What do we do now?
So, Man Law went down.
Crap.
So, now what are we supposed to do with our linebacking unit? It was quickly emerging as a major strength for the team (even despite Derek Smith still drawing breath), so who do we have left? Patrick Willis is obviously a cybornetic life form who’s only programming is to KILL KILL KILL - the anti-three laws if you will. Tully Banta-Cain is proving to be adept at his role, nothing spectacular but he’s working out fine. Brandon Moore has put his 
horrid (and I mean horrid) preseason behind him to be a collective sigh of relief for niner fans everywhere. Derek Smith - well, we can just forget about him for now.
Before Manny Lawson went down, niner fans everywhere (the ones with any brain cells left, anyway) were clammoring for Moore to replace Smith, creating a quartet of pure sexual chocolate that would elevate our play to an even greater degree than we’ve seen so far already. Now, the 49ers have some things to figure out.
Manny Lawson clearly showed that his second year was one where he would announce himself to the league. His improvement in the pass rush was spectacular, but one of the most understated and useful aspects to his game was coverage. He was able to go one on one with many tight ends (or really anyone he needed to cover) and snuff them out as an option. He had the speed to cover and close, and the strength to tackle. He was exactly what a 3-4 defense needs. Now he’s gone.
So, what are our options? Well, there are only really two legitimate lineups I can see:
- The first (and best) option would be a unit of Banta-Cain, Moore, Willis and Haralson. Yeah - I don’t care if Lawson got hurt, Smith still needs to go. Take a look at this conversation and tell me he belongs in the starting line up. Seriously though, with the loss of Lawson, it will be impossible to mask or cover Smith’s deficiencies anymore. We will get GASHED up the middle with cyclops watching things, and so we HAVE to be more stout there. That’s where Moore comes in. He can solidify the middle with Willis, and we can be more or less certain that at least 3/4 of the field is covered the way it should be. On the edge, we basically roll the dice. Haralson is everyone’s favorite project, but none of us really know what he can do. Personally, I say throw him in the fire - he’s the only one I think can really rush the passer or cover anyone, so why not try it out. I believe if this is our unit, we can maintain our level of play defensively.
- The second option would be a corp of Banta-Cain, Smith, Willis and Moore. This one is probably the most appealing one to your novice fan, but is a Willie Parker 200 yard game nightmare just waiting to happen. Moore has played on the outside before, and he’s hardly a pedestrian there but lets be honest, his skills are much better suited as a beast in the middle, and I feel we’d be wasting him on the outside - besides, he can’t cover anyone to save his life. At the same time, Derek Smith will be in the middle and given how easy it was for Matt Leinart to run by him, I fear fast Willie (and every other back we face this year) will have an easy time breaking his knees and flying past #50. Thus we get burned by tight ends and running backs in the flat, and get torched up the middle - in other words we revert to the 2005/2006 defense.
Obviously, there are other options as well. Green could rotate with Haralson, we could change to a 4-3, or any number of other combinations but lets face it, these are our two options. I think any sane football mind would agree that the first option is much more desirable, and would at least give our defense a chance at salvaging this season. I fear, however, given the man crush Mike Nolan seems to have on Derek Smith (an affection that goes WELL beyond logic), that we will see a Banta-Cain, Smith, Willis, Moore.
I don’t know folks - I’m extremely nervous to find out what Nolan wants to do here. I have a sneaking feeling I’m going to want to gouge my eyes out the next time the depth chart is amended.
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.
About the Author: 
This is a HUGE BLOW to our defense…I am a little worried now. I am not giving up on our season, but Lawson was looking like he was a border line pro bowler in these two games. I hope he doesn’t lose any speed when he gets back because that is a common symptom of a player who undergoes that kind of surgery.
This is going to hurt our ability to cover effectivley as a defense more than anything. The knock on Manny Lawson was that he is undersized (although I don’t know how he can be at 246lbs.)This is a chance for Harylson to step up. I think he has the potential to be a force as a pass rusher, but I’m not sure about his coverage skills. I’m sure Brandon Moore is not even in the same league as Manny Lawson as far as coverage is concerned.
Didn’t Roderick Green get cut in the preseason???
We’ll be alright. D.Smith is still gonna start no matter what fuck stick Matt Gagnon says. Our run defense will still be impressive. I think we’ll loose alot in pass coverage against Tight Ends due to Manny’s injury. I think it would be wise to rotate B.Moore and P.Harylson at OLB.
Hey Jackass - fuckstick here.
I know he’ll start, that’s the problem. Smith on the inside and Moore on the outside will lead to us getting absolutely torched. Derek Smith may have once been a somewhat solid ILB but he is absolutely useless now. Moore is unbelievable on the inside, but a liability in coverage on the outside.
