Do you think the niners will bet the farm to get Luck? Harbaugh has the experience and really is only a decent QB away from going deep into the playoffs.

Speaking of the 9ers. If the playoffs started today, we'd play them in the 1st round. Can you say rematch/payback?!

In a word...No.

In many words...They would have to give up a ridiculous bounty, that would have to include a marquee player (Gore, Willis, Davis) as well as multiple draft picks to get up that high. I doubt they would mortgage their future for one guy. They drafted Koepernick last year and whether or not he's the future of the franchise... no one knows. But there's no way they give up that much for one guy. Alex Smith has played relatively well this year. There is another model, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens model, with a tough as nails defense, a good running game and a game manager at QB.

While i agree with the rest of your post, that final model hasnt worked in a decade and wont work anymore with the rules so focused on protecting Qbs and WRs. This is an Offense driven league now. You have to be able to get a stop sometime to win in Playoffs, but Dominat D with mediocre O wont get you a Ring anymore.

I agree with your statement, but this is the path that the 49ers are going down, and they would have to mortgage their future, there-in hurting their current team for an unproven rookie QB who may be the best player that scouts have ever seen, but hasn't done anything in the NFL yet. Now, I'm not saying that Luck isn't going to be a great NFL QB. He probably will be, but every QB has a different learning curve, and Luck might be a year or two from being ready to lead a team to serious title contention.

i'm hoping that the Vikings don't draft Luck

Same here, but Vikings fans want him really bad. I don't understand it either, Webb looked pretty good if you just give him a shot.

Webb looked pretty good as a runner, but he couldn't throw to save his life. That's why he hasn't gotten a shot. They're pretty set with Ponder and I don't think they'd go after a top 10 QB two years in a row. They need better receivers and line play before they can make a real assessment of what sort of pro Ponder is going to be. He's a rookie, and we should know that rookie's don't always make the best decisions in the pocket. Give him a year or two and the game will really slow down and he'll be a pretty decent QB. Is he Matt Stafford? No, but I think he can be a middle of the pack starter.

Getting rid of Rice was a dumb idea personally. They really only have one big WR and that is Harvin. If you keep Rice, you would have 2 big WR and you wouldn't have to keep trying to go to Harvin.

i couldnt believe the bears didnt scoop up Rice. It astounds me thtey thought Roy was the answer. amazing...simply amazing.

I get thats what they are trying to do, and im certainly not saying the 49ers should trade everything for Luck... but the 49ers wont be getting a Ring with Alex Smith.

Q B Driven League .



Ponder was considered a early 2nd round late 1st round pick by most... based on talent. Because there was such a weak class overall with (now badass) Cam newton as the 1st overall that was still terrifying to most Panther fans I know... There was an Early run on QBs. Cam newton appears to be a bona fide stud, which is me eating crow, but the next good value picked QB is Andy Dalton. Locker, Ponder and Gabbert were all taken 15-25 Picks too soon. Dalton is better than all 3 of them as well ironically (which i called).

Sorry for rambling, was just trying to point out Ponder was a reach, whether he works out or not. I think its too soon to pullt he rug out , but they should bring in a Vet to be QB 2 behind him and mentor him... a Kitna type. I think he can be Ok, but they expect too much because they drafted him too high.

I hate to thread jack but I'm very interested to see where Griffin ends up and if he'll start as a rookie

I think Luck will go No 1 regardless of which of those awful teams are drafting high. The new rookie wage scale makes trades much more manageable high in the draft. It also makes the high picks more affordable and wont put teams in salary cap trouble just by drafting high. I ve only seen Luck play twice this season and he didnt play well in those games but if what the scouts are saying is true Minnesota and Indianapolis should take him regardless of the presence of 36 yo to be Manning or Ponder. A great QB has more value than anything you can get in a trade and it shouldnt be too hard to trade Ponder or Manning, if he is healthy.

I dont see the 49ers making a big move up the draft to grab Luck. Harbaugh has been praising Alex Smith as pro bowl caliber which I dont think anyone is really buying into but its at least a strong vote of confidence.

So far it's Indy, STL, minny.

Minny has pretty much zero shot at luck right now

Would STL seriously take luck with Bradford only a couple years into his mega deal? I would imagine a trade for less than the DVC. Maybe a first and third and a future first, depending on the pick (Snyder, are you listening?)

Oh sorry. I only check out the Lions main forum.

Harbaugh said not that long ago that he wants Alex Smith in for the long haul, so no, I don't think Harbs will make a trade. I'm pretty sure we'll see a long term deal shortly after the season that will lock Alex Smith up for the next 5+ years.

I know a lot of you will hate on Alex Smith (hell, I do too), but he's managing a game very well, throwing very few picks, taking less sacks each game, and throwing the ball rather well from time to time. Our recipe to win is a strong defense, great running game, and a manageable passing attack. That's what we have right now, and I predict we'll keep that going until the wheels fall off.

As much as I wish we would, no, we won't.