New 49ers GM Asks If Team Can Use Draft Picks For Something Other Than Football Players

[madinmaryland]

SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco's newly minted general manager, former scout Trent Baalke, asked the NFL head office for clarification on a point of order Monday over whether the team is required to exchange its draft picks for a football player. "Our roster has plenty of guys on it, so I believe the franchise should look to address other needs through the draft, like for instance we don't have a trampoline or a pontoon boat," said Baalke, who said he would consider trading the seventh pick in the first round to any team who could offer him a set of beanbag chairs. "If we have to get an athlete, I'm thinking maybe a power forward. We don't have one of those right now." NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to deny the request, saying the last time he allowed San Francisco to use a draft pick for non-football player purposes they wasted them on Utah's Alex Smith.

:rofl:

http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/new-49ers-gm-asks-if-team-can-use-draft-picks-for,20165/

[Auggie]

1. That's good, but...

they've wasted picks on more than just Alex Smith:

2008: Kentwan Balmer DT
2006: Vernon Davis TE
2005: Alex Smith QB
2004: Rashaun Woods WR
2003: Kwame Harris OT
2002: Mike Rumph CB
2001: Andre Carter DE
1999: Reggie McGrew DT
1998: R.W. McQuarters CB
1997: Jim Druckenmiller QB

Jury is still out on 2009, Michael Crabtree WR, and 2010, Anthony Davis OT. I included Vernon Davis because despite being an actually pretty good tight end he was absolutely not what the 49ers needed in 2006.

[JonLP24]

2. Yeah when I saw Vernon Davis up there

alarms went off until I saw that you said that isn't what they needed at the time. One of the best young tight ends in the league.

[madinmaryland]

3. Uhhh. Jon and Auggie....

Did you see the source??

:D

Sometimes they do hit a home run...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/

:D

[JonLP24]

4. Oh I know it's the Onion

I was just responding to Auggie's list. :)

[madinmaryland]

5. I thought Auggie was a Cleveland Browns fan?

:wtf:

[Auggie]

7. Fooled ya'

49ers, Browns and Raiders. Yeah, I knew it was the Onion. Should be no argument the 49ers awful picks of the past plus the revolving door of offensive coordinators and inept ownership account for their piss-poor performance of recent years. It's been a mess. The Onion nailed it.

[Auggie]

6. Davis was what I think they call a luxury pick...

they really needed an impact trench player on defense or the O-line. Imagine Michael Huff S or Haloti Ngata DT. Ironically, both Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary point to Davis' blocking ability as his greatest asset. I'm looking for Harbaugh to develop plays to utilize Davis better -- provided they find someone to throw the ball his way.

[Yavin4]

8. THE Worst Is That They Could Have Had Tom Brady

Brady grew up a 49ers fan. He wanted to play for them. Walsh and Marriucci scouted him twice, and they took a stiff from Hofstra that never played a down in the NFL.

[Upton]

9. Considering Brady was chosen in the 6th round..

with the 199th pick...EVERY SINGLE TEAM in the league passed on Tom Brady..

[Auggie]

10. Brady was in the 2000 draft

San Francisco took linebacker Julian Peterson with the first pick -- a good choice. Jeff Garcia was starting QB and made the pro bowl. What stiff are you referring too?

In '97 Walsh lobbied for QB Jake Plummer but Walsh wasn't officially with the team. Vinnie Cerrato, personnel director, suggested Jim Druckenmiller instead. Druckenmiller started one game in his NFL career and threw a total of 21 passes before his career was over. (LINK: http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-11-11/sports/17397598_1_49ers-jim-druckenmiller-ray-lewis)

[JonLP24]

11. Giovanni Carmazzi

Drafted 3rd round in 2000 from Hofstra. Interesting Tim Rattay drafted in the 7th managed to stick around a lot longer. He was picked 12 or 13 slots after Brady.

[Auggie]

12. Right... worth noting Mark Bulger went in the 6th round too.

Forgot about Carmazzi. Man, that's one embarrassing track record with QBs.

[Yavin4]

13. ESPN Did A Documentary called, The Brady 6

They went back and looked at the 6 QBs taken ahead of Brady. Mark Bolger and Tim Redmond are the only ones that remain. Chad Pennington was the first QB selected.

It was very interesting. The lesson learned is that being a NFL QB requires a highly dedicated work ethic. It's far more mental than physical. Brady wasn't drafted higher because he lacked dynamic physical attributes. Not very fast. Not a strong arm. But the man was dedicated, and he excelled at QB for most of his career with sub-par receivers.

[Auggie]

14. Amazing the bullshit you hear from pundits...

Arm strength is a way overrated attribute as is speed IMO, unless one equates speed to footwork, ability to get the ball off quickly, and some scrambling ability.

BTW, I'm not against speedy QBs. It's a great attribute if the fundamentals are there too.

[Yavin4]

16. Work Ethic

The ability to study, learn complex offensive schemes, and put in the work. Those are the primary qualities of a top level QB. Brady, Montana, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rogers are all prime examples of this. The QB position is 75% mental, 25% physical.

[Auggie]

17. Totally agree

[Awsi Dooger]

18. Amazing the simplistic nonsense they pushed on that program

Hundreds of QBs work extremely hard and never threaten to make it. They lack arm strength, instincts, and ability to vary pace and loft depending on the situation. It's preposterous to imply Brady simply outworked everyone.

Above all you've got to have enough arm. Not a fantastic arm, but in the NFL if you can't make the dart throw between safeties and linebackers on 3rd and 10 you have absolutely no chance.

I had to laugh at the recent NFL Network special on draft busts that listed Todd Marinovich and Tim Couch near the top. Neither one had an NFL caliber arm. I was on a Las Vegas radio station at the time as guest analyst and said on the draft preview that I wouldn't take either one, period. Marinovich was so petrified of his arm being exposed that he wouldn't throw the Hail Mary at USC. There were at least 4 or 5 instances at the end of first half or game that he didn't make that throw. He'd wait to be sacked. On the most comical example he couldn't find anyone to sack him and resorted to a ridiculous dump off pass to a back. I remember Marinovich's final NFL game, with a Giant's defensive lineman summarizing, "Their QB was throwing ducks." No kidding. That's all he ever threw.

Couch had a crank up delivery and subpar arm. His upside was lower than any #1 overall pick I've ever seen.

The all time legends can fit the loft and speed of the pass to fit the need to the play, similar to golfers with extra special short games instead of forcing one method and one height onto every green.

Henne has a pathetically limited short game. That's what makes this the most boring era ever for a Dolphin fan.

[Redbear]

19. I didn't think that show argued that the problem for the other 5 was work ethic.

I thought the point was that all the metrics the NFL used in drafting QBs were ridiculously wrong. Nobody liked Brady because:

he had a less than super arm
looked like he had never been in a weight room in his life
ran a 5.29 40
had a pathetic vertical leap.

Turns out NONE of those attributes are required to become a Hall of Fame QB.

[KamaAina]

15. Not sure McQuarters qualifies as a bust

although he had his best years (plus a ring) elsewhere.