via sf49ers.com

Not too surprisingly, David Baas will not suit up for Saturday's game against the Packers.  He continues to rehab his torn pectoral muscle (that's really gotta be painful) and Tony Wragge will continue with the first team offensive line.

Just before training camp, we took a look at the status of position battles heading into training camp.  I stuck with Baas as the leader for the right guard position, but it appears Wragge is playing his way into some serious minutes:

There are some questions about the 49ers' offensive line this season. Oddly, there haven't been many questions about Wragge, who is filling in at right guard until David Baas is ready to return.

If Wragge continues to play well, the 49ers could find a place for him. Adam Snyder has gotten off to a slow start at left guard. Once Baas returns (he believes he'll be ready for the season opener), Wragge could be an option to go wherever he's needed.

"Tony is getting better with the opportunity he's had," Nolan said. "A lot of teams have those kinds of guys: big, tough, no-nonsense, smart guys."

Wragge played in 14 games in 2006, starting 4 and then proceeded to get no playing time last season.  However, he seems to be in the right frame of mind for whatever he earns:

Wragge said he believes he is a starter in the NFL, but he is content with giving himself the title of "utility player."

"I consider myself a utility player because I can play left guard, right guard and center," he said. "Every team needs to some guys who are not part of that five-man starting line. I love it here, and I just want to take advantage of every opportunity I get to develop as a player and help this team."

Wragge signed an extension before camp that keeps him in San Francisco through 2009.  So, what will become of Tony Wragge this season and next? 

We've repeatedly discusse the issue of chemistry when it comes to the offensive line.  There seem to be 4 options: 1) Wragge stays at right guard even after Baas is healthy; 2) When Baas gets healthy he's reinserted at right guard and Wragge gets shuffled to left guard in place of Adam Snyder; 3) Baas is reinserted but Snyder hangs onto his job for now, with Wragge quickly ready to replace him at the first signs of struggle in the regular season; 4) Baas and Snyder start and Wragge fills that utility role along the entire offensive line.

Do we have somebody out there who's worked with offensive linemen (all the way down to even a high school coach).  It seems apparent that chemistry is important, but then again, what do I know, right?

There's under 30 hours until kickoff (34+ thanks to the blackout) and we're getting a better idea of who we'll see tomorrow and who will be in street clothes.  I thought I'd take a look at the injured players and the impact it will have tomorrow and going forward.

Michael Robinson - This is definitely not surprising at all.  Robinson is not expected back until the regular season, maaaaaybe the last preseason game.  He's looking at more of a special teams role with the addition of DeShaun Foster but will still get time in some offensive formations.  His absence likely means more carries for 2007 preseason MVP Thomas Clayton.  Of course preseason MVP has absolutely no value, other than an apparent ticket to the practice squad.

David Baas - Another non-surprise.  Tony Wragge appears to taken control of the position ahead of Chilo Rachal.  If Wragge looks good in the preseason, I'm curious what happens when Baas is healthy.  We'll also see the likes of Jeb Terry and former Cal guard Brian De La Puente getting some reps in the second half.

Bryant Johnson and Ashley Lelie - Johnson tweaked his hamstring in the morning practice against the Raiders.  It sounds like he was performing pretty well up to that point so let's hope it's a short term issue.  As for Lelie, well we've discussed his issues at length.  In addition, Isaac Bruce is a game-time decision.  If he does play I would imagine it would only be for a series or two.  The absence of these receivers means more reps for the likes of Josh Morgan, Jason Hill and Dominique Zeigler, which could help all of their chances at more playing time.

Mark Roman - Apparently Roman was scheduled to wear the defensive radio receiver, but with his injury, Michael Lewis will be the guy.  Roman's absence means more time for Dashon Goldson.  He's been a ballhawk in practice, so let's see if he can transfer that over to game situations.

Lewis Baker - Baker is a long shot to make the roster and this thigh bruise is certainly not helping his chances.  He'd apparently been playing pretty well, so it's a shame to see this happen.  This means more playing time for DJ Parker and probably extra time for Keith Lewis as the 49ers are a bit low at safety for this game.

The 49ers wrapped up their third day of practice today.  Apparently the original plan was to have a morning and afternoon practice, but Mike Nolan decided to cancel the afternoon practice.  The team starts practicing in pads tomorrow, so it sounds like a chance to give everybody a little rest before then.

On current injury issues
"Arnaz Battle is nursing a little bit of a hamstring that kind of bothers him somewhat. He might take fewer reps at times, although he didn’t today. But someone like Ashley Lelie, naturally that gives someone else the opportunity to take some of those reps so it’d be important for him to get back. He should be back in a few days."

