Yep, this is an accurate portrayal of my response to you.
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So condescending to another human for having a contrarian opinion in a chat forum is beneficial how?
Many wanted Dan “gamble” gone, and or at least AG when we sat 1-6 in 2022.
Many lamented the trade with the Rams and hated that Holmes gave his buddy a “deal.” It was widely thought Holmes got an extra 1st just for eating Goffs contract. The hypothetical trades with Denver and Carolina seemed so much sexier back then to half this forum.
Many loved the restructures for V, Harris, and Romeo last year, but I often pointed out that it cost us well over 10M more to redo their deals, than to cut them. It was pretty obvious non of them would have impactful roles (to me at least - look up my posts from then) and instead of signing viable players, we had to opt for street level replacements when their inadequacies or failed health were abundantly clear.
—— why don’t we just tell Nate shut er’ down? I mean it’s clear that Stafford will always be at least slightly better than Goff, Gibbs will be the #1 RB in the league, Jamo is destined to breakout this year, DC is coach of the year, Sewell is already a HOFer, and Brad is beyond reproach- the GOAT!
There is nothing left to debate, discuss, or even consider.
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Condescending, sure, there was one in there but that was based on previous posts over the last 18mo or so. Where I simply point out that you accused BH, last year, of suffering from smartest guy in the room syndrome, you, imo, seem to be doing the same in your hindsight posts.
Holmes has his weaknesses and you are correct on some for certain.
It’s a conclusion from reading your posts over the last 18mo.
I stated, and bolded to make sure you wouldn’t miss it, that there are things I would have done differently.
I never told you to stop posting, in fact told you to carry on.
But your latest conclusion is worth a chuckle on this Monday am.
Davenport- 12 starts, 608 snaps, 12 QB hits and 2.5 sacks over the last 2 years.
C Davis- 58 pff rating last year and 64 the prior year. 3 ints in 1500 snaps 9 games missed.
Reader- 10 games missed over last 2 years, still hurt, and 1 sack on 932 snaps. Absolute stud when healthy though!!!
—- Compare them to Sutton, GJGJ, and Moseley from last year, and how we felt about them. Health, contract length- recent production etc.
FYI- Romeo had 4 sacks and 7 hits on 367 snaps over the last 2 at the spot we have Davenport slated at.
None of which I’m worried about. It’s Goff, it’s Sewell, it’s ARSB, it’s LaPorta, it’s Gibbs, its Jamo, it’s Montgomery, it’s Hutch……those are who I worry about
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You referenced Sorsdal and BroMart, picks 3.96 and 5.152 in 2023 – let’s look at the Super Bowl teams and how they drafted around those positions in 2023.
The 49ers got JiAyir Brown, S, with their comparable 3rd. He was injured the first half the year, got limited production in December and playoffs – 22 tackles, 2 interceptions. He’s competing to start. They also got Moody, K, who was 66% beyond the 40 last year. And they got Latu, TE, who did absolutely nothing.
In the 5th round, the 49ers got Darrell Luter, CB, who made 4 tackles.
Kansas City, on the other hand, picked Wandy Morris in the 3rd, an OT who graded out at 55.6 according to PFF. Sorsdal got a 41.6 from PFF, but was selected in the 5th – a comparable drop given the draft capital expended.
KC picked BJ Thompson, a DE, in the 5th. He did nothing in one game.
Looks like a crapshoot to me.
I agree with you (mostly). Most of Brads homeruns have come from sitting or trading back. Sewell and Hutch were so high that they don’t really count but Holmes wanted to move up for Onwuzurike and instead got him in R2. Saint Brown. Alim, Brian Branch, Jahmyr, even La Porta. That’s A LOT of studs from trusting the board or moving back. His hit-rate is dramatically lower for the guys he’s traded up for, the Bro-Marts, Vaki’s and so on.
