While a ton of credit goes to the coaches and obviously the players for good reason 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke deserves a lot of credit for this season’s turn around.   Usually when you talk about a GM’s off season performance it’s all about who he added to the roster, his performance in the draft and the free agent market.  Baalke did great in this portion of the off season and we’ll get to that later but first this off season was just as much about subtraction from the roster as it was the additions to the roster.

The 49ers have had some talented players in the last few seasons, unfortunately a lot of them didn’t fill their roles or live up to expectations, warranted or not.  In what seemed like a step backwards early in the off season the 49ers purged these guys off the roster.  First it was Cornerback Nate Clements, brought in to be a “shutdown” CB and while he had some nice moments in a 49er uniform he’s really no where near a shut down guy he was getting paid like one and that’s what forced this marriage to end. 

Manny Lawson is a very talented player, drafted to be a passrusher at Outside Linebacker after playing Defensive End in college he didn’t fit the role he was drafted for.  An excellent run stopper and coverage LB Lawson’s main flaw was the one that the 49ers were hoping would become his greatest strength, rushing the passer.  Lawson followed Clements to Cincinnati on a 1 year $1 million deal, a sign the 49ers wanted no parts of him. 

Now most 49er fans knew those moves were coming, Clements and Lawson weren’t exactly fan favorites.  The moves needed to be made for both financial and strategic needs for the team.  The next 2 which happened to be the first 49ers to sign elsewhere in free agency stung at first.  David Baas a former 2nd round pick that finally had a breakout season at Center left for the NY Giants who paid him like a top 5 C.  I don’t think you will find anyone that thinks he actually is a top 5 C but the loss looked to set back an Offensive Line that was finally making progress.  Next was Takeo Spikes who signed a 3 year deal in San Diego after what he described as only mild interest from the 49ers.  Spikes was a Captain and true leader on the team, he was Patrick Willis’ mentor, but he was also 34 and got  a 3 year deal, the 49ers were wise in letting him walk.
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Aside from the team’s surprisingly strong 4-1 record the 49ers have had a few pleasant surprises this season that have been very interesting to watch develop. First is the play of Alex Smith, has anyone beat the odd’s more than this guy in 2011? Alex’s play under pressure and improved decision making has made Jim Harbaugh look like a genius for bringing him back.

Next is the play of Navarro Bowman, I think even Trent Baalke the guy who pulled the trigger on Bowman in the draft and let Takeo Spikes walk away in favor of him still couldn’t think Bowman would be THIS good THIS fast. Please do not get me wrong here, I think Patrick Willis is the best Inside Linebacker in the NFL right now and will be for a long time. With that said Navarro Bowman would make a lot of teams happy as their version of Willis or other feature ILBs like Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher you get the picture. The point is the guy is a STUD. The one element of his game he may actually have on Willis is his pass rush ability, combined with Patrick this could be the best ILB combo in the NFL today.

How about the play of Trent Baalke’s 2011 draft class? While Colin Kaepernick’s career has consisted of some awkward handoff’s and 3 passes thus far the other 49er rookies have shined. First round pick Aldon Smith currently leads the team with 3.5 sacks after breaking out vs. the Eagles with 1.5 sacks only to follow that up with a fantastic 2 sack performance the next week. Fourth Round Pick Kendall Hunter led the NFL in rushing during the preseason and has given the 49ers something they desperately needed the last few seasons, a change up RB to pair with star Frank Gore. Hunter has shown big play ability as a rusher and a receiver and has already came up big in week 3 scoring the go-ahead TD with Gore on the sidelines. Then there’s Chris Culliver, the Cornerback turned Safety in college turned CB in the NFL with the 49ers when they made him their 3rd round pick. Culliver has proved at least in the short term he has what it takes to play CB in the pros after playing significant time in week 4 and again in week 5 Culliver has come up big. Several other rookies including Bruce Miller who is making a nice transition to Fullback after playing defense in college along with Colin Jones, Demarcus Dobbs, Ian Williams, Mike Person, Daniel Kilgore and Scott Tolzien have found their way onto the 49ers roster this season.
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Defensive line:

LDT: Isaac Sopoaga

NT: Aubrayo Franklin

RDT: Justin Smith

Reserves: Ray McDonald, Ricky Jean Francois, Demetric Evan.

The 49ers defense ranked 15th overall in the NFL last season.  The D ranked 21st in passing and sixth against the rush.  The defensive line was at fault for being ranked in the bottom of the NFL against the pass because they could generate a rush without a blitzing linebacker or a corner/safety.  This left the secondary exposed who also shared the blame for giving up big passing plays.  The defense made up for their weak pass defense by being studs against the rush.  And this was in part because of the defensive line.  Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin had a career year last season which lead to him wanting a new contract and sitting out almost all of the preseason.  Franklin was a big reason for the D’s success against the run recording career highs in tackles (88), tackles for a loss (8.5), sacks (2) and INTs (1).  Franklin is good enough to miss almost all of the preseason and still be effective in the regular season.

Age-less wonder and right D-lineman Justin Smith has proved at 30 years old he is not slowing down.  Smith is gifted with the ability to explode off the line and beat the offensive tackle to pressure the quarterback.  Smith was the best D-lineman in pass rushing on the roster last season as he tied for second on the team with six sacks.  He will need to increase his sack total this season if the 49ers are going to get better against the pass.  He earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season with a team-high 78 quarterback pressures and 52 quarterback hits.  Smith will put up similar numbers this season and should earn his second straight Pro Bowl appearance.  Smith has a streak of 139 consecutive starts.

Left defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga size and strength (he works out with 200-pound dumbbells) is perfect for the 49ers 3-4 defense base.  Sopoaga started all 16 games last year, a first in his career, and had 69 tackles.  He will rotate with backup Ray McDonald this season but will get the majority of the snaps.  Sopoaga needs to be quicker off the line this season to give Smith some help with the pass rush.

With McDonald rotating with Sopoaga don’t expect RDT Demetric Evan to do the same with Smith.  He will get his playing time but not as much as McDonald.  Keep an eye on Ricky Jean Francois this season.  With Franklin missing the preseason Francois took advantage of working with the first-team defense and expanded his knowledge and experience.  The 49ers will showcase Francois throughout the season as he may become the starter at nose tackle next year if Franklin signs elsewhere.  Francois is developing into a great nose tackle.

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