will go when I do post the Scout`s Inc. Blog; As the season progresses as we all know, we get lil nuggets about future draft prospects whether it`s good or bad or a lil bit of both. I would like to touch on It one that is revealed and try to track their progress as we journey through our marathon we call the NFL season. Since I am joining the LG late into the season, I only have (2) prospects to touch on for this Inaugural Blog about scouting and the things that go through my mind when info is released about each prospect. Today`s (2) prospects being covered are LSU-FS: Renardo Jolly and ROLB: John Beason, not to be confused with the Jon Beason that plays for New York “Football” Giants.
We first, start off with a quick touch on the school-less ROLB John Beason. Now the only update that I have received regarding Mr. Beason, is that due to academic reasons, Mr. Beason will unavailable to play the rest of the season. That results in him being removed from being scouted, due to no more film to study. Now Mr. Beason may get his grade corrected and stay for another year, he just say he is done with school, and train until the combine, or he may disappear altogether. Needless to say, if you can`t pass class work then the NFL might be just a bit too complicated for him. I`m anxious to see what the future holds for Mr. Beason.
Secondly, we cap off our inaugural Scout`s Inc. Post with some intriguing info on one, Renardo Jolly. Renardo is a 6 foot 3 inches, 197 Lbs., Free safety for LSU. As of late he has elevated his stock to being graded into the bottom of the first round. Yet he may receive another quite significant boost to his draft stock. Unlike Mr. Beason, Renardo is being touted as having a near perfect photographic memory, which with him being a solidly balanced Free Safety, makes him a solid fit for any defense not just the “Tampa 2” defense he played in while he is at LSU. Can`t wait to see the Mel Kiper`s and the Todd McShay`s go crazy over this one.
More to come on future post of…….
SCOUT`S Inc.
CEO Jed York opening comments:
"Good afternoon. We are here to introduce the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Cody Davis. It's been a long process, a detail-oriented process.We obviously didn`t have much time to interview giving the unexpected departure of MR BO JANGLES. We're here to make sure that we talk about our new head coach and where we're going. I'm so excited that Cody's here and we're ready to get rolling."
Jed has made it pretty clear that the standard for success means winning a Super Bowl and also winning with class, so I want to ask you will this team win the Super Bowl a year from now and what's your definition of winning with class?
CD: " OK, right out the gate with it I see. Which is respectable given the talent on this team. I`m not going to write a check that I don`t have the funds to. We will continue the strive for excellence. Now, winning with class, one statement that comes to mind for me is the difference between confidence and arrogance is ignorance. Winning with Class has a lot to do with self integrity. How you handle yourself and work on your craft when No one is watching, has a lot to do with Winning with class."
Can you talk about your X's and O's philosophy? What type of defense do you want to run? What do you want to see on offense going forward?
CD: " My X`s and O`s Philosophy is plain and simple. You win in the trenches. The defense has the chips to play any style of defense, and the offense has the horses up front to move mountains. We want to develop a core and have everything else be inter-changeable."
CD: : It`s a great pleasure but also a huge responsiblity to Head Coach of a team at this level; And I expect to work just as hard to win a Super Bowl as I did to become Head Coach. Thank You all, and God Bless."