I think this is a very poor narrative. Why wouldn’t they count?? I will tell you why they absolutely COUNT. Because in that position at that time Holmes absolutely COULD NOT get those picks wrong and ultimately he made the right choice. He could have passed on Sewell for the same dumb reason 6 other teams did…because Sewell sat out his last year at Oregon. He could have taken Justin Fields instead (& I wanted him to take Fields), which would have slowed the rebuild and Lions fans might be not looking for their first playoff win in more than 30 years… they would likely still be looking for just a playoff berth. So we can’t just dismiss Sewell and Hutch because they were obvious picks in hindsight and not credit Holmes for making the pick(s). If anything Holmes gets credit for his foresight in both players & I am sure God answered his prayers that the Jags would pass on Hutch, again, for another dumb reason!
Why is it a “poor narrative?”
The 49ers have 2 studs in Deebo and Ayiuk, but they have supplemented them with J Jennings in the 7th, Ronnie Bell in the 7th, Pearsall in late 1st, and Cowing in the 4th.
I’m sorry but I would LOVE to have Dominick Puni on our team right now- another well spent 3rd.
To consider J Ayir Brown anything short of homerun is nuts. He started the 2nd half of his rookie season as a late 3rd. He had 33 tackles, 2 ints and 4 passes defensed, and had a 77.8 RATING! He also had 21 tackles and another int in the playoffs…
Moody had a few rocky kicks, but I would him in a heartbeat right now. He was a rookie and went 2-3 over 50, plus 21-25 overall and 60-61 on XP…
His NARRATIVE 100% touches on the OP, and of course I agree with it, I wrote it.
To pretend that Holmes track record or signing his own guys, and drafting healthy players patiently is anything other that GOAT STATUS… would be unfair-
What is it that you, and many others seem to see that I don’t- SO FAR?
Which injured and or injury prone draft picks and 1 year free agent deals have worked out SO FAR?
It’s a poor narrative because you are trying to back the GM into a no win situation by saying you can’t count Sewell or Hutch. It doesn’t make sense. Sewell and Hutch look like no brainers IN HINDSIGHT….but instead of trying to discredit the GM I instead prefer to give him credit for the FORESIGHT for not screwing either pick up. I mean as much as you’ve listed all these players that the 49ers have….they totally botched the #3 overall pick by choosing Trey Lance and that is my point….Brad could have done the same thing but THANK GOD he didn’t! 
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The point I was making is when Brad has to decide who to pay internally, he’s been spot on. When Brad has chosen to power 5 guys who are healthy and were productive in college, he’s been spot on.
Brad has a pretty low batting average with chronically injured, currently injured and small school guys.
In Brads defense, most guys would struggle with success fishing in those ponds, but why do it so often?
Again-
Davenport over Romeo isn’t a sure upgrade. Both might be done. Romeo has nearly twice as many sacks on 35%less snaps over the last two- POST ACHILLES!
E Moseley- he might be a solid CB3 or nickel now, but we will have paid about 7M over two years for less than a year of spot play more than likely.
C Davis cost us 14M, and a 3rd and he has missed nearly 33% of his games in 3 straight year.
Reader is hurt NOW and he’s missed 11 of his last 34 games…
Zietler is 34 and on a 1 yr. If age wasn’t a concern teams would be signing 32 year olds to 3-4 year deals regularly. THEY DONT! Why? Because by 34-35 many guys are done.
- we spent a 3rd rounder and and most of our FA cap money on injury prone guys on 1-2 year deals.
Now?
We are already worried about Awosika and Levi O having to potentially start some games, and soon I’m guessing Davenport.
I had to break this up in twos….but response to this is SO WHAT! All of this has led this team to a division title and two playoff wins….ALL IN ONE SEASON. None of that has held back any progress. GMs are not gonna hit with EVERY MOVE! The most important thing Brad has done in ANY OF HIS MOVES is get a QB! BTW I’m not yelling at you….i tend to emphasize what I’m saying with CAPS! 
Hate to break the bad news… but those weren’t “restructures”.
They were full on pay cuts.
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Can you allow these guys to get on the field for the Lions before we assume negative conclusions?? It’s EXACTLY what you were asking for Goff!
Not to be a prick, but read the last headline you posted to correct me please.
The craziest part of this entire situation is that 1-2 more camp injuries and panic will set in, and suddenly having more able bodies won’t seem like such a sin?
