We can start with the draft of 2000. After trading up and down the draft board, San Francisco walked away with 11 players. 9 are still with the team. 4 of them are full time starters. 4 of them are major contributers and part time starters at their positions. And Rattay won the job as #1 backup QB. In the next draft, 6 out of 8 are still with the team. 2 of them are full time starters. 2 of them are part time/future starters. The other 2 are major contributors. This year we went into the draft needing no starters for the first time. The jury is still out on most of these players, but we did get one unexpected starter and a few players that look good for the future. When you look at all the drafted players that this team has added in the last 3 drafts, you have to admire the job that the whole organization has done. How many teams can say that they have two 7th round draft picks from the last 2 drafts starting? And the two 7th rounders from the 2000 draft are major role players for the team. They stuck to the philosophy of drafting defensive talent and coaching offensive talent.

The brain trust also made some hard calls in the free agent market. They knew they could not afford Charlie Garnder. They took some major cap hits with Rice, Norton, Tubbs, and McDonald. They would not pay what Lance Schulters wanted. And then there were players like Willie Jackson and Blake Brockermyer. They wanted more then the Niners were willing to pay, so they are not with the team. The free agents that the team did sign are with contracts that the team can live with and the players are happy with. Tony Parish, Dana Stubblefield, Derek Smith, Scott Gragg, and Ron Stone are all players in their prime, team leaders, and positive influences in and out of the locker room.

The last point of mine is about the coaches. In Julian Peterson's interviews after his great game against KC, he talked about talked about how the coaches prepared him and how they gave him great techquines and keys. Jason Webster, Amahad Plummer, and now Mike Rumph all talk about the coaching that they have received. You want to talk about smart players? In the two 7th round draft picks that are now starting, one is from Yale and one is from Stanford. The scouts saw something that the coaches could work with. Dave Fiore is out for the season. Eric Heitmann steps up big for the team. Zack Bronson is out for a few months. No problem. Ronnie Heard is NFC Defensive Player of the Week in his second start. JJ Stokes goes down. Tai Streets is tearing it up. Garrison Hearst has a little problem with his hamstring. Kevan Barlow gets a few more plays.