Lombardi guaranteed the 49ers weren't taking Justin Fields. He should of quit while he was ahead. His recent conspiracy theory:
Mike Lombardi: “I’m not buying it was Trey Lance all along. Anybody you talk to in the NFL that has sources - they aren’t buying that either. [SF] can say it was Trey all along - that’s a crock of crap. they traded up to get Mac Jones and the outside pressure became really bad.” https://t.co/kSrPc7gQe5
The extent to which some will go just to soothe their egos is amazing. Luckily we have, Tony Pauline with the truth that's hard as steel:
You were one of the few who did not think it was a lock Mac Jones went third to SF. Now that SF has selected Trey Lance, is there anything you can add about the decision? Was it always Lance for Kyle Shanahan?
I was told from the day they traded to the third spot, it was Trey Lance and they would keep Jimmy Garoppolo around for another season. I said as much in an article the Sunday before the draft when we broke the news it was down to Lance and Mac Jones. During The Draft Insiders podcast at the start of April, I said it was premature to write Jones in as the third pick in mock drafts and I was ridiculed.
They wanted to sign Andy Dalton in free agency as their veteran quarterback and then trade Garoppolo and draft Lance. I’m told Shanahan was pretty upset when they did not land Dalton.
I stated all along Lance was the best fit for the Shanahan offense. He processes information quicker than Fields, and his arm strength and physical skills are light years ahead of Jones.
It's too bad people like Lombardi and Simms turn to falsehoods and absurdities to protect their so called "stock" as analysts. Simms is now questioning why they had to give up so much for Lance, when of course he wasn't concerned in the least about the amount when it came to Jones. I think the 49ers knew Lance wouldn't get past the Falcons:
“It’s almost like a stock market frenzy,” Kolpack told the Steiny, Guru and Dibs radio show. “Once these quarterbacks start going, you’re not gonna want to be left out. And If he doesn’t go to the 49ers, I think the Falcons, I mean, they’ve been really interested. I know they’ve talked to the Bison coaches at length — on Lance, and I think they’re really interested. Nobody is really going to tell you what they’re going to do, obviously.”
While I wasn't a big fan of this draft in terms of value. That is also partially why Lombardi's claim makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteThis regime has always Targeted their guys and been willing to overpay to get them.So not selecting their guy after paying such a huge price makes little,if any sense,imo.
Shoup, haven't seen you around in awhile. Great to see you. How ya been?
Delete"In terms of value"- Can you elaborate who you're referring to that you consider poor value?
I rarely take any professional writers at face value, especially when they write in absolutes. The day of truth is long gone when it comes to journalism, believe nothing till it happens.
ReplyDeleteAs far as whether the Niners new who they were picking at the day of the trade, the answer is yes. Nobody in their right mind gives away two first round picks without having a reason. The reason was Lance, now they did their due diligence on other QB's for two reasons, one it creates a smokescreen, two is the fact that someone would question the fact if they didn't due their diligence if their pick fails.
Also I would like to add that its really good to see that Niner people have the ability to keep their mouths shut and strung this out till draft day and made asses out of lots of the media.
Under, I can't express enough how proud I am of York keeping his word to Lynch about no leaking. Let's hope he keeps it up.
DeleteIt was for him to keep the secret. His tweetstorm the day before the draft sealed it for some reporters like Matt Barrows that it wasn't McRib.
DeleteBottom line, the journalism in this regard was poor.
Meant to type: "It was hard for him to keep the secret. "
DeleteMike Lombardi reminds of the wisdom found in the old adage, "when you find yourself in a hole, STOP DIGGING!"
ReplyDeleteFor real.
DeleteI’m not going to post the link because I don’t want to give credence to such insanity, but now some national pundit is throwing out the theory that 49ers could trade Trey Lance for Aaron Rodgers. After this last month-plus of non-stop everybody getting everything wrong, everyone should consider a boycott of these writers who have nothing better to do than peddle the sporting equivalent of fake news.