DC says he’s not quite there yet on DPJ… neither were any of us. Clearly they aren’t gushing about Green…. So basically it’s Saint, Raymond and hoping Jamo stays healthy and becomes Waddle?
Davenport somehow has less sacks the last 2 years than J Paschal. Less than Comish. Less than Romeo, and yet somehow there are expectations?
If Zietlers injury is serious at all, then we are back to awosika? At least we can keep GG at RG where he was solid last year. Maybe Awosik can hold it down and Mahogany can pull through?
——why is a one year 34 year old rental, a project from British Columbia, and a mystery draft fall followed by a mystery illness not concerning to EVERYONE?
This is a much better argument, thank you!
Part of the reason why goes back to the philosophy of paying your homegrown talent. When you do this, and plan on continuing to do this, you limit the amount of money you have available for outside free agents. Especially when you hit as many home runs in the early rounds as Brad has.
So you have two options in free agency – you go bargain hunting, or you target just a couple of elite players. The problem with the latter strategy is that if you’re using free agency to “fill holes,” you can’t get enough of them. (I’m not sure there’s budget for any of them, giving how many of his own guys he’s gonna have to pay.) Being forced to bargain hunt, that means either getting substandard talent (which was fine early in the rebuild, because they had SO MANY holes to fill) or taking flyers on guys who have risk attached to them. Hence, your absolutely correct description of this strategy as “gambling.”
If you’re going to gamble in this fashion, it helps to mitigate the risk by having a top-flight medical team. People who can evaluate injuries, how well they’re healing, and how to lower future re-injury. This is why they hired Brett Fischer (Director of Player Health and Performance) and Michael Sundeen (Head Athletic Trainer) in 2023. These are the guys Frank Ragnow credits for turning around his toe issue:
Now, let’s look at the five guys you listed and see if the risk is justified.
Reader is coming off his second quad tear (different leg). He was able to bounce back completely from his first quad tear. He was thoroughly evaluated by medical staff to determine the current injury would also heal. I like the odds, even if Reader is out the first four games.
Davenport looked good on tape last year before his most recent injury, even though he wasn’t racking up the numbers. He too was coming off a previous injury – but he was still explosive and powerful. I think this is the real litmus test for Brad’s strategy.
Moseley is in the same boat as Reader. He tore his left ACL in '22, which is why he was as much a bargain as he was going into 2023. Then he tore his right ACL (the left ACL had actually healed). Now he’s on a much cheaper contract, more like a lottery ticket. DBs get injured a lot, and Carlton Davis has also suffered a fair share of lost time. Mitigating the risk at CB, Holmes has stuffed the room with even more new faces. But yeah, he lost his bet in '23 on Moseley.
That said, bringing in Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs as free agents didn’t pan out either – not because of injury, but because of skill. The other bargain-hunting strategy is likewise not foolproof.
Zeitler might be the biggest gamble. You can recover from injury. You can’t recover from age.
There’s always risk when it comes to bargain hunting. Do you gamble on developing guys who’ve underperformed, or on guys recovering from injury? Having a mediocre player stay healthy guarantees mediocrity. There’s more upside with the injuries, especially if you can count on your medical staff. I wonder if the additions of Fischer and Sundeen will be seen in the same light as brining in Terrell Williams. We’ll see.
I think we have to tolerate higher risk to reap higher rewards.
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the one that says “takes huge pay cut”???
You claimed it “cost “ the Lions over $10 million to make those moves… but it actually saved the Lions money and avoided large dead cap hits if they would have released them without altering their contracts.
The term “restructure” is used almost exclusively to describe a contract with multiple years remaining… which is altered to give a player a signing bonus… which benefits both the player and the team… because the player gets cash upfront, and the team spreads that cap hit from the current season across multiple seasons.
Harris and Okwara were in the final year of their contracts…
and the pay cuts saved the Lions a combine $10 million on their base salaries.
Better yet… Vaitai not only took a $6.4 million salary cut….
but Holmes even made his final year a voidable year for 2024.
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The gamble did not pay off for Mosley. Ooof.
Figured I would bump this thread lol
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