RichNhansom":1g38d4yb said:
I don't know if Buckner and Armestad will work out but I think Baalke is trying to replace Justin Smith and Raymac and I give him credit for that. Look at Bowman now that he doesn't have those guys in front of him. LB is a position that relies heavily on what the front 3 or 4 do.
9ers have been praised for a while on LB play but the real studs were Cowboy and Raymac. Look at Aldon Smith for another example.
We build our defense from the back forward Baalke is trying to do it the more traditional way by masking deficiencies with dominant line play. The biggest problem I see is how often does a Justin Smith come along and even then how many years does it take for him to perfect his craft.
It may work but I think it will take several years before you really know for sure.
I couldn't agree more.
We have no idea how it will work out. Maybe both guys bust in a big way. Maybe both become All-Pros. Most likely it'll be something in between, but outside of Myles Jack the guy I wanted most was Buckner.
Lets be real. Niners probably aren't looking at a playoff run anytime soon. It's time to stock up talent. At their recent height, the Niners were dominant on the lines, both O and D. They were powered by one of the best O-Lines in the game and one of the best front 7s in the game.
THATS what I think Baalke is trying to rebuild. Will Buckner be Justin and will Armstead be McDonald? Who knows. I like the attempt though. 3-4 DEs aren't a sexy pick to be sure, but those two guys were a HUGE, HUGE reason why that front 7 was so good.