rjdriver : "I think Boldan is a huge pick up that negates their losses."
All of them? All their loss's? I could see saying he replaces Manningham and would even buy he might be an upgrade but what about Moss? And the fact Crabtree will be the only returning starter from last year.
Delanie walker was used alot in their two TE sets and moved on because he wants to be a starter. Alot of members here wanted him on the hawks. He's not a giant loss in himself but take away Moss and Manningham also and I don't see how Boldin makes it an even swap.
Kaepernick will only have two guys from last year catching pass's in Crabtree and VD. Boldin's not "that" good. Kaep will also need to learn how to use Boldin. He is not fast but he is strong. If you can place the ball properly Boldin will win most of those battles but it is not as simple as it sounds and unlike Crabtree who gets separation and is visible when he is open, Boldin rely's on the QB to place the ball were he can fight for it. By the way if he is going up against Sherman that ball placement had better be excellent and if he is going up against Browner, please try and let Boldin fight it away from him. That won't work so well. Bowner can out muscle him and Sherman can out maneuver him.
Last time he played against those guys Boldin had two catch's for 22 yards.
Defensively their front 7 was what kept that machine rolling and hid the fact they were pretty weak in the secondary. Now they lost their NT and his back up. Again, might not normally be a big loss but they don't have a replacement on the team right now that can play the NT position. Add in that Justin Smith is coming off injury and is turning 34 in September. Consider whoever they get to play NT will take some time to get familiar with their schemes and how will that effect Justin Smith?
Now figure if that font seven takes a step back, how will that effect the secondary? Then remove the only probowler in the secondary from that equation. How good do you think Boldin is?
Yes they have 14 picks but last year was the first year that Balke was on his own as well as the first year in many he was picking towards the end of the draft. LMJ I think is the only draft pick that seen the field and AJ Jenkins looks like a horrible miss with zero catch's on the year and not being able to beat out even Ted Ginn for playing time.
If they lose Ted Ginn and it is looking like a real possibility, their return game will also take a big hit. LMJ might be able to step in but it is another unknown and most likely a down grade even if he is decent.
They just signed a new kicker. Do we just automatically assume he is going to be good? Can he boot it into the endzone on kickoffs? What about consistency or long kicks?
Glenn Dorsey might prove to be a good pick up and I am sure they are hoping he is Justin Smith's replacement but again, his track record so far doesn't guarantee success. I was hoping we would make a run at him so I won't lie, I think he has potential but still he is not the answer at NT and even if he does work out, as long as Justin Smith can play, he will be on the field.
Frank Gore also turns 30 May 14th. That is something that could very possibly come into play also.
I like Boldin but he is not the answer to all the questions they have going right now. They still have many other issues staring them directly in the face.