Finally, the NFL lockout is over!  Now, the 49ers have to cram 5 months of off season into 2 weeks.  Tomorrow starts free agency for all NFL teams.  We are going to see a great many transactions in the next week or two.  There are many holes for the Niners to fill quickly.

The Niners need to resign some of their own free agents.  I think they need to keep Dashon Goldson, Manny Lawson, and Aubrayo Franklin on Defense.  On the Offensive side, I would resign Alex Smith, if you cannot get a veteran Quarterback in free agency.  Matt Hasselbeck would be a great fit to mentor your young Quarterback.  I feel the 49ers is a better fit for Hasselbeck than the Titans.

As far as free agents for San Francisco to target, I think we should focus on Defensive Backs, Linebackers, Wide Receivers, Kicker, and a veteran Quarterback.  I think there are several possible great Defensive Backs who might will be available tomorrow.  Of course, it would not be a long commute for Nnamdi Asomugha to come over from Oakland.  There are several other great Defensive Back available including Richard Marshall, Johnathan Joseph, Antonio Cromartie, and Ike Taylor.  On the Linebacker front, I would love to see Dhani Jones or Keith Bullock end up with the Niners.

The offense needs a veteran Quarterback, a deep threat receiver, and a kicker.  There is not much available in those areas this off season.  I would make a push for Hasselbeck, but settle for Alex Smith on a 1 to 2 year deal.  There are not many deep threat receivers out there in free agency.  I would probably make a stab at Sidney Rice or Malcom Floyd.  Kickers.  Well, they are kickers.  We need one who is accurate and consistent.  I would just grab someone from the Stanford soccer team.

We are going to have an exciting 2 weeks.  Let the games begin!

I am extremely excited to take over theredandgold.com blog.  I would like to thank Ben Koo and Joshua Russell for the opportunity to carry on the torch.  Just a little about me, my father was born and raised in San Francisco.  I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Most of my life has been spent living all over California.  I am a loyal and proud 49ers fan.

We are going to focus on the insides and outside the lines of the Niners.  I promise to give you my opinion covered in hard facts. There are going to be times I am critical about the organization.
There will be time for praise...hopefully.  We will explore our relationship with an excellent organization.

My passion is 49'er football.  I hope you see that come across in this blog.  If you agree or disagree with me, please comment.  I hope we can have a great interactive blog.  Now, let's get ready for some 49er football!

The San Francisco 49ers wanted a quarterback. So, they traded away three picks (their second round pick and two fourth rounders) to grab Nevada's Colin Kaepernick. From what I'm hearing, this guy is a crazy athlete. In fact, he is the only player in NCAA history to run for 4,000 yards and pass for 10,000. That's pretty impressive! 

Now this begs the question - does drafting Kaepernick spell the end to the Alex Smith returning to SF rumors or do the 49ers keep Smith for another year and give Kaepernick a year of seasoning.

My take is that they do the latter. It is so tough for any rookie quarterback to come into the NFL and start right away. Very few have done it well. I'm reading too that Alex Smith was at 49ers headquarters today so that seems like an indication they are going to try to get him to re-sign.

Either way, love the bold move of trading up to get the guy they want. Heard Al Davis REALLY wanted Kaepernick (ha ha sucka'). Definitely makes the Aldon Smith pick more reasonable. Next up on the needs list... Cornerback.  

Will the real Aldon Smith please stand up? Oh wait, I wouldn't know who that was anyway. I thought I would give myself a good 12 hours before I shared my thoughts to allow time for this pick to set in. Twelve hours later, I still don't really know what to make of it. I do know that the 49ers, in Raider-like fashion, went with a guy nobody predicted. Maybe that's Jim Harbaugh's MO... I'm not sure.

The 49ers passed on Blaine Gabbert, Robert Quinn, Prince Amukamara, Nick Fairley, and Cameron Jordan from Cal to take a guy who probably would have been on the board 4-5 picks later. Very interesting. And by interesting of course I mean... why the hell did they do that?

Now it's true that I've never seen him play nor have I even heard of him. It is also true that what the 49ers do today and the rest of the draft could clarify why they selelcted Smith with the #7 overall pick. And, perhaps they use Smith as trade bait for a team that had been targeting him, like Houston who apparently REALLY wanted him. 

Until then, I will continue to wonder why the 49ers didn't trade down and select Smith or draft any of the guys mentioned above in favor of a very raw talent with a high ceiling. 

Round two begins in less than 5 hours... we'll see what happens next. 

  

Here's a newsflash... the San Francisco 49ers need a quarterback. Shocking news right? And, with the whole collective bargaining agreement thing, the 49ers haven't had a chance to actually go out and find their quarterback of the future. 