You have to be the last 49er fan alive who actually WANTS to see Smith start still. Its obvious to basically everyone else.
Why couldn’t it have been Derek Smith instead of Manny?
Hey Adam,
Maybe you should try watching Derek Smith play and then come back and talk with the big kids.
He is the worst starting LB in football. Perhaps you missed him diving over Marc Bulger when he had a clean shot at him for the sack last week. Or perhaps you were in the toilet when he tried to stop Edgerrin James playing 2 hand touch? Or missed the angle on the direct snap to Anquan Boldin who ran right by him. Much like statue QB Matt Leinart did later in the game.
Smith isn’t as bad as you guys say, but losing Manny will really hurt. It will be a lot harder for us to disguise coverages and blitz from strange angles. The way I see it, you bring in Moore to play most of the time and start introducing Parys on passing downs. As I recall, he was having more sucess rushing the passer last year than Manny until he got hurt. I also really Home this means we get to see more of our man McDonald on passing downs. He has been inactive but I think this injury brings him back into the mix. Someone is going to have to step up and luckily we have a team that deals well with adversity. GET BETTER MANNY!!
we should talk to the chargers about Maquis Harris or Carols Polk who were sav when merriman and phillips went down wit ijuries last year also the texans about shantte orr who had 10 sacks in his last season in the 3-4,perhaps dangle Taylor Jacobs in a trade possibilty, see if steve foley, Andre wadsworth, Levar Arrington or tommey polley could fit in, and lastly bring in Roderick Green who can help pass rush because our current options arent that great
hey, according to 49erswebzone.com… the Giants want Kwame for a seventh rounder, but the niners believe they can get more for him and I agree with them. Better to tender him at the end of the season.
trade lame harris to ravens for their best backup ol
By the way guys, I know you don’t care, but I am one of those guys who believes that Haralson is our next BEST option. Razoreater, you know how much I don’t want Kwame on our team, but if we keep him and tender him then we will get a better draft pick than what the Giants are offering. I think we would get either a fourth or a fifth rounder for him…might as well take it and sit on him for the rest of the season unless someone gets REALLY desperate.
To add on to the Kwame thing…we just aren’t going to stay great for a long time if we aren’t smart with our opportunties and Kwame has an opportunity to get us a decent draft pick. This is the reason I say sit on him…people WILL get desperate as they get injured and the season progresses.
Hey Adam, why don’t you shut your piehole and accept that Derek Smith has a larger vagina than you do.
The guy gets absolutely run over by Matt Leinart and Marc Bulgr of all players and casually jogs towards the QB on a blitz, and you want to condemn people for hating on the guy?
Go fuck yourself.
Hey Adam, why don’t you shut your piehole and accept that Derek Smith has a larger vagina than you do.
The guy gets absolutely run over by Matt Leinart and Marc Bulgr of all players and casually jogs towards the QB on a blitz, and you want to condemn people for hating on the guy?
Go fuck yourself.
U GUYS ON THIS WEBSITE R HELLA FUNNY THANK U FOR FINALLY PUTTING ADAM IN HIS PLACE HE THINKS DEREK SMITH IS AS GOOD AS URLACHER AND RAY LEWIS U GUYS R THE BEST LOL
HEY RYAN THAT WOULD BE DUMB TO GIVE KWAME UP FOR A 7TH ROUND PICK ID RATHER KEEP HIM HERE IN CASE SOMEONE GOES DOWN WITH THE INJURY BUG COMEON RYAN JOIN THE I HATE D. SMITH BAND WAGON TO WE NEED MORE PEOPLE.
“Hey Jackass - fuckstick here”
Okay, this made me spit my coffee all over my keyboard!!! Too friggin’ funny!
It really sucks to have to worry about our defense at a time when our offense can’t move the ball…. such is life in the NFL…. c’mon Niners…somehow put together your best effort and get by these Steelers… if for nothing else, to shove it up the butt of the ” Gore is arrogant” idiot Pittsburg behemouth!
D Smith must wash Nolan’s car after every game because the D Guru sees something in him. Most likely experience. Nolan is a believer that experience, no matter how bad or inept, is better then a raw player. This is why he moved Willis over so Smith can call alignments. The only thing that comes to mind as to why Moore is not in there could be his conditioning and over pursuit (see preseason). After this week of seeing a heavy does of inside running, a move will have to be made.
i hope u r right sir ryan-4th rounder would be great-5th not so good
No one is giving up anything of value for Lame Harris. Lets concentrate on our defense for now since our offense is inexcusably bad. Do any of you guys miss seeing Keith Lewis in the starting lineup? Is he that bad in coverage that he has to sit on the bench because a Lewis/Lewis safety combo could be the hardest hitting duo in the league…..Though I do have to admit, Roman makes some nice plays on the ball when in the air. What do my fellow Niner fanatics think?
