The 49ers got through their second day of padded practice with a few bumps and bruises but some interesting developments as well.

1. Mr. Goldson, please answer the white courtesy phone.  Mark Roman had to sit out today's practice with a hamstring strain, meaning Dashon Goldson practiced with the first team defense.  As long as Roman gets back to healthy I'd imagine he'll hang on to the starting free safety job for at least the beginning of the season.  However, if Goldson continues to make plays, as he's done in practice so far, he could snatch the job away.  Of course, if both are playing well, I'd imagine the team would find ways to get both in the lineup.  Goldson played a good bit of cornerback in college so he has the necessary flexibility.

2. Now if only Jennings could stay healthy and keep his head on straight, for crying out loud. Both MM (see the comments at the bottom) and Barrows have pointed out that Jonas Jennings has been the best offensive lineman in camp, with MM also giving a plug to Eric Heitmann.  Heitmann struggled last season after coming back from a busted up leg.  Jennings has had off the field issues and injury issues crop up ever since he signed his 7-year deal with the 49ers.  If these two guys can stay healthy and have bounce back years, I think this offensive line goes from weakness to strength.  Staley still has to prove himself at left tackle and Baas/Wragge/Rachal have their work cut out for them.  However, the talent is there for the 49ers to have a very good offensive line this season.  That would be HUGE for whomever is leading the team at QB.

3. QB numbers. Maiocco has been so kind as to provide his unofficial pass statistics for the 11-on-11 dills: Alex Smith is 65 of 99 (65.7%) with 1 TD and 3 INTs.  Shaun Hill is 60 of 94 (63.8%) with 1 TD and 4 INTs.  A couple things to keep in mind on those statistics: 1) The 49ers have worked inside the redzone in only one practice, 2) It's not a TD if it's not caught in the TD or there is no defender between the receiver and the end zone when he catches the ball.  So those numbers certainly have to be taken with a grain of salt.

4. Thank the lord he didn't pull a Jay Moore. Kentwan Balmer injured his ankle when a teammate fell on it during a running drill.  There were worries it was a high ankle sprain, but it appears to only be a mild sprain.  Moore suffered a high ankle sprain last year and missed the whole season.

5. Some other injury news.  Arnaz Battle was held out of practice but it appears to be a simple precautionary measure.  He has had knee injuries and other bumps and bruises in the past.  Battle has reached that point where he's turning into an established veteran where you know what you're gonna get from him.  You never want a guy losing reps in practice, but if it keeps him healthy I suppose it works.

I wanted to wrap up with an interesting quote from Mike Nolan after practice:

"Yesterday we had three turnovers and a couple of incomplete passes that when we get our timing and all down will be big gains. They turn into interceptions because they bounce off a guy’s pads or something happened that we might have gone to an inside guy instead of the outside with the ball. Just little things that when we get it down is an opportunity for a big play. We have to understand that. Guys come out and say, ‘Well I saw this with turnovers.’ But when you analyze it, it’s the right decision and makes us a big play that we didn’t have before. So there’s excitement. The guys see it, but you have to point it out so they’re not wondering, ‘Did I really see that, or did I not?’ When the coach talks about it, it’s a little bit more real than them looking at each other and saying, ‘Did you almost make a big play?’ ‘Yes, I did.’ Players are always going to say, ‘Well I almost hit it out of the park.’ And they popped out. It’s not really the same thing.”

This is one thing we all have to keep in mind as we roll through training camp.  With the new offense, it will definitely take some time for the offense to come together.  Mike Martz mentioned he had never been in a situation like this with an even split of snaps between the top 2 QBs.  I certainly hope that isn't detrimental to the development of some sort of cohesiveness in the offense.

This continued development of the offense will be something to keep an eye on through each othe preseason games.  I definitely want to try and do some charting of plays and see what kind of success Smith and Hill have early on.  It's only preseason, but for a small stretch Smith/Hill will still see #1 defenses so there should be some valuable analysis available.

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The 49ers announced the signing of fourth round draft choice Cody Wallace.  Back on draft day Barrows and Maiocco had some interesting tidbits about Wallace:

MB: [H]e's another guy who fits the 49ers' mold. He's a smart and powerful interior lineman who holds the Texas A&M record with a 740-pound squat lift. Wallace is a Senior Bowl alum who worked closely with George Warhop in Mobile. He also is a two-year captain, which likely endeared him to the 49ers. It's notable that the 49ers have spent two picks on the interior of the offensive line, a huge problem last season. It's also notable that the current center, Eric Heitmann, is entering the final season on his contract.

