calumnus;842295971 said:
As stated above, during the last decade, almost zero Cal players ended up on the Niners despite their being the local team and Cal being in the top 5 of schools sending players to the NFL.
I am willing to accept that is not due to bias against, though clearly there is no bias towards (as there was in the case of Stanford historically and many NFL frnachises have towards local schools). Perhaps that will change with Harbaugh? Though he clearly still likes his former players.
Jeff Tedford became the coach in 2002. Since that time the Niners have had on their roster Andre Carter, Tully Banta Cain, Nnamdi Asomugha and DJ Campbell. Of the 48 players drafted since 2001, the 49ers have rostered 8% of them. That's probably at least the league average.
You claim that Harbaugh clearly likes his former players. While I don't deny that this is occasionally true, it has not really manifested itself in any significant roster decisions. They recently traded for Jonathan Martin, they've given some workouts to Stanford guys, and a few of them have had short UFA contracts with the Niners, but none of them really stick. Honestly, there's probably a Stanford message board somewhere where a fan is ranting about the Niners anti-Stanford bias...if anyone should have known Richard Sherman's talent it should have been Harbaugh, right?
I will agree that there doesn't seem to be a bias
towards Cal, which is what this argument is usually about. Cal fans are upset that the local pro team doesn't look at draft prospects through blue and gold tinted glasses. I get that, though I'd prefer people be more honest about it.
Here's what I don't get. As a Cal fan, should you
want the local team to be biased towards Cal? Wouldn't it be better for the actual Cal players that they go to the system where they fit best as opposed to the one located the closest?
Philly's offense under Andy Reid was absolutely perfect for Desean Jackson. I was stoked when he landed in Philly, because I thought that was one of a few NFL teams that were particularly well equipped to take advantage of his talents. Alex Smith's weaker arm would have struggled to find Desean Jackson deep.
Marshawn was drafted to Buffalo where he got a chance to start right away! He broke 1,000 yards as a rookie. That would have been hard to do if he were stuck behind Frank Gore.
I was disappointed for myself when Rodgers went to Green Bay because my favorite pro team badly needed a quarterback. But I was stoked for Aaron, and excited to see what he could do on a stacked football team. I thought it probably was in his best interest considering he got to throw to Donald Driver and Greg Jennings instead of Arnaz Battle.
When the Niners pass on Cal players for the right reasons, it's not just better for the Niners, it's better for Cal. Sure, there have been situations when drafting the Cal player would have been great for both the Niners and that player. But there are many more cases where taking the Cal player just because he's from Cal would have harmed both the Niners and the player.
I doubt very much that this will change anyone's opinion; it seems very likely that those arguing that there is an anti-Cal bias hold a grudge that they won't let go for any reason. But if you want to be a better Cal fan, you should stop caring where these players end up, and root instead for them to find the right situation for success. That's what will make our university look better, not having a slew of Cal alums on the 49ers.