AND PLEAE PLAY LELIE’S TALL GANGLY SPEEDY ASS!!!!!!!!!
Hey fuckstick and fuckstick jr’s. It doesn’t matter if you say that D.Smith sucks or if you point out certain plays that Smith has messed up on. You can do that to any player in the league.He’s steady,he makes plays every game,and he doesn’t wine like you bunch of little bitches. He comes to play week in and week out,and that’s why Nolan likes him. Again,i’ll point out that we haven’t allowed a 100 yard rusher and D.Smith is a big part of that. Maybe you bitches should shift some of your focus to somebody that has truly screwed up and that’s Walt Harris and our offensive line. I understand that Smith will be looked upon with a microscope and i’m confident that he is gonna have a very strong season AGAIN. And he will have games that he will screw up on and i’ll be here to give my opinions. And medford, you mentioned that I said D.Smith was as good as Urlacher and R.Lewis. Ass, I never said that. I said HIS STATS ARE. Big differance. And i’m spent. Later!
Adam, you should not be allowed to watch football. Instead, you should be confined to your room, with one of those baby toilets, and never let out to embrace humanity with your FUCKING DUMBASS.
Seriously, go die.
Adam, I don’t know what kind of fucking crack you are smoking, but give me a heads up next time you’re in town, I can hook you up with some shit that won’t kill your brain cells.
Not allowing a 100 yard rusher has more to do with a safety that can play the run (What happens when Bob Sanders plays in Indy, hm?), Patrick Willis traveling back in time and raping the mother of the running back we play that week, and being the beneficiary of a working 3-4 scheme.
Have you actually WATCHED 49er games lately Adam? Yes, of course we can point out problems with everyone… that doesn’t mean some players don’t have 50 times more problems than others. The fact that we all pointed out that Kwame Harris was basically the only lineman who was ever responsible for holding penalties that killed big plays didn’t mean we were being unfair to him - he sucked a LOT more in pass protection than every other lineman, and we pointed it out. SURPRISE fuckstain, Kwame is on the bench now and looking to get traded.
We don’t point out ONE or TWO bad plays from Smith. Just WATCH the Cardinals game and see him try to run down Leinart. What did Leinart run at the combine, a seven second 40? He couldn’t even catch up to him, and got fucking STIFFARMED by a quarterback - and a pussy at that.
What happened when Willis would try to chase down RUNNING BACKS? He’d get them and push them back. One of our linebackers can’t catch a slow quarterback, the other catches Edge and Jackson.
But its not just the speed asshole. Its power. When Derek Smith makes a tackle, he either bounces off or gets dragged for more yards. When Willis (or any other competent LB) makes a tackle, he stops them, or drives them back… at worst he does NOT get dragged 3-4 yards further. He’s soft - he “catches” players when he tackles, where a linebacker with a soul would actually hit somebody and wrap them up.
But its not just that either. Lets talk about vision and anticipation. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen 49ers swarming to the ball, and then see Derek Smith come flying in 2-3 seconds later. Why? Because he had gone for a tackle and missed it, so the other players had to tackle the player instead, and he comes in late and tries to join in. I’ve never seen somebody SO out of position, so poor at anticipating where somebody will be, so incapable of finding a crease he can exploit to make a tackle.
Oh, but he “shows up every day”. What the fuck is that man. ALL FUCKING 53 players show up every day… that’s kinda what being a starter or backup means… you’re there, you show up, you go. That’s not a fucking point in his favor, other than he doesn’t get injured - and in a contact sport like football that’s not really impressive since most injuries are simply bad luck. Actually, his health is probably a testament to how soft he is.
Listen, I know you get soooooo impressed by the fact that he makes 100 tackles… but bitch, any third string linebacker in the NFL could make 100 tackles if he played MLB in a scheme like ours. Its just a natural bi-product of the game… MLBs make tackles. That doesn’t mean much. Competent linebackers would have made dozens more tackles, and the tackles they made would have given up far fewer yards.
And by the way dipshit, just for the record, technically we may not have given up a 100 yard rusher yet, but the CARDINALS of all teams torched our run defense for 161 total rushing yards, 92 of them were from Edge… so don’t get too excited about how effective Smith is in the middle.
God, you are a fucking legendary dipshit. Why I’m bothering arguing with somebody so completely brain dead.
You should have been swallowed.
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