Which leads us to the NFL draft. Conventional wisdom says the 49ers will not take QB in the first round unless Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert are sitting there waiting to be taken. Chances of this are very slim. So, that means the 49ers have a chance at taking a second-tier QB in the 2nd round or farther down. TCU's Andy Dalton, Washington's Jake Locker, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, and Florida State's Quincy Ponder could be available for the 49ers in the second round (although Locker probably won't).

The bigger question is, how comfortable do you think Jim Harbaugh feels with any of those guys, including Newton and Gabbert under center to open the season? Probably not very. Probably only slightly more comfortable than he would be with David Carr, the only quarterback currently on the 49ers roster.

So where does that leave the red and gold? It leaves them needing some insurance at their most important position. If I were Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers brass, I would feel comfortable having a quarterback who has experience as a starter; who knows the team and has a rapport with the offense; and who has potential.

I can't believe I am writing this, but I think the 49ers would be wise to bring back Alex Smith, no matter who they draft this weekend. Apparently, the 49ers agree with me as they have already offered Smith a contract to come back. Smith hasn't signed it yet but if he wants a chance to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, I would take it - especially with all that's unknown around the work stoppage, etc. 

There is nothing wrong with Jim Harbaugh having a variety of QB options. Alex Smith, to me, would be one of those options.   

The NFL Draft is closing in - one week from tomorrow on April 28 begins round 1. As we get closer and closer, the 49ers seem to be closing in on some potential first round options. Here's an updated look at the 49ers needs in the first couple of rounds and which players they may be targeting.

The San Francisco 49ers come into the 2011 NFL Draft with a couple of major holes to fill. Those holes include a quarterback, pass rusher and defensive back. Unless Cam Newton is available at #7 (I can’t imagine he would be), I do not think the 49ers would be wise to select a quarterback in the first round, despite the fact that it is an area of need – especially if Alex Smith does not return to the team.

To me, the top prospect who might be on the board at #7 is cornerback Patrick Peterson from LSU. Some scouts have said he’s the best talent in the draft and certainly the top player at that position, unless you talk to former 49er defensive back, Eric Davis who views Prince Amukamara as the long-term best player at the cornerback position. The other top prospect who might be on the board at #7 is Texas A&M’s Von Miller, a pass-rushing linebacker. Von Miller is who I selected for the 49ers as part of Bloguin’s mock draft. He is an elite talent that would be a great complement to Patrick Willis. Even if both of those guys are off the board, I still see the 49ers addressing the defensive side of the ball with someone like North Carolina’s Robert Quinn or Auburn’s Nick Fairley.

The second round, however, is when the 49ers might look to fill that Quarterback need. It’s doubtful that Washington’s Jake Locker will still be on the board but Florida State’s Christian Ponder, TCU’s Andy Dalton or Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick could be there for the choosing. If those guys are all taken then I think the 49ers wait another round or two to select a QB and perhaps at that point, the 49ers look to find a long-term replacement for injury-proned running back, Frank Gore.

As far as NFL linebackers go, nobody has been more dominant over the course of the last 15 years than Baltimore's Ray Lewis. The face of the Ravens franchise, Lewis is a 12-time Pro Bowler, a 7-time All-Pro selection, a Super Bowl MVP, a 2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and a 3-time AFC Defensive Player of the Year, along with a bunch of other awards and accolades.

Needless to say, Ray Lewis has defined NFL linebackers. I think Brian Urlacher was on his way but injuries and an overall talent decline cut his ascendancy short.

Now enter San Francisco 49ers linebacker, Patrick Willis. Drafted in 2007, Willis has already more than made a name for himself in the NFL. A 4-time Pro Bowler, 3-time All-Pro, Defensive Rookie of the Year, 3-time NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year, (and other stuff too), Patrick Willis was also recently ranked as the top linebacker in the NFL by ESPN, beating out James Harrison of the Steelers, DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys, Clay Matthews of the Packers, and yes... Ray Lewis. 

According to the article, Ray Lewis himself even annointed Patrick Willis as his 'worthy successor.' "Nobody in the NFL plays their position better than Patrick Willis, and that is saying a lot," said Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. "He is as good a linebacker as Peyton Manning is a quarterback, as Andre Johnson is a receiver, as Adrian Peterson is a running back. He has no weaknesses." 

And, fortunately, he does not have the Madden Curse as Willis was beaten out by Michael Vick in the quarter finals. 

The 49ers definitely struck gold with Willis. Hopefully, they do the same with this year's draft beginning Thursday, April 28.