We do NOT need to draft another CB (or Safety for that matter), our Secondary is Fine

[#98QBKiller]

*Edit: I have edited the title of this thread to include that we do not need to draft a CB or Safety. And that means trading picks for one.

I could see us signing Drayton Florence or someone that we don't have to burn a draft pick on, for depth. But our picks need to go to more important areas of need outlined below.

Some people on here are actually calling for us to spend our 1st round pick on a CB....

I don't understand where this train of thought comes from. We have an excellent starting combo of CBs (not even counting Carlos Rogers) and a VERY talented young safety. The secondary is the one area of the team that we don't have to worry about right now.

Greg Blache has emphasized that he wants Shawn Springs back next season and the team is working the cap down to a manageable number as we speak.

If you remember, Springs had one of the best seasons of his career in 2007 and showed no signs of slowing down. That tells me that he's still going to be very effective for AT LEAST another couple of seasons.

Fred Smoot also had a solid season in 2007 especially the 2nd half; Springs/Smoot is an excellent combo and are more than capable of carrying the secondary again in 2008, especially with the help they're receiving from LaRon Landry.

If the Seattle game is any indication, Landry is not only going to be a hard-hitter but also a ballhawk of a FS come 2008. Reed Doughty deserves recognition too. He is not a Landry or Sean Taylor but he is a blue collar, diamond-in-the-rough, player that deserves to be starting at SS in 2008 given his improvement down the stretch last season.

Then you have Carlos Rogers, who despite coming off of a serious injury will be back to starting in September or October. Blache has recently stated that he is encouraged by the recovery of Carlos Rogers, and while being "encouraged" does not mean that Carlos will be 100 percent in September; with the talent of Springs/Smoot/Landry/Doughty we can afford to let Carlos work himself back to full health on a reasonable schedule as opposed to rushing him back onto the field.

I think that some of us have gotten a little too comfortable having 3 starting CBs and feel that we need to spend draft picks or cap space via free agency on a CB when other talented teams in the NFL do just fine with the 2 starters they have and much less talent in their Safety department.

With or without Carlos we still have one of the best secondaries in the NFL and we have more pressing needs (DL, WR, OL depth) that cannot be ignored any longer.

We finished with the #8 defense in the NFL last season with the secondary we have, and that's impressive considering the lack of pass rush that our team generated.

Some things that we lacked last season were:

-a consistent pass rush

-consistent QB protection

-consistent run-blocking

-a consistent red-zone/short yardage passing target

I would much rather see our draft picks and cap space go to fix these problems than to fix a secondary that is not broken. Also, we can wait another draft or two for age-related upgrades (if you're reasoning is that we need to groom another young CB because Springs is getting older).

So let's stop with the old ways of trying to upgrade positions that don't need it and let's save that cap space and save those draft picks and build a team that's going to be a contender for years to come.:2cents:

:logo:

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[Pedro]

Add all the talk of a first in trade or the draft for a WR.

JC being on his ass and no holes for CP should be fixed with OL not a WR...

[Widget_5]

OK ... you seem to be so knowledgable about this ...

What happens if Carlos's recovery doesn't go well and he's not back till mid-season, or Smoot or Springs (neither of whom are generallt injury free during the season) get injured ... who do we turn to then?

Which 3rd string CB are you happy to start?

Just to clarify that I'm not saying that I want another DB in the 1st, but DL are hit & miss & WR generally take 2 - 3 seasons to get productive.

[skinfan2k]

Rogers is not even suppose to be set til Oct. Springs is no young chicken. Smoot is a great asset but he will always be a #2 guy. Carlos Rogers may never be the same and his contract is ending soon

[CG]

Let me just say up-front that I'm with you on this and I would be shocked if we used a first rounder on a CB but I think there is some logic in addressing what will be a problem in the secondary in a year or two. Does anyone remember two years ago when Springs was hurt and we had Ade Jimoh in at #2 CB? I never want to see that again.

The fact of the matter is that Springs is getting older and is injury prone. Rogers and Smoot have also had durability problems. You're right that we do have some depth at corner, but that's provided that everyone is phsyically able to perform.

As for the draft, DL seems the most likely defensive option, although I would not be surprised at all if we took a WR in the first round under pressure from Zorn. I think that if our offense picks up and we still have a losing record, then that will look better for an offensive coach than if our D plays great and we lose. He'd be hedging his bets with a pick like that, and although the smart play for a first rounder in my opinion is on either side of the line, I just wouldn't be surprised if we took a big risk on a wide out.

[#98QBKiller]

OK ... you seem to be so knowledgable about this ...

What happens if Carlos's recovery doesn't go well and he's not back till mid-season, or Smoot or Springs (neither of whom are generallt injury free during the season) get injured ... who do we turn to then?

Which 3rd string CB are you happy to start?

We did fine with Springs/Smoot last season and our safeties can pick up slack if one of them misses a few games.

We're in worse shape if we lose a DL or OL. What if Andre Carter goes down? Griff? What if Thomas/Jansen goes down again? We're not as talented in the trenches to make up for it.

[jtyler42]

No one is saying that we don't have needs in the trenches, but how can you say that we don't need a CB? We are going to have two starting CB's that are going to be 30, and 30+...Rogers isn't expected back until mid-season, and who exactly is behind those 3?

Sure we have other needs, but CB and S depth is definitely on that list as well...

If we stay at pick 21, and their isn't a OL/DL rated higher than a CB on our draft board at that pick we have to take a CB...You can't reach for a player b/c of need...