MM: His father reportedly died in prison when Cody was 8 years old. His mother died when he was 16. His only sibling, Marcus, who is 2 1/2 years old than Cody, is currently serving time on felony drug charges. Wallace was raised by his grandparents.

Wallace said living through those difficult circumstances has conditioned him to deal with challenging situations on the football field. He said he does not stress out about little things.

The overall scouting report said that:

Overall: Wallace is a little too light and his footwork is still inconsistent at this point but he has the strong upper body, frame, tenacity and smarts to develop into an excellent backup or capable starter in time.

So the question is what will he become for the 49ers in the short term and long term.  Eric Heitmann is the man in the middle anchoring the offensive line for now.  However, he definitely struggled coming off his 2006 broken leg.  I'm curious to see what kind of playing time Wallace gets his first year.  Is it possible he starts on the practice squad?

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.

I like to poke around the various SB Nation football sites to see what's going on in the rest of the NFL world, and more specifically, to drum up ideas for posts.  Over at Dawgs by Nature, they had a post discussing a semi-regular feature over at cbs.sportsline.com.  Pete Prisco is doing a feature ranking the different offensive and defensive units around the NFL.  While it is just as random as the next guy, I was curious to see what he had to say about the 49ers.  While he had some positive points, the rankings are not quite so positive, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  One drawback to his rankings is that he ranked the teams alphabetically, so it requires a little bit of work to clear things up.  Rather than consider all the teams, I'll just throw up the NFC West rankings.

Offensive Line Rankings

Rating: 30

Best player: LT Joe Staley. Weak link: C Eric Heitmann.

The skinny: They will move Staley from right tackle to the left side. He played the right side as a rookie, but is more of a left tackle. Look for rookie Chilo Rachal to start at guard, although he has worked some at right tackle. The inside people are average at best. Rookie Cody Wallace could challenge Heitmann.

The OL rankings were published on June 2 and he still has Chilo Rachal slated to potentially start at guard.  The end of the OTAs will get that whole G/T business cleared up.

NFC West
Seattle: 11
Arizona: 20
St. Louis: 28

Defensive Line Rankings

Rating: 29

Best player: RE Justin Smith. Weak link: LE Kentwan Balmer or Ron Fields.

The skinny: The 49ers paid a lot for Smith, especially since he had two sacks last season. But they like his toughness. Balmer, the team's first-round pick, should be the starter at the other end spot. Fields will try to fend him off. Nose tackle will be a battle between Aubrayo Franklin and Isaac Sopoaga, who showed well when Franklin was hurt last season. The 49ers need to get more from outside linebacker Manny Lawson, who missed most of last season with an injury. Tully Banta-Cain has quickness on the other side.

Smith has been getting a lot of work at outside linebacker, which would certainly shake this up a little bit.  This breakdown was posted today and Prisco is under the impression that Sopoaga will be the nose tackle.  And of course there's no mention at all of Ray McDonald, who I see as a sleeper off the bench.

NFC West
Seattle: 7
Arizona: 20
St. Louis: 19

Obviously these are the random rankings of somebody with "insider access."  Unfortunately there are enough oversights by Prisco to leave them wide open to questioning.  Considering how poorly the units performed at times last year, it's easy to see that carrying over to preseason rankings this year.  The offensive line has as much to prove as anybody on this team.  The defensive line may take a little time to gell, but I think there is sufficient talent to make them a very interesting unit worth paying attention to going forward.

I figured that with all the questions surrounding the draft yesterday, it was easier to roll out answers and try and at least allow for some clarity. We didn't answer a ton of questions, but there are some things we can be safe in knowing going into the season.

However, the grayer area comes when we start discussing the questions raised as a result of the draft. There are questions raised on both sides of the ball and I'll do my best to answer them for now. However, it's pretty clear the answers won't come until training camp at the very earliest.

1. What defense will this team be playing?

This draft leaves me wondering whether we'll see the 3-4, a 3-4/4-3 hybrid, a bit of the old 3-3-5, or some combination of everything.  The team did not address the supposed outside linebacker need (especially considering Larry Grant will be competing at the inside linebacker position along with special teams).  They've added Balmer to the mix and he appears like he could fit in as an end, a nose tackle, or a defensive tackle if they roll out the 4-3 on occasion.  Justin Smith can play end, but could get into that elephant role discussed previously.  I have no problem with a mix of defenses but it still leaves me curious.

