From: timr@sco.COM (Tim Ruckle)
Subject: 49ers Secondary: Camp Report and Analysis
Organization: The Gifted and the Damned
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 10:06:06 GMT
Keywords: 49ers, Hall, Gash



49ers head coach George Seifert (the former defensive backfield coach
and defensive cordinator) says that establishing the secondary is now
his number one concern.  As well it should be.  The 49er secondary,
plagued by injuries at corner, and missing the talent and leadership
of Ronnie Lott at safety, did not perform well last year.  To be fair
to them, the did all right under difficult circumstances.  They ended
up in the middle of the pack in terms of passing yards allowed per game
in the NFC (with 190.1, which would look even better against AFC teams).
And they helped the team hold opponents to the third fewest point allowed
in the NFC (trailing the Saints and Redskins with 239) and fourth in
the league.  But their 12 interceptions, while matching the INT give-aways
to their opponents, places them near the bottom of the league's list in
this catagory.

And if the frustration of the 49ers' relatively poor performance last
year could be boiled down to one play, it would be the botched coverage
on the Hail Mary pass which led to a 4th quarter Atlanta victory.  All
else being equal, had that pass been incomplete the 49ers would have won
their division (beating Atlanta outright, and winning a tie-breaker with
the Saints).  As it was, they didn't even make the playoffs--for the
first time in 9 years.  That one play is indicative of the secondary's
main problem: that of folding under pressure.  The team that had built
a reputation for edging opponents in the final minutes of a game, found
themselves suffering "heartbreaking" losses in this manner time and
again.  And while the secondary mustn't take all the blame for this
turnaround, it must bear its fair share.

The near-sighted decision to leave Lott unprotected last year cost
the 49ers plenty, perhaps even a return trip to the NFC championship.
Lott maintained his all-pro form playing for the Raiders, leading the
league with 8 interceptions.  Perhaps even more critical, Lott had
long represented the heart and soul of the 49er defense, and the loss
of his leadership was keenly felt.  And the manner of his leaving visibly
damaged the team's morale.  All in all, an extremely poor decision by
the 49er staff, and one that is still difficult to fathom.  There was
some noise in the off-season that they would like Lott to come back
and "finish out" his career in San Francisco, but don't bet on it.

Dave Waymer, himself snatched from New Orleans through Plan B in '90,
managed to fill some of the void left by Lott.  He provided some hard
hitting, led the team with 4 interceptions, and had 2 fumble recoveries.
Ironically, the 49ers left him unprotected this year and he is also now
with the Raiders.  While not quite in Lott's league, the 49ers failure
to learn from the mistakes of their recent history may have doomed them
to repeat it.  (The feeling of deja vu is nearly complete with Michael
Carter being held out of practice because of his weight.  Remember Bubba
Paris last year?  If the 49ers get rid of Carter, who they also protected,
then it will have been completed.)

Enter Thane Gash, a hard-hitting free saftey formerly of Cleveland.
Gash is a 5-11, 198 pound, 4-year veteran out of East Tennessee State.
He has been a good performer in the past, leading his team in tackles
and returning 2 of his 3 interceptions for TD's in '90.  The Browns
also lined him up as a linebacker in nickle and dime formations and
used him in blitzing situations.  But Gash sat out last season due
to a neck injury requiring surgery to fuse two vertebrae.  He was
initially given a clean bill of health by team doctors before being
signed by the 49ers, but has recently been re-examined due to second
thoughts by the 49ers' spine specialist Dr. Robert Gamburd.  (Gamburd
has a reputation for being very cautious--he recommended that Mike
Wilson retire after his '86 neck injury, but Wilson came back to play
until '90).  He has now passed another three exams from non-49ers
physicians, and having signed a lawsuit waiver which relinquishes his
right to sue the 49ers if he is injured, has started practice.  The
49ers are paying Gash $1.8 million for two years.  And though Johnnie
Jackson is "penciled in" as starter at strong safety, look for Gash
to get this starting position if he is healthy throughout the preseason
(and sent packing if he's not--Gash's salary is not guaranteed, and the
49ers can release him without obligation).