[Chris Worthy]

I hope Z-man understands this as well and look at both sides of the line as areas of need. But he use to be a QB himself so he should sway in favor of protecting the QB and getting to the QB.

[voicekiller]

we do need depth at those positions

[skinfan2k]

We need a #1 Corner and Springs wont be able to do it for too long

[#98QBKiller]

Let me just say up-front that I'm with you on this and I would be shocked if we used a first rounder on a CB but I think there is some logic in addressing what will be a problem in the secondary in a year or two. Does anyone remember two years ago when Springs was hurt and we had Ade Jimoh in at #2 CB? I never want to see that again.

That year we also had huge holes at LB we had Lemar Marshall playing ILB and (god help us) Highway 57 at OLB and little pass rush from the DL or the LB corps either and we had Archuleta at safety not to mention Carlos had hands of stone in 2006.

[danthemann71]

we have no depth at that position. adding a mid-round pick (rd 2-4) to our CB corps would be wise.

[Pedro]

OK ... you seem to be so knowledgable about this ...

What happens if Carlos's recovery doesn't go well and he's not back till mid-season, or Smoot or Springs (neither of whom are generallt injury free during the season) get injured ... who do we turn to then?

Which 3rd string CB are you happy to start?

If our DL is as bad at getting pressure next season as we should reasonably expect we will need high talent players in every position behind them, all 7 starting plus their backups in case of injury.

If we can get consistent pressure from our DL we don't need as much talent in the 7 other starting positions or their backups.

Name me a SB winner or even a Championship winner who has weak lines like we do?

No need to match up the starter skill players because we already match up well there...

I'm happy with our CB starters but not LDE, 3 Tech DT or LOG. What we have there as starters would be fine as backups, but they aren't starters on a team with a real chance...

[Pedro]

We need a #1 Corner and Springs wont be able to do it for too long

But as the starter he can do it now. That can't be said for DT/DE/OG. We need starter upgrades at those positions now not for injury/future like CB.

[voicekiller]

But as the starter he can do it now. That can't be said for DT/DE/OG. We need starter upgrades at those positions now not for injury/future like CB.

honestly, i have a feeling we sign a CB in FA

[#98QBKiller]

No one is saying that we don't have needs in the trenches, but how can you say that we don't need a CB? We are going to have two starting CB's that are going to be 30, and 30+...Rogers isn't expected back until mid-season, and who exactly is behind those 3?

Sure we have other needs, but CB and S depth is definitely on that list as well...

If we stay at pick 21, and their isn't a OL/DL rated higher than a CB on our draft board at that pick we have to take a CB...You can't reach for a player b/c of need...

Like I said at the bottom of the original post if you want a CB because of age, there are more pressing needs. I tend to look at them based on performance before age and Springs had one of the best seasons of his career last year and Smoot was very good as well.

If you're thinking in terms of age look at Champ Bailey and Ronde Barber. Springs and Barber are the same age and both still very productive. Champ is turning 30 this year.

Also, Smoot is only 28.

And if you want to talk age look at Phillip Daniels, he's going to be 35 this year and is much less productive than Springs.

[skinfan2k]

But as the starter he can do it now. That can't be said for DT/DE/OG. We need starter upgrades at those positions now not for injury/future like CB.

No doubt we need those positions, but we take BPA approach. If you keep enough draft picks, there are gems in every round.

[voicekiller]

there are gems in every round.

very true...there are also some great gems that are signed after the draft as FA's

[pgray1111]

I would completely disagree with the comments to start this thread.

We have quality starters in the defensive backfield, but our depth is garbage. At corner, once you get past smoot, springs and rogers, we have nothing. A young up and coming DB would be great to throw in the mix,because in a year or two, one or two of those 3 starters are going to be gone. Same for safeties. I'm confident in landry and doughty, but prioleau will be gone, and who else do we have?

We need to plug holes all over the place on this team, so why not do it in the draft. This is the most picks that we've had in years, so why not make good use out of them and start to grow new talent with a new head coach.

[skinfan2k]

We have to draft CB somewhere early in the draft unless we wanna sign a scrub to play the nickel. We need to have a aaron ross type of player in the draft.

if we can manage to get another early draft picks along with our others we are fine

[Mooka]

I'd feel better if Macklin worked out.

I'm scared of another 2006. You saw what a weak CB core can do to a defense. We lose Springs, Rogers or Smoot, all whom have injury concerns and we're going to see alot of Leigh Torrence on the field.

[Pedro]

No doubt we need those positions, but we take BPA approach. If you keep enough draft picks, there are gems in every round.

BPA weighted to need with no reaching is the way I'd go

[JBarrett82]

we desparately need a strong, young DT and some youth on the OL. A tall WR would be a luxury, but the pressing need first would be to shore up the lines and then find a groomable DB mid-draft and find a WR.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Add all the talk of a first in trade or the draft for a WR.

JC being on his ass and no holes for CP should be fixed with OL not a WR...

samuels/kendall/rabach/thomas/heyer sounds good to me. i think next year we need to focus on drafting another OT, and potentially a G. but if thomas remains healthy our line is fine. jansen might play as well too, although he has been terrible the past 2 seasons, and injured to boot.

either way, WR and OL are both important, but i think we can get away with our oline for one more season.

[Koolblue13]

Is corner the biggest, most glaring need? NO.

Do we need a corner? YES.

We have two oft injured CBs set to start and one who may not be 100% until 09'.

If, in the first or second round, the best player on the board is a corner, you take him.