2. What position will Kentwan Balmer play?

Depending on the defense used, he could be anywhere from a nose tackle to a defensive end in the 3-4 to a defensive tackle in the 4-3.  It didn't help that MM and Barrows mentioned him as both potentially filling Bryant Young's role to being the nose tackle and ESPN referred to him repeatedly as a nose tackle.  Any thoughts?  I'm not concerned because I think he could handily develop into any of those roles.  My issue with it deals more with the next question:

3. What of Ray McDonald?

McDonald has some work to do to get more playing time, but I was quite pleased with his development towards the end of last season.  Now, Isaac Sopoaga has been resigned to get time at nose tackle and defensive end.  If Kentwan Balmer plays mostly nose tackle, he'll be splitting time with Aubrayo Franklin meaning Sopoaga gets even more time at defensive end.  Justin Smith is clearly the man on one side.  Or maybe it turns into McDonald being in primarily on passing downs since he's more of a pass rush threat than Balmer.  The one plus to this is that you can mix and match bodies and keep guys fresh.  At the same time, I would imagine it would mess up the line's timing if you're constantly rotating bodies in and out.

4. How will the offensive line shuffle shake out?

While the offense might have issues, I don't see a whole lot of questions.  The primary one is how the drafting of Rachal and Wallace affects the rest of the offensive line.  Will the team try and get some versatility out of the draftees at different positions, or will they be there to only learn and compete at guard and center respectively?  Dave Baas is expected to miss a chunk of training camp, which definitely could help to speed along the development of Rachal.  I'm not expecting a big impact from Rachal right away, but it will be interesting to see how he handles the chance to compete for an immediate starting role.  As for Wallace, I'd expect him to get some playing time spelling Heitmann but I really don't expect to see him on the field much barring injury.  Let's hope that doesn't happen.  Of course maybe can shock us and win the job in training camp.

Feel free to throw out your own questions and answers.  I know there are plenty of them out there.

After 2 days and give picks, the San Francisco 49ers draft is complete and the time for irrational and rational analysis is upon us.  Right off the bat, I'll say this is a very tough draft to grade.  The general consensus was the 49ers had starting needs on the offensive line, the defensive line and at outside linebacker, with additional depth needs at wide receiver and in the secondary.  The prognisticators (yours truly included) felt Quentin Groves would be taken if he was there in the first or second round.  Offensive tackle seemed a sure bet to be addressed.  Many felt (or maybe it was just wanted) wide receiver would be addressed relatively early.  And the actual outcome?  No offensive tackles were taken, a short not so fast wide receiver with some issues was taken in the sixth round and they addressed OLB in the seventh round with a guy who is more likely to be a special teams start than an impact outside linebacker.

I will not say I'm disappointed or think it was a bad draft.  Aside from the usual cliches about waiting 3 years to fully evaluate a draft, I think there are some good things to come out of this, depending on how you view the players taken.  If you view this as a lot of reaches, you're going to be disappointed until they prove it on the field.  I can see how the team appeared to reach when other quality talents were still around.  I think my opinion is more of disappointment in who the 49ers could have taken, rather that who they actual took. 

While plenty of new questions arise, we've at least gotten some answers.  I'll deal with questions raised later, but for now I just want to look at questions answered.  And feel free to add any I miss.

1. The 49ers are happy with their receivers.  Yes they added Josh Morgan, but we all know how 6th rounders usually work out.  I'd say right I'm happier with Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle as the 1-2-3 than last year with DJack, Battle and Ashley Lelie.  While it's not the greatest show on turf, I think there are sufficient weapons on the field.
2. Joe Staley and Jonas Jennings are your tackles next season.  After going guard with Rachal, I was kind of hoping the 49ers would grab OT Anthony Collins in the 4th round, but it was not to be.  I suppose they could work Rachal over to tackle, but I don't see that happening.
3. McNolan has tethered themselves to Smith/Hill (with a little O'Sullivan thrown in for good measure).  They could bring in an undrafted free agent, but I think it's safe to say the QB competition is officially set for this summerinside linebacker spot
4. Reggie Smith will be returning kicks and/or punts.  Maurice Hicks was quite solid on special teams, but the 49ers have not had the game-breaking kick/punt returning in ages.  It'd be pretty sweet to see Reggie Smith develop that aspect of the 49ers special teams. (Just corrected on Rossum.  I still think Smith will get a chance to make an impact in the return game.)
5. Eric Heitmann would seem to be a goner after this season.  Heitmann really struggled to bounce back from his broken leg at the end of 2006.  Who knows if Cody Wallace is the answer, but he'll definitely get every chance to prove it.  Heitmann had very solid stretches in his time with the 49ers, but it is quickly approaching the time to move on.