carjackistan
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This. Not that I expect these two particular moves to do anything for the 49ers, but this is the same technique the Patriots used so many times and the 49ers themselves benefited from with Donte Whitner and Carlos Rogers, both of whom flamed out with their original teams but were considered top talents coming out of the draft and were molded by the 49ers into useful players. If that wasn't enough to buy them some credibility, they did the same thing with Ahmad Brooks, who in college was considered a potential top 10 pick before he ran into problems and they likewise got a few useful years out of Manny Lawson, who flamed out as a first round defensive end before finding a home as a gigantic strongside linebacker.
Everyone tries on reclamation projects. Easy to remember the ones that work and forget the ones that do not. Often when they do work, it's with a player that overcomes personal problems, or has a change of scheme/position. Also, most of these guys showed some ability in the NFL prior to being "turned around". Whitner made 140 tackles in his last season at Buffalo. Rogers started all five years he was in Washington. It's not like these guys were Kurt Warner type discoveries. Even most of the guys the Patriots did this with were undervalued assets who were coming off poor years or had fallen out of favor with their previous organization, rather than complete busts.
Jonathan Martin and Blaine Gabbert have not shown even decent ability in the league. Martin might work out, if only because he's being brought on for depth rather than to start. Plus, Harbaugh knows that Martin owes him, and will play his tail off if he has any real desire to be an NFL player. Gabbert, though, is a complete waste of time.
It's easy to talk about these sorts of things being low-risk and requiring minimal resources. The truth is, though, these guys are taking up spots in camp. Football is a young man's sport, and that's one fewer draft pick or UFA that you're getting a look at. When you talk about doing this sort of thing in volume, you may have missed on someone else the organization had an eye on and turns out to be a surprise talent elsewhere.
Personally, I think the risk/reward ratio is more favorable for Jim Harbaugh than the 49ers. No one will blame him if these guys bust, as long as the team makes the playoffs. If they manage to contribute, Harbaugh will get all the credit for it.