The C.J. Spiller Bandwagon, which was rolling at mach speed last week, has hit a bump in the road. That bump came from 49ers GM Scot McCloughan yesterday. McCloughan always has favored bigger-bodied players (Spiller weighed 196 this a.m.) and he hammered home that point - multiple times - in Indianapolis yesterday. Consider the following quotes:
"I'll never lose sight of this and maybe I'm a dinosaur in this, but it's a big man's game. From the standpoint of holding up through a season durability-wise. But also in the playoffs. You have to have some size and some power and strength I think to be a contender year in and year out."
"Life's short in this business. And if you have a vision, stick with it. And if you go wrong, at least you go wrong with your own vision. You're not flip-flopping back and forth each year."
Later I asked McCloughan if, after five years of drafting bigger-bodied players, the 49ers could afford to go in a different direction and draft a smaller, fleeter-footed player. Here's what he said: "What I learned early from (former Packers GM) Ron Wolf is if you draft an exception then you have a team of exceptions. ... You can't go against your philosophy."
McCloughan put that philosophy to practice last year. The 49ers had WR Michael Crabtree at the top of their draft board because he was a playmaker who fit that all-important big-bodied criterion. In the same draft, the 49ers were seeking a running back. Many speculated that the 49ers would select someone who offered different skills than Frank Gore, whose forte is running between the tackles. Instead, the 49ers ended up taking Glen Coffee, who weighs about the same as Gore and whose forte is running between the tackles. McCloughan has drafted players who weigh less than 200 pounds, but never before the third round. Moreover, one of those sub-200 third rounders, receiver Brandon Williams, was a notable draft bust.
The counter argument, of course, is that the NFL is full of tough, durable players who entered the league below 200 pounds. Tiki Barber, for example, was a 197-pound third-down back when he was drafted. He transformed his body and his running style to become a featured back for the smash-mouth Giants. In recent years, Chris Johnson (197), Darren Sproles (187) and Ray Rice (199) all have failed to hit 200 pounds but have excelled in the NFL.
Spiller and the rest of the RBs are expected to talk to the assembled media later today. Stay tuned ...
The guys at 49ers.com filmed McCloughan giving a tour of the 49ers' interview room at the Crowne Plaza hotel here in Indy. These are the rooms in which all 32 teams sit down with, and in many cases get their first impressions of, the draft prospects at the combine. Notice the "grease board" where teams have players chart plays to test their football IQ. Click here to watch ...
-- Matt Barrows