ReplyDeleteGood to see ya, Rib. I wouldn't make that trade regardless. If Lance is the real McCoy, we got the position solved for the next 10-15 years. Rodgers could be considered the best atm, but I wouldn't want to upset the team culture we've developed. He seems a bit of a headcase for mine.
DeleteYeah that "trade" makes no sense not only for present vs future worth, but would go against everything the GM and HC have been about in the years building this team, brick by brick. The sports-industrial punditry had the journalistic equivalent of hookers and blow these last 6 weeks, now they got the cold turkey DTs. It's not a good look for them.
DeleteWe are seeing which buffoons in the media care more about being seen as "in the know" than reporting fact.
ReplyDeleteMost of the reputable national media were backing off Jones just before the draft - most still had him pencilled in at 3 but most also no longer believed or reported they knew anything for sure. Funny how those guys aren't the ones claiming the 49ers changed their minds or gave up too much.
There is no reason to believe Shanahan has been lying since the draft, and he laid out very clearly how the process played out. Yes, he really liked Jones after watching him in January. When he watched Lance in late January he became obsessed with what he could do with him, and it was after that they started trying to trade up. End of story.
McRib was never in consideration. They did none of the due diligence on him that they did on Fields and Lance. Kyle was amused to see how the Jones story developed and he said that he wanted this wrong impression to continue. Maybe that's why he dropped Jones's name once or twice before the draft.
DeleteIn Lynch's relaxed half hour interview on KNBR, he said that Kyle is feeling bad that Simms was effectively misled (Lynch said he was part of one of the conversations Kyle had with Simms). Maybe that's why Kyle dropped Jones' name once in the Eisen interview.
Eisen and Pauline improved their credibility for mine.
DeleteKyle didn't drop Jones' name just once in the Eisen interview. And he said the same things to Peter King. In fact the only QB he hasn't mentioned is Fields. According to Shanahan he liked Jones after watching him. Hardly a surprise to anyone. But he wasn't the guy they traded up to 3 for - that was Lance.
DeletePauline is just as guilty as many, imo. He was one of those reporting that Jones was Shanahan's pick, and you yourself quoted his comment about how it was the scouting department changing his mind just days before the draft. He is currently backpedalling saying he always said Jones wasn't a lock for the pick and that he said along he heard it was Lance.
DeleteYea, you make a good point Scooter regarding Pauline.
DeleteI can totally believe that Kyle "liked" Jones. The actions (or inactions) of the Niners show that Jones was never in consideration for being picked at #3.
DeleteNeither Eisen or Pauline or anyone who says they got the Lance pick right because some source told them has no credibility for me. Lynch and Shanahan made it clear that Kyle did not even communicate his final choice to Lynch till Monday. They told Jed on Wednesday, the day before the draft.
By piecing together everything that Kyle and John said in the interviews, my impression is that there was never a competition between Lance and any other QB. Kyle liked Lance right away but spend a lot of time in January studying film to make sure he wasn't wrong about Lance the football on the field. Lynch meanwhile did a lot of the work on Lance the person off the field. Both compared notes. They also did due diligence on Fields.
While Kyle may have watched a lot of game film of Jones, Lynch and the scouts did not do basic information gathering on Jones. Barrows found this out belatedly that persuaded him to replace Jones with Lance as his guess of the pick.
Should read: "...Lance the football player on the field".
DeleteMy impression is a little different. Yes, Shanahan watched film in January (in a beach house). Not just of Lance though, of all the QBs. He said to both King and Eisen that Jones was the first guy he watched and he was the first guy he really liked ("revved up" about him, he told King). From memory, he said Lance was the last guy he watched, and he came away "obsessed". January wasn't about doing the film work to convince himself he wasn't wrong on Lance - that was his month of deep dive to get his impression on each of the QBs from a skills perspective. And Lance was the one that impressed him the most. And it was not long after watching Lance (and finishing up his month long dive into the QBs) that the 49ers decided to trade up, with Lance the target.