"Walt Harris was held out of practice just because that’s the way we’re doing it. Just like we’ve done the last two years with him: one a day. That is the case with certain players. Jonas Jennings is one of those and Walt Harris, Isaac Bruce, Arnaz Battle – those are the four that come to mind. Joe Staley should be in at the middle or end of the week. We’ll see how it keeps going, but it will not be tomorrow. Aubrayo Franklin should be in the next day or two. [Damane] Duckett will be a few days. Michael [Robinson] has got a strained knee, and they’ll look at it when they go inside . . . it just looks like a strain.”

On the WR battle
"There are a few established guys and a couple I can speak of right away: naturally Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle. [Bryant Johnson] might be in that group but, at the same time, he’s in a new situation and a new offense, and it’s important for him to stay in the competition as far as doing everything he can to get better.”

On whether Battle and Bruce are considered the "starters," with Johnson the #3
“No, I would consider all three of them. I would just talk about a three-wide situation because that’s definitely the case. We’re trying to get our best out on the field, so they may be part of the best 11 as it looks right now when you compare them to a fullback offense or a tight end offense.”

On Josh Morgan
“He’s caught a lot of balls, so he has made a good impression. He’s done a very good job, and he’s working hard. He needs to continue to do those things not only on the field but off the field as far as taking care of his body . . . It would be nice if he factors in because he’s certainly done a very nice job for three days and five practices.”

On whether they'll keep 6 receivers on the 53-man roster
“No, I would hope for at least four. Five would be reasonable, but six would mean that we’ve got a decent core of guys. So, I was hoping for guys to show up and then we’d have six, but I wouldn’t go that far today.”

On whether Tony Wragge and Chilo Rachal are battling for a starter role or backup role
“You know, at this point, if everybody’s healthy, it will be a long shot for one of them [to start over David Baas]. But they keep getting better. I’d like for one of them to prove me wrong. You get your expectations too high on a rookie and you’ve either got a bad football team or you’re getting ready to be bad.”

MY THOUGHTS (Fooch, not Nolan)
It sounds like Josh Morgan is making quite an impact on the coaching staff.  Maiocco and Barrows indicated back in June that Morgan looked impressive in OTAs.  If Ashley Lelie can't get healthy, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Morgan get a roster spot over Lelie.  Considering the team has 3 solid receivers already, it would not be like cutting your top receiver by any stretch.  Lelie continues to frustrate.  He's out for several days and that's just not going to help him, especially considering he was in the dog house most of last season.

As for the battle at right guard, Nolan makes a good point about getting high expectations for a rookie.  Even if Rachal isn't able to step up, Wragge has been a decent offensive lineman when called upon.  And, as previously discussed, even if Wragge or Rachal doesn't take the starting job, they can work to providing some excellent depth.

The 49ers open training camp at the end of this week and we'll finally start to get some answers to the numerous burning questions facing the 49ers.  If you ask the mainstream media, the 49ers training camp questions boil down to learning Mike Martz's offense, the QB battle and, oh yea, the QB battle.

We all realize that there are a variety of battles to consider.  Some of them are pretty obvious, while others are a little more subtle.  Post-draft minicamp and the OTAs are done and while not a lot has been answered, the picture is starting to clear up.  I had considered titling this something to do with coming down the stretch, but there is too much training camp for us to already be coming down the stretch.  So here are my thoughts on the various battles and who the leader is after the first turn.

QB
Leader at the first turn: Alex Smith
We'll just get this out of the way.  Alex Smith is the more mechanically and fundamentally sound QB so it's natural that he would be the leader going into training camp.  Throw in the biggest contract and it makes the answer even easier.  Once we get into games, we'll see how things play out.

Ted Linebacker
Leader at the first turn: Jeff Ulbrich
Until recently this seemed like a 3-horse race between Jeff Ulbrich, Dontarrious Thomas and my boy Larry Grant.  Well, Mike Nolan and Scot McCloughan had a conference call with reporters yesterday and some interesting news came out.  According to them, Ulbrich has a clear handle on the position, but it is in competition with Larry Grant and Brandon Moore.  Apparently Thomas has been moved to the backup Mike position behind Patrick Willis.  It sounds to me like Thomas will end up in a super-sub kind of role.  It's also possible he's struggling picking up the defense and they figure he could do less damage backing up Willis.  Thoughts?

Right Guard
Leader at the first turn: David Baas (if you ask Nolan)
In the conference call, Nolan said the 49ers fully expected Baas to be ready in time for the regular season and step into the starting role.  Training camp however will see a battle between Tony Wragge and Chilo Rachal.  This leaves a lot of questions on the table, if Wragge or Rachal clicks with the rest of the offensive line.  Matt Barrows made mention of this last week and it is certainly something to consider.  On the plus side, having multiple guys playing well is certainly good for depth.  On the minus side, the offensive line is built on chemistry and cohesion.  You don't want to be bumping guys around throughout the game.  Looking at the 3 guys, Baas is only 26, Rachal 22 and Wragge 28.  So age really isn't an issue.  Of course, while it's all just rumor-mongering, throw in the highly speculative but still potential return of Larry Allen and it creates all sorts of confusion.  Larry Allen aside, the injury to Baas leaves things in limbo.  We'll have an answer as to who is ahead on the depth chart between Wragge and Rachal.  However, unless Baas has a setback or has a miraculous recovery in the next week or two, right guard will remain a question mark.

