Originally Posted by itjclarke
From where I sit (longtime Niner fan, former season ticket holder, and present at all 3 of those damn Seahawk games this year) I think that's dead on the money. There's so much more flexibility for a defense when you don't have to blitz regularly to get pressure. People like Peyton/Brady/Brees make a living spotting and exploiting blitzes, but Seattle has 7 guys in coverage consistantly.. and as seen the past 2 years, all those guys had a lot of trouble with this team (Brees looked completely lost against them twice this year). The Niners are able to do the same, but think the Niners' front four gets pressure more consistently, and in essence helps cover our secondary by doing so.. whereas I feel the Hawks secondary (and linebackers) does a great job of forcing QB's to hold the ball, in essence helping their front four get pressure. If you could combine the Niners' and Seahawks' defenses you would have THE PERFECT D... can you imagine our linebackers flying all over, with their DB behind them??? (and that's not to take away from Seattle LBs or Niners' DBs, both very good units).
I've been telling my buddy (who works for the Hawks) and a few others that I have a man crush on Kam Chancellor. That dude is an absolute ballplayer... supports the run like a Tim McDonald, hits like a bigger Ronnie Lott, and is still fast enough to catch Kaep from behind on his long run in the champ game. I'm worried we may lose our guy "Hitner" this year, and don't to have to hope we score another Eric Reid caliber safety.. but agree, we do need to keep bringing in some grade A young talent.. in the secondary, on the D Line, and we need a WR that can stretch a D (still want to strangle for Scott McCloughan for passing on DeSean Jackson not once, but TWICE!) The Niners are still pretty young though, but the Seahawks are younger. It'll be an arms race for new/young talent in the NFC west for a while.
Scott F- re Kaep running, I'm fine with his continuing to run (it's an amazing and often undefensable weapon) and he's been very good about avoiding big hits. He's rarely been completely "blown up" on a run (J Rice had that ability too), and most often seems to get what he can then duck out of bounds or slide.. or just cut back inside, run through some arm tackles and house it. Wilson seems similar in avoiding the big hits (and is the most functionally elusive QB in the league).. as opposed to RGIII who seemingly would get blasted with regularity his rookie year. My only problem is if Kaep's running remains a hinderance to his development as a complete QB.. a crutch he relies on when a play devolves or his primary isn't open. So far, I think it has, as he's been prone to give up on plays early, to force balls and to make a lot of pre-snap decisions. That said however, he's been very effective up to now and we have no reason to doubt he'll keep getting better. After watching Seattle dominate Denver, I'm sure Kaep's always big shoulder chip is growing larger and larger. I promise this- there will be no more playful video game bet/shaving eyebrow commercials this offseason.
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