Jeff Pasquino
Footballguy
Santa Clara Press Democrat
Interesting breakdown of a crowded secondary and how the safeties will be used (assuming Matt's right).49ers position-by-position: Defensive backs
This is the fifth installment of breaking down the 2007 San Francisco 49ers position-by-position. Today, we look at the defensive backfield.
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This is the best the 49ers' secondary has looked in a while. The cornerbacks, in particular, have been a problem area for more than a decade. It briefly looked as if Ahmed Plummer and Jason Webster could be a pretty good tandem in the early part of this century, but that never materialized.
I don't think the 49ers' cornerback situation has been this good since 1994, when they moved Merton Hanks to safety after a handful of games to start Deion Sanders alongside Eric Davis.
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Nate Clements has been to one Pro Bowl in his six-year career, and is considered a pretty good cornerback who has played in the obscurity of Buffalo. (I originally wrote Clements has never played in a Pro Bowl, and that was wrong. He played in the February 2005 game.) The 49ers spent big money to sign him, though not nearly as big as the reported eight-year, $80 million contract. The deal is actually seven years for $64 million - still not chump change.
Clements is expected to be the team's top cornerback. He'll line up on the left side. On occasion, he might even shadow the opponent's top receiver for the entire game. Clements has good size and speed. He's a physical corner who can help in run support. He made a strong impression during the offseason program with his work ethic and personality. Clements already seems to be one of the team's more popular players.
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Walt Harris is likely to start on the right side after having an exceptional first season with the club. Harris had the best season of his career a year ago. With eight interceptions, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 17 passes broken up and one sack to go along with 71 tackles.
He was named to the NFC Pro Bowl team, but didn't play too long before sustaining a broken hand. The injury has since healed, and he took part in the team's offseason program. He works hard to condition himself in the offseason, so I wouldn't expect a big drop off in his play.
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The 49ers signed cornerback Shawntae Spencer to a contract extension early last season. The deal was a five-year extension for $20 million, including $8.5 million guaranteed. He is signed through 2012, so there is no question he fits into the team's plans.
Spencer is likely to win the job at the team's third cornerback, and he should be ready to play more when needed during the season. He had an up-and-down season last year, probably due to the fact he battled some injuries. He pulled his right hamstring in training camp and appeared tentative when he came back to the lineup at the start of the regular season. Then, he missed three games after sustaining a right ankle sprain in November.
It's been a while since the 49ers have had a No. 3 cornerback who is as talented as Spencer. After all, just think back two seasons when Bruce Thornton started 11 games and could not make the squad a year later.
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The team lost B.J. Tucker to a torn left pec muscle during OTAs, but the 49ers still look to have good depth with a couple young players, Marcus Hudson and Tarell Brown, showing some good things in the offseason.
Marcus Hudson made a lot of plays in the offseason camps after having a rough rookie season. Hudson initially lined up at safety in training camp as a rookie but was moved to cornerback midway through camp.
He played all 16 games, mostly on special teams. On his first play from scrimmage, Hudson made a mental error when he was forced onto the field against the Chargers after starter Sammy Davis had the wind knocked out of him. Hudson decided to play press coverage against the Chargers' Vincent Jackson despite having no deep help. His first play resulted in a 33-yard TD. Later in the year, his delay-of-game penalty in the closing seconds against the Rams (he did not get off the pile in a timely fashion) also proved costly.
But enough about last year. Hudson is big (6-2, 198) and he showed dramatic improvement in his coverage skills. He had a knack for making plays on the ball during the OTAs.
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Brown might turn out to be a bargain as a fifth-round pick. He was a highly productive player at Texas. His speed, agility, physical attributes and his college play probably would've made him a second-round pick. But concerns about his character dropped him to the fifth round, where the 49ers selected him. (The Giants were going to take Brown with their selection two spots after the 49ers.)
The 49ers said they did all their homework on Brown, and they believe he is not a character risk. As I've written previously, he made a very favorable impression on me when I spoke to him about some of the tragedies he has dealt with in his life. He was 9 years old when his mother was murdered. And a week before the combine, his father died of a heart attack.
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The young guys will have to fend off veteran Donald Strickland, a San Francisco native, who is physical and competitive cornerback who came to the team in the middle of last season. He'll get a chance with a full training camp to prove he can help the team this season. He is recovering from a knee injury, but should be ready to go at the start of camp. Undrafted rookie Sammy Joseph's best chance is to be awarded a spot on the practice squad.
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The starting safety spots appear set for the season. Free-agent pickup Michael Lewis will start at strong safety after landing a six-year, $30 million deal that included $9.8 million in guaranteed bonuses.
Free safety will be handled by Mark Roman, the recipient of a three-year, $4.5 million extension at the end of last season that included $2 million guaranteed.
Lewis, who fell out of favor with the Eagles last season as they phased him out of the lineup, is known as a big hitter who will play one of the linebacker spots in the nickel coverage. He said he is determined to show his critics that he is an all-around safety, and that he is not a liability in pass defense.
Roman generally played well last season but the club would like to see him make more big plays. The best play of his season was when he duped Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck into believing he was playing one coverage and then doubled-back to make a crucial second-half interception in the end zone in the 49ers' victory in Seattle. With better cornerbacks in front of him, Roman should have more opportunities to make plays on the ball this season as a center-fielder.
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Keith Lewis did everything asked of him last season. The 49ers had been reluctant in the past to try him as an every-down safety because he was so valuable on every unit of special teams. But last season he proved his worth at safety after he was promoted to take Mike Adams' spot in the secondary.
Lewis was scheduled to be a restricted free agent. Instead, he signed a three-year, $2.935 million extension with the 49ers that included a $650,000 signing bonus. Although the club might not view him as a starter, he is still a very important part of the team. If there's an injury or someone is not playing effectively, I don't think the 49ers would hesitate to call on Lewis to bring his aggressive, hard-hitting style to the lineup.
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Rookie Dashon Goldson made a favorable impression in the OTAs. Coach Mike Nolan commented that the club knows Goldson is a physical player whose best attributes are shown when the pads come on. But he didn't wait until training camp to start turning heads. Goldson stood out in the non-contact practices with his coverage skills, which seemed to come as a pleasant surprise to the staff.
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Vickiel Vaughn made it to the final week of 49ers OTAs after the conclusion of the NFL Europa season. He missed more than a month this spring with a broken hand. He spent last season on injured reserve after undergoing surgery in August on a torn tendon in his right ring finger. Jermaine Hardy also played in NFL Europa this spring. The club is already starting to look at undrafted rookie Jake Patten as a potential practice-squad player.
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, but I agree this should boost Lewis' value some.