DeleteShanahan's comments in the interviews indicate that right up to the last few weeks before the draft he was rewatching film on a bunch of guys, not just Lance - that was where he was "studying film to make sure he wasn't wrong about Lance the football player on the field" as you put it. Not in January. Shanahan said he does this with every player too, not just Lance, and not just QBs. And he said every time he rewatched film on Lance he came away just as impressed.
And my understanding is they did their due diligence on all these guys. Not sure where you are getting the info that they didn't do basic information gathering on Jones. But my understanding is that the 49ers spent a lot of time speaking to people about Lance, right up until the last week before the draft, which may be what you are referring to? Or maybe you are referring to the report that the 49ers didn't talk to Saban about Jones at the pro day? That's not that uncommon with Saban apparently, and after previous bad advice from Saban on a prospect they probably don't trust what he says much anyway.
And I don't think it was Shanahan doing the film, Lynch the work on getting to know the person, either. Shanahan spent a lot of time getting to know him personally too. And Lynch watched plenty of film on Lance as well. They both came away thinking he was their guy.
End of the day, none of it really matters. They got their guy.
The football sports pundits and their unidentifiable “sources” became a circus simply because there was no comments by the 49ers brass after the big trade up was made.
DeleteThe talking heads were left with no story after the big trade for about a month which then evolved into a race to be the first to peg who the 49ers would pick as their QB.
I can’t remember if there ever was a more frenzied sports media of empty reporting during a draft then this one.
These football analysts need to fire their invisible “sources” once and for all, or perhaps just wait until an official announcement is released by the team(s).
William Goldman's classic tru-ism "Nobody knows anything" should be the first line any sports reporter's reporting.
DeleteScooter,
DeleteHere are my reasons for asserting that Niners did not do due diligence on Jones.
Reason #1: A quote of Matt Barrows relayed by Steve Berman of The Athletic:
"“I called some folks who are close to Mac Jones, including this guy Joe Dickinson who’s been his QBs coach forever, since he was a little boy, and was with him in Tuscaloosa right up until the draft,” Barrows said. “(He) was in the green room and all that. So I called him and I said, ‘I assume that John Lynch called you and interviewed you,’ as they tend to do for their top picks. They want to interview everybody associated with him. And this guy, Joe Dickinson, is like, ‘No, I haven’t talked to him.’ And there were a couple of other people associated with Mac Jones who hadn’t talked to Lynch and I was like, ‘Huh, that’s a little odd.’ If this guy’s your pick, you want to leave no stone unturned."
Reason #2: Neither Kyle nor John had a conversation with Jones on his Pro Day. This information came from Jones himself.
Reason #3: Even if one thinks that it's not important to talk to the head coach about the QB, one would think they would talk to the OC (Sark) or interview other people close to Jones. I have not heard of even one person around Mac Jones or the Bama football program having been contacted by the Niners.
Reason #4: Niners had their own trusted agent, John Beck, working with Wilson, Fields and Lance. In fact, Niners specifically asked Lance to work with Beck. Not so for Jones.
Scooter, do you think that a franchise mortgaging their future on a franchise QB will fly blind just going on a tape of Jones' 17 games and not do any due diligence to learn about the person off the field, especially one with DUI on the record?
Over the last 2 decades, various Niners' front offices spent a lot time learning about their top-10 picks like Smith, VD, and Willis. I think that is the usual practice.
Contrast their approach to Jones with their approach to Fields where they did due diligence at the same level as Lance. This interview with Beck is very informative
https://omny.fm/shows/papa-lund-podcast/4-22-john-beck-talks-about-his-work-w-justin-field
That's great info, Mood. Wasn't aware of most of that. You're right, sounds like they didn't do their due diligence on Jones, which I agree means he was never in play at #3.
DeleteLooks like Maiocco's 53 differs from mine at two positions. OL and LB. He's got Skule over Coleman, and Gerry over Hilliard.
ReplyDeleteI think they keep Coleman over Skule. I can see them going with Gerry.
Delete