Kevin Lynch, San Francisco Chronicle
There's a wee bit of news on the Takeo Spikes front. The team is unconcerned about the middle linebacker's ability to recover from shoulder surgery and the 49ers believe he'd be ready by training camp. When Spikes did visit, the parameters of a deal were discussed and Spikes believes he might get a richer contract elsewhere. Two teams have shown interest and one of them is New England. If no team steps up with a better offer, Spikes would likely sign with San Francisco and be the team's "ted" linebacker next season.
The 49ers also have their eye on a "ted" linebacker in the draft. The team has been bent on getting one since Patrick Willis pounced on the scene last year. Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton could probably be available to them in the second round. Lofton shares Willis's passion for the game. The Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year notched double-digit tackles in each of his games last year. However, Lofton ran a 4.77 40-yard dash at the combine and a 4.67 40 at his pro day. He supposedly plays much faster on the field. Also, he doesn't pass the eyeball test in shorts and a tee-shirt. Great catch by Marcos, noticing on NFLdraftscout.com that 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan attended Auburn defensive end/linebacker's Quinten Groves's pro day. Imagine if the 49ers plucked Groves in the first round and Lofton in the second and signed Takeo Spikes with Mike Nolan and the well-regarded Mike Manusky putting all the pieces together.
The 49ers also have their eye on a "ted" linebacker in the draft. The team has been bent on getting one since Patrick Willis pounced on the scene last year. Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton could probably be available to them in the second round. Lofton shares Willis's passion for the game. The Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year notched double-digit tackles in each of his games last year. However, Lofton ran a 4.77 40-yard dash at the combine and a 4.67 40 at his pro day. He supposedly plays much faster on the field. Also, he doesn't pass the eyeball test in shorts and a tee-shirt. Great catch by Marcos, noticing on NFLdraftscout.com that 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan attended Auburn defensive end/linebacker's Quinten Groves's pro day. Imagine if the 49ers plucked Groves in the first round and Lofton in the second and signed Takeo Spikes with Mike Nolan and the well-regarded Mike Manusky putting all the pieces together.
Renoberger could be right and Isaac Sopoaga could start as the left defensive end in the 3-4, but if they played a game tomorrow it would be Ronald Fields. Both are likely to get plenty of playing time. By the way, Manny Lawson typically plays on the strong side, with Tully Banta-Cain rushing over the open side. That changed somewhat last year after Lawson tore a knee ligament in September. Many bloggers seem impressed with 40-yard dash times and wonderlic numbers. Both metrics are unreliable predictors of NFL success. Frank Gore and Julian Peterson all had low wonderlics and have become terrific players.
The highest wonderlic scores for recent 49ers include Alex Smith and converted tight end to tackle Patrick Estes. Smith hasn't reached stardom for a variety of reasons, and Estes is clinging to the NFL with all his might. I recently did an running back analysis for another publication and many of the combine studs fizzled in the NFL. Derrick Blaylock, Tatum Bell and particularly Michael Bennett should be amassing Hall of Fame credentials by now. Bennett even clocked a 4.13 at his pro day in Wisconsin, supposedly the fastest time ever for an NFL player. He went over 1,200 yards as a rookie and has bounced around the league since.
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