49ers FA pickups and draft analysis

[Spellmen]

I also heard before that Briggs wanted to play in a 4-3. I would have loved to get Porter to get some pressure on the QB, but don't mind that we didn't since he got 20mil guaranteed and the niners have already signed some big money. I'm very happy with most of the improvements and think with a good draft we can challenge Seattle for the NFC west. It's really nice to have all these picks this year since it seems like a pretty strong defensive and WR draft

[hauchen]

Bump ... anyone going to training camp??

[PITTM]

im going next Wednesday.

[D104]

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"A lot of things that went on in Philadelphia weren't football-related," Lewis said. "That is the nature of the business, but I have something to prove. I want to get back to where my name needs to be, as one of the top safeties in the league – as I feel I am.

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http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/p...0/1010/SPORT01

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i wouldn't put too much stock in what lewis says about the situation. he's not exactly going to come out and say that he was benched because his coverage skills suck.

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I've watched every Eagles game for at least the past seven or eight years. Trust me, it was his performance that got him benched. He didn't have a solid year in 2005, and he was a huge liability in coverage this year. He played pretty well as a third-down linebacker, though.

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Another Eagles fan here -

Agreed that Lewis' benching was 100% performance related - the two plays that come to my mind are the late hail mary in the 1st Dallas game where he let Glenn get behind him on something like 4th and 30 and committed a 60+ yard pass interference penalty. Thank God for Lito Sheppard.

The second, which I believe led to his benching the very next week was against NO, where he blew the coverage against Joe Horn on a pump-and-go.

He has a bad tendency to drift inside and fall for double moves even though his only responsibility in that coverage is to make sure no one gets behind him.

This is likely because he is a good tackler and a big hitter - which led to his all-pro selection a couple years back. He's at his best when he can come down into the box and play the run and underneath routes more - but is severly lacking if you give him deep responsibility.

His problem seemingly is mental, which perhaps can be fixed - but he blew so many coverages in Philly in 2006 that the coaches went to Considine and the FO decided to let him walk.

D

[BillNye]

Vikes fan:
Willis should be a stud, he was right behind Peterson for who I wanted w/ the #7 pick. And my ideal situation was trading down and picking Willis up.