Last year's starter at free safety, Todd Bowles, still has his job
for the moment.  But this will likely change as the 49ers have signed
their first-round draft pick Dana Hall.  Hall is a 6-2, 203 pound
defensive back out of Washington.  He has 4.59 speed, was all Pac-10,
and turned out and impressive performance in last year's Rose Bowl
(holding Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard to a single recpetion).
The 49ers passed up a higher rated DB (Steve Israel, the 5-10, 181
pounder from Pittsburgh who has blazing spead and--as it is ofttimes
reported--once caught Rocket Ismail from behind.  Israel went to the
Rams in the second round.) to get Hall, who played corner in college
but fit the mold better for the safety they were after.

Seifert has shown that he is more than willing to start rookies in
the secondary (Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, and Carlton Williamson in
'81; Don Griffin and Tim McKyer in '86; and Merton Hanks in '91)
and while he has stopped short of saying that Hall will be an
immediate starter, it seems clear that it is his hope that this
will work out.  At the press conference announcing his singing, Hall
said, ``I want to learn the system and just be ready to go if I have
to.''  At which point Seifert interupted to say: ``Dana, you have to.''
Hall received an unusual three-year contract which includes no signing
bonus but is rather hefty at $2.7 million.  The contract does not include
the usual playing time bonus provisions, and the only incentives are for
honors such as rookie-of-the-year, all-pro and Pro Bowl.  Look for Hall
to be the starter immediately, if not sooner.  He has already been
promoted to the first squad and is practicing with the starters.

Jackson is a 6-1, 204 pound, 4-year player out of Houston who had
one interception and two fumble recoveries last year.  Bowles is
a 6-2, 205 pound, 7-year man out of Temple who also had one interception
and two fumble recoveries last season.

Also in camp are safeties David Whitmore (6-0, 235, 3-year player
out of Stephen F. Austin) and Derrick Crudup (6-3, 219, 3-year
player out of Oaklahoma).  Whitmore saw playing time with the 49ers
last year, and had one interception.  Crudup is a Plan B aquisition
from the Raiders.  Both will be fighting it out to retain a roster
spot, and probably hoping that Gash's comeback is not for real.

Don Griffin at right corner is the only solid starter in the 49er
secondary.  He had only one interception last year, but had three
fumble recoveries and was the only real stability in the defensive
backfield.

There's a three-way battle brewing for the incumbant left cornback
spot between Eric Davis, Merton Hanks, and Darryl Pollard.  Pollard
has perhaps a more valid claim to the position that he at one
point held (in '89 and '90) before breaking his ankle in the final
exhibition game against Seattle last year.  He spent the entire
season on injured reserve, and then badly sprained his other ankle
in a charity basketball game in April.  He is currently in no shape
to play and lagging behind the other two.

After Pollard went down, Davis started two games and then tore
muscles in a strange and serious injury (a bone from his upper
arm was pushed up and through his shoulder).  There was concern
at the time that it might be a career-ending injury, but defensive
backfield coach Jeff Fisher says that Davis is fine now (but may
need to take a few hits before anyone is absolutely sure).  Davis
is 5-11, 178 pounds, and two years out of Jacksonville St.

Hanks, a 6-2, 185 pound, 2nd-year man out of Iowa, started seven
games but broke his hand and played the last several ones in a cast.
Kevin Lewis started four games and had two interceptions.  (Free agent
Mark Lee was signed, started three games, and was released).  Lewis
is being moved to right corner where he will likey begin the season
as backup to Griffin.  Lewis is a 5-11, 173 pounds, 3-year player
from Northwestern Louisiana.

If Davis has really recovered then I'd look for him to probably start
at left corner.  Pollard on the other hand may very well end up back on
injured reserve.  However, the whole thing is a crap shoot at this point.

The 49ers also drafted Damien Russell in the sixth round, a 6-0,
199 pound defensive back from Virginia Tech.  He has good speed but
is thought to have a better chance at a safety position.  However,
Russell is coming off a serious pectoral muscle injury, and is still
unsigned.  One of only two draft choices not in camp--the other is
also recovering from injuries--the club is in no hurry sign them and
have it count against their roster limit.

Rodney Thomas, a former Dolphin and Ram, is a five-year corner out of
Brigham Young.  At 5-11, 185 pounds, he is about the same size as Davis
and Lewis.  Thomas was supposed to be a good man-on-man cover guy with
excellent acceleration and catch-up speed.  I don't know if he has ever
held a starting job, though.

Also listed at corner was Manny Hendrix, a 5-10, 188 pound, seven-year
man out of Utah.  Hendrix was a starting left corner for the Cowboys
in '89--the year their starting secondary accounted for just three
intercetions and ranked next-to-last for yards allowed in the league.
Hendrix is supposed to be a good athelete (4.4 speed and great leaping
ability) but doesn't read well.  I'm not sure what, if anything, he's
done in the last few years.  Hendrix was waived this week, the first of
this year's Plan B signees to go.

Rounding out the early camp mix were rookie free agents Freddie Smith
from San Jose State and John Robert Holland of Sacramento State.  Smith
was recently waived.

If Gash and Hall can start and perform as expected as safeties, and the
49ers can keep the corners healthy, then the secondary may shape up into
a formidable facet of the defense.  But if the team must continue to go
to the bench to fill in at corner, and have no choice but to use backup
safeties in nickle and dime situations, then they will be in trouble.

Finally, the performance of the secondary goes hand in hand with the
effectiveness of the pass rush.  The 49ers had a rather mediocre 31
sacks last year, though the pressure was perhaps a bit better than
these number would indicate.  Charles Haley had another Pro Bowl
performance, but with just 7 sacks he wasn't even in the top 30 in
this catagory.  He was playing hurt, obviously frustrated and angry
with the 49er coaching staff, and at one point talked of being traded.
In March he had rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder and has not
yet practiced.  In fact, he's yet to show up in camp, having been given
an excused absence for a "family problem".

Tim Harris, aquired during the season in a trade with the Packers, was
busted almost immediately for drunk driving after arriving in SF.  He
is subject to (up to a 6-game) suspension as a two-time substance-abuse
offender.  He finished out the season playing 11 games for the 49ers,
producing only 3 sacks.

The 49ers say they have plans for the two pass-rushing linebackers
to work together, which they only did last year in the nickle defense,
and hope they can become a formidable pair.  This assumes of course
that they are both healthy and motivated, and Harris stays out of jail.
The reports from camp are that Harris' weight is down and he is in
excellent condition.  No word yet from the league on his possible
suspension, and no word either on when Haley might show up or what
kind of shape he's in.

The rest of the line is also in turmoil.  Larry Roberts, who helped
out with 7 sacks last year, is still unsigned.  Kevin Fagan is still
not fully recovered from his knee injury.  Pierce Holt left practice
this week with a thigh bruise.  And then there is Michael Carter, the
three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle--perhaps one of the best in the league
in his prime--but who has yet to fully recover from a serious foot injury
and has seen limited playing time the last two years.  Carter lost 40
pounds in the off-season and reported to camp at 316.  But coach Seifert
won't let him practice until he is down to 300.  And the 49ers reportedly
also want him to agree to take only half of the $1,175,000 he is scheduled
to earn this year.  Carter has indicated that he would not agree to any
salary cut, and believes the team will try to trade him.

So Ted Washington, the 49ers number 1 draft pick last year, may end
up starting at nose tackle.  The 6-4, 300-pound-plus Washington was
frustrated by the lack of playing time last season, but is in much
better shape than when he came out of Louisville.  Third-year player
Dennis Brown may also end up starting at left or right end, depending
on who is available.  Brown had his moments last year, starting five
games and registering 3 sacks.  While it is still too early in camp
to say that the established order of defensive line (Holt-Carter-Fagan)
will be changed, the 49ers may wish to settle on the starting lineup
early and play them throughout the preseason.  At this point it may
just be Washington's spot to lose.  Defensive ends Fagan and Holt, if
they are healthy, are probably more secure in their starting postitions.

To round out the defensive picture, both starting inside linebackers
(Keith DeLong and Mike Walter) are still unsigned.  The top returning
backup, Darin Jordan, is banged up.  According to Seifert, if the 49ers
had to field a team today they would be going with rookie free agent
Leroy Smith alongside Mitch Donahue (a 2nd-year man out of Wyoming).

In conclusion, I think the 49ers have a formula here for a very potent
defense.  If all goes according to plan they should have a formidable
starting lineup.  Of course, things don't always--or even often--go
according to plan, and as is so often the case much will rest on whether
the players stay (or get) healthy.

-timr

--
Is is vain to look for defense against lightning.
                                     --Publilius Syrus, Maxim 835