3rd/Nickel Cornerback
Leader at the first turn: Shawntae Spencer
Surprisingly there has been very little talk about this position battle.  Obviously the national media could care less, but even among local media things are quiet.  Barrows briefly mentioned the position in relation to Walt Harris's eventual successor.  The battle comes down to Spencer, Tarell Brown and Reggie Smith.  Brown got a little playing time last season but clearly he's still got a lot to learn.  Back during the draft, Scouts Inc felt Reggie Smith could step right into the 49ers sub packages.  He can play corner and safety so he certainly brings some versatility.  Of all the positional battles, this one could yield the most for team depth.  I'd expect Spencer to be the guy coming out of camp (if he's healthy), but I think Brown will see a lot more playing time from last year and Smith will get a nice chunk of time.  The 49ers play some receiver heavy teams this year so cornerback depth will be huge.  Furthermore, if the pass rush is weak and the corners are crazy-busy, the more quality guys they can rotate in the better.

Stick with these for conversation for now.  I'll have another post late this afternoon later tonight discussing the likes of right outside linebacker, wide receiver and free safety.

In the Delanie Walker signing post, MM threw out the players who will be free agents after 2009.  Obviously a million things will change between now and then and there is little to no way we can predict what will happen at that point.  However, it's much more fun randomly speculating about things over which we have absolutely no control.  Some are restricted free agents, although I'm not 100% sure about the restricted/unrestricted status of some of them.  The entire list is at the bottom, but I thought I'd hit some of the more interesting ones.  The 49ers have done a good job lately in signing the young talent to longer deals.  On this list, aside from Bryant Johnson, I'm not sure if any of them warrant long term deals for now.

Billy Bajema: Bajema is a blocking tight end who is not exactly what you'd call a pass catcher.  Delanie Walker has been impressing Mike Martz, but Bajema brings the blocking element Walker lacks.  I don't see Bajema returning when you can probably find a replacement in the draft.

Damane Duckett: While he seems to be a "coach's project," Duckett is an interesting case.  It's entirely possible the signing of Barry Sims means Duckett doesn't make the roster this year.  Even if he does it will be as a backup and barring injury, I don't know how much of an opportunity he'll get to play behind Joe Staley.  Of course I also don't know who else would be interested in a converted defensive lineman who hasn't gotten all that much playing time.

DeShaun Foster: I could definitely see this as a one and done year for Foster.  If he can put together a solid year behind a really good running back like Gore, he would definitely get some quality offers.  He just needs to show he can stay healthy and be relatively productive.  A solid yards per carry could help him cash in.

Bryant Johnson: According to MM, "There is no question Johnson is hungry to prove he's an elite wideout.  Johnson said he wants to put together a good season and sign a long-term extension with the 49ers."  If Johnson does take a step up and prove himself to be a quality receiver, we'll see how quick he is to sign an extension when teams are throwing piles of money at him.

Eric Heitmann: I'd imagine the 49ers will let him walk.  They have some options for the future, which makes Heitmann potentially expendable.  Tony Wragge is a restricted free agent and unless somebody was willing to give up picks and a big contract for him, I'd imagine the 49ers could retain him pretty easily.  Cody Wallace would seem to be the center of the future, so it's a matter of working him in to the position.  Or maybe Heitmann signs a short deal to groom Wallace?  No matter what he won't be getting a ton of money from the 49ers.

Ronald Fields: If the 49ers stick with the 3-4, Fields has his work cut out for him if he plans on sticking around.  He's a defensive tackle who either needs to improve his game in the middle, or gain some ability and become a defensive end.  He hasn't done a whole lot up to this point and the 49ers have brought in some additional young bodies so we'll see how this year plays out.

Ashley Lelie: After spending most of last season in just about everybody's doghouse, Lelie thinks he's learned enough to be able to make some solid contributions in 2008.  The 49ers and Mike Martz will need every wide receiver to step up and make things happen.  However, unless Lelie blows people away, the 49ers have enough young potential to take their chances with another cheap veteran in free agency who might have a little more upside.

Signed through 2008: TE Billy Bajema, T Damane Duckett, DL Atiyyah Ellison, DL Ronald Fields, RB DeShaun Foster, OLB Roderick Green, C Eric Heitmann, WR Bryant Johnson, FB Zak Keasey, WR Ashley Lelie, QB J.T. O'Sullivan, RS Allen Rossum, CB Donald Strickland, G Tony Wragge.