MVN - Most Valuable Network

I may be the only one that thinks this on DeShaun Foster

Out of all the free agent signings, the biggest one for the 49ers was clearly Justin Smith. On the day of free agency, the Niners swooped in Smith before any other team had a chance to talk with him. For the 49ers, a defensive end is a nice position to have, but maybe the biggest free agent signing comes in the form of DeShaun Foster.

Now hold on, I am not forgetting Allen Rossum, or our new receivers in Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson. But Foster is the free agent that may possibly be the most important part of our rebuilding offense.

OK, yeah, I am having dreams of the Jaguars and Vikings, two great running teams with great duos. And for Foster, this idea isn’t that farfetched.

Now we know that Mike Martz is very pass happy and the system should be just that. But let’s remember what Martz did for Marshall Faulk. Faulk was everything from the line of scrimmage. He can make defenders miss tackles and also catch screen passes and outrun everyone. Now that was just one player. Imagine if Martz can make that work for two players.

Frank Gore still will get the bulk of the handoffs, but both Gore and Foster are great backs that may compliment each other in ways that we might not think could be done.

From what we seen from Gore, he is a great inside runner. He can take the big hits and that burst of speed is phenomenal. Gore has been banged up the past few seasons, so easing him back into the mix may be what he needed. In Maurice Hicks and Michael Robinson, Gore couldn’t find a reliable back to take care of him. But with Foster, it’s different.

Foster is going to be the back that can move to the backfield for screens or down the middle for dump-offs. My best view of Foster is his ability to possibly play slot or even just become a decoy. My best memory of Foster, as many of you may remember, is his Superbowl dive in Superbowl XXXVIII.

A very good potential for an all-purpose back, Foster will give you great speed as well as consistency. In his career, he has averaged almost 4 yards a carry. Even though he has had some wear and tear in the past years, he can still run the ball.

Gore may see some time in the backfield lessen, but the replacement will be just as good. Gore should look to have a great season still and reach 1,000+ yards again. But watch out for Foster. He may have that many yards from scrimmage too.

I may be the only one who thinks this, but maybe Foster might have the best statistical year of all free agents.

SIDE NOTE:
Eddie DeBartolo to return to NFC West? Check out this source report, saying that Eddie D might want to buy the Rams.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 11:34 am and is filed under Deshaun Foster, Mike Martz, 49ers, Frank Gore, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.