Week #4 - 49'ers

[tarlhawk]

When I first saw Parkinson in the game, I thought I was looking at Luke Willson.

I haven't seen much of Parkinson, but he can't be any better than Will Dissly, whom I really like both as a pass catcher and a blocker. There for awhile, it seemed as if we had an infatuation with tight ends, signing high priced free agents (Greg Olson) and spending multiple draft picks on them (Parkinson and Dissly). Wladron doesn't seem to utilize them as much as Schotty did. That's not necessarily a complaint, just an observation.

You can't compare him to Uncle Will who is the complete package but Colby is more like a Jimmy Grahm for RedZone mismatches. Plenty of tall TE's in the NFL but athletic/tall TE become a threat to a defense...Just like Grahm was more like a tall outside receiving threat claiming a TE spot...Colby is similar in that he doesn't seem to use his body leverage for blocking...but another tall athletic receiver for "inside the opponents 20 yd line"...can't hurt.

[RiverDog]

You can't compare him to Uncle Will who is the complete package but Colby is more like a Jimmy Grahm for RedZone mismatches. Plenty of tall TE's in the NFL but athletic/tall TE become a threat to a defense...Just like Grahm was more like a tall outside receiving threat claiming a TE spot...Colby is similar in that he doesn't seem to use his body leverage for blocking...but another tall athletic receiver for "inside the opponents 20 yd line"...can't hurt.

One of the things that I was disappointed with when we had Jimmy Graham was that we didn't utilize him in the red zone as much as I thought we could have. Being that he's a few inches shorter, Russell has to put the ball on a little higher trajectory, and with no opportunity to rainbow it like he does a lot of his throws more towards the center of the field, having a tall receiver is even more of a plus for him than it would be with average or above average size QB's that have higher release points.

I wouldn't mind seeing Parkinson in the formation along with Metcalf when we're inside the red zone. With both of those tall, athletic receivers on opposite sides of the field, one of them is bound to draw a mismatch.

But on the other hand, we really don't have a problem with red zone production. We're currently scoring TD's on 90% of our trips inside the 20, the third best in the league. As a matter of fact, these past few years we've had very good results in the red zone as we were ranked 3rd last season and 5th the season before that. At least as far as the red zone goes, there's not a lot that Parkinson can contribute that we don't already have.

https://www.seahawks.com/news/red-zone- ... nday-press

[NorthHawk]

We had 3 tall WRs at one point when we had Graham. I don't believe we ever even used a "Twin Towers" package let alone "Triple Towers".
All of the receivers were over 6'5" at the time and every team had at least 1 small DB who would have had to cover a WR. It was almost
maddening watching them not use that type of scheme. And don't get me started on the Graham trade where they traded for a guy with
special qualities only to nullify those qualities by trying to make him into something he wasn't.

Parkinson is said to have a great wingspan to go along with his height. That catching radius can be huge in a close game, so I hope that
Waldron can scheme up something to take advantage of him. My biggest concern is his injury history so far. Some players never get past
foot injuries and it shortens their careers. I hope he's over that now.

[RiverDog]

And don't get me started on the Graham trade where they traded for a guy with special qualities only to nullify those qualities by trying to make him into something he wasn't.

You're preaching to the choir, bro. It's eerily similar to the Adams trade and one of the reasons why I have one foot off the Pete/JS bandwagon.

[tarlhawk]

Grahm and Adams aren't examples of the same thing. I recall JS saying he didn't inquire about Grahm but during a call with the Saints GM it was asked if we would have an interest...I didn't realize the importance or actual responsibilities of a center back then ...let alone an all-pro like Max Unger so I was on the Grahm bandwagon wondering why we just didn't line him up at outside receiver. I'm sure Ifedi would have liked the help in pass pro of a real TE. When he didn't develop into the Red Zone demon envisioned I became disenchanted with the trade overall. I have no hesitation to obtaining Adams...and I think last year we eased him into our defensive playbook by having him in Pass rush mode...just to quickly give him impact...he is explosive off the snap of the ball and certain sub-packages bringing Bair/Neal to take SS coverage assignments...would free him up to make the QB uncomfortable and flush their QB into our Pass Rush team if not getting the sack himself. I think the timing for using our #1 draft picks was ideal due to where our selections usually fall...and even more so this year since covid prevented a lot of scouting trips used to vett draft projections.

[RiverDog]

Grahm and Adams aren't examples of the same thing. I recall JS saying he didn't inquire about Grahm but during a call with the Saints GM it was asked if we would have an interest...I didn't realize the importance or actual responsibilities of a center back then ...let alone an all-pro like Max Unger so I was on the Grahm bandwagon wondering why we just didn't line him up at outside receiver. I'm sure Ifedi would have liked the help in pass pro of a real TE. When he didn't develop into the Red Zone demon envisioned I became disenchanted with the trade overall. I have no hesitation to obtaining Adams...and I think last year we eased him into our defensive playbook by having him in Pass rush mode...just to quickly give him impact...he is explosive off the snap of the ball and certain sub-packages bringing Bair/Neal to take SS coverage assignments...would free him up to make the QB uncomfortable and flush their QB into our Pass Rush team if not getting the sack himself. I think the timing for using our #1 draft picks was ideal due to where our selections usually fall...and even more so this year since covid prevented a lot of scouting trips used to vett draft projections.

I realize that the Graham and Adams trade aren't exactly the same, but they do have similarities. Both involved a lot of capital, ie first round picks and a Pro Bowl-quality player. Graham didn't fit our system AND we didn't have a plan to replace Unger while in Adams case and by Pete's own admission, we didn't have a plan as to how we were going to use him. They are examples of poor strategic planning, or as one of our posters would say, going after a shiny object.

[tarlhawk]

Those trades reflect nothing in common. Grahms was a trade initiated by the Saints at a time when Jimmy G. was at his highest market value...and they probably wouldn't budge from Unger. Unger had even higher value because both teams involved were NFC so his ability for play recognition and experience would be top notch for an all-pro center.

Pete didn't imply we made all that effort to get Jamal Adams without any idea how he would "fit" ...you would have to be biased against PC to even think that. He was relating that Jamal Adams represents a skill set well above what they knew they were getting. His being special/elite was validated by being named All-Pro and what he showed disrupting the QB when put on the edge.

[Hawktawk]

Really like your breakdown tarihawk. Very informed. I was amazed hearing we got Graham but as was discussed he was never used properly . He also demonstrated inconsistent hands with a few key drops . He and Russ lacked chemistry like Russ has with other key receivers . It wasn’t until he was injured bs the Steelers that Russ went on his second half tear that season . Still he set the single season Tight end record for TDs in a season and made some plays . I drool at the explosiveness of Adams , the superior athleticism and strength . I think if they figure it out he can be s game wrecker . Just don’t put him on an island in coverage .