Newsgroup: it.sport.americani
Titolo: All'attenzione dei tifosi 49ers (e sono parecchi..)

Per tutti voi, ragazzi, l'opinione di Dan Pompei (TSN) sul mercato dei
vostri eroi di San Francisco:
Walsh has high hopes as he picks apart 49ers
by Dan Pompei
Ring. Ring.
Bill Walsh: Good morning.
Me: Hi Bill, Dan Pompei here.
Walsh: Hi Dan. We're in the middle of a meeting on Merton Hanks. We
need a swing vote. What should we do?
So it goes with the new regime of the 49ers as they rummage through
their personnel closet, examining each article and deciding on what
goes in the Goodwill bin and what stays. Already traded away are
defensive end Roy Barker, guard Kevin Gogan, tight end Irv Smith and
quarterback Ty Detmer. Cornerback Antonio Langham was taken off their
hands in the expansion draft. Defensive back Marquez Pope and running
back Terry Kirby were allowed to leave via free agency.
Others are sure to follow. Quarterback Jim Druckenmiller is a cinch
to go. Hanks is a possibility. And defensive end Chris Doleman is a
maybe.
None of these departing players will be replaced with premium free
agents. In most cases, their replacements will come from the depths
of the 49ers' roster, or from the draft. So how can they expect to be
better next season?
They probably can't expect to be better. But they might not regress
much if things break right for them. The 49ers easily could come out
of the offseason positioned as well as any team to win the NFC West.
Walsh takes it further, saying he expects a Super Bowl contender this
season.
Look at what they have lost. Some of what was thrown overboard might
help the boat go faster. Smith, Kirby and Detmer provided nice depth,
but were not going to start ahead of Greg Clark, Garrison Hearst and
Steve Young.
The 49ers will have to find some reserves, especially at quarterback.
But Walsh has always been considered a genius at finding the best
prospects at that position.
Langham and Pope have the potential to be good players, but they
hadn't shown much of it lately. Last season, Langham played poorly
after signing a big contract. Pope, because of injuries, had not
played in more than six games in either of the past two seasons.
Of the players who are gone, only Barker and Gogan were yearlong
starters. Barker's departure is the most damaging. He will be
difficult to replace, as will Doleman if he follows through with his
retirement plan. Gogan is a fine player, but second-year man Jeremy
Newberry has the potential to be at least as good, and he is a better
fit for the blocking style espoused by offensive line coach Bobb
McKittrick.
Walsh acknowledges the skills of Barker and Gogan, but shrugs off
most of the player losses. "Some of their careers were ending," he
says. "Some weren't that compatible with us."
Part of the reason the 49ers got rid of some of these players is so
they could keep the players they think are most important to them,
like wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who signed a seven-year deal last
week.
What the 49ers' new management team has been doing is trying to get
out of salary cap jail. Walsh says the team was $28 million over the
cap before the trimming began. In addition to getting rid of players,
the 49ers also restructured 11 contracts. The 49ers hope to be
operating with little to no salary cap overrun in three to five
years.
By then, the plan is for Walsh, 67, to have passed the GM baton to
current player personnel director Terry Donahue, and for the pieces
for another run of championships to have been assembled.
The next Steve Young likely will be on the roster by the time Walsh
steps down. The 49ers' quarterback of tomorrow could even come out of
this draft, but don't expect it to be Cade McNown. The 49ers are
drafting too low to get a shot at McNown, and the fact they don't
have a second-round pick means they won't be trading up, according to
Walsh. Although Walsh thinks Young is capable of playing as well as
he did last season, the 49ers must start planning to replace the
37-year old.
Terrell Owens is the 49ers' new Jerry Rice, and the 49ers saw to it
that Owens, a free agent, will not be going anywhere by placing a
franchise tag on him. But the 49ers are not sending Rice the way of
Gogan and company just yet. In fact, they recently extended his
contract one more year through the 2004 season.
"I think Jerry can continue to have tremendous success," Walsh says.
"A lot depends on the frequency of his workouts. You don't have to
train as hard as you get older."
The greatest immediate challenge for the 49ers is on defense. If they
are going to be a better team next year, they will need to cover
receivers better. And they will need to play the run better. Walsh is
betting new defensive coordinator Jim Mora Jr. will make the
difference.
"We have to be more consistent against the run with our defensive
ends," Walsh says. "Last year it was all pass rush and very little
controlling of the blocker to play the run. We conceded a lot in the
running game."
The 49ers will try to rebuild their defense around Bryant Young, whom
Walsh thinks is the NFL's best defensive lineman. But Young, who
broke his fibula and tibula last season, will have to play with a rod
in his leg this season. And there are no guarantees he will be ready
when the season opens, or that he will be what he was.
There are questions throughout the defensive line. At end, Gabe
Wilkins could replace Barker, whom the 49ers would have preferred. At
the other end spot, Charles Haley might continue his comeback.
And there is the cornerback position. Right now, R.W. McQuarters and
Darnell Walker are the starters. Neither is proven. The 49ers
probably will draft a cornerback high and hope he can play quickly
opposite McQuarters, the team's 1998 first-round pick.
This is quite a challenge for Walsh, who has not been in a position
of authority since he stepped down as Stanford's coach after the 1994
season. The way rosters are assembled has changed dramatically since
Walsh was last in charge of the 49ers in 1988. In fact, free agency
is somewhat foreign to all of the key players in the 49ers' front
office -- Walsh, director of football operations John McVay and
Donahue. None were holding jobs in the NFL before being hired by the
49ers. But the meat of their jobs, evaluating talent, has not
changed.
"Maybe it would be different if I had been in Tahiti the last 10
years," Walsh says. "But I've been involved in the NFL. The track
record of John McVay and myself stands up against the top caliber of
competition. We have no illusions about being smarter than anyone.
But we've got five world championships and a record of drafting and
acquiring good players."
Oh, and by the way: Bill, do what you need to do to keep Merton
Hanks. There is hope for the 49ers.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Ciao
Charlie Brown
G O   D O L P H I N S ! ! !
mail to: 
chNOS...@excite.com
better remove NOSPAM when replying....


(snip)
Prima di tutto grazie per l'articolo,considerando oltretutto che non
tratta roba di casa tua.Per il resto non posso altro che sperare che
Walsh continui ad azzeccare le decisioni come e più di prima.La
introduzione della free agency ha distrutto l'idea stessa di dinastia
e di continuità dei giocatori nella stessa squadra.
Per il momento queste due realtà hanno costretto i Niners a lasciar
andare diversi buoni giocatori (BArker su tutti) ed a cacciare dei bei
fallimenti (Langham e Pope, sia pure causa infortuni per il secondo).
Mi aspetto una squadra competitiva ma Superbowl contender? con una
linea difensiva formata da un Bryant Young in condizioni difficili da
decifrare e dei giovani di belle speranze? con una secondaria
inguardabile formata da giovani non testati e veterani ormai bolliti?
Penso che i Niners torneranno ad essere una forza nella Nfl ma il
prossimo anno la wild card costituirà il vero superbowl per la squadra
della baia
Hoop Rules
             Doc
DeMarco Johnson DeMarco Johnson DeMarco Johnson
Steve Young for president

della baia
Niente Superbowl l'anno prossimo e credo che la vittoria della
conference sia il traguardo ambito e la presenza almeno in una wild
card un obiettivo alla portata del team.
Ciao
Giovanni (AKA John